BBC News with Zoe Diamond

The people of Crimea have voted overwhelmingly in favor of seceding from Ukraine and joining Russia. But the referendum has come under fierce criticism from the Untied States and the Europe. Election officials in Crimea said turnout had been higher more than 80%, and with half the votes counted, more than 95% of ballots were in favor of joining Russia. The head of the commission organizing the referendum in Crimea Mikhail Malyshev made the announcement a short time ago. But both United States and the European Union called the vote illegal, and said they would not recognize the result. Washington said the days when the world withstand quietly by, well one country forcibly seized the territory of another were long gone. Then President Putin telephoned President Obama to restate his belief that the vote complied with international law.

Jubilant crowds in Lenin Square in Crimea's main city Simferopol are celebrating the result. The region's acting Prime Minister Sergei Aksyonov told the Interfax news agency that Crimea would become part of Russia in what he called as tight time-framed as possible.

An independent poster in Serbia says initial results suggest that the largest party in the outgoing governing coalition has won an outright parliamentary majority in the general election. The poster said ballots counted so far suggested the center-right progressive party had won about 50% of votes, if confirmed, result means that the party's leader Aleksandar Vucic could become prime minister. Guy De Launey reports from Belgrade.

It's a remarkable story of redemption for Aleksandar Vucic, in his 20s, he served as information minister under the autocratic ultra-nationalist President Slobodan Milosevic. Yet now, he's been trusted by voters to steer Serbia to membership of the European Union. The election result was never in doubt. In just 18 months as the senior partner in the governing coalition, Mr. Vucic was behind the normalization of relations with Kosovo and substantial anti-corruption campaign.

The Syrian government has recaptured the town of Yabroud, a key rebel stronghold on the Lebanese border. Sebastian Usher reports.

Syrian state media says that government forces have taken full control of Yabroud. Live footage on the Hezbollah TV station Al Manar is showing empty streets with handful of Syrian soldiers. The mainly Islamist rebel fighters do appear to have abandoned the town. Yabroud has been a key battle ground for weeks, many of its 40,000 residents fled as the town was battered by government shelling and aerial attacks. Hezbollah's rebel stronghold in the Qalamoun mountains next to Lebanon, rebels used it as a key supply line, it's also on a vital transport link, connecting Damascus with Aleppo and the Mediterranean coast.

World News from the BBC

Hundreds of passengers have been stranded at the international airport in Malawi's commercial capital Blantyre after it was suddenly declared unsafe. Planes were diverted to Madeira and passengers onward to make their way to the capital Lilongwe to continue their flights. R T reports from Blantyre.

Transport minister Ulemu Chilapondwa told me Chileka International Airport has been closed indefinitely because its main runway is littered with potholes. He said light planes, like the Boeing 737 cannot land at the airport. This is a major blow to the newly-launched Malawian Airlines which has just replaced Air Malawi. Malawian Airlines was established in 2012 with its Ethiopian Airways as its strategic partner.

The man who says he survived 13 months as a castaway in the Pacific Ocean has had an emotional meeting with the mother of his boat companion who died at sea. Jose Salvador Alarenga cried as he fulfilled the promise owed for, iterating to Reselia Diaz Cueto, her son's last moments. Mr. Alarenga said Ezequiel Cordoba died after they spent about a month adrift in a small boat.

“We made a promise that I was going to tell his mum what he told me. And today, I kept it, thank God I have the opportunity to meet her. I feel liberated, I feel at peace with the promise I made with Ezequel.”

Mr. Alarenga was rescued in January in the Marshall Islands, he claims to have survived by eating rotted turtles and birds and drinking their blood and his own urine.

The Winter Paralympic Games have ended in the Black Sea Resort of Sochi with the host country Russia winning a record of 18 medals. After a spectacular closing ceremony, the president of the International Paralympic Committee Sir. Philip Craven said Sochi had hosted the best Paralympic Games ever.

BBC News