The world in brief

Monday, March 17, 2014

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“This will end up in military action, in which peaceful people will suffer.And that

means everybody. Shells and bullets are blind.” Vasyl Ovcharuk, a Ukrainian retiree who refused to vote in Sunday’s referendum, in which Crimea residents voted to secede from Ukraine and join Russia Article, 1AU.S. delivers 100 Hellfire missiles to Iraq

BAGHDAD - The United States delivered 100 Hellfire missiles, along with assault rifles and ammunition, to Iraq as part of its anti-terrorism assistance to the country, the U.S. Embassy in Iraq said Sunday.

In a statement, it said the delivery was made earlier this month in order to help bolster Iraq forces fighting a breakaway al-Qaida group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

“It is essential that Iraqi Security Forces are equipped with modern and effective weaponry given the serious threat … the ISIL now poses to Iraq and the region,” said the statement, which also promised to send more weapons to Iraq in the coming weeks.

It added that since mid-January, Iraqi security forces had received more than 11 million rounds of ammunition, and thousands of machine guns, sniper rifles, assault rifles and grenades.

Meanwhile, two police officials said a suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden car into a joint security patrol near Ramadi on Sunday afternoon, killing three policemen and two soldiers.

Both officers spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Japanese family unites after abduction

TOKYO - The parents of a Japanese woman abducted by North Korea in 1977 have met their Korean-born granddaughter for the first time.

The Japanese Foreign Ministry confirmed Sunday that Shigeru Yokota and his wife, Sakie, spent time with Kim Un Kyong last week in Ulan Bator, Mongolia. Kim is 26 years old, Japanese media said.

Kim’s mother, Megumi Yokota, was kidnapped in Japan when she was 13. She is thought to have married a South Korean man, Kim Young-nam, who also was abducted by North Korea.

North Korea says Yokota has died, but Japan says North Korea has yet to provide definitive proof.

North Korea abducted at least 17 Japanese in the 1970s and 1980s, according to Japan. Five were allowed to return in 2002.

Iran: Deal not expected in nuclear talks

TEHRAN, Iran - Iran’s foreign minister said Sunday that his country does not expect to cement a final deal in the coming round of nuclear talks with world powers.

Mohammad Javad Zarif spoke to reporters after meeting his Belorussian visiting counterpart, Vladimir Makei.

“We don’t expect to reach a deal in this round of talks.

Nor was a deal on the agenda for this round of talks. We have agreed to discuss a number of issues in this round,” Zarif said.

Zarif said Tehran and world powers will discuss “dimensions” of Iran’s nuclear activities such as uranium enrichment, a heavy water reactor and sanctions in the Tuesday and Wednesday talks in Vienna.

Iran capped uranium enrichment after a deal in November for a six-month period, in return for easing sanctions by the West.

That interim agreement is meant to lead to a final accord that minimizes any potential Iranian nuclear-weapons threat in return for a full lifting of sanctions.

Latvians celebrate Nazi allies from WWII

RIGA, Latvia - About 1,500 Latvians on Sunday celebrated Legionnaires Day - which their government abolished in 2000 - by paying tribute to World War II veterans who fought alongside Nazi troops.

After a church service in the Lutheran Cathedral in Riga, the capital, the marchers went to the Freedom Monument, where they laid roses in the red and white colors of the Latvian flag, closely watched by police and security guards.

A few dozen anti-fascist demonstrators, including from Germany and Latvia’s Russian-speaking minority, protested at a nearby park behind police barricades, shouting: “Shame!” and “Fascism will never end!”

Former Environment Minister Einars Cilinskis, of the right-wing National Alliance, who was dismissed Friday for announcing he would participate in the procession, ignored Prime Minister Laimdota Straujuma’s orders not to attend.

Many Latvians honor war veterans on Legionnaires Day, but ethnic Russians who account for about one-third of Latvia’s 2.3 million population, see it as glorifying fascism.

Front Section, Pages 6 on 03/17/2014