Tears As Castaway Meets Dead Mate's Mum

The Salvadoran fisherman who says he drifted at sea for more than a year has had an emotional meeting with the family of his shipmate who died during the ordeal.

Jose Salvador Alvarenga travelled to Mexico on Friday to meet the parents and siblings of 24-year-old Ezequiel Cordova.

Surrounded by journalists, the castaway wept as he embraced his shipmate's mother, Roselia Diaz Cueto.

She told him: "I would've liked to have welcomed my son like this".

Choking back the tears, Mr Alvarenga replied: "It fills with happiness to be with my friend's mother."

Mr Alvarenga told Roselia Diaz Cueto her son "gave me strength"

Ms Cueto says her son was the second child she has lost at sea.

Mr Alvarenga washed ashore in the Marshall Islands in January, claiming to have spent 13 months adrift in a small fishing boat.

The 37-year-old says he set off on a fishing trip from Mexico's Pacific coast in late 2012 before becoming lost and drifting some 8,000 miles (12,900 km).

Mr Alvarenga stunned the world after drifting ashore earlier this year

He says his shipmate died some four months into the ordeal, not being able to stomach their diet of urine, turtle blood, raw fish and bird flesh.

The castaway said the pair had made a pact that if one survived they would meet the other's family.

After the meeting on Saturday Mr Alvarenga said: "This gives me some peace, because in my dreams, he asked me to speak with his mother."

Ms Cueto says her son was the second child she has lost at sea

He later held a private meeting with the family to recount the painful memories of his friend's last days at sea.

He said the pair suffered from hunger and would often pray to God.

The family live in the small fishing village of El Fortin, where Mr Cordova's mother said her son learnt to be a fisherman at eight years old.

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Giddy Up: Stranded Horse Gets 150ft Airlift

Video has emerged of a horse being airlifted to safety after a hiking accident in California.

Vets tranquilised the stranded horse before putting it in a harness.

A helicopter crew then hoisted the animal 150 feet into the air and carried it three miles to safety.

The horse and a woman were left stranded after falling 50 feet in the Angeles National Forest while hiking.

The horse was tranquilised and then treated for its injuries

The woman survived, although her condition is unknown.

The horse was treated for its injuries.

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Missing Plane: Grief And Anger Among Families

By Jonathan Samuels, in Beijing

The revelation that "deliberate action" diverted flight MH370 has only increased the anxiety of families gathered at a hotel near Beijing airport.

Relatives of passengers from the missing jet watched a big screen, listening intently as the Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak spoke. Nearly two thirds of the passengers on board the Boeing 777 were Chinese.

Crammed into the ballroom of the Lido Hotel I saw some cling onto each other for comfort. I also witnessed one young man shaking uncontrollably throughout.

Amongst them the mother of student Lin Annan. She did not want to give me her name but with tears streaming down her face she said: "There's something I really want to say to my son. I love you.  All of us love you."

The 27-year-old was returning home from studying.

"Most of all I'm hoping for a miracle to bring everybody back safely. All of them," his mother added.

You would imagine the potential of foul play would make her full of anger. Incredibly that is not the case. She told me: "We raised our child to be someone useful to our family, to society, and the world. I think we shouldn't react with hatred or revenge."

As the news conference ended the blank screen was met with blank faces. "What does it all mean?" they said to each other.

Wang Le's mother was on the plane. The well-educated 27-year-old is engaged to a journalist. Now they find themselves at the heart of a story she would normally be reporting on.

He showed me the last message his mother, Zhang Chi, sent him before take-off. "Can we meet up when I get back to Beijing?" she wrote.

"She is a good mother," he said. "We have good relationship, like friends, we talk about everything."

A massive search is taking place for the missing plane

Instead of planning his marriage, he's now comforting his father.

"Every evening I have dinner with my father. Now it's only us in our house. He talks about my mother, and sometimes he cries. He tells stories I've not heard before. He talks about my mum everyday".

Conspiracy theories have inevitably emerged, and some in the hotel openly suggested foul play.

Wen Wancheng's son was on board the jet, and he said afterwards: "I feel (Malaysia Airlines) had a role to play in this incident." He called the disappearance "a conspiracy … from the beginning".

Malaysia Airlines representatives held a two-hour meeting with relatives earlier on Saturday, and speaking afterwards several said they remain frustrated with the lack of definite information.

One woman said: "I'm very disappointed in all of them," a reference to both the airline and the Chinese and Malaysian governments. "They haven't told us anything. I'm anxious. Extremely anxious."

The possibility of a hijack scenario gives the relatives the slightest glimmer of hope. But it also means they remain in agonising limbo.

And added to that, the revelation someone on board was probably responsible for their pain.

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Crimea Vote Fuels Fear Of Discrimination

When the polls open in Crimea today there will be some voters staying away - Tatars living outside of the region.

Most are refusing to return to take part in the referendum on joining the Russian Federation, insisting the poll is illegal.

 Elvina Musaeva, a young Tatar who has moved to the capital Kiev to study, says: "I have Crimean residency, but I will not vote for sure. The referendum is not legitimate. The decision is already made. This is a political issue."

The friends she is sharing dinner with in a restaurant in the capital all agree that the result of the referendum is a forgone conclusion.

The balance of the population in Crimea favours Russia. But it's a painful history under a former Soviet leader which makes them fear what may happen now.

Elnara Abdullaiera says the forced deportation of Tatars by Stalin in 1944 has left a permanent psychological scar.

After accusing them of colluding with the Nazi, Stalin banished hundreds of thousands of her people.

Crimean Tatars during rallies in Simferopol last month

Elnara says: "They cannot face deportation again. They cannot bear to moved again. Many lost everything."

After seeing the violent clashes in Crimea on television, Elnara begged her mother to leave the region.

"I feel the danger. I am afraid for the life of my mother, afraid for the life of my father," she says.

"But my mother says I don't want to live anywhere else. This is my home. I don't want to go to another place. My mother says this is our homeland."

Many families lost properties, money and livelihoods during the mass deportations. Only returning decades after to try to rebuild their lives.

There's no doubt that experience feeds into their determination to stay in Crimea and fuels their antipathy of the Russian government.

Crimean expert Natalya Berlitser says Tatars are right to be wary.

Tatars say they are afraid of impending Russian control

She believes if the referendum goes Russia's way, which seems certain, then over time they will face discrimination, especially as they have been openly critical of President Putin's move.

"We have to remember the history with Russia," she says.

"My concern for the Crimean Tatars is that in the initial period there will not be any drastic measures against them. But when the world turns away, when the international protectors of Ukraine's independence like the US and the UK get distracted by other crises, when they look away, then they (the Tatars) will become targets."

That's a worrying scenario for Tatars inside and away from Crimea.

They acknowledge that their failure to vote will make the backing for Russia seems all the stronger. But they are resigned to a result that can only cause problems for them.

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Ukraine Accuses Russia Of 'Military Invasion'

Tensions High For Controversial Crimea Vote

Updated: 4:38pm UK, Sunday 16 March 2014

By Nick Martin, News Correspondent in Simferopol

The Crimean people are voting in a referendum widely expected to transfer control of the Black Sea region from Ukraine to Moscow, despite an outcry and threat of sanctions from the West.

The vote, dismissed by Kiev and Western governments as illegal, has triggered the worst East-West crisis since the Cold War and marks a new peak in turmoil in Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has reiterated the referendum complies with international law and promised to "respect" the outcome of the vote on whether to join Russia.

But the build up of Russian forces in the region has fuelled claims the poll is being conducted "at the barrel of a gun", although Crimea's new pro-Moscow Prime Minister Sergei Aksyonov insisted the vote would be "open and transparent".

As people were casting their ballots the Ukrainian and Russian defence ministries announced a truce in the region until March 21.

Cossacks and pro-Moscow militias were seen patrolling some polling stations and Russian flags were seen flying across the area. No violence has been reported so far.

Voting will end at 6pm UK time and early results are expected later on Sunday evening.

More than 20,000 Russian troops are now stationed in Crimea, troop movements Ukraine has called an invasion.

The country's interim Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, announced a call-up to try and raise 20,000 men, vowing to bring to justice those he said were trying to destroy Ukrainian independence "under the cover of Russian troops".

The unrest follows events in November when the now ousted President Viktor Yanukovych walked out on a trade deal with the European Union in favour of closer ties with Russia, sparking violent protests in Kiev.

The vote has split even the closest-knit families, many of whom say they want their peninsula to be governed in different ways. Elena Kruglova, 26, said Crimea should remain part of Ukraine, while her mother Lyna Losyeva is staunchly pro-Russian.

She said: "Two weeks to organise a referendum doesn't give people the chance to make a proper decision.

"At the moment, the way the referendum works there are two choices, Russia, or Russia. We are not being given the option to stay the way we are."

But her mother, who remembers being part of the former Soviet Union until Ukraine gained independence in 1991, disagrees.

She said: "I was born in a time when there was no difference between Russia and Ukraine and in the Soviet Union we didn't feel any differences.

"But my daughter was born in a different time.

"What do I expect from Russia? I expect that Russia will listen to us, to Crimean people because for 23 years Ukraine didn't listen to us."

As voting was taking place, protests broke out against the redeployment of Ukrainian troops and armoured vehicles in the eastern cities of Kharkiv, Donetsk and Luhansk, according to eyewitnesses.

Thousands of pro-Russian protesters in Donetsk expressed support for the vote and pushed for their own referendum. The security headquarters and the prosecutor's office there have been stormed, according to reports.

Despite Russian's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry talking daily since the crisis began, a diplomatic solution has not been reached.

In a phone call after voting got under way, the pair agreed to work on constitutional reform in Ukraine as a way of solving the crisis.

Johannes Anderson, an expert in Crimean affairs, believes Russia has a "grand plan" for Crimea. He said: "I think there's been a long-time dream for Russia to reincorporate Crimea into the Greater Russian empire.

"This is a broader trend of Russia pushing its imperial ambitions.

"Ukraine has been growing and emerging as an economy in recent years and this is Russia attempting to destabilise that growth and stamp its authority on the region."

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Missing Plane: 'Evidence Points To Hijack'

Efforts to divert the missing Malaysia Airlines plane needed "preparation and forethought" and appear to have been part of a hijack, aviation security experts have told Sky News.

While Malaysian authorities are refusing to say publicly that a hijack is the most likely scenario, the country's prime minister confirmed the plane had been deliberately diverted and its communications cut.

The Boeing 777-200 was heading from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board last Saturday when it disappeared around 40 minutes into its flight.

And experts say the fact Flight MH370 vanished in a so-called 'dead space' area - when Malaysian air traffic controllers handed over control to their Vietnamese counterparts - appears a crucial factor in the mystery.

John Lindsay, former head of air safety at British Airways, said this would have been the "ideal" time to take over the aircraft "because it would give a period of time when no one was aware of what the aircraft was doing".

He said this and the disabling of the plane's transponders - which transmit data on a plane's location to air traffic controllers - suggest it was well-planned.

"It seems to be more than just a strong coincidence that the loss of contact with the aircraft happened at the point of hand-over," he told Sky News.

"(Also) there's a lot of (communication) equipment on there, most of which operates automatically, and to disable particularly the ACARS (Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System) it would need some preparation and forethought.

"It's quite doable, but it's not something the pilots would have been trained to do, whereas the air traffic control transponder is something that is routinely switched on and off as required.

"But the ACARS are a different matter as are the sat coms. These things would have required some preparation and forethought about how they were going to be accomplished and when they were going to be accomplished."

He said it was "inconceivable" that someone in the passenger cabin would know the critical point at which the aircraft was being handed over to Vietnamese control.

A huge sea and air search is continuing for the plane

This suggests either the collusion of the crew or someone in the flight deck when hand-over occurred.

Former BA pilot Alastair Rosenschein told Sky News it is "looking more likely" that the plane was hijacked.

"What is puzzling is the fact that the ACARS and the transponder appear to have been disabled or switched off or become unworkable at separate times," he said.

"It rather suggests that was a deliberate action."

Final satellite communication came more than six-and-a-half hours after the plane vanished from civilian radar.

Aviation security expert Philip Baum said the possibility of pilot suicide is now decreasing "because you would have expected a suicide pilot to simply crash the aircraft not carry on flying".

"So it now looks like we're dealing with a terrorist situation or with the actions of a deranged individual or an asylum seeker," he said.

Previous theories about why the plane vanished included a sudden mid-air explosion, catastrophic equipment or structural failure, or a crash into the South China Sea.

If a plane if hijacked, crew are trained to be compliant and do whatever they can to safeguard the plane and passengers.

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North Korea Fires 10 Rockets Into Sea

North Korea has fired 10 rockets into the sea, according to South Korea's defence ministry.

The missiles were fired off the country's east coast and flew about 70km (42 miles) into the Sea of Japan, a ministry spokesman said.

A series of recent rocket launches, including a ballistic missile that crossed the path of a Chinese passenger plane, have put South Korean troops on increased alert.

These have coincided with annual South Korean-US military exercises that started in February and will last until mid-April.

North Korea regularly condemns them as rehearsals for an invasion, while Seoul and Washington claim they are purely defensive.

Sunday's launch came two days after North Korea's National Defence Commission threatened to demonstrate the country's nuclear deterrent.

In a statement the commission said: "Additional measures will be taken to demonstrate its might one after another as long as the US nuclear threat and blackmail persist as now.

"The US had better roll back its worn-out hostile policy towards (North Korea) as soon as possible and shape a new realistic policy before it is too late."

North Korea carried out nuclear tests in 2006, 2009 and most recently in February 2013.

Six-party talks on the North's nuclear weapons programme have stalled, although there is a push from Pyongyang and its main ally, China, for these to resume.

The US and South Korea say North Korea must demonstrate a commitment to abandoning nuclear weapons before this can happen.

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Missing Plane 'May Have Sent Signals On Ground'

Missing Jet: Timeline Of Key Events

Updated: 2:27pm UK, Sunday 16 March 2014

A summary of the developments surrounding the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

Sunday, March 9

:: Malaysia's police chief says the pilot, co-pilot as well as ground staff, crew and passengers are now all under investigation.

:: The search expands even further with 25 countries being asked to help, including Australia.

:: Malaysia says its possible the plane's signal could have been picked up while it was on the ground.

Saturday, March 8

:: The Boeing 777, with 239 people on board, loses contact with air traffic control north of Malaysia around 1.20am, some 40 minutes after taking off from Kuala Lumpur en route to Beijing.

:: Vietnam says the plane went missing near its airspace.

It launches a search operation which expands into a huge international hunt in the South China Sea, involving dozens of ships and aircraft from countries including the US and Japan.

:: Tearful relatives of the 153 Chinese passengers criticise Malaysia Airlines over a lack of information.

:: Vietnamese planes spot two large oil slicks near the aircraft's last known location, but it proves a false alarm.

:: It also emerges two passengers were travelling on stolen EU passports, fuelling speculation of a terrorist attack.

Sunday, March 9

:: Malaysia said it was investigating a possible terror link to the jet's disappearance and the US sent FBI agents to assist in the investigation.

:: Malaysia raises the first of several suggestions that the plane may have veered radically off-course.

:: The air force chief said it may have turned back towards the country's capital for no apparent reason.

:: A Vietnamese plane spots possible debris off southwest Vietnam - but this is also a false alarm.

Monday, March 10

:: Authorities double the search radius to 100 nautical miles around the point where MH370 disappeared from radar.

:: China criticises Malaysia, saying it needs to speed up the investigation.

:: Malaysia sends ships to investigate a sighting of a possible life raft, but a Vietnamese vessel that gets there first finds only flotsam.

:: Chemical analysis by Malaysia finds no link between oil slicks found at sea and the missing plane.

Tuesday, March 11

:: The search area now includes land on the Malaysian peninsula itself, the waters off its west coast, and an area to the north of Indonesia's Sumatra island, all far removed from the flight's scheduled route.

:: Authorities identify the two men with stolen passports as young Iranians who are believed to be illegal immigrants - not terrorists.

Wednesday, March 12

:: Malaysia expands the search zone to include the Malacca Strait off the country's west coast and the Andaman Sea north of Indonesia, hundreds of miles away.

:: Malaysia's air force chief says an unidentified object was detected on military radar north of the Malacca Strait early on Saturday - less than an hour after the plane lost contact - but says it is still being investigated.

:: At a news conference, Malaysian officials deny the search is in disarray after China says conflicting information about its course is "pretty chaotic".

:: It emerges US regulators warned months ago of a problem with "cracking and corrosion" of the fuselage skin under the satellite antenna on Boeing 777s that could lead to a mid-air break-up.

:: But the manufacturer later confirms that the warning did not apply to the missing plane, which had a different kind of antenna.

Thursday, March 13

:: Malaysia dismisses a report in the Wall Street Journal which said US investigators suspect the plane flew on for four hours after its last known contact, based on data sent from its engines.

:: Authorities in Kuala Lumpur also say that Chinese satellite images of suspected debris in the South China Sea are yet another false lead.

:: India steps up its search, sending three ships and three aircraft to the remote Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Friday, March 14

:: The hunt spreads west to the Indian Ocean after the White House cites unspecified "new information" that the jet may have flown on after losing contact.

:: Malaysia declines to comment on US reports that the plane's communication system continued to "ping" a satellite for hours after it disappeared, suggesting it may have travelled a huge distance.

Saturday, March 15

:: Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak says the last-known movements of the missing airliner were consistent with the deliberate actions of someone on board.

:: He also revealed the last contact with the plane was with a satellite at 8.11am last Saturday which means it could have been flying for more than six hours longer than first thought.

:: The PM confirmed Malaysian air force defence radar picked up traces of the plane turning back westward, crossing over Peninsular Malaysia into the northern stretches of the Strait of Malacca.

:: The search area is expanded to two air corridors - a northern one stretching as far as Turkmenistan and Thailand - and one which goes as far as Indonesia and the southern Indian Ocean.

:: Mr Najib says search efforts in the South China Sea, where the plane first lost contact, had ended.

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Missing Pilots 'Did Not Ask To Fly Together'

Missing Jet: Timeline Of Key Events

Updated: 2:27pm UK, Sunday 16 March 2014

A summary of the developments surrounding the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

Sunday, March 9

:: Malaysia's police chief says the pilot, co-pilot as well as ground staff, crew and passengers are now all under investigation.

:: The search expands even further with 25 countries being asked to help, including Australia.

:: Malaysia says its possible the plane's signal could have been picked up while it was on the ground.

Saturday, March 8

:: The Boeing 777, with 239 people on board, loses contact with air traffic control north of Malaysia around 1.20am, some 40 minutes after taking off from Kuala Lumpur en route to Beijing.

:: Vietnam says the plane went missing near its airspace.

It launches a search operation which expands into a huge international hunt in the South China Sea, involving dozens of ships and aircraft from countries including the US and Japan.

:: Tearful relatives of the 153 Chinese passengers criticise Malaysia Airlines over a lack of information.

:: Vietnamese planes spot two large oil slicks near the aircraft's last known location, but it proves a false alarm.

:: It also emerges two passengers were travelling on stolen EU passports, fuelling speculation of a terrorist attack.

Sunday, March 9

:: Malaysia said it was investigating a possible terror link to the jet's disappearance and the US sent FBI agents to assist in the investigation.

:: Malaysia raises the first of several suggestions that the plane may have veered radically off-course.

:: The air force chief said it may have turned back towards the country's capital for no apparent reason.

:: A Vietnamese plane spots possible debris off southwest Vietnam - but this is also a false alarm.

Monday, March 10

:: Authorities double the search radius to 100 nautical miles around the point where MH370 disappeared from radar.

:: China criticises Malaysia, saying it needs to speed up the investigation.

:: Malaysia sends ships to investigate a sighting of a possible life raft, but a Vietnamese vessel that gets there first finds only flotsam.

:: Chemical analysis by Malaysia finds no link between oil slicks found at sea and the missing plane.

Tuesday, March 11

:: The search area now includes land on the Malaysian peninsula itself, the waters off its west coast, and an area to the north of Indonesia's Sumatra island, all far removed from the flight's scheduled route.

:: Authorities identify the two men with stolen passports as young Iranians who are believed to be illegal immigrants - not terrorists.

Wednesday, March 12

:: Malaysia expands the search zone to include the Malacca Strait off the country's west coast and the Andaman Sea north of Indonesia, hundreds of miles away.

:: Malaysia's air force chief says an unidentified object was detected on military radar north of the Malacca Strait early on Saturday - less than an hour after the plane lost contact - but says it is still being investigated.

:: At a news conference, Malaysian officials deny the search is in disarray after China says conflicting information about its course is "pretty chaotic".

:: It emerges US regulators warned months ago of a problem with "cracking and corrosion" of the fuselage skin under the satellite antenna on Boeing 777s that could lead to a mid-air break-up.

:: But the manufacturer later confirms that the warning did not apply to the missing plane, which had a different kind of antenna.

Thursday, March 13

:: Malaysia dismisses a report in the Wall Street Journal which said US investigators suspect the plane flew on for four hours after its last known contact, based on data sent from its engines.

:: Authorities in Kuala Lumpur also say that Chinese satellite images of suspected debris in the South China Sea are yet another false lead.

:: India steps up its search, sending three ships and three aircraft to the remote Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Friday, March 14

:: The hunt spreads west to the Indian Ocean after the White House cites unspecified "new information" that the jet may have flown on after losing contact.

:: Malaysia declines to comment on US reports that the plane's communication system continued to "ping" a satellite for hours after it disappeared, suggesting it may have travelled a huge distance.

Saturday, March 15

:: Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak says the last-known movements of the missing airliner were consistent with the deliberate actions of someone on board.

:: He also revealed the last contact with the plane was with a satellite at 8.11am last Saturday which means it could have been flying for more than six hours longer than first thought.

:: The PM confirmed Malaysian air force defence radar picked up traces of the plane turning back westward, crossing over Peninsular Malaysia into the northern stretches of the Strait of Malacca.

:: The search area is expanded to two air corridors - a northern one stretching as far as Turkmenistan and Thailand - and one which goes as far as Indonesia and the southern Indian Ocean.

:: Mr Najib says search efforts in the South China Sea, where the plane first lost contact, had ended.

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Tensions High For Controversial Crimea Vote

By Nick Martin, News Correspondent in Simferopol

The Crimean people are voting in a referendum widely expected to transfer control of the Black Sea region from Ukraine to Moscow, despite an outcry and threat of sanctions from the West.

The vote, dismissed by Kiev and Western governments as illegal, has triggered the worst East-West crisis since the Cold War and marks a new peak in turmoil in Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has reiterated the referendum complies with international law and promised to "respect" the outcome of the vote on whether to join Russia.

But the build up of Russian forces in the region has fuelled claims the poll is being conducted "at the barrel of a gun", although Crimea's new pro-Moscow Prime Minister Sergei Aksyonov insisted the vote would be "open and transparent".

Election commission officials count ballots ahead of the referendum

As people were casting their ballots the Ukrainian and Russian defence ministries announced a truce in the region until March 21.

Cossacks and pro-Moscow militias were seen patrolling some polling stations and Russian flags were seen flying across the area. No violence has been reported so far.

Voting will end at 6pm UK time and early results are expected later on Sunday evening.

More than 20,000 Russian troops are now stationed in Crimea, troop movements Ukraine has called an invasion.

The country's interim Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, announced a call-up to try and raise 20,000 men, vowing to bring to justice those he said were trying to destroy Ukrainian independence "under the cover of Russian troops".

Polling booths are readied for the crucial breakaway vote

The unrest follows events in November when the now ousted President Viktor Yanukovych walked out on a trade deal with the European Union in favour of closer ties with Russia, sparking violent protests in Kiev.

The vote has split even the closest-knit families, many of whom say they want their peninsula to be governed in different ways. Elena Kruglova, 26, said Crimea should remain part of Ukraine, while her mother Lyna Losyeva is staunchly pro-Russian.

She said: "Two weeks to organise a referendum doesn't give people the chance to make a proper decision.

"At the moment, the way the referendum works there are two choices, Russia, or Russia. We are not being given the option to stay the way we are."

But her mother, who remembers being part of the former Soviet Union until Ukraine gained independence in 1991, disagrees.

She said: "I was born in a time when there was no difference between Russia and Ukraine and in the Soviet Union we didn't feel any differences.

Russia insists the vote is legal

"But my daughter was born in a different time.

"What do I expect from Russia? I expect that Russia will listen to us, to Crimean people because for 23 years Ukraine didn't listen to us."

As voting was taking place, protests broke out against the redeployment of Ukrainian troops and armoured vehicles in the eastern cities of Kharkiv, Donetsk and Luhansk, according to eyewitnesses.

Thousands of pro-Russian protesters in Donetsk expressed support for the vote and pushed for their own referendum. The security headquarters and the prosecutor's office there have been stormed, according to reports.

Despite Russian's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry talking daily since the crisis began, a diplomatic solution has not been reached.

In a phone call after voting got under way, the pair agreed to work on constitutional reform in Ukraine as a way of solving the crisis.

Johannes Anderson, an expert in Crimean affairs, believes Russia has a "grand plan" for Crimea. He said: "I think there's been a long-time dream for Russia to reincorporate Crimea into the Greater Russian empire.

"This is a broader trend of Russia pushing its imperial ambitions.

"Ukraine has been growing and emerging as an economy in recent years and this is Russia attempting to destabilise that growth and stamp its authority on the region."

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