Finland becomes 31st NATO member as Russia warns of 'countermeasures' - CNA

POWERFUL MILITARY

Invaded by its giant neighbour, the Soviet Union, in 1939, Finland - which has a 1,300km border with Russia - stayed out of NATO throughout the Cold War.

Now its membership brings a potent military into the alliance with a wartime strength of 280,000 and one of Europe's largest artillery arsenals.

Its strategic location bolsters NATO's defences on a border running from the vulnerable Baltic states to the increasingly competitive Arctic.

Senior NATO military commander Admiral Rob Bauer told AFP that Finland had so far not requested its new allies station troops on its soil.

NATO officials say the war in Ukraine has sapped Moscow's forces, but the alliance is monitoring how Russia responds to gauge its future steps.

Awkward allies Turkey and Hungary, for different reasons of their own, delayed Finland's bid to come under the NATO umbrella - and Stockholm's progress remains blocked.

But last week, the Turkish parliament voted to clear Finland's final hurdle.

Completing the ratification in well under a year still makes this the fastest membership process in the alliance's recent history.

NATO was created as a counterweight to the Soviet Union at the onset of the Cold War era that began immediately after the Allies defeated Nazi Germany.

SWEDEN SOON?

Finland's arrival nevertheless remains a bittersweet moment for the alliance as the hope had been for Sweden to come on board at the same time.

Budapest and Ankara remain the holdouts after belatedly agreeing to wave through Helsinki's bid.

Sweden has upset Hungary's leader Viktor Orban - one of Putin's closest allies in Europe - by expressing alarm over the rule of law in Hungary.

It has also angered Turkey by refusing to extradite dozens of suspects that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan links to a failed 2016 coup attempt and a decades-long Kurdish independence struggle.

NATO diplomats hope Erdogan will become more amenable if he weathers elections next month and that Sweden will join before a NATO summit in Vilnius this July.

Ukraine is also pushing for eventual NATO membership, but Western diplomats say that still remains a distant prospect.

"There is no better strategic solution to ensuring strategic security in the Euro Atlantic region than the membership of Ukraine in the alliance," Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said.

NATO members in the meantime insist they are focused on providing Ukraine with the weaponry and support it needs to win the war with Russia.

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2023-04-04 10:57:00Z
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Trump is heading to court. Here's what to expect - CNA

Former President Donald Trump is set to appear in a Manhattan courtroom Tuesday (Apr 4) on charges related to falsifying business records in a hush-money investigation, the first president ever to be charged with a crime.

Trump, who has denied any wrongdoing and has repeatedly assailed the investigation, has called the indictment “political persecution” and predicted it would damage Democrats in 2024. Trump's lawyers have said the former president “did not commit any crime. We will vigorously fight this political prosecution in court”.

Here's what to expect:

WHAT'S THE PLAN?

Trump flew into New York from his Mar-a-Lago estate on Monday and is expected to leave Trump Tower on Tuesday and make the nearly four-mile drive to the Manhattan criminal courthouse, where he is scheduled to face a judge for his arraignment at 2.15pm (Wednesday, 2.15am, Singapore time).

WILL THERE BE A “PERP WALK”?

No. So-called perp walks happen when a criminal suspect is taken in handcuffs out of a police precinct and then driven to the courthouse. But Trump won't be going to a police precinct. He's arranged a surrender with the district attorney's office and will head straight to the court, skipping a police station entirely. It's very unlikely anyone will get a glimpse of him going into court, unless he wants to be seen. That's because there are underground entrances, side doors and tunnels in and around the Manhattan courthouse.

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2023-04-04 04:39:00Z
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Japan to scrap COVID-19 tests on arrival for China travellers - CNA

TOKYO: Japan will stop testing travellers arriving from mainland China for the coronavirus, the government said Monday (Apr 3), ending a COVID-19 policy previously slammed as "discriminatory" by Beijing.

From Wednesday, arrivals from China will have to show proof of vaccination or a negative result obtained before departure - "just the same as all the other travellers and returnees", a government statement said.

The decision brings to an end a spat over COVID-19 border measures which began in January.

Then, more than a dozen countries imposed new travel rules as infections surged in China, which had just relaxed its strict zero-COVID policies.

In a tit-for-tat move, China suspended issuing short-term visas to Japanese citizens, with the Chinese foreign ministry hitting out against "discriminatory practices".

It resumed issuing visas to Japanese citizens in late January, but Japan kept its testing-on-arrival requirement for China.

Chinese tourists made up around a third of all visitors to Japan before the pandemic.

Last week, Britain also said travellers flying in from China would no longer need proof of a negative test from Apr 5.

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2023-04-03 11:00:41Z
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Ukraine's Zelenskyy: Situation 'especially hot' in Bakhmut - CNA

Prigozhin, in an audio message posted on his press service's Telegram account, said: "From a legal point of view, Bakhmut has been taken. The enemy is concentrated in the western parts."

A senior Ukrainian official had earlier described the situation around the town as "tense", with the military command carefully considering every move.

Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said Ukrainian forces were continuing to defend their positions, with Russian forces paying scant attention to their losses as they mounted attacks.

"The situation in Bakhmut remains tense," Maliar said on Telegram.

"But every military decision and every step is weighed carefully ... We respond to the prevailing situation appropriately, taking into account all circumstances, tasks and the principle of military feasibility."

Zelenskyy and military commanders agreed last month to maintain the defence of Bakhmut amid public debate over whether it was best to remain or adopt other defensive positions.

CLASHES IN CITY CENTRE

Prominent Ukrainian military analyst Oleh Zhdanov said fighting had engulfed the city centre. Ukrainian forces had repelled 25 enemy attacks, but Russian forces had captured the AZOM metal plant, which Ukrainian troops had defended for days.

"The enemy is attacking the city centre from the north, the east and the south and is trying to take the city under its full control," Zhdanov, who has close ties to the Ukrainian military, said in a video shown on YouTube.

"In some places, we have been successful and in some places we have even staged counter-attacks. But the enemy on occasion registers some success in view of the number of its forces and the number of its daily attacks."

Another military analyst, Yuri Butusov, said Ukraine was hampered by a lack of defensive planning, particularly near Avdiivka, a second town under attack in Donetsk region.

"We still lack planning in terms of building stationary, well-considered, well-defended defensive positions," Butusov said in a weekend interview with Ukrainian NV Radio. "This is the nature of the crisis near Avdiivka and in other areas of the front. The enemy is knocking out one position after another. And there is no rear position."

In his video address, Zelenskyy also said that two people had died in a Russian mortar attack near the town of Konotop in the northern region of Sumy.

He noted earlier reports that Russian shelling had killed six people in the city of Kostyantynivka in Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine. Eleven people were injured.

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2023-04-02 21:27:00Z
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Violent US storms kill at least 32 people - CNA

The death toll from a violent storm that whipped up tornadoes in the Southern and Midwestern regions of the United States rose to at least 32 over the weekend, according to officials and media reports.

In Memphis, Tennessee, two children and an adult were found dead on Saturday (Apr 1) after the storm's heavy winds knocked trees onto several houses, according to the Memphis Police Department.

In Tennessee's McNairy County, officials reported that an additional two people had died, having reported seven deaths earlier on Saturday, according to local media. The Tennessee Department of Health on Sunday reported that there were an additional three weather-related deaths in three more counties, but did not provide more details.

In Owen County, Indiana, the bodies of a couple were found at a campground in McCormick's Creek State Park, according to the state's Department of Natural Resources.

Another 15 deaths from the storm, which generated tornadoes in several areas, were earlier reported in Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Delaware, Mississippi and Alabama. Scores of people were injured and many buildings damaged or destroyed.

US President Joe Biden declared a "major disaster" in Arkansas on Sunday, ordering federal aid to help with the recovery.

The president said in a statement on Sunday afternoon that he and wife Jill Biden were praying for the people impacted by the weekend storms and ordered relevant federal officials "to help with immediate needs and long-term rebuilding."

"We know families across America are mourning the loss of loved ones, desperately waiting for news of others fighting for their lives, and sorting through the rubble of their homes and businesses," he said.

The National Storm Prediction Center warned of severe weather on Sunday in parts of north and northeast Texas around Dallas and Fort Worth, including very large hail, significant wind gusts and a "strong tornado or two." Dallas Fort Worth International Airport was under a ground-stop order for a couple of hours on Sunday afternoon, and flights were delayed as heavy rain, hail and strong winds hit the area.

Similarly severe weather, including thunderstorms, was forecast for Tuesday in much of the Midwest between Chicago and Little Rock, Arkansas, the centre said.

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2023-04-02 16:19:00Z
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‘Don’t help a villain’: China urges Japan not to abet US on tech containment - South China Morning Post

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‘Don’t help a villain’: China urges Japan not to abet US on tech containment  South China Morning PostView Full coverage on Google News
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2023-04-02 13:13:27Z
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Japan's foreign minister urges China to release detained national - CNA

BEIJING/TOKYO: Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, meeting his Chinese counterpart on Sunday (Apr 2), urged Beijing to promptly release a detained Japanese national.

Hayashi's meeting with Qin Gang was the first visit to Beijing for a Japanese foreign minister in over three years, as the two rival Asian powers seek common ground amid rising regional tension.

An employee of Astellas Pharma Inc was detained in China for unknown reasons, a company spokesperson said a week ago. At least 16 other Japanese have been detained in China on suspicion of spying since 2015, according to Japan's Kyodo News.

"I made a protest against the recent detention of a Japanese person in Beijing, and made a strong point of our position on the matter, including the early release of this national," Hayashi told reporters.

Qin responded that China "will handle (the case) according to the law", according to a readout from the Chinese foreign ministry.

Hayashi said Japan is seeking transparency over the legal process regarding detentions and has asked for China to secure a fair and safe business environment. He did not elaborate on China's reaction.

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2023-04-02 10:31:52Z
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