Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov met for the first time with his Ukrainian counterpart, Andriy Deshchytsia, about Russia’s occupation of Crimea. The meeting took place in The Hague on the outskirts of the meeting of the G7 leaders – notably no longer the G8. (Russia said it is unbothered by its exclusion from the group.) Over the past few days, Russian forces have seized Ukrainian military bases in Crimea. A monitoring mission from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) is headed for Ukraine, though Moscow will not allow them in Crimea, which it now claims is part of Russia.
Russian authorities have blocked several independent websites and are proposing new laws that would further restrict freedom of expression. These moves, together with the detention of hundreds of peaceful protesters since early March, are part of a new crackdown on free expression and assembly.New satellite imagery, videos and eyewitness accounts reveal the indiscriminate nature of the government’s large-scale air campaign which has killed hundreds of civilians and driven thousands from their homes. Evidence indicates that the government’s preferred weapons are barrel bombs, often made from large oil drums or gas cylinders that are filled with high explosives and scrap metal and then dropped from helicopters.
Egypt sentenced 529 supports of the Muslim Brotherhood to death. More than 600 additional supporters are slated to go on trial tomorrow. In other Egypt news, the country's court denied bail for three of the Al Jazeera journalists jailed for spreading false news and belonging to a “terrorist group.” One year after a coup in the Central African Republic by the Seleka rebel coalition, international efforts to address the crisis remain woefully inadequate and the crisis remains dire. Chinese President Xi Jinping will make his first visit to France as president this week.
