Ukraine is on red alert

After the Russian parliament approved sending more soldiers to the Crimean peninsula, Andriy Parubiy, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, announced Sunday that the Ukrainian Defense Ministry had orders to assemble all soldiers. The new Ukrainian government in Kyiv had already alerted the army on Friday. Since then, Russian forces have effectively occupied the Crimean peninsula.

According to Kyryl Savin, director of the Heinrich Böll Foundation in Kyiv, Ukraine's military mobilization is an attempt to show Russia and the world that Ukraine will not stand by and do nothing while Russia violates its sovereignty. 'But I think it's more of a symbolic gesture,' Savin said. If, however, Russian troops were also to invade south-east Ukraine, that could change quickly: 'I'm pretty sure that this would result in military as well as civil resistance.'

Ukraine's interim head of government, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, said his country was on 'red alert.' He called the Russian parliament's approval of Vladimir Putin's request to send troops to Crimea 'a declaration of war on my country.'

'If Putin wants to be the president who started a war between neighboring and friendly countries, between Ukraine and Russia, then he is only centimeters away from his goal,' Yatsenyuk said. 'We're on the brink of disaster.'

Ukraine's chances against Russia are slim

Experts agree that Ukraine's military doesn't stand much of a chance against Russia. It's also unclear whether the political leaders in Kyiv still have full authority over the Ukrainian army all over the country. According to Russian media reports, many Ukrainian soldiers have defected to the Russian army.

Furthermore, the new Ukrainian leadership has the problem that some important positions in the administration are still held by people who support the pro-Russian position of the deposed president, Viktor Yanukovych. 'These people aren't openly opposing the new leaders in Kyiv, but they're sabotaging their decisions,' Kyryl Savin explains.

The Ukrainian government's influence on the Crimean peninsula seems to be dwindling, not least as a result of the Russian soldiers' deployment. In addition, Sergey Aksyonov, head of the largest pro-Russian party in Crimea, has taken over power on the peninsula. Ukrainian Interior Minister Pavel Petrenko declared the new leadership on the Crimean peninsula illegitimate.

Russian media agitate against Kyiv

The new Crimean government wants to give people there the chance to decide on the peninsula's autonomous status in a referendum on March 30. In the most extreme case, this could lead to secession from Ukraine.

The majority of the Crimean population are ethnically Russian, and many people living there are getting their information from Russian media. 'Russian media outlets are agitating against the current government in Kyiv and are whipping up panic,' Felix Schimansky-Geier, a German political scientist at the National University of Kyiv's Mohyla Academy told DW. 'The people are being influenced by this.'

A controversial language law, which had aimed to abolish Russian as the second official language in Ukraine, has now been scrapped. The Russian-speaking population would have seen it as a provocation, which is why the EU was in favor of keeping the current language laws.

Pakistan’s fragile ceasefire with the Taliban

At least 11 people, including a session court judge, were killed in bomb attacks in the capital Islamabad on March 3 (main picture). It was the first such incident after the Pakistani Taliban - also known as the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) - announced a month-long ceasefire on Saturday, March 1, to facilitate peace talks with the Pakistani government.

The negotiations between Islamabad and the Islamist insurgents formally began last month. But they came to an abrupt halt after the Taliban continued to attack civilians and security forces. The government responded by striking the militants' hideouts in the restive North Waziristan region, which borders Afghanistan, killing scores of insurgents.

On March 1, TTP spokesman Shahidullah Shahid told the media that he had called on all 'comrades to respect the decision and refrain from any activity during the ceasefire period.' Pakistani authorities hailed Shahid's statement and said they would reciprocate the gesture by immediately stopping the 'surgical strikes' against the extremists, thus raising hopes that the seven-year-long violent Islamist insurgency in Pakistan would finally come to an end.

Rahimullah Yusufzai, a member of the government's negotiation team, told AFP that the possibility of resuming peace talks had increased. 'A ceasefire was the demand of the government ... But it should be effective, and there should be no attacks.'

Can the Taliban be trusted?

But Monday's attack on an Islamabad court has once again raised doubts about the outlawed TTP's intentions. Many in Pakistan believe the Taliban are not serious about peace and that the truce announcement is only a tactic to avoid the military strikes and win more time to regroup after suffering heavy losses in the Pakistani Air Force's recent bombings in their northwestern strongholds.

Nasir Tufail, a journalist working for a private TV channel in Karachi, says he has no faith in Shahid or the TTP. 'The militants will not cease the attacks. They are deceiving everyone. The only way to deal with them is through power,' Tufail told DW.

The journalist criticized Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's government for lacking a 'proper policy' to tackle the issue of terrorism in the country. The government's approach towards the Taliban is reactionary, he said, as Islamabad simply limits itself to respond to the insurgents' attacks. 'This shows how clueless the government is,' Tufail said.

The journalist believes the ceasefire won't last for long and that Islamabad will eventually have to go after the Taliban. 'The Pakistani people gave Sharif a mandate for peace and not for truce with the Taliban in the May 2013 election. There won't be any peace if the PM keeps giving concessions to the Islamists,' Tufail said, adding that he had no doubt that most Pakistanis would support an all-out military offensive against the Islamists.

Rallying support

Last week, hundreds of thousands of Karachi residents participated in an anti-Taliban rally demanding that the central government launch a decisive military action to uproot the fundamentalists. The so-called 'solidarity rally' was organized by the liberal Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) party, which has a big support in the Islamic Republic's southern urban cities.

Saman Jafri, one of the rally organizers and a member of parliament, says that Pakistan's progressive parties must unite against the religious fanatics if they want their country to survive. 'We are pro-Pakistan and anti-Taliban, and we stand behind the security forces who are fighting the militants and sacrificing their lives. It is now or never, and the people have said 'no' to extremism,' Jafri told DW.

'The Taliban threat should be taken seriously,' Abdul Hai, a veteran human rights activist in Karachi, told DW. 'We see that the Taliban influence is growing, and it means that a huge disaster is in the making.' This view is shared by Nizamuddin Nizamani, a political analyst and researcher, who argues that the government shouldn't negotiate with 'terrorists.'

'No harm in negotiating'

In last year's parliamentary elections, the liberal Pakistan People's Party - which preferred military action against the Taliban over peace talks - was voted out of power. The parties that supported a dialogue with Islamists won the elections by a big margin.

Sharif, who returned to power for the third time as PM, made clear his government would not follow the anti-terrorism policy of former president Asif Ali Zaradari and would instead try to make peace with militants. Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, whose party rules the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, is also a big supporter of the talks.

Lahore-based political commentator Aamir Khakwani points out that there is no harm in negotiating with the pro-peace members of a militant group. 'The talks are aimed at ending violence and forcing the Taliban to lay down their weapons, not to legitimize them,' Khakwani told DW.

At least 11 people, including a session court judge, were killed in bomb attacks in the capital Islamabad on March 3 (main picture). It was the first such incident after the Pakistani Taliban - also known as the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) - announced a month-long ceasefire on Saturday, March 1, to facilitate peace talks with the Pakistani government.

The negotiations between Islamabad and the Islamist insurgents formally began last month. But they came to an abrupt halt after the Taliban continued to attack civilians and security forces. The government responded by striking the militants' hideouts in the restive North Waziristan region, which borders Afghanistan, killing scores of insurgents.

On March 1, TTP spokesman Shahidullah Shahid told the media that he had called on all 'comrades to respect the decision and refrain from any activity during the ceasefire period.' Pakistani authorities hailed Shahid's statement and said they would reciprocate the gesture by immediately stopping the 'surgical strikes' against the extremists, thus raising hopes that the seven-year-long violent Islamist insurgency in Pakistan would finally come to an end.

Rahimullah Yusufzai, a member of the government's negotiation team, told AFP that the possibility of resuming peace talks had increased. 'A ceasefire was the demand of the government ... But it should be effective, and there should be no attacks.'

Can the Taliban be trusted?

But Monday's attack on an Islamabad court has once again raised doubts about the outlawed TTP's intentions. Many in Pakistan believe the Taliban are not serious about peace and that the truce announcement is only a tactic to avoid the military strikes and win more time to regroup after suffering heavy losses in the Pakistani Air Force's recent bombings in their northwestern strongholds.

Nasir Tufail, a journalist working for a private TV channel in Karachi, says he has no faith in Shahid or the TTP. 'The militants will not cease the attacks. They are deceiving everyone. The only way to deal with them is through power,' Tufail told DW.

The journalist criticized Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's government for lacking a 'proper policy' to tackle the issue of terrorism in the country. The government's approach towards the Taliban is reactionary, he said, as Islamabad simply limits itself to respond to the insurgents' attacks. 'This shows how clueless the government is,' Tufail said.

The journalist believes the ceasefire won't last for long and that Islamabad will eventually have to go after the Taliban. 'The Pakistani people gave Sharif a mandate for peace and not for truce with the Taliban in the May 2013 election. There won't be any peace if the PM keeps giving concessions to the Islamists,' Tufail said, adding that he had no doubt that most Pakistanis would support an all-out military offensive against the Islamists.

Rallying support

Last week, hundreds of thousands of Karachi residents participated in an anti-Taliban rally demanding that the central government launch a decisive military action to uproot the fundamentalists. The so-called 'solidarity rally' was organized by the liberal Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) party, which has a big support in the Islamic Republic's southern urban cities.

Saman Jafri, one of the rally organizers and a member of parliament, says that Pakistan's progressive parties must unite against the religious fanatics if they want their country to survive. 'We are pro-Pakistan and anti-Taliban, and we stand behind the security forces who are fighting the militants and sacrificing their lives. It is now or never, and the people have said 'no' to extremism,' Jafri told DW.

'The Taliban threat should be taken seriously,' Abdul Hai, a veteran human rights activist in Karachi, told DW. 'We see that the Taliban influence is growing, and it means that a huge disaster is in the making.' This view is shared by Nizamuddin Nizamani, a political analyst and researcher, who argues that the government shouldn't negotiate with 'terrorists.'

'No harm in negotiating'

In last year's parliamentary elections, the liberal Pakistan People's Party - which preferred military action against the Taliban over peace talks - was voted out of power. The parties that supported a dialogue with Islamists won the elections by a big margin.

Sharif, who returned to power for the third time as PM, made clear his government would not follow the anti-terrorism policy of former president Asif Ali Zaradari and would instead try to make peace with militants. Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, whose party rules the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, is also a big supporter of the talks.

Lahore-based political commentator Aamir Khakwani points out that there is no harm in negotiating with the pro-peace members of a militant group. 'The talks are aimed at ending violence and forcing the Taliban to lay down their weapons, not to legitimize them,' Khakwani told DW.

China to overtake US as main recipient of German electric exports

A ten-year market survey by the German Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers\' Association (ZVEI) revealed Monday China had become more and more important as an importer of German goods in the sector over the past decade.

The study said German electrical companies posted an overall export volume of 158.3 billion euros ($218.1 billion) in 2013, compared with 128.6 billion euros back in 2004.

Last year, exports to China surged to 13.1 billion euros, just below the 11.2 billion euros worth of electrical and electronic goods shipped to the United States, with ZVEI expecting the Asian nation to overtake the US in the course of this year for the first time.

Reshuffle at the top

Back in 2004, the top export market for German firms in the sector was France, followed by Britain and the US, the study said.

But while France had continued importing an almost unchanged volume of 11.5 billion euros annually, it had dropped to third place by 2013 because of German companies' far bigger overall exports.

ZVEI noted the current three importers accounted for over a quarter of German exports, with another 30 percent going to the UK, Austria, the Netherlands and seven other mainly European nations.

Fear and anger as China reflects on attack

Defiant residents of the Chinese city where 29 people died in a mass stabbing queued to donate blood Monday, while others vented anger at what authorities say was a terrorist attack by separatists from Xinjiang.

Chinese Internet users accused the US of double standards after Washington condemned the bloody rampage in Kunming by knife-wielding attackers but refrained from calling it a terrorist incident. More than 130 were injured.

Officials have blamed separatists from Xinjiang, the far western Chinese region home to the mostly Muslim Uighur ethnic minority.

Foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang told reporters: "Some East Turkestan flags were found on the scene," referring to a group Beijing regards as a separatist terrorist movement.

Hong Kong broadcaster Phoenix TV showed images of a dark blue flag embroidered with the Islamic declaration of faith, said to have been found by police.

In Kunming, a taxi driver said she would stay away from the train station where the violence occurred, underscoring the tense sense of fear in the southwestern city.

She then launched into an anti-Uighur tirade.

"I won't let them into my taxi. They are all drug addicts and everyone outside Xinjiang distrusts them," she said, refusing to give her name.

"They are trouble. Most people thought like this before, so you can imagine what people think now," she added, pounding her steering wheel for emphasis.

Xinjiang is periodically hit by violent clashes between members of the Uighur minority and security forces, which China blames on terrorist groups seeking independence for the region.

But attacks targeting civilians are rarer and almost unheard of in Yunnan province, which is more than 1,600 kilometres (1,000 miles) from Xinjiang and a popular tourist destination.

The attack, which prompted shock and outrage nationwide, has been dubbed "China's 9/11" by state media and security has been tightened at transport terminals across the country.

It came just days before the annual meeting of China's parliament. An associated debating chamber session opened Monday with a period of silence for the victims.

Police maintained a prominent presence on the streets of Kunming, two days after attackers slashed indiscriminately at people queueing to buy tickets at the busy railway terminal.

Armed guards remained on duty at the station, although the temporary waiting area that was sealed off Sunday had reopened.

- 'Too much pain' -

Outside the large open shelter where witnesses said the carnage began, people laid flowers and wreaths around a few dozen burnt-out candles left over from a vigil the previous night. Plainclothes security patrolled the area.

Three kilometres (two miles) away in Kunming's eastern suburbs, around 50 people queued to give blood at a temporary donation centre.

"I came here to donate blood... because these terrorists are too cruel as they inflicted too much pain on the common people," said Hu Jiaquan, 35, as he waited to give his first ever donation.

"All citizens should use (our) own strength to defeat these extremists," he added.

Another donor, Yin Jiang, told AFP: "They are so cruel that they took action against elderly, women and children."

The US embassy in China said on social media that it condemned the "terrible and senseless act of violence in Kunming" and expressed condolences to those affected by what it called a "tragedy".

But thousands of Chinese Internet users slammed the US for refusing to follow China in defining the attack as terrorism, comparing the knifings to last year's bombing of the Boston Marathon as well as to 9/11.

"Would Americans say the same thing about similar attacks on their own territory?" Ma Xiaolin, a website administrator, asked in a typical comment on Sina Weibo, a Chinese equivalent of Twitter.

Xinjiang already has a heavy police presence. Analysts say any crackdown by authorities, coupled with public anger at Uighurs, could lead to increased repression of the minority, potentially locking China into a vicious cycle of increasing violence.

Dilshat Raxit, a spokesman for the World Uyghur Congress, an exile group that Beijing says supports terrorism, expressed fears Monday that the attack would be used as "a new political excuse to suppress Uighurs".

Libya relocates parliament after attack

Libya's interim parliament is moving to a different location after it came under attack by protesters and armed rioters that killed one guard and injured six lawmakers.

Hussein al-Ansari told The Associated Press on Monday that the parliament will now hold its sessions in a five-star hotel in downtown Tripoli, after month-long tensions between the country's biggest political blocs and their militias hit a new high on Sunday.

Protesters, many of them angry at growing violence, especially in the eastern part of the country, have demanded parliament disband since its mandate expired last month. On Sunday they stormed the parliament while it was in session, torched lawmakers' vehicles and furniture.

Security official Essam al-Naass says one guard was killed while trying to rescue workers held inside the parliament.

Polish official in 'Heil Hitler' outburst quits party roles

Statement from Tusk's Civic Platform party says Protasiewicz informed PM of his resignation & it was accepted. PHOTO: REUTERS

WARSAW: A senior politician with Poland’s ruling party accused of drunkenly shouting “Heil Hitler!” at a German customs officer apologized on Friday and stepped down as head of his party’s group in the European parliament.

Jacek Protasiewicz, by his own account, drank two bottles of wine on a flight from Warsaw to Frankfurt, and then got into an argument with the customs officer as he tried to leave the airport terminal.

The incident heaped embarrassment on Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who has tried to build a new partnership with Berlin by putting to one side animosities that still linger after Germany’s occupation of Poland in World War Two.

A statement from Tusk’s Civic Platform party said Protasiewicz had informed the prime minister of his resignation from his roles as head of the party campaign for the European parliament election in May, and as leader of the Civic Platform faction in the European parliament.

“The resignation was accepted,” the statement said.

It was not immediately clear if Protasiewicz would be able to continue in another role, as vice president of the European Parliament. Tusk said this week that Protasiewicz’s behavior at the airport had been unacceptable.

In a statement issued through Poland’s state news agency on Friday, Protasiewicz offered apologies to anyone for whom “my inappropriate behavior caused distress.”

Germany’s Bild tabloid quoted eyewitnesses as saying Protasiewicz had been drunk when he landed at Frankfurt airport, shouted “Heil Hitler!” at the customs officer and asked: “Have you ever been to Auschwitz?”

Protasiewicz had earlier this week defended himself, saying the customs official provoked him by addressing him rudely and shoving him.

I’m with the times, not behind: Hooda

For Highway, he prepared for his role with such sincerity that in order to keep the initial distance with Alia Bhatt’s character, Randeep Hooda didn’t speak to her for 25 days. PHOTO: FILE

NEW DELHI: Randeep Hooda may not be a quintessential Bollywood hero, but the tall and handsome actor sweeps you off your feet as a rough-around-the-edges yet affable villain in Highway. Conscious of the fact that he cannot compete with the ‘Rajs’ and ‘Prems’ of Hindi cinema, the actor acknowledges that there is enough space for him to show his creativity in both commercial and parallel cinemas.

“A Bollywood hero, for most people, has been a Raj, a Rahul or a Prem… it’s now a part of the psyche. Earlier, there were bigger superstars playing the lead roles, the hero was different – a clean, good guy. But I never adhered to it,” said Randeep.

If Imtiaz Ali’s fresh approach to Highway affirms the director’s creativity, the way Randeep carries his role in the road movie reflects his command over his skills, and shows why actors with a theatre background have something different about them.

“I have been working relentlessly and equally hard on all my films throughout my career. But I knew that working with a name like Imtiaz will give me an audience of a lot more people,” said the actor.

“A lot more people have watched Highway; it has a wider and more urban audience. I have received great feedback for the film. Lots of people have said it’s the ‘redefining Randeep Hooda performance’,” he added.

The 37-year-old, who leaves a lasting impression as Mahabir Bhati, a violent kidnapper with the vulnerability of a child in Highway, says: “The hero is changing in Bollywood and I approach a role by focussing on his weaknesses. I feel the weaknesses of a character to make them more alive, relatable and human. Gladly, that’s gaining acceptance among viewers these days and the success of Highway is proof. In that sense, I am glad that I am with the times, and not behind,” he added.

As a big screen performer, Randeep began his tryst with Mira Nair’s Monsoon Wedding in 2001. Following that, he featured in D, Ru Ba Ru, Love Khichdi and the likes. But he reinvented himself with 2010 film Once Upon A Time In Mumbai, in which he played a cop and the role truly brought Randeep to the forefront.

“It was a very well-packaged movie with the likes of actors like Ajay Devgn and Emraan Hashmi playing key roles. I had myself put this roadblock in my mind about not choosing commercial films, but with Once Upon A Time In Mumbai, I realised the importance of being able to do all kinds of movies,” he said.

It was then that Randeep stepped out of his comfort zone and did Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster,Jannat 2, Jism 2, Heroine and Murder 3.

“I saw the reach of these films and saw what being a part of songs can do to you. You get recognised for your work, and I guess this whole idealism about not doing songs or commercial cinema is hogwash. Every actor’s deepest desire is to reach a huge audience. So, I don’t look down upon commercial cinema…there’s a beauty in it that you understand sooner or later,” he said.