March 9

In a telephone call with British Prime Minister David Cameron, Russian Presiden
t Vladimir Putin said he wanted to find a diplomatic solution to the crisis in Ukr
aine.
* The British PM had called Putin to request him to de-escalate the situation in U
kraine and to support the formation of a contact group that could lead to direct
talks between Moscow and the new leaders in Kiev.
* Cameron had made clear to Putin that Britain, along with its European partners
and the US, want to work with Russia to find a diplomatic solution to the situat
ion in Ukraine, including Crimea.
* The British prime minister told Putin that we recognise the right of all Ukrain
ian people to choose their future and that elections scheduled for May provide the
best way to ensure the elections are free, fair and inclusive.
Inspired by the success of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in India, a party with the sam
e name has been launched in Pakistan. They also have announced a Arvind Kejriwal
-style hunger strike in Lahore next week.
* A group led by Arslan-ul-Mulk, a rights activist from Gujranwala, has register
ed Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) with the election commission of Pakistan. The AAP chair
man said his party has vowed to make Pakistan a country as dreamt by its founder
Mohammed Ali Jinnah.
* Mulk has announced to sit on a hunger strike, a form of pr ry in Moscow, the e
xercises will involve artillery such as rocket launchers and anti-tank weapons.
* This move comes ahead of Crimea's referendum on Sunday on whether to join Russ
ia.
* Ukraine PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk has told the UN Security Council his country is a
victim of Russian aggression.
March 14
A waterless solar powered toilet, developed to help some of the 2.5 billion peo
ple lacking safe and sustainable sanitation around the world, will be unveiled i
n India this month. A USD 777,000 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
aided the development of this toilet. The self-contained, waterless toilet with
its innovative technology converts human waste to biochar, a highly porous char
coal.
* It aims to provide an eco-friendly solution to help some of the 2.5 billion pe
ople around the world lacking safe and sustainable sanitation.
* The toilet has the capability of heating human waste to a high enough temperat
ure to sterilise it and create biochar, a highly porous charcoal, said Karl Lind
en, project principal investigator and professor at the University of Colorado.
The US has lifted a ban on oil giant BP that prevented it from bidding for US g
overnment contracts. The ban was imposed after the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill
, caused by an explosion on BP's Deepwater Horizon rig, which killed 11 people.
* The ban has been lifted in response to the firms agreement to implement a set o
f safety, operations and compliance requirements. BP will also drop its lawsuit
against the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The firm had sued the EPA
after it imposed the ban for "improper statutory disqualification and suspension
".
US Secretary of State John Kerry has been holding talks with his Russian counte
rpart Sergei Lavrov, in London over the fate of Ukraine. They discussed measures
to defuse tension as the disputed referendum in Crimea is about to be conducted
.
* Kerry had earlier warned of very serious steps if Russia annexed the region.
* Meanwhile, Russia insisted at the UN that it did not want war with Ukraine.
March 15

Najib Razak Malaysia expressed doubt that the movement of the missing Fligh
t MH370 with 239 people on board was "consistent with deliberate action by someo
ne on plane." The country has not ruled out a hijack. Prime Minister Najib Razak
said authorities are now trying to trace the plane across two possible corridor
s - in the north to the border of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, and a southern co
rridor from Indonesia to the southern Indian Ocean.
* He said the aircraft's transponder was switched off shortly afterwards when th
e plane was between the border of Malaysian and Vietnamese air traffic control.
"Radar data showed that from this point onwards a plane believed to be MH370 did
turn back and turned back in a westerly direction before turning North West.
A U.N. Security Council draft resolution that declares a planned referendum on
the status of Ukraine's Crimea region "can have no validity" was vetoed by Russi
a.
* Thirteen countries voted in favour of the resolution, Russia against and China
abstained.
* The Russian veto of the draft resolution, drawn up by the United States, was e
xpected. Moscow, which has sent military forces to the Crimea, is backing on Mar
ch 16 referendums, which would transfer control of the region from Ukraine to Ru
ssia.
Thousands of Muscovites took to the streets both for and against President Vlad
imir Putin's policies in Ukraine. This is supposed to be Russias largest oppositi
on protest in almost two years.
* Most Russians strongly back Putin's actions and see Crimea as rightfully part
of Russia. But minorities are horrified, fearing that Putin is risking war with
another Slavic country formerly seen as a brother nation.
* Although smaller than protests that he faced after parliamentary elections in
2011, anti-war rally, which witnesses said attracted around 30,000 people, these
protests have added a new lease of life to anti-Putin protests.
A US grand jury has re-indicted Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade who is accus
ed of visa fraud and underpaying her housekeeper whose arrest strained US-India
relations.
* This comes two days after a US judge relieved her of identical charges on the
grounds that shehad diplomatic immunity. She has always denied any wrongdoing. I
ndia was "disappointed" by the decision.
* Ms. Khobragade was detained in New York in December on suspicion of visa fraud
and making false statements, after being accused of paying her Indian maid belo
w the US minimum wage.
March 16
India and China will hold the third round of th