WORLD
'Delay in Finland, Sweden's NATO approval harms alliance's credibility'
"We (Finland and Sweden) would have hoped to become members of NATO already," Marin said during a joint press conference with visiting NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. "Finland and Sweden fulfil all the criteria as it has been mentioned, and we are yet waiting. Of course, this strains the open-door policy of NATO; it's also to do with NATO's credibility," Xinhua news agency quoted the Prime Minister as saying.
US Congress panel says tackling China defines next century
The two superpowers were locked in an "existential struggle over what life will look like in the 21st century", the committee's Republican chairman, Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin, said as the rivalry between the US and China deepens. With democracy advocates and protesters in attendance, the panel -- formally the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party -- began its work at a precarious moment for Washington-Beijing relations, reports the Guardian.
Putin signs law to suspend Russia's participation in arms treaty with US
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law officially suspending his country's participation in the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) with the US. The law came into force immediately after the signing on Tuesday and the decision to resume Russia's participation in the treaty is up to the head of state, reports Xinhua news agency.
Pakistan unhappy as IMF 'shifts goalposts'
The IMF has changed interpretations of at least four prior actions ahead of rea ching a staff-level agreement (SLA) on the direly needed economic bailout, reports Dawn news. Sources say the authorities are extremely annoyed at the latest situation, describing it as 'maltreatment'. "We are members of the IMF, not beggars or else our membership be discarded," commented a disgruntled senior official.
Finland starts construction of Russia border fence
Finland shares the longest European Union border with Russia, at 1,340 km and at present, the Nordic nation's borders are secured primarily by light wooden fences, reports the BBC. The decision to construct the fence, which according to the Border Guard will be 10ft tall with barbed wire on top, came after large numbers of Russians started fleeing to Finland after President Vladimir Putin ordered a mobilisation of reservists to fight in Ukraine.
Indian national shot dead in Australia after threatening cops
At the police station, he tried to attack two policemen when a senior officer fired three shots, two of which hit Ahmed in the chest. After initial treatment by paramedics, Ahmed was rushed to Westmead Hospital, but was pronounced dead just after 1.30 a.m., the report said. Ahmed was living in Auburn on a bridging visa, police said.
About 15.5 mn children in US infected with Covid
Over 121,000 of these cases have been added in the past four weeks, and almost 28,000 child Covid-19 cases were reported in the latest week ending February 23, Xinhua news agency reported, citing the report. Over the past five months, weekly reported child cases in the United States have plateaued at an average of about 32,000 cases.
Iran blames US 'wrong policy' for nuke talks impasse
Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks in an address to the High-Level Segment of the Conference on Disarmament in the Swiss city of Geneva, Xinhua news agency reported, citing a statement released by Iran's Foreign Ministry on its website on Tuesday. If all parties have the "determination and goodwill", the few outstanding issues can be settled without any precondition and within the framework of the previous talks, thus enabling the parties to take the "final step".
Covid most likely originated from Chinese lab: FBI chief
He went to say that the FBI has specialists who focus on "the dangers of biological threats, which include things like novel viruses like Covid, and the concerns that they (are) in the wrong hands (of) some bad guys, a hostile nation state, a terrorist, a criminal". Some studies in the past have suggested that the virus made the leap from animals to humans in Wuhan, possibly at the city's seafood and wildlife market, reports the BBC.
Nikki Haley slams Pakistan as one of the 'bad guys'
Haley, who is a former ambassador to the UN, sounded here a bit like her former boss and present rival for the Republican nomination, former President Donald Trump, who had plunged ties with Pakistan to new depths accusing it of lying and deceiving the United States despite getting billions in aid.
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