With nearly all ballots counted, about 66 percent of those who took part in the referendum answered “yes” to the question: “Do you support the membership of the Republic of Croatia in the European Union?”

About 33 percent were against, while the rest of the ballots were invalid. About 47 percent of eligible voters took part in the referendum, illustrating voters’ apathy toward the EU. That compares to 84 percent who voted in a referendum for Croatia’s independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1992.

The Yak-130 is a twin-engined combat trainer jet that can also be used to attack ground targets. The Russian air force has recently placed an order for 55 such jets.

Russia has been a strong ally of Syria since Soviet times when the country was led by the president’s father Hafez Assad. It has supplied Syria with aircraft, missiles, tanks and other modern weapons.

Igor Korotchenko, head of the Center of Analysis of the Global Arms trade, an independent think-tank, said the jet deal apparently reflected Moscow’s belief that Assad would stay at the helm.

“With this contract, Russia is expressing confidence that President Assad would manage to retain control of the situation, because such deals aren’t signed with a government whose hold on power raises doubts,” Korotchenko was quoted by RIA Novosti news agency as saying. “It’s another gesture by Moscow underlining its confidence that Damascus will remain its strategic partner and ally in the Middle East.”

A South Korean official said that North Korea has shifted some of its military and missiles closer to its heavily militarized boundary line with South Korea.

The Stalinist state had moved ground-to-air missiles to an area not far from the South’s Baengyeong Island and fielded an unspecified quantity of fighter planes at a forward-operating base close to the two nations’ sea border. Portable launchpads were also seen moved at a land-to-sea missile installation.

The detected movements are not unlike those observed just before North Korea fired on South Korea’s populated Yeonpyeong Island last November — an attack that killed four people.

The South Korean military has heightened its monitoring of the maritime boundary and ordered an increased state of readiness for army, naval and air forces, officials said.

The RSS chief said, “There are intrusions from across the borders, infiltration is taking place and the boundaries have not been demarcated which is bad for the nation.”

“We are direct victims of infiltration from across the borders,” he said while referring to the emerging threat from China.

“China is threatening us. It is tampering with our borders”, Bhagwat said in the backdrop of reports that Chinese troops had intruded into Indian territory in their choppers and dismantled Indian bunkers in Churmur area of Ladakh in August without being challenged at any stage.

His reference to China also came in the backdrop of claims made by Army Chief General VK Singh that nearly 4,000 Chinese soldiers are currently present in the Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK).

“There are certain construction working teams, a large number is available. Around 3,000 to 4,000 of these people are present including certain people for security purposes. There are certain engineers troops. Now (like) our own engineers are combat engineers. So, in some way they are part of the PLA,” he told reporters.

China recently warned India against oil exploration in the South China Sea.

At least 3,525 military personnel died as a result of hostile action and 32,200 wounded, according to the military’s numbers.

The People’s Bank of China said it “regrets” a Senate vote yesterday to consider the bill and the Foreign Ministry said the measure would violate World Trade Organization rules, in statements on their websites today.

The legislation — backed by both Democrats and Republicans in Congress, while opposed by Beijing and US business groups — cleared a procedural hurdle by a 79-19 vote, with final passage expected this week.

“The longer we wait, the weaker America gets,” warned Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer, who dismissed talk of escalating Sino-US tensions and declared: “We’re already in a trade war.”

The United States has accused China of undervaluing its yuan currency to keep the price of manufactured goods for export artificially low. But China has let the yuan rise against the dollar as it faces high inflation at home.

The bill — which comes 13 months ahead of US elections in which high unemployment is likely to be an issue — sets the stage for retaliatory duties on Chinese goods if Beijing is found to keep its currency, and thus its exports, artificially cheap.

It would empower US businesses and in some cases labour unions to trigger a US Commerce Department investigation into alleged currency manipulation.

It rewrites the law to make it harder for the US Treasury Department to stop short of declaring China a currency manipulator, and makes manipulation punishable with duties on an offending country’s goods.

It also seeks to restrict the White House’s ability to overrule the imposition of sanctions.

The demonstrations, which began in New York City two weeks ago, have already spread to Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, Denver and Seattle. The arrests of 700 people on the Brooklyn Bridge over the weekend seem to have only strengthened the resolve of protesters.