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QUOTE OF THE DAY

“That is Putin’s personal opinion. He’s a very wise man, but we have decided to do things our own way:To become the Donetsk Republic.”

Ludmila Radchenko, a resident of Donetsk, Ukraine, after Russian President Vladimir Putin called for a referendum on autonomy in the region to be postponed

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Collector’s trove left to Swiss museum

BERLIN — A museum in Switzerland said Wednesday that it has been named the “unrestricted and unfettered sole heir” of a German art collector whose priceless hoard of long-hidden artworks last year set off an uproar over the fate of art looted by the Nazis.

The Kunstmuseum Bern, in the Swiss capital, said it was “surprised and delighted” at the appointment, of which it was informed by Cornelius Gurlitt’s lawyer, Christoph Edel. The museum said it had never previously had any dealings with Gurlitt, who died at age 81 at his Munich apartment Tuesday.

Gurlitt’s spokesman, Stephan Holzinger, said it was up to the Munich district court to determine whether there is a valid will.

German investigators seized more than 1,000 artworks from Gurlitt’s Munich apartment two years ago after chancing upon the trove of paintings, prints and drawings by masters such as Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse and Marc Chagall.

Gurlitt initially insisted that he had rightfully inherited all of the works from his father, Hildebrand Gurlitt, who at one point had acted as an art dealer for the Nazis.

But after months of legal wrangling, Gurlitt agreed last month to a deal with the German government under which experts would check whether any of the works he owned were looted by the Nazis. All works cleared of suspicion would be returned to Gurlitt. The Bavarian Justice Ministry said Tuesday that the deal would be binding on all possible heirs.

S. Korea detains ferry firm’s president

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korean prosecutors today detained the head of the company that owns the ferry that sank last month over an allegation of cargo overloading. Authorities believe improper stowage and overloading of cargo are one possible reason the ferry sank April 16, leaving more than 300 people dead or missing. Four employees of the ferry’s owner, Chonghaejin Marine Co. Ltd, who handled cargo on the Sewol, have already been arrested. Kim Han-sik, president of Chonghaejin, was detained today on allegations that he was aware that the ferry exceeded its cargo limit but didn’t do anything before it started its trip, according to senior prosecutor Yang Jung-jin. Yang said prosecutors are investigating Kim’s actions before deciding if they will request a court to issue a warrant to formally arrest him. All 15 surviving crew members involved in the ferry’s navigation have been arrested, accused of negligence and failing to protect passengers.

4 from Miami held in Cuba ‘terror’ case

HAVANA — Four Cuban exiles from Miami have been detained on the island and accused of planning “terrorist actions,” Havana authorities said Wednesday.

The Interior Ministry said the men were taken into custody April 26 and alleged that their targets were military. Few details were released, and it was not clear why it took so long to make the arrests public.

The statement listed the detained men as Jose Ortega Amador, Obdulio Rodriguez Gonzalez, Raibel Pacheco Santos and Felix Monzon Alvarez.

None are well-known within the exile community in South Florida, but Cuba claimed they were acting on orders from others who do have a history of militancy. Pacheco had been part of a tiny exile group called Fuerza Cuban de Liberacion Inc., defunct since 2010.

Oil rig raises China-Vietnam tension

HANOI, Vietnam — Chinese ships have been ramming into and firing water cannons at Vietnamese vessels trying to stop Beijing from putting an oil rig in the South China Sea, according to officials and video footage Wednesday.

Several boats have been damaged and at least six Vietnamese on board them have been injured, officials said. The U.S. said it was strongly concerned by “dangerous conduct” in the area.

China’s deployment of the oil rig on May 1 and the flotilla of escort ships, some armed, is seen as one of its most provocative steps in a gradual campaign of asserting its sovereignty in the South China Sea.

After China stationed the oil rig, Vietnam immediately dispatched marine police and fishery protection vessels but they were harassed as they approached, said Ngo Ngoc Thu, vice commander of Vietnam’s coast guard.

Video was shown at the news conference of Chinese ships ramming into Vietnamese vessels and firing high-powered water cannons at them. Thu said the Chinese vessels have done so “dozens” of times over the last three days. He said Vietnam had not carried out any offensive actions of its own close to the rig, around 140 miles off the Vietnamese coast.

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