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After decades of staying out of military alliances, Finland and Sweden are about to decide whether to apply to join NATO, as a deterrent against aggression from Eastern neighbour Russia. The Nordic neighbours are expected to act in unison, with both expressing a desire for their applications to be submitted simultaneously if they decide to go that route. – Historic U-turns – For decades, a majority of Swedes and Finns were in favour […]
Russia warned Thursday it would have to take “military-technical” steps in response to neighbouring Finland joining NATO, after leaders in Helsinki backed entering the US-led alliance. “The expansion of NATO and the approach of the alliance to our borders does not make the world and our continent more stable and secure,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. When asked whether Finland’s membership would be a threat, Peskov answered: “definitely”. “Everything will depend on how this […]
At least 11 people have died after their boat, carrying an unknown number of people, overturned off the coast of Puerto Rico, the US Coast Guard said Thursday. “As of 6 PM Thursday (2200 GMT), responding partner agency units have rescued 31 survivors, 11 female and 20 male. 11 deceased have been recovered,” said the Coast Guard in a tweet. A spokesperson for the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) told AFP that the shipwreck […]
by Cat Barton and Claire Lee North Korea confirmed its first ever Covid-19 death on Friday, saying fever was spreading “explosively” nationwide and tens of thousands of people were being isolated and treated after falling sick. The nuclear-armed country only reported its first Covid cases Thursday, saying it was moving into “maximum emergency epidemic prevention system” after sick patients in the capital Pyongyang tested positive for Omicron. North Korea has been under a rigid coronavirus blockade […]
by David STOUT, with Elias HUUHTANEN in Helsinki Finland took a step Thursday towards fast-track NATO membership, triggering a blunt warning from the Kremlin, as the war in Ukraine throttled supplies of Russian gas to Europe and the number of people who fled the country passed six million. In Geneva, the UN Human Rights Council decided to probe alleged Russian atrocities in Ukraine, in a vote overwhelmingly approved by its members but snubbed by Russia. […]
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — One person died and three more were injured in southwestern Russia as a result of an attack from Ukraine, the governor of Belgorod said on Wednesday. “As of now, one person lost his life, he died in an ambulance, and there are three wounded,” the governor of the southwestern region of Belgorod, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said on messaging app Telegram. He said it was the “most difficult situation” in his region […]
by Elias HUUHTANEN Finland’s president and prime minister said on Thursday they were in favour of joining NATO and a formal decision would be taken this weekend, after Russia’s war in Ukraine sparked a swift u-turn in opinion. “Finland must apply for NATO membership without delay,” President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin said in a joint statement. Niinisto has often served as a mediator between Russia and the West. “NATO membership would strengthen […]
by David Stout, with Dmitry Zaks in Kramatorsk Agence France Presse KYIV, Ukraine (AFP) — Ukraine announced it will hold its first war crimes trial over the Russian invasion, as Moscow accused Kyiv of shelling a Russian city in the war’s latest flashpoint. The conflict has devastated cities and displaced millions, with fears also growing of its broader international impact as gas supplies to Europe were disrupted by a halt in Russian flows through […]
The Philippine economy grew stronger than expected in the first quarter, officials said Thursday, as the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions and the start of the election campaign season ignited consumer spending. Gross domestic product expanded by 8.3 percent, compared with a 3.8 percent contraction in the same period last year, the Philippine Statistics Authority said. That beat expectations for 6.7 percent growth and “surpassed the pre-pandemic gross domestic product”, President Rodrigo Duterte’s economic team said. […]
Myanmar’s junta will allow tourists to apply for visas after a break of more than two years, state media said Thursday, sparking calls by an activist group for foreign travellers to stay away. The country closed its borders to visitors in March 2020 at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in an attempt to prevent infections rising. It was further isolated after the army toppled the civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February […]
California’s ban on the sale of semi-automatic weapons to adults under the age of 21 violates the country’s constitution, a US federal appeals court ruled Wednesday. California has in recent years passed several laws tightening the regulation of firearms, which, according to recently released federal data, were linked to more than 45,000 deaths nationwide in 2020. Buyers under 21 years old are already prohibited from purchasing handguns in California, but a new law that went […]
by Delphine TOUITOU It’s a nightmare for parents. The United States is in the grip of a severe shortage of baby formula — with a mass product recall aggravating pandemic supply chain woes — sending families on sometimes desperate hunts for the vital supplies. And it has been going on for months, according to Sara Khan, the mother of three children aged 10, seven and six months. “I’ve known about this issue for almost seven […]
