Crimea's parliament voted to join Russia on Thursday and its Moscow-backed government set a referendum within 10 days on the decision in a dramatic escalation of the crisis over the Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula.

• Date: 06.03.2014  |  Published on EGF: 06.03.2014  |  Security  |  from http://www.reuters.com/

Ukraine is ready to use military force to defend itself if Russia further expands its presence on Ukrainian soil, Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk said on Thursday, emphasizing that Ukraine would not be made subordinate to its neighbor.

• Date: 06.03.2014  |  Published on EGF: 06.03.2014  |  Security  |  from http://www.reuters.com/

Depositors wanting to withdraw money from a rural bank in eastern China's prosperous Jiangsu province ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday found the doors locked, their money gone and employees offering a simple explanation.

• Date: 05.03.2014  |  Published on EGF: 05.03.2014  |  External Relations  |  from http://www.reuters.com/

NATO announced a full review of its cooperation with Russia on Wednesday to try to pressure Moscow into backing down on Ukraine and said it would suspend planning for a joint mission linked to Syrian chemical weapons.

• Date: 05.03.2014  |  Published on EGF: 05.03.2014  |  External Relations  |  from http://www.reuters.com/

The Israeli navy seized a ship in the Red Sea on Wednesday that was carrying dozens of advanced Iranian-supplied rockets made in Syria and intended for Palestinian guerrillas in the Gaza Strip, the military said.

• Date: 05.03.2014  |  Published on EGF: 05.03.2014  |  External Relations  |  from http://www.reuters.com/

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed the situation in Ukraine by telephone on Tuesday and their positions on the issue are "close", the Kremlin said.

• Date: 04.03.2014  |  Published on EGF: 04.03.2014  |  External Relations  |  from http://www.reuters.com/

President Vladimir Putin delivered a robust defense of Russia's actions in Crimea on Tuesday and said he would use force in Ukraine only as a last resort, easing market fears that East-West tension over the former Soviet republic could lead to war.

• Date: 04.03.2014  |  Published on EGF: 04.03.2014  |  External Relations  |  from http://www.reuters.com/

Pro-Russian demonstrators occupied the regional government building in east Ukraine's city of Donetsk on Monday, besieging lawmakers as they voted to support the protesters but stopped short of meeting their demands for a split from Kiev.

• Date: 03.03.2014  |  Published on EGF: 03.03.2014  |  Security  |  from http://www.reuters.com/