Rabu, 05 April 2023

Macron and von der Leyen: Europe’s good cop and bad cop to meet Xi Jinping - BBC

French President Emmanuel Macron (right) welcomes European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the Elysee Palace in ParisGetty Images

As Emmanuel Macron and Ursula von der Leyen meet Xi Jinping, they will be sending a message of unity - even as China seeks to exploit potential cracks in Europe's alliances.

The French president and the head of the European Commission flew into Beijing on Wednesday and will be welcomed by the Chinese president on Thursday.

Their joint trip is the latest in a noticeable push from European leaders to engage with China, which has seen German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez paying visits in recent months.

Like them, Mr Macron and Ms von der Leyenwill be pressing Mr Xi on taking further steps to halt the Ukraine war, while also finessing the increasingly fraught trade relationship between the European Union and China, its biggest trading partner.

European watchers expect them to work as a tag team on the Chinese.

With his attempts at engaging Vladimir Putin, the French president is likely to play the good cop. An Élysée Palace spokesman told reporters that Mr Macron found "points of convergence with Chinese proposals" on ending the war.

Meanwhile, some have called Ms von der Leyen the "bad cop from Brussels", given her strong relationship with US President Joe Biden and vocal support for Nato's position.

Days before her arrival, Ms von der Leyen gave a strongly-worded speech criticising Mr Xi for maintaining his friendship with Mr Putin. In a reference to China's 12-point peace plan, she stressed that any plan consolidating Russian annexations was "simply not viable".

She also pushed the concept of "de-risking", a more moderate version of the US idea of decoupling from China, where Europe would talk tougher in diplomacy, diversify its trade sources, and protect its trade and technology.

Together, the leaders represent two "fairly different strands of European thinking on China", said Dr Andrew Small, a senior fellow with think-tank the German Marshall Fund.

"One is on China deepening support for Putin on the war, especially on the question of lethal aid. They will want to say at a minimum that it will be damaging to the entire relationship with Europe."

But with Mr Macron coming with a large delegation including business leaders, "there is also the commercial and economic relationship that continues even in the middle of this… the message is that Europe and France still want to do business".

Crucially, Ms von der Leyen is in China at Mr Macron's invitation.

This would provide reassurance that they would hold the line, noted Dr Small, not only to EU member states sceptical of Mr Macron's approach to Russia and China, but also to the Americans who would be watching closely.

The US has yet to meet the Chinese leadership since Secretary of State Antony Blinken's much-anticipated trip to Beijing was called off during the spy balloon row. This trip may be the closest the Americans get to facetime with Mr Xi for now, and just before leaving France Mr Macron spoke to Joe Biden where they discussed plans to engage China.

Mr Macron and Ms von der Leyen's show of unity is also an attempt to put paid to any Chinese hopes of exploiting differences within Europe. Some observers believe this is one goal of Beijing as it tries to woo parts of Europe away from the US orbit.

But with member states maintaining relationships of varying degrees of closeness to China, the EU has yet to come up with a clear consensus on how to handle Beijing. Some, like France and Germany, are more keen to preserve trade ties while others, particularly former Soviet bloc states nervous about Russia looking to claim other territories after Ukraine, will want to go harder on China.

The danger is that China may be emboldened to use its relationship with Russia as leverage over Europe, warn observers.

Rather than just follow the US and Nato's lead, Europe must clearly draw their own red line and lay out the consequences of China overstepping it, said Janka Oertel, director of the Asia programme at the European Council on Foreign Relations.

"This Chinese really need to understand what the stakes are. This is an opportunity for Europeans to say, 'This is your problem, you could have stayed away like in 2014 [during Russia's annexation of Crimea], but you chose not to - so you own this'," said Dr Oertel.

French President Emmanuel Marcon (left) and China's President Xi Jinping
Getty Images

So how would China likely respond?

Ms von der Leyen would be greeted with wariness. Her speech last week needled the Chinese, eliciting a swift retort from their ambassador to the EU, Fu Cong, who said it contained "a lot of misrepresentations and misinterpretations" and it "deliberately distorted Chinese positions".

China would not be keen on her concept of "de-risking", but it may have no choice but to accept it, say experts. In any case, it may be hard for China to protest given its own efforts to become more economically self-sufficient, with Mr Xi championing his own "dual circulation" strategy.

"The Chinese also do not want to be caught in a situation where they are too dependent on the US or the Russians," said Reuben Wong, an associate professor in political science who studies Asia-Europe relations at the National University of Singapore.

Stoked by the war, the growing unity among Western allies - underscored by Finland joining Nato on Tuesday - represents a "serious development in foreign relations" for China, leaving "very little room for them to take an unyielding position", said Wu Qiang, a Beijing-based independent political consultant.

Increasingly, he noted, the only route Beijing could take is to be more co-operative in working out, such as lifting trade sanctions. A recent Chinese move to block imports to Lithuania, over its decision to allow Taiwan to open a de facto embassy, did not go down well with the Europeans, who in response developed their own tools to block what they see as economic coercion.

But the biggest sticking point will be the Ukraine war.

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Keen on burnishing his credentials as an interlocutor, Mr Macron has favoured personal talks with key players. But the opacity of the Chinese leadership has meant there is little available evidence Mr Xi can be easily influenced with such an approach.

Mr Macron is also mounting his Chinese campaign right after Mr Xi's visit to Russia where, publicly at least, the two countries made it clear to the rest of the world that their "friendship with no limits" was still very much intact.

This could mean his visit to China "may end up like his visit to Russia and talks with Putin, where it has proven to be largely fruitless", said Dr Wu.

"In the past month, we have also seen a high wind of foreign diplomacy from China, representing its return to the global stage. Under these circumstances China is confidently asserting its stance, so it will not easily change."

But others believe this is precisely why China may be keen on working with Mr Macron to end the war Russia started - taking advantage of an opportunity to show the world it can do what the Americans have failed to accomplish so far.

In recent weeks it has promoted itself as an alternative peace broker, releasing concept papers and surprising the world with its hand in an agreement between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

"When the Ukraine war eventually ends, China wants to be at the table… this time it would be seen as a peacemaker. So this would really raise their profile in international diplomacy," said Dr Wong.

As the war continues to exact a toll on the global economy, and Chinese exports continue to shrink, "it is in Beijing's interests to start fine-tuning their message to the Russians", he added.

It will no doubt be the goal foremost in Mr Macron and Ms von der Leyen's minds, as they walk down the red carpet laid out for them in Beijing.

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2023-04-05 17:02:42Z
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Brazil kindergarten attack: Man kills four children in Blumenau - BBC

A view shows forensic technicians, ambulances and policemen outside a pre-school after a 25-year-old man attacked children, killing several and injuring others, according to local police and hospital, in Blumenau, in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina, Brazil April 5, 2023.Reuters

At least four young children have been killed by a man wielding a hatchet in a kindergarten in the city of Blumenau in southern Brazil, local officials say.

Another four children were injured by the 25-year-old man who entered the creche at around 09:00 local time (12:00 GMT) on Wednesday.

At least one of them is reportedly in a serious condition.

Police told local media that the attacker had surrendered and was in police custody.

In a statement, military police said that the assailant had handed himself in at one of their stations in the town.

Firefighters said three boys and a girl were killed. They were between five and seven years old, they said.

In total, around 40 children had been inside the Cantinho Bom Pastor nursery - which translates as Good Shepherd - at the time of the attack.

Map of Blumenau
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They added that the assailant had jumped over a wall in order to gain entrance to the privately run kindergarten and had apparently targeted the victims at random.

A teacher said it was "a scene that you'd never imagine you'd see in your life".

She told reporters gathered outside the building that she had managed to lock some of the youngest children in one of the rooms in order to protect them from the assailant.

She said as well as a hatchet, the man also carried other weapons, although she did not specify what these were.

Parents ran to the kindergarten as news of the incident spread.

City officials have suspended classes in Blumenau until at least tomorrow.

The governor of Santa Catarina state - where Blumenau is located - has declared three days of mourning.

It is not the first time a kindergarten in the state has been the target of an attack. In 2021, an 18-year-old man killed two staff members and three toddlers in a creche in the municipality of Saudades.

The incident also comes just 10 days after a teenager stabbed a teacher to death and injured another four people at a school in São Paulo.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva tweeted that "there is no greater pain than that of a family that loses its children or grandchildren, even more so when it's through an act of violence against innocent children who can't defend themselves".

The city has about 360,000 inhabitants and is a popular destination with visitors exploring the German heritage of the region.

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2023-04-05 15:11:01Z
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Israeli forces attack worshippers in Al-Aqsa Mosque raid - Al Jazeera English

Israeli police have attacked and arrested Palestinian worshippers in a violent raid on the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem at dawn, according to witnesses.

At least 400 Palestinians were arrested on Wednesday and remain in Israeli custody, according to Palestinian officials. They are being held at a police station in Atarot in occupied East Jerusalem.

Palestinian witnesses said Israeli forces used excessive force including stun grenades and tear gas, causing suffocation injuries to the worshippers, and beatings with batons and rifles.

INTERACTIVE Al Aqsa-mosque-compound Jerusalem
(Al Jazeera)

The Palestinian Red Crescent reported there were 12 injuries, including three people who were transferred to hospital. It also said in a statement that Israeli forces prevented its medics from reaching Al-Aqsa.

The raids continued until Wednesday morning when Israeli forces were once again seen assaulting and pushing Palestinians out of the mosque compound and preventing them from praying, before Israelis were allowed in under police protection.

“I was sitting on a chair reciting (Quran),” an elderly woman told the Reuters news agency while sitting outside the mosque, struggling to catch her breath. “They hurled stun grenades, one of them hit my chest,” she said as she began to cry.

Israeli police said in a statement that they were forced to enter the compound after “masked agitators” locked themselves inside the mosque with fireworks, sticks and stones.

“When the police entered, stones were thrown at them and fireworks were fired from inside the mosque by a large group of agitators,” the statement said, adding that a police officer was wounded in the leg.

Tension has already been high in occupied East Jerusalem and West Bank for months. There are fears of further violence as important religious festivals – the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan and the Jewish Passover – converge.

Al Jazeera’s Natasha Ghoneim said that the attacks were anticipated as there have been calls on social media urging Palestinians to come to Al-Aqsa and “defend it from the occupiers”.

A number of Jews are expected to visit the Al-Aqsa mosque compound during routine visiting hours of non-Muslims.

“People who usually visit are nationalists with very conservative ideology and although the Jews are not allowed to pray inside the compound, their mere presence is a sensitive topic,” Ghoneim reported from the occupied East Jerusalem.

Palestinian groups condemned the latest attacks on worshippers, which they described as a crime.

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said in a statement “What happened in Jerusalem is a major crime against the worshipers. Prayer in Al-Aqsa Mosque is not with the permission of the [Israeli] occupation, but rather it is our right.”

“Al-Aqsa is for the Palestinians and for all Arabs and Muslims, and the raiding of it is a spark of revolution against the occupation,” he added.

Palestinians pray as Israeli security forces take position at the Al-Aqsa Mosque
Palestinians pray as Israeli security forces take positions at the Al-Aqsa compound [Ammar Awad/Reuters]

Jordan, which acts as custodian of Jerusalem’s Christian and Muslim holy sites under a status quo arrangement in place since the 1967 war, condemned Israel’s “flagrant” storming of the compound.

Egypt’s foreign ministry, meanwhile, called for an immediate halt to Israel’s “blatant assault” on Al-Aqsa worshippers.

‘Unprecedented crime’

Confrontations at Al-Aqsa, the third-holiest shrine in Islam and the most sacred site in Judaism – in which it is referred to as the Temple Mount – have sparked deadly cross-border wars between Israel and Gaza’s Hamas rulers in the past – the last being in 2021.

Hamas condemned the latest raid as “an unprecedented crime” and called on Palestinians in the West Bank “to go en masse to the Al-Aqsa mosque to defend it”.

A Palestinian worshipper sweeps debris after a raid by Israeli police at the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
A Palestinian worshipper sweeps debris after a raid by Israeli police at the Al-Aqsa Mosque. [Mahmoud Illean/AP Photo]

After the violence at Al-Aqsa, several rockets were fired from northern Gaza towards Israel.

The Israeli army said five rockets were intercepted by the aerial defence system around the city of Sderot in southern Israel and that four others had fallen in uninhabited areas.

Israeli planes attacked multiple sites in Gaza, striking targets at a “military site” west of the city and a site in the Nusseirat refugee camp in the centre of the strip, according to Al Jazeera’s Maram Humaid in Gaza.

In Gaza, dozens of demonstrators took to the streets overnight, burning tyres.

“We swear to defend and protect the Al-Aqsa mosque,” the AFP news agency reported them as saying.

Palestinians see Al-Aqsa as one of the few national symbols over which they retain some element of control. They are, however, fearful of a slow encroachment by Jewish groups akin to what has happened at the Ibrahimi Mosque (Cave of the Patriarchs) in Hebron, where half of the mosque was turned into a synagogue after 1967.

Palestinians are also worried about far-right Israeli movements that want to demolish the Islamic structures in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and build a Jewish temple in their place.

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2023-04-05 07:41:15Z
1911867240

Mary Trump says uncle Donald gave away moment of terror outside court: ‘We saw humiliation’ - The Independent

Mary Trump, the niece of former president Donald Trump, said on Tuesday that a five-second video of her uncle walking into the Manhattan courtroom was all that was needed to "figure out his state of mind".

"And during that brief glimpse, we saw the uncertainty, the fear, and the humiliation," Ms Trump tweeted.

Recordings were prohibited inside the courtroom while Mr Trump was being arraigned. However, he was photographed looking anxious while he entered the courtroom.

The 45th president was formally charged with 34 felonies relating to falsifying business records around hush money payments during the 2016 presidential campaign.

Mr Trump pleaded not guilty to all the charges during an appearance in the Manhattan Criminal Court on Tuesday.

He raised a fist in defiance as he arrived at the courthouse amid heavy security presence from the New York Police Department and Secret Service after rival sets of protesters had earlier clashed outside the court.

The one-time president surrendered to the office of Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg upon arrival at the court at 1.24pm. He was arrested and fingerprinted in a room on the 7th floor of the courthouse building.

Ms Trump, a psychologist who holds a master’s degree in English literature from Columbia University, emerged as one of her uncle’s staunchest critics during his presidency.

"We learned a lot today, about the seriousness of the charges against Donald Trump, the professionalism of district attorney Alvin Bragg, the ridiculousness of Donald’s legal team, and the extent to which the mainstream media really love showing footage of nothing," Ms Trump wrote.

She continued: "TV cameras weren’t allowed in the courtroom but it turns out they weren’t necessary – the video of Donald walking into the courtroom, all five seconds of it, was all we needed to figure out his state of mind."

"The false bravado will return, and the middle-of-the-night posts will continue to be unhinged but Donald Trump has finally gotten a glimpse of what it looks like when his past, finally, at long last, catches up with him – and he’ll never be able to outrun it," Ms Trump added.

Previously, Ms Trump hailed her uncle’s indictment, calling it ”some measure of justice”.

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2023-04-05 05:22:41Z
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Water ban in drought-stricken Tunisia adds to growing crisis - The Guardian

Tunisia has introduced water rationing as the country suffers its fourth year of severe drought.

The state water distribution company, Sonede, has already begun cutting mains water supplies every night between 9pm and 4am. The agriculture ministry has now banned the use of water for irrigation, watering green spaces and other public areas, and for washing cars.

“I’ve been experiencing water cuts overnight for the last two or three weeks,” said Haythem Hazel, an English teacher in the capital, Tunis. “It’s alarming. It shows we really have a water crisis in Tunisia. It’s difficult to stay without water for even two hours.”.

Reservoirs across the country are said to be about 30% short of capacity. Levels at the Sidi Salem reservoir, which serves the north of the country, including Tunis, are only about 16% full.

Tunisia has always relied heavily on capturing surface water for its supplies, leaving it especially vulnerable to shortages of rainfall driven by the climate crisis. In the past four years, the Mediterranean region has had blistering summers, mild winters and relatively little rain.

It is estimated that temperatures across Tunisia will increase by up to 3.8C (6.8F) by 2050, while rainfall will decrease by at least 4% over the same period.

A network of ageing pipes is making the problem worse. According to project workers from the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) in Tunis, leaks account for the loss of about 30% of the country’s water before it reaches a tap.

“Much of the infrastructure is very old, dating back to the 1950s,” said Imen Rais, WWF’s freshwater programme manager, “and it hasn’t really been maintained since the [2011] revolution.”

Poor enforcement of planning regulations since the revolution has also affected both availability of water and quality. Unsanctioned housing and lack of infrastructure in poorer districts has led to the siphoning of groundwater through illegally dug wells and wastewater flowing directly into the water supply.

“This is as bad as we’ve seen,” said Jamel Jrijer, director for WWF North Africa. “This was predicted as far back as the 1970s but we’ve never really seen any action. Matters deteriorated after the revolution, where successive governments promised everything but did nothing.”

While water shortages will directly affect householders, the water ban for farmers, who account for about 75% of Tunisia’s water consumption, will be especially significant.

The drought will prove “disastrous”, a farmers union official, Mohamed Rjaibia, told Reuters last week, when rationing was announced. This year’s grain crop is already predicted to be only a third of last year’s, at 200,000-250,000 tonnes compared with 750,000 tonnes in 2022. The agriculture sector contributes about 10% of the country’s annual GDP.

The government is considering digging wells, desalinating seawater and recycling wastewater, but there is little chance of escaping the worst of the crisis before the summer.

Tunisia is already reeling from a weak economy, high unemployment and rising living costs, and there are fears the water cuts could further stoke social unrest. In February, demonstrators took to the streets after President Kais Saied accused undocumented migrants of a plot to dilute Tunisia’s Arab identity. The comments were widely viewed as an attempt by Saied to distract attention from the country’s economic woes.

The government is still negotiating a bailout plan with the International Monetary Fund, which is understood to include curtailing the country’s entrenched subsidy system, which manages the prices of household staples, such as coffee, bread and grains.

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2023-04-05 05:59:00Z
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Selasa, 04 April 2023

Ukraine war – live: Finland joins Nato, as ‘paranoid Putin in bunkers fearing for his life’ - The Independent

Related video: Russia arrests US journalist on espionage allegations

Finland has officially joined Nato, doubling the military alliance’s border with Russia and dealing a significant blow to president Vladimir Putin.

Finland’s membership became official when its foreign minister handed over documents completing its accession process to US secretary of state Antony Blinken, whose department is the repository of Nato membership texts.

Russia has warned that it would be forced to take “retaliatory measures” to address what it called security threats created by Finland’s membership, and that it will bolster forces near Finland if Nato sends any additional troops or equipment to what will be its 31st member country.

It comes as a former presidential protection officer who has defected from Russia claimed that Mr Putin is “pathologically afraid for his life” and has spent the last few years living in an “information cocoon”.

In an incendiary interview with Dossier, Gleb Karakulov, 35, said Mr Putin had “lost touch with the world” having lived in an “an information cocoon for the past couple of years, spending most of his time in his residences, which the media very fittingly call bunkers.”

1680612942

Breaking: Finland joins Nato

Finland has officially joined Nato, doubling the military alliance’s border with Russia and dealing a significant blow to president Vladimir Putin.

Finland’s membership became official when its foreign minister handed over documents completing its accession process to US secretary of state Antony Blinken.

The US State Department is the repository of Nato texts concerning membership.

Russia has warned that it would be forced to take “retaliatory measures” to address what it called security threats created by Finland’s membership, and that it will bolster forces near Finland if Nato sends any additional troops or equipment to what will be its 31st member country.

Andy Gregory4 April 2023 13:55
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Analysis | Putin will be angry Finland has joined Nato – but he only has himself to blame

Jamie Shea writes:

Russia’s president Vladimir Putin will not be happy with Finland becoming the 31st member of Nato. The date is significant – 4 April – which marks the anniversary of the signing of the Nato treaty 74 years ago.

Yet Putin has only himself to blame for this most significant enlargement of the Western alliance in some time.

Before Putin invaded Ukraine last year, barely 30 per cent of Finns wanted their country to join Nato. Finland was largely comfortable with the dense network of security partnerships that it had devised since the end of the Cold War: close cooperation with Nato, participation in the EU’s common security and defence policy and military integration with its neighbour, Sweden, and the other Nordic partners.

Yet overnight public support for joining Nato shot up to around 80 per cent, and has stayed there ever since. Nato membership did not feature as an issue in last weekend’s Finnish elections despite the broad spectrum of parties participating. So, what has changed? Essentially two things.

Read the full analysis here:

Andy Gregory4 April 2023 19:14
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Suspect in killing of Russian war blogger charged with terrorism

Russian investigators have charged 26-year-old Darya Trepova with terrorist offences over the killing of pro-war blogger Vladlen Tatarsky in a bomb blast in St Petersburg, and remanded her in pre-trial detention.

Tatarsky, a cheerleader for Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine whose real name was Maxim Fomin, was killed on Sunday in a cafe where he was due to talk.

Russia’s Investigative Committee said it had charged Ms Trepova with committing “a terrorist act by an organised group that caused intentional death”. The charges carry a maximum jail term of 20 years. It claimed she had acted under instructions from people working on behalf of Ukraine.

Russia’s health ministry said 40 other people had been injured in the blast, and 25 were still in hospital on Tuesday morning.

Ms Trepova was transferred from St Petersburg to Moscow, where the Basmanny district court remanded her in custody on Tuesday until 2 June, Russian news agencies reported.

Andy Gregory4 April 2023 18:42
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Subject of ICC arrest warrant denies claims she unlawfully deported children to Russia

Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights has rejected International Criminal Court (ICC) allegations that she is responsible for unlawfully deporting children from Ukraine.

The ICC has issued arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin and children’s commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova for the war crime of hundreds of children allegedly being taken from orphanages and children’s care homes in areas of Ukraine claimed by Russia. Some children, the ICC said, had been given up for adoption in Russia.

But Ms Lvova-Belova told reporters on Tuesday that her commission had acted on humanitarian grounds to protect children in a militarised area, and had not moved anyone against their will or that of their parents or legal guardians, whose consent was always sought unless they were missing.

Children were not given up for adoption but were placed with temporary legal guardians in foster homes, she insisted.

“As far as the ICC’s accusations are concerned, we don’t understand what we are accused of. Give us the facts and we will look into it. So far, it all looks like a farce without specifics and is incomprehensible,” she said.

The ICC had not submitted any documents to her office, Ms Lvova-Belova said, noting that Russia did not recognise the court’s jurisdiction anyway. Ukraine has not sent any official requests regarding children allegedly separated from their parents, she claimed.

Andy Gregory4 April 2023 18:06
1680625775

UN council extends Ukraine inquiry into crimes since Russia's invasion

The United Nations Human Rights Council has overwhelmingly voted in favour of extending the mandate of an investigative body probing possible war crimes committed since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Twenty-eight countries voted in favour of extending the mandate of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine by a year. Seventeen abstained and two voted against the body, which Ukraine says is essential for keeping Russia accountable for its crimes.

“The scope and brutality of Russia’s atrocities in Ukraine are simply beyond any human comprehension,” Ukraine’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Yevheniia Filipenko, told the Council ahead of the vote.

“We strongly believe that the continued work of the Commission in further investigating, documenting and reporting human rights violations and international crimes committed against the people in Ukraine could save more innocent lives (and) could contribute to accountability for perpetrators and justice for victims.”

In a report published last month, the commission found that some crimes committed by Russian forces in Ukraine, including the use of torture and attacks against the country’s energy infrastructure, could constitute crimes against humanity.

Andy Gregory4 April 2023 17:29
1680624095

Watch: Finland joins Nato

Finland joins Nato as war in Ukraine continues
Andy Gregory4 April 2023 17:01
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Biden urges Turkey and Hungary to approve Sweden’s Nato bid ‘without delay’

Joe Biden has welcomed Finland’s accession to Nato, and urged Turkey and Hungary to conclude their ratification processes for Sweden to join the military alliance “without delay”.

“I look forward to welcoming Sweden as a Nato member as soon as possible,” the US president said in a statement.

Andy Gregory4 April 2023 16:32
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Finland joining Nato is ‘direct result of Putin’s aggression’, says UK

Finland’s accession to Nato is a “direct result” of Vladimir Putin’s aggression and demonstrates the strength of the alliance, Britain’s foreign secretary has said.

Mr Cleverly, who was at Nato’s headquarters, said: “Today we see, as a direct result of Vladimir Putin’s aggression and his illegal invasion of Ukraine, the day where a new ally joins our defensive alliance.”

He added: “Russia thought its aggression would divide us. Instead, we are bound tighter together, resolute in our defence of the principles of freedom and the rule of law. Let us be clear that our door remains open. We will welcome further allies with open arms and we continue to push for Sweden’s swift accession.”

Calling it “a historic day”, prime minister Rishi Sunak said Finnish membership “made our alliance stronger and every one of us safer”, adding: “All Nato members now need to take the steps necessary to admit Sweden too, so we can stand together as one alliance to defend freedom in Europe and across the world.”

Defence secretary Ben Wallace said the tectonic shift should “be a lesson to President Putin”, adding: “Finland chose to join, based on their own free will. The freedom to choose their alliances as a sovereign state is a matter for their citizens and their citizens alone.”

Andy Gregory4 April 2023 16:05
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West should not ‘provoke Moscow’ as tactical nuclear weapons to move to Belarus, says Russian official

The West should acknowledge realities after Russia’s decision to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus and not “provoke Moscow”, deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov has said.

The senior Russian official claimed on Tuesday that Russia had gained new opportunities to guarantee its security after suspending its participation in the New START nuclear arms control treaty, the TASS news agency reported.

Andy Gregory4 April 2023 15:37
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Lukashenko to join Putin in Moscow for two-day talks

Belarussian president Alexander Lukashenko will travel to Moscow on Wednesday for two days of talks with Vladimir Putin, according to the Kremlin.

Russia’s defence minister Sergei Shoigu said on Tuesday that Moscow was boosting Belarus’s nuclear capabilities in response to Finland joining Nato.

Last week, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov that the two presidents would discuss Mr Lukashenko’s call for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine at an upcoming face-to-face meeting.

In an anouncement on Tuesday, the Kremlin said the pair would discuss “topical bilateral and international issues” on Wednesday, before a meeting on Thursday of the Supreme Council of the Union State.

Russia and Belarus are formally part of a Union State, a borderless union and alliance between the two ex-Soviet countries, though long-standing plans for closer integration of their economies have repeatedly stalled.

Andy Gregory4 April 2023 15:11

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2023-04-04 18:14:35Z
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Donald Trump formally arrested after arriving at New York courthouse - Sky News

Donald Trump has been formally arrested following his arrival at a New York courthouse where he will become the first former US president to face criminal charges.

The frontrunner to be the Republicans' choice for the White House in 2024 surrendered to the Manhattan district attorney's office in the same building before a hearing.

Minutes earlier, he pumped his fist as he left his nearby home at Trump Tower before being escorted to Manhattan Criminal Courthouse in a motorcade by his Secret Service protection team.

Wearing a dark blue suit and red tie, he was due to be fingerprinted and processed but it was unclear whether a mugshot of him will also be taken.

Donald Trump arrives at Manhattan Criminal Courthouse
Image: Donald Trump arrives at Manhattan Criminal Courthouse

Latest updates: Trump calls for venue change before hearing; watch coverage live

Trump then made his way to the courtroom for his arraignment where the formal charges will be disclosed and he was then expected to enter a plea. He was not expected to be in handcuffs during the proceedings.

On his social media platform, Truth Social, he wrote: "Heading to Lower Manhattan, the Courthouse. Seems so SURREAL - WOW, they are going to ARREST ME. Can't believe this is happening in America. MAGA!"

Television cameras will not be allowed inside the courtroom, after a ruling by Judge Juan Merchan, but five still photographers will have access before the hearing begins to take pictures of Trump and the scene.

However, TV cameras will be allowed in the hallways of the building so Trump may talk to reporters when he is there.

The indictment - a formal charge - contains multiple accusations of falsifying business records, including at least one felony offence, it has been reported.

Donald Trump pictured outside Trump Tower today. Pic: AP
Image: Trump did a fist pump outside Trump Tower as he left for the courthouse. Pic: AP

A felony is usually defined as a crime punishable by a year or more in prison. Misdemeanours are less serious and are often defined as offences punishable by fines or less than 12 months behind bars.

Trump, 76, is being investigated over an alleged $130,000 (£104,000) hush money payment given to porn actress Stormy Daniels on his behalf in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election, which he won.

It was allegedly made to prevent her from discussing a sexual encounter she said she had with Trump at a hotel in Lake Tahoe in 2006.

He has denied having a sexual relationship with Ms Daniels.

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Trump's former personal lawyer Michael Cohen has said the ex-president directed him to arrange the $130,000 payment to Ms Daniels.

And Trump has acknowledged reimbursing him for the payment, with the Trump Organization logging the reimbursement as legal expenses.

Trump has denied any wrongdoing and is due to plead not guilty.

He calls the indictment a "witch-hunt" and claims it is politically motivated as the man who has led the investigation into him, District Attorney Alvin Bragg, is a Democrat.

Trump also says the probe is an attempt to weaken his bid to retake the White House next year.

A conviction would not prevent him from running for or winning the presidency in 2024.

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2023-04-04 17:54:07Z
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