Chinese naval vessels were heading for the south Indian Ocean off the Australian coast Thursday after a fresh twist was given to the mystery of the missing Malaysian airliner with Australian authorities reporting that suspicious objects were found in the area.
Kiev will ask the UN to grant the crisis-hit Crimean peninsula the status of a demilitarised area, the Ukrainian foreign ministry said.
The Russian State Duma or lower house of parliament Thursday approved a federal law on the accession of the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, where the Russian Black Sea fleet is based.
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced Thursday that objects possibly related to the Malaysian airliner that went missing March 8 have been found in the southern Indian Ocean.
Pro-Russian forces Wednesday captured the Ukrainian naval headquarters in Crimea even as UN chief Ban Ki-moon got ready for a visit to Russia and Ukraine.
Ukrainian First Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Yarema and Defence Minister Igor Tenyukh have been barred from entering Crimea, the Minister of Social Policy Lyudmila Denisova said Wednesday.