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Main News of February 28

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A roundup of what has happened in the past 24 hours 28.02.2014, Sputnik International

2014-02-28T20:06+0000

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Main News of February 28

20:06 GMT 28.02.2014

A roundup of what has happened in the past 24 hours

WORLD

* Ukraine’s chief prosecutor asked Russia to extradite deposed Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.

* During a press conference in Russia, ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych lashed out at the West for its support for what he described as the violent usurpers that seized power in his former Soviet nation over the weekend.

* The regional parliament of Crimea, a largely Russian-speaking part of Ukraine, has formed a new Cabinet of ministers, parliamentary speaker Vladimir Konstantinov told reporters.

* A court in Ukraine has dropped criminal charges against former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko over alleged financial abuse at United Energy Systems of Ukraine (UESU), her party announced.

* The interior minister of Ukraine accused Russian troops of blockading an airport in the Crimean city of Sevastopol in what he has described as an armed invasion.

* Switzerland launched a money-laundering investigation into ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and his son after freezing bank accounts belonging to the deposed leader and over a dozen other top Ukrainian officials.

RUSSIA

* Deposed Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych landed at a military airport in southern Russia escorted by fighter jets, a local news agency has reported.

* Lawmakers in Russia introduced a bill in parliament to simplify the absorption of new territories into the country in what will be widely interpreted as a signal that Moscow may be planning to gain control over Ukraine’s mainly ethnic Russian-populated region of Crimea.

* The Russian Foreign Ministry said it has ordered its consulate in Crimea to speed up the issuance of passports and citizenship to members of Ukraine’s elite Berkut riot police.

* A court in Moscow ruled to place outspoken government opponent Alexei Navalny under house arrest and forbid him from using the Internet.

* Russian billionaire environmentalist Gleb Fetisov and former owner of a bank that lost its license last month has been detained in Moscow on suspicion of major fraud.

* Russia has tentatively approved a new agreement to strengthen space ties with Kazakhstan, which currently hosts Russia’s largest launch facility.

* The head of a state investment fund in Russia hailed the country’s leap to third place in foreign direct investment rankings in 2013, up from ninth position the previous year.

DEFENSE

* Russia’s military will invest 2 trillion rubles ($55.3 billion) in building up its aerospace defense weapons over the next six years, defense officials said.

BUSINESS

* Russian state energy giant Rosneft said that it will invest around $83 billion on developing a strategic oil and gas field in Eastern Siberia over the next decade.

* Shares of Russian steel and coking coal giant Mechel plummeted nearly 25 percent in trading in Moscow.