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Macron says ground operations in Ukraine possible

Disagreements over the possibility of ground operations and the delivery of long-range missiles to Kyiv had threatened to undermine cooperation between the allies…reports Asian Lite News

French President Emmanuel Macron said in an interview published Saturday evening that Western ground operations in Ukraine might be necessary “at some point,” days after meeting with German and Polish leaders.

Last month Macron refused to rule out putting troops on the ground in Ukraine, which prompted a stern response from Berlin and other European partners.

But the French president has not recanted from his position, but stressed that Western allies would not take the initiative.

“Maybe at some point — I don’t want it, I won’t take the initiative — we will have to have operations on the ground, whatever they may be, to counter the Russian forces,” Macron told newspaper Le Parisien in an interview conducted on Friday.

“France’s strength is that we can do it.”

Disagreements over the possibility of ground operations and the delivery of long-range missiles to Kyiv had threatened to undermine cooperation between the allies.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz reacted angrily to Macron’s earlier refusal to rule out sending troops to Ukraine and his pointed comments urging allies not to be “cowards.”

Macron met his German and Polish counterparts in Berlin on Friday, in a show of solidarity behind Kyiv.

After the meeting, Macron said the three countries of the so-called Weimar Triangle were “united” in their aim to “never let Russia win and to support the Ukrainian people until the end.”

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Putin Warns of World War 3 in Victory Speech

Putin has frequently highlighted the dangers of nuclear warfare but asserted that he has never deemed it necessary to employ nuclear weapons in Ukraine…reports Asian Lite News

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday warned the Western powers that any direct conflict between Russia and the NATO alliance, led by the US, would mean the world will be “one step away” from a full-scale World War III, TASS reported.

However, he also said that it is “unlikely” that anyone is interested in this.

The Russia-Ukraine war has sparked the most severe strain in Moscow’s relations with the West since the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. Putin has frequently highlighted the dangers of nuclear warfare but asserted that he has never deemed it necessary to employ nuclear weapons in Ukraine, according to TASS.

Speaking to reporters, after emerging victorious in the post-Soviet Russian history, Putin said that in the future, a direct conflict between Russia and NATO cannot be ruled out, although no one is interested in this.

“I think that everything is possible in the modern world. But <…> it will be one step away from a full-scale third world war. I think it’s unlikely Is anyone interested in this?” TASS quotes Putin as saying.

Before Russia’s March 15-17 elections, Ukraine had ramped up its attacks against Russia.

On Kyiv sending a large number of soldiers on the border zone, Putin said that “somewhere up to 5 thousand people” are present here.

The Russian Volunteer Corps (recognised as a terrorist organization in the Russian Federation) and similar groups include 2.5 thousand, who are now, “like meat… thrown into assaults,” in the latest attacks these “so so-called volunteers” lost approximately 800 people, according to TASS.

Securing a crushing victory in the Russian Presidential elections, Putin also said that he had agreed to a prisoner swap involving Alexei Navalny before the opposition leader’s sudden death in an Arctic prison in February.

Calling Navalny’s death a ‘sad event’, Putin said there were other cases of people in prisons passing away.

In his address at his election headquarters on Sunday, Putin said, “As for Mr. Navalny–yes, he passed away. It is always a sad event. And there were other cases when people in prisons passed away. Didn’t this happen in the United States? It did, and not once.”

Putin added that he was told of a proposal to exchange Navalny for prisoners held in Western nations days before the Opposition leader died in prison.

On February 16, jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny died.

Putin won the presidential elections, receiving 87.17 per cent of the votes based on the result of processing 70 per cent of the electoral protocols, Russia-based TASS reported, citing data from the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation.

The Communist Party of the Russian Federation candidate Nikolai Kharitonov secured the second spot with 4.1 per cent of the votes while New People Party candidate Vladislav Davankov stood third with 4.8 per cent votes.

The Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) candidate, Leonid Slutsky, received a mere 3.15 per cent of the votes counted. According to preliminary data as of 6 pm (Moscow time) on Sunday, the voter turnout in the presidential elections, which for the first time took place over three days from March 15-17, stood at 74.22 per cent. (ANI)

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Shapps abandoned Odesa trip over security threat

It added that the strike in Odesa the previous day raised the threat level to Shapps’s safety from substantial to critical. “Putin has shown himself to be reckless, ruthless and careless,” Shapps told the newspaper…reports Asian Lite News

Grant Shapps aborted a trip to southern Ukraine last week for “security reasons”, the UK defence ministry said. The defence secretary had to scrap his visit to Odesa last week after UK intelligence reportedly warned Russia had become aware of his travel plans.

Shapps was due to travel to Odesa a day after a missile hit the city while the Ukrainian president and the Greek prime minister were visiting. Five people were killed in the strike, Ukrainian authorities said.

Shapps had travelled on an overnight train from Poland to Ukraine, accompanied by chief of the defence staff, Adm Sir Tony Radakin, and a small team of British officials. The aim of their journey was to meet Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky and senior members of his wartime administration.

But having arrived in Kyiv on 7 March, Shapps’s onward journey to Odesa was cancelled abruptly at the last minute, following fears surrounding his safety. According to the Sunday Times, which had a reporter travelling with his delegation, the trip was called off after an intelligence update revealed the Kremlin’s knowledge of it.

It added that the strike in Odesa the previous day raised the threat level to Shapps’s safety from substantial to critical. “Putin has shown himself to be reckless, ruthless and careless,” Shapps told the newspaper.

“The fact that he came perilously close to essentially assassinating two western leaders, it doesn’t matter whether that is deliberate or accidental. What the hell is he doing, and why the heck would the West allow him to do that kind of thing?”

A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: “On a recent trip to Ukraine, the defence secretary did not make a planned visit to Odesa for security reasons. The UK continues to provide strong support for Ukraine and the defence secretary’s visit and engagements only underscored the importance of this support in the face of Putin’s aggression.”

Earlier this week it emerged that an RAF plane carrying Shapps between the UK and Poland had its GPS signal jammed while flying close to Russian territory.

UK advises Ukraine to go on defensive

Shapps and Army Commander Antony Radakin have advised Ukraine’s senior leadership and military commanders on war strategy against the Russia as quoted by media reports.

Shapps and Radakin met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Defence Minister Rustem Umierov, and the new Commander-in-Chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, Ukrainska Pravda reported.

According to the media, Radakin was concerned that Syrskyi would become overly focused on ground battles, while the UK Commander spent two years attempting to develop a Ukrainian strategy based on Western military doctrine and the need to advance on land, in the air, and at sea.

Radakin, in particular, is actively involved in the development of a new Ukrainian Navy that meets NATO standards. He advised paying attention to the Iranian-style fleet, which consists of lighter, more manoeuvrable ships and drones capable of restraining Russia in the Black Sea while also protecting vital shipping routes for Ukrainian exports.

According to a news article, during a meeting at the Mariinsky Palace, Shapps and Radakin advised abandoning plans for a frontline offensive in favour of maintaining defence on the northern and eastern fronts and, if necessary, retreating to more advantageous positions to hold off the Russian Army, Ukrainska Pravda reported.

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Putin Set to Extend Presidency

Under Russia’s presidential election regulations, a candidate who receives more than 50 per cent of the votes will secure victory…reports Asian Lite News

 Russia’s incumbent President Vladimir Putin is projected to win his fifth term as head of state by a historic margin.

According to Russia’s CEC, almost 95 per cent of the votes have been counted as of 1 a.m. Moscow time and Putin is leading the race with an estimated 87.3 per cent.

Under Russia’s presidential election regulations, a candidate who receives more than 50 per cent of the votes will secure victory.

Communist Party candidate, Nikolay Kharitonov, who had also contested against Putin in 2004 and come second, is expected to come in second this time too, with 4.7 per cent, followed by Vladislav Davankov of the New People party with 3.6 per cent, and Leonid Slutsky of the Liberal Democrats at 2.5 per cent.

Exit polls, conducted across the country, earlier showed similar trends, with the incumbent head of state expected to win the election with 87.8 per cent.

These were the first polls since the 2020 constitutional amendment, which set a limit of two presidential terms – but not retrospectively, thus allowing Putin, who succeeded Boris Yeltsin as President in 1999, and won the polls in 2000 and 2004, and then again in 2012 and 2018 (with a stint as Prime Minister from 2008 to 2012) to contest this year, and even 2030.

This year’s election clocked a historic high voter turnout, which topped 74 per cent, according to data from the CEC.

More than 74 per cent of Russia’s 112.3 million voters had cast their ballots in the presidential elections by the time polling stations closed on Sunday, the Russian CEC reported, in a historic turnout for modern Russia.

Voting was held over three days, between March 15 and 17 in the first multi-day election. Voters in 29 out of 89 Russia’s regions, including Moscow – the nation’s most populous region, incorporating the capital city – also had an opportunity to vote online, in another first, and 90 per cent of the over 4.7 million people who applied, used this format.

The 2024 election is also the first in which voters in four “new Russian regions” – Kherson and Zaporozhye, as well as Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics – exercised their franchise.

The highest turnout at polling stations was reported in the regions of Chechnya (96 per cent), Tuva (more than 94 per cent), Kemerovo Region (94 per cent) and Donetsk People’s Republic (88.17 per cent). Low turnouts were recorded in the Tomsk and Altai Regions as well as in Russia’s Republic of Karelia, where it was still above 51 per cent.

Some sporadic attempts at disrupting the work of the polling stations occurred, involving attempts to set ballot boxes on fire or to pour a dye into the box to destroy the votes in it, Russian media reported.

CEC head Ella Pamfilova also said that more than 280 hacking attacks on the online voting system had been repelled.

ALSO READ: Russia reports massive cyberattacks on voting system

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Italy warns against Western troops in Ukraine  

Antonio Tajani added that it “would be a mistake” for NATO to send troops to Ukraine…reports Asian Lite News

Antonio Tajani, Italian Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, on Saturday rejected the idea raised by French President Emmanuel Macron of the possibility of sending Western troops to Ukraine, said Tajani as quoted by media reports.

He added that it “would be a mistake” for NATO to send troops to Ukraine, which “we must help defend, ” as quoted by Ukrainska Pravda report.

“To enter the war with Russia means the threat of World War III,” he said.

“Our military is doing well what they are doing in the Red Sea to protect our ships; they are doing well what they are doing in Lebanon, Africa and Iraq. Our military are the bearers of peace, guarantees and freedom. We are not at war with Russia,” the Italian Foreign Minister stressed.

Earlier on Friday, Macron, while commenting on the idea of sending Western troops to Ukraine, said that if such a scenario were to be implemented, French forces would not go on the offensive against Russia, the Ukrainska Pravda reported.

French politicians attacked Macron after his recent interview regarding his support for Ukraine.

Elina Valtonen, Finland Minister of Foreign Affairs, has said that Western countries, including the US, should not completely rule out the idea of sending troops to Ukraine if the situation there deteriorates.

ALSO READ: Russia threatens troop deployment along Finland border  

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Nicaragua-Germany Gaza case before ICJ

The Hague-based ICJ said it will hold hearings on April 8 and 9 for both countries to make submissions…reports Asian Lite News

Top UN judges will start listening to submissions next month in the case filed by Nicaragua accusing Berlin of facilitating “genocide” in Gaza because it supported Israel, officials said on Friday.

Two weeks ago, Nicaragua filed a case against Germany before the International Court of Justice, saying Berlin was “facilitating the commission of genocide and … failed in its obligation to do everything possible to prevent the commission of genocide” in Gaza.

This included Berlin’s suspension of funding of the UN Palestinian refugee agency.

The Hague-based ICJ said it will hold hearings on April 8 and 9 for both countries to make submissions.

“The hearings will be devoted to the request for the indication of provisional measures contained in Nicaragua’s application,” the ICJ said in a statement.

Managua had asked the court to take a swift interim stance against Germany before judges gave the case an in-depth study.

The lodging of the case follows the ICJ saying on January 26 that Israel must do everything to prevent genocidal acts in Gaza and take “immediate” measures for aid provisions.

That interim order was given as the court moves to weigh in full a case lodged in December by South Africa alleging that Israel was engaged in genocide in Gaza.

Israel has dismissed South Africa’s case as a “grossly distorted story.”

ICJ rulings are legally binding, but the court has no enforcement mechanism.

Accusations from Israel that staff from UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, took part in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel prompted several countries — including Germany, Britain, Japan and the US — to suspend their funding.

However, Canada and Sweden said they would resume UNRWA aid, and Spain has pledged an additional €20 million. Efforts have intensified to bring more aid into the war-devastated Gaza.

Scholz heads to Israel

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz urged Israel on Saturday to allow humanitarian aid access to Gaza on a larger scale, ahead of a two-day trip to the Middle East.

Scholz will travel to the Jordanian Red Sea port of Aqaba on Saturday to meet on Sunday with Jordan’s King Abdullah before flying on to Israel to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“It is necessary for aid to reach Gaza on a larger scale now. That will be a topic that I also have to talk about,” Scholz told journalists ahead of his trip.

He also voiced concern about Israel’s planned offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than half the Palestinian’s enclave’s population of 2.3 million have taken shelter.

“There is a danger that a comprehensive offensive in Rafah will result in many terrible civilian casualties, which must be strictly prohibited,” he added.

Germany’s air force said it dropped pallets with four tons of relief goods by air into the enclave on Saturday.

“Every package counts. But airdrops are just a drop in the ocean,” the foreign ministry said on the social media platform X.

Israel’s air and ground campaign in Gaza, triggered by Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7, has displaced most of the population and left people in dire need of food and other essentials.

Germany joins operation to airdrop aid into Gaza

Germany said Wednesday it was joining an air bridge operation along with several other countries to drop desperately needed humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.

The operation, initiated by Jordan, already has the participation of several other countries including France and the United States.

The defense ministry said it would deploy the German part of a joint German-French air transport squadron to participate in the mission.

The team is equipped with C-130J Hercules transport planes, said the ministry, adding that Germany’s operation could begin as soon as the end of this week.

“The people in Gaza are lacking the most basic necessities. We want to do our part to ensure that they get access to food and medicine,” said Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.

After one parachuted airdrop turned lethal on March 8, the minister sought to allay fears.

“The truth is that airdrops are not without danger. The crews responsible are trained for the relevant procedures and highly experienced,” he said.

Gaza has faced relentless bombardment by Israel since Hamas launched a cross-border attack on October 7 that resulted in about 1,160 deaths, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Israel’s retaliatory bombardment and ground offensive has killed 31,184 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.

Aid groups say only a fraction of the supplies required to meet basic humanitarian needs have been allowed into Gaza since October.

With help entering Gaza by truck far below pre-war levels, and Gazans increasingly desperate, foreign governments have turned to airdrops and are now trying to open a maritime aid corridor from Cyprus.

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UK govt warned new extremism definition will ‘vilify’ Muslims

A spokesperson for the five groups said in a statement: “This new extremism definition is a solution looking for a problem. It attacks one of the cherished cornerstones of our pluralistic democracy — that of free speech…reports Asian Lite News

Muslim groups in the UK have warned the government that its plans to redefine extremism will stoke division and “vilify the wrong people.”

The government revealed proposals on Thursday to update legislation that currently defines extremism as “vocal or active opposition to British values.”

The new definition will add that it includes “promotion or advancement of ideology based on hatred, intolerance or violence or undermining or overturning the rights or freedoms of others, or of undermining democracy itself.”

Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Michael Gove, the architect of the new definition, warned in a statement earlier this month that pro-Palestine marches in London “have been organised by extremist organisations.”

CAGE International, Friends of Al-Aqsa, the Muslim Association of Britain, Muslim Engagement and Development, and 5Pillars said the proposals are “an attack on civil liberties” that target “law-abiding individuals and groups that oppose government policy by labelling them as ‘extremist.’”

A spokesperson for the five groups said in a statement: “This new extremism definition is a solution looking for a problem. It attacks one of the cherished cornerstones of our pluralistic democracy — that of free speech.

“Anyone, regardless of faith or political colour should be free to criticise the government of the day without being labelled as ‘extremist.’”

Earlier this week, the archbishops of Canterbury and York said the plans could “disproportionately” target British Muslim communities.

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Dutch far-right firebrand Wilders says won’t be PM

A new person, known in the Netherlands as an “informer,” was appointed to oversee the talks and this appears to have unblocked the stalemate…reports Asian Lite News

Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders said Wednesday that he would not be prime minister despite his stunning election win in November, due to a lack of support across the political spectrum.

“I can only become Prime Minister if ALL parties in the coalition support it. That was not the case,” Wilders said on X.

“The love for my country and voters is bigger and more important than my own position.”

The announcement came on the eve of an eagerly awaited report on Dutch coalition talks, amid speculation of a breakthrough that could result in a technocratic government.

The man overseeing the negotiations, Kim Putters, has said the bickering parties were ready to take the “next step” after two days of “good and intense” talks at a country estate.

Wilders posted on X that he wanted a “right-wing cabinet… less asylum and immigration. The Dutch come first.”

Party leaders have been tight-lipped during the process but public broadcaster NOS reported that the most likely outcome for Thursday’s report was an “extra-parliamentary” or technocratic cabinet.

It is unclear exactly what form this could take, but it is expected that four party leaders will serve as MPs.

Parties would appoint the members of the cabinet but they could be drawn from “ordinary” party members or even from outside politics, according to media reports.

Wilders stunned the Netherlands and Europe with a convincing victory in November elections that put him in pole position to lead coalition negotiations.

Unlike Britain, France or the United States for example, the Netherlands has a very fractured political system that means no party is strong enough to govern on its own.

The far-right leader’s Freedom Party (PVV) therefore started talks with the center-right Liberal VVD party, the BBB farmers’ party, and a new party, the New Social Contract (NSC).

The NSC, led by anti-corruption champion Pieter Omtzigt, was the other new factor in the election, gaining 20 seats and making it indispensable in any coalition.

But cracks began to show in the talks almost immediately, with sniping on social media and by the NSC in particular raising questions about the PVV’s far-right manifesto.

Among other things, the PVV manifesto calls for a ban on mosques, the Qur’an and Islamic headscarves. It also wants a binding referendum on a “Nexit” — the Netherlands leaving the European Union.

In February, Omtzigt abruptly quit the coalition talks, plunging the process into chaos with the differences between his party and the PVV “too big” to bridge.

At the time, the Algemeen Dagblad newspaper described the talks as a “slow-motion disaster” with “poison, mutual sniping, gossiping.”

A new person, known in the Netherlands as an “informer,” was appointed to oversee the talks and this appears to have unblocked the stalemate.

The new informer, Putters, managed to get the four party leaders back to the negotiating table with talks reportedly moving toward a technocratic government.

Time is ticking for the Netherlands to find a prime minister, as the man holding the fort, Mark Rutte, is widely expected to become the new NATO secretary general.

Since the election, support for the PVV has only increased, surveys suggest, as voters voice frustration at the slow pace of talks.

“Do not forget: I will become prime minister of the Netherlands one day. With the support of even more Dutch,” Wilders posted.

“If not tomorrow, then the day after tomorrow. Because the voices of millions of Dutch will be heard!”

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Russia threatens troop deployment along Finland border  

To celebrate the accession formally, a flag-raising ceremony has been planned for Monday (March 11) at the alliance headquarters in Brussels…reports Asian Lite News

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday vowed to deploy its troops and strike systems near the Finnish border following its accession to NATO.

Putin said Finland and Sweden’s entry into NATO is ‘ a meaningless step’, adding that Russia will deploy troops and systems of destruction on the Finnish border following its accession to the alliance last April.

“This is an absolutely meaningless step [for Finland and Sweden] from the point of view of ensuring their own national interests,” Putin told Russia’s RIA state news agency and Rossiya-1 state television in a wide-ranging interview.

“We didn’t have troops there [at the Finland border], now they will be there. There were no systems of destruction there, now they will appear,” he added.

Following the launch of Russia’s offensive in Ukraine more than two years ago, Sweden abandoned its long-standing neutrality and joined NATO on Thursday, becoming the organisation’s newest member. After Hungary–the last of the 31 alliance countries to approve Sweden–submitted its ratification document, the membership became official.

Sweden is now fully covered by Article 5 of the alliance, which requires all other members to defend one another in the event of an attack.

To celebrate the accession formally, a flag-raising ceremony has been planned for Monday (March 11) at the alliance headquarters in Brussels.

Finland, Sweden’s neighbour, became a member of the alliance on April 4 last year. With the two Nordic countries in the alliance, NATO controls almost all of the Baltic Sea.

Both a robust armaments industry and a well-equipped military are present in Sweden.The nation intends to spend 2.1 per cent of GDP on defence this year, about twice as much as it did in 2020 and over NATO’s target. (ANI)

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Putin urges Russians to take part in polls

The Russian Federation Council, or the Upper House of the Russian Parliament or Duma, officially scheduled the presidential election on March 17…reports Asian Lite News

President Vladimir Putin called on Russians to take part in the upcoming presidential election to be held on March 15-17, state news agency TASS reported on Thursday.

“We need to confirm our consolidation, our determination to go forward together. Each vote counts. That is why I am calling on you to realise your right to vote in the coming three days,” Putin said in a video address ahead of the voting.

According to TASS, President Putin addressed the nation ahead of federal elections eight times–in 2000, 2004, 2016, and 2018 (twice before the presidential election and after announcing their results), in 2021, and 2020, before the nationwide referendum on constitutional amendments.

Meanwhile, early voting for Russia’s presidential election was ongoing abroad, with over 40,000 people casting their ballots, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

“Early voting is underway. It has already taken place in 23 countries, and 29 election commissions are supervising it. As of March 12, more than 40,000 Russians have already voted,” the diplomat said. “Voting is taking place without any serious incidents,” she said.

She added that local Russian officials were ready to provide any assistance at the first request of their fellow citizens.

The Russian Federation Council, or the Upper House of the Russian Parliament or Duma, officially scheduled the presidential election on March 17.

The Russian Central Election Commission (CEC) announced subsequently that voting will take place over three days–from March 15 to 17, making it Russia’s first three-day presidential election.

President Putin is widely expected to sail through the polls, securing a fifth term in office and a full third decade as Russia’s supreme leader, CNN reported.

With the death of imprisoned Russian Opposition leader Alexei Navalny, it’s fair to say Putin’s political career has reached the president-for-life stage, CNN noted its report, adding that his re-anointment lays bare an uncomfortable fact for Russia’s future political stability.

The President and his circle have not made any visible preparations for a post-Putin era, it added.

Putin is the longest-serving leader since Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, CNN noted, adding that in 2020, Russian voters endorsed constitutional changes that would allow him to stay in power until 2036.

Even before Putin announced his candidacy, the Kremlin made it clear that it did not see any alternatives on the horizon to his system of one-man rule, the report added. (ANI)

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