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☆ Finland follows France and raises possibility of deploying troops to Ukraine, says report
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-16 | by ( Rebecca Rommen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Finland's Foreign Minister says the West shouldn't rule out deploying troops against Russia. AdvertisementFinland's Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen said the West can't rule out the possibility of deploying troops against Russia, Politico reports. "We are not right now sending any troops and not willing to discuss that," she said. He again said that sending Western troops into Ukraine shouldn't be ruled out, though he said the current situation doesn't require it, AP reported. Despite the Biden administration's firm stance against sending US troops to Ukraine, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby stressed on Friday that the decision ultimately lies with individual nations.

Persons: Elina Valtonen, Macron, —, Valtonen, Emmanuel Macron, Le Monde, Olaf Scholz, Putin, Vladimir Putin, ALEXANDER NEMENOV, Ukraine shouldn't, Jonathan NACKSTRAND, Ivo Daalder, Kurt Volker, John Kirby Organizations: Finland's, Politico, Service, NATO, Stalin's Red Army, Getty, Reuters, AP, NATO Nordic, AFP, Biden, National Security Locations: Russia, Finland, Sweden, Soviet Union, Moscow, Paris, Ukraine, Russian, Swedish, AFP Ukraine, Avdiivka

☆ 'We have decided to close the entire border' with Russia, says Finland's minister for foreign affairs
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via Email'We have decided to close the entire border' with Russia, says Finland's minister for foreign affairsElina Valtonen, Finland's minister for foreign affairs, discusses NATO, Ukraine, Israel-Hamas and the Russia-Finland border.

Persons: Elina Valtonen Organizations: NATO, Hamas Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Israel, Finland

Now, hundreds of migrants from the Middle East and Africa have appeared at Finland's border from Russia, seeking entry into the Nordic country. They accuse Russia of driving the migrants to the border to sow discord as payback for Finland's membership in NATO. Finnish authorities quickly closed four checkpoints and then three more, leaving just one Arctic crossing point open for asylum-seekers. Finland also asked for help from EU border agency Frontex, which said it would send dozens of officers and equipment as reinforcements to the Finnish border. The Kremlin denies encouraging the migrants, and says it regrets the Finnish border closures.

Persons: Elina Valtonen, Petteri Orpo, Maria Zakharova, Valtonen, Russia’s, ”, Klaus Dodds, ” Dodds, Ylva Johansson, Sauli Niinistö, Alexander Lukashenko, Evika Siliņa, Siliņa, Lukashenko, Vladimir Putin, “, Geert Wilders, Orpo’s, Vanessa Gera Organizations: HELSINKI, —, NATO, Nordic, Associated Press, HOW, EU, Frontex, Russian Foreign Ministry, Royal Holloway, University of London, VU EU Home Affairs, Belarus —, Latvian, AP, Poland’s, Guard Locations: Finland, Russia, East, Africa, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Finnish, FINLAND, Helsinki, Belarus, Europe, Moscow, Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Baltic, Netherlands, Finns, Lapland, Murmansk, Warsaw

☆ Finland May Shut Entire Russian Border, Foreign Minister Says
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

"We have already taken measures to close border crossing points, and if need be, we will be doing further closings," Valtonen said in an interview, adding that closing the entire border was one option the government was currently discussing. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday that Russia will "of course" respond if Finland closes the remaining border posts between the two countries. Valtonen confirmed observations by the Finnish border guards and said Finnish decision-makers had additional evidence that the Russian border service was transporting the migrants to the border but declined to reveal her sources. Valtonen said Finland had tried discussing the matter with Russia but Moscow had so far declined to engage in dialogue. On Wednesday, 51 migrants arrived from Russia to apply for asylum at the Salla border crossing and at least 11 at Vartius in Northern Finland, the Border Guard said.

Persons: Elina Valtonen, Valtonen, Maria Zakharova, Ylva Johansson, Essi Lehto, Anne Kauranen, Terje Solsvik, Frances Kerry Organizations: Essi Lehto, Reuters, European Union, Kremlin, Foreign, Valtonen, NATO, Frontex, Border Guard Locations: Essi Lehto HELSINKI, Finland, Russia, Helsinki, Moscow, Yemen, Afghanistan, Kenya, Morocco, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, Ukraine, Russian, EU's, Finnish, Vartius, Northern Finland

☆ Finland may shut entire Russian border, foreign minister says
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( Essi Lehto | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A car is seen at the border between Russia and Finland at the Nuijamaa border checkpoint in Lappeenranta, Finland, November 16, 2023. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday that Russia will "of course" respond if Finland closes the remaining border posts between the two countries. Valtonen confirmed observations by the Finnish border guards and said Finnish decision-makers had additional evidence that the Russian border service was transporting the migrants to the border but declined to reveal her sources. Valtonen said Finland had tried discussing the matter with Russia but Moscow had so far declined to engage in dialogue. On Wednesday, 51 migrants arrived from Russia to apply for asylum at the Salla border crossing and at least 11 at Vartius in Northern Finland, the Border Guard said.

Persons: Moilanen, Elina Valtonen, Valtonen, Maria Zakharova, Ylva Johansson, Essi, Anne Kauranen, Terje Solsvik, Frances Kerry Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, European Union, Kremlin, Foreign, Valtonen, NATO, Frontex, Border Guard, Thomson Locations: Russia, Finland, Lappeenranta, Helsinki, Moscow, Yemen, Afghanistan, Kenya, Morocco, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, Ukraine, Russian, EU's, Finnish, Vartius, Northern Finland

☆ Estonia Says Chinese Ship Is Main Focus of Probe Into Cables Damage
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

By Andrius Sytas and Essi LehtoVILNIUS/HELSINKI (Reuters) - Estonian prosecutors said on Friday the Hong Kong-registered NewNew Polar Bear container ship was the main focus of their investigations into the damage of two subsea telecoms cables last month. It is the first time Estonia has said it was the primary scenario it was investigating. NewNew Shipping, the owner and operator of the NewNew Polar Bear, has previously declined to comment when contacted by Reuters. Estonia's prosecutor general said on Friday the main lead they were following was that "damage to the telecom cables between Estonia and Finland and Estonia and Sweden is connected to the vessel Newnew Polar Bear flying the flag of Hong Kong". Reuters has reported that two vessels, the NewNew Polar Bear and the Russia-flagged Sevmorput, were present near the cables and pipeline around the time of the damage, according to data from MarineTraffic, a ship-tracking and maritime analytics provider.

Persons: Andrius Sytas, Triinu Olev, Risto Lohi, Elina Valtonen, China, Essi, Terje Solsvik, Christina Fincher, Andrew Heavens Organizations: Essi Lehto, NewNew Shipping, Reuters, NATO, Finland's Locations: Essi, Essi Lehto VILNIUS, HELSINKI, Hong Kong, Estonia's, Finland, Estonia, China, Baltic, Sweden, Russia, MarineTraffic, Vilnius, Helsinki

A damaged Balticconnector gas pipeline that connects Finland and Estonia is pictured in this undated handout picture in the Baltic Sea. "They (China) have promised full cooperation and we trust it," Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen told Reuters on the sidelines of a news conference in Helsinki. Two telecoms cables linking Estonia to Finland and Sweden were damaged on the same night between Oct.7-8, authorities said last month, and Russia's Rostelecom (RTKM.MM) on Tuesday revealed that one of its fibre optic cables had also been hit. Data from shipping intelligence firm MarineTraffic, reviewed by Reuters, showed that the NewNew Polar Bear passed over the pipeline and the telecoms cables in the space of less than nine hours. NewNew Shipping, the owner and operator of the NewNew Polar Bear, has previously declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.

Persons: China, Elina Valtonen, Russia's, Valtonen, Anne Kauranen, Simon Johnson, Anna Ringstrom, Terje Solsvik, Christina Fincher Organizations: Finnish Border Guard, REUTERS, Rights, Wednesday, Hong, Reuters, NewNew Shipping, Thomson Locations: Finland, Estonia, Baltic, Hong Kong, China, Helsinki, Sweden, Russia, Moscow, Ukraine, Stockholm

☆ Finland Says It Has Informed Russia About Its Baltic Sea Gas Pipe Probe
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Finland has informed Russia about its investigation into the damage on Oct. 7 to the subsea Balticconnector gas pipeline between Estonia and Finland, the Finnish foreign minister said on Wednesday. Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen told a news conference Russia has not asked for Finland's help in investigating the damage to a Russian telecommunications cable that happened on the same night. The anchor was later found near the pipeline and was retrieved by Finnish investigators. Investigators have yet to establish who was responsible for blowing up Russia's Nord Stream gas pipelines under the Baltic last year. (Reporting by Anne Kauranen and Simon Johnson, writing by Anna Ringstrom, editing by Terje Solsvik)

Persons: Elina Valtonen, Anne Kauranen, Simon Johnson, Anna Ringstrom, Terje Solsvik Organizations: Rostelecom, Hong Locations: HELSINKI, Finland, Russia, Estonia, Russian, St . Petersburg, Russia's Kaliningrad, Hong Kong, Ukraine, Baltic

No decision on a ground offensive has been announced, although Israel has been massing troops along the Gaza border 3. Israeli military spokesman Read Adm. Daniel Hagari said Saturday Israel had so far identified 126 captives. GERMANY TO START EVACUATING CITIZENS FROM ISRAELBERLIN — The German army will start evacuating its citizens from Israel with military airplanes. Hezbollah said its fighters struck several Israeli military positions in the disputed Chebaa Farms and Kfar Chouba hills in the afternoon. ISRAELI MILITARY ANNOUNCES IT IS PREPARED FOR ‘COORDINATED’ OFFENSIVEJERUSALEM — The Israeli military says it has prepared a “coordinated” offensive in the Gaza Strip involving air, ground and naval forces.

Persons: Israel, Lloyd Austin, “, Israel —, ”, Yifat Zailer, Zailer, Read, Daniel Hagari, Hezbollah’s, Ali Youssef Alaaeddine, Alaaeddine, ERDOGAN'S, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Bilal Erdogan, Suleyman Soylu, Mustafa Sentop, ” Erdogan, Sentop, Khalil Hachem, Rabad Akoum, ” Israel, Ismail Haniyeh, ” Haniyeh, Haniyeh, Mohammad Abu Selim, Medhat Abbas, Hakan Fidan, Sameh Shoukry, IT'S, ROME —, “ We’ve, Antonio Tajani, Tajani, —, ” Tajani, TT, Tobias Billström, Elina Valtonen, Hossein Amirabdollahian, Saleh Arouri, Ziad Nakhaleh, Amirabdollahian Organizations: United Nations, Gaza, United States Defense, TEL, ISRAEL BERLIN —, Hamas, Lufthansa, BEIRUT —, Associated Press, AP, Ministry, Sunday, South, MEDIA, BEIRUT, National News Agency, OFFICIAL, EGYPT BEIRUT —, OF, Gaza —, Shifa, Health Ministry, FROM, Romania — Romania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Israel, NORDIC, FROM ISRAEL HELSINKI, Nordic, Helsinki Airport, Iran’s, Manar, Islamic, Hezbollah Locations: Gaza City, Israel, Gaza, Egypt, Israeli, Lebanon, ISRAEL, SYRIA, TEL AVIV, Syria, Golan, GERMANY, Germany, Jordan, BEIRUT, Palestinian, ISTANBUL ISTANBUL, Istanbul, United States, Tel Aviv, Dubai, South, Lebanese, Chebaa, Kfar Chouba, JERUSALEM, EGYPT BEIRUT, GAZA, Shifa, FROM ISRAEL, TURKEY, ISTANBUL, Turkish, Embassy, Turkey, BUCHAREST, Romania, Romanian Embassy, ITALY, ROME, Italian, Rome, FINNS, Finland, Sweden, Helsinki, Stockholm, Swedish, Stockholm’s Arlanda, Beirut, Hezbollah’s, Amirabdollahian, Iran, Iraq, Jihad

☆ Governments repatriate citizens from Israel
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +10 min

REUTERS/Pilar Olivares Acquire Licensing RightsOct 12 (Reuters) - Governments around the world have arranged repatriation flights from Tel Aviv in reaction to the conflict in Israel. AUSTRALIAAustralia organised two special flights on Friday and Sunday to bring back citizens from Israel, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Wednesday. CANADACanada plans to operate evacuation flights for Canadians stranded in Israel, Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said on Tuesday. ITALYItaly arranged for seven flights between Tuesday and Wednesday, the Italian foreign ministry said late on Tuesday, as part of efforts to repatriate about 900 Italian citizens from Israel. On Wednesday, Portugal had repatriated 152 Portuguese citizens directly from Israel, plus 14 citizens from other European countries.

Persons: Roseli Pereira, Pilar Olivares, Anthony Albanese, Alexander De Croo, Melanie Joly, Jan Lipavsky, Lipavsky, Elina Valtonen, Catherine Colonna, Annalena Baerbock, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Andrzej Duda, Mariusz Blaszczak, Margarita Robles, Tobias Billstrom, Srettha Thavisin, Oleg Nikolenko, Nikolenko, Alessandro Parodi, Tristan Chabba, Joao Manuel Mauricio, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Rio de, REUTERS, Argentinian, AUSTRALIA Australia, Spanish Air Force, Foreign, CANADA Canada, Centre for Israel, Jewish Affairs, Boeing, Foreign Ministry, European Union, Aviation, CZECH REPUBLIC Czech, Wednesday, Reuters, French Foreign, France, Condor, German Foreign Ministry, Icelandic Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Israel . KAZAKHSTAN Air Astana, Astana Times, Norwegian Air, Sunday . Defence, Ben Gurion, SOUTH, Incheon Airport, Korean, Acting, Airbus, SWISS, THAILAND, Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Airline KLM, Facebook, Romania, UNITED, UNITED STATES, U.S . State Department, . Delta Air Lines, U.S, Thomson Locations: Israel, Brazil, Tel Aviv, ARGENTINA, Rome, Argentina, AUSTRALIA, AUSTRIA Austria, Hörsching, Upper Austria, Cyprus, BELGIUM Belgium, BOLIVIA, BRAZIL, Brasilia, Embassy of Brazil, CHILE, Athens, Madrid, COLOMBIA, CYPRUS, Cypriot, CZECH REPUBLIC, Czech, Oman, Prague, DENMARK, Danish, FINLAND Finland, FRANCE France, Israel's Tel Aviv, Paris, GERMANY German, Jordanian, Aqaba, ICELAND, Germany, Keflavík, Iceland, Icelandic, ITALY Italy, Almaty, MEXICO, Oslo, POLAND Poland, Polish, Poland, Ben, Ben Gurion Airport, PORTUGAL, Portuguese, Lisbon, Portugal, SOUTH KOREA, Seoul, KS, SPAIN Spain, Spain, Torrejon, SWEDEN, Swedish, SWITZERLAND Swiss, Zurich, Bern, NETHERLANDS, Netherlands, UKRAINE Ukrainian, Gaza, Europe, U.S, Gdansk

☆ The next United Nations Secretary General? This Caribbean climate leader makes diplomats 'jump' with excitement
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( Stephanie Fillion | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

United Nations CNN —Asked last week if she will run to become the United Nations’ next Secretary General, Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados gave a thumbs up, smiled, and walked away. Fighting for a woman at the helmThe UN’s next Secretary General would take office in January 2027. “There’s always lots of men that want to run,” said Ben Donaldson, head of campaigns at the United Nations Association of the United Kingdom. “It’s not so much about talking about a Julie or Anne, or Mary, it is more about talking about a Madame Secretary General as a general proposition, and then making sure that we pave the way to get there,” she said. “I believe that men should run next time around as I believe women should run in their numbers,” he said.

Persons: United Nations CNN —, Mia Mottley, Mottley, Juan Manuel Santos –, –, Santos, Rafael Grossi, António Guterres, Alicia Bárcena, Rebeca, Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, “, Ralph Gonsalves, Saint Vincent, ”, Guterres, Obama, Richard Gowan, ” Elina Valtonen, ” Valtonen, it’s, Ben Donaldson, “ I’m, Susana Malcorra, It’s, Julie, Anne, Mary, Dennis Francis, doesn’t, ” Julia Maciel Organizations: United Nations CNN, United Nations ’, UN, United Nations, International Atomic Energy Agency, Assembly, CNN, International Monetary Fund, General, Chevron, European Union, Bridgetown Initiative, IMF, World Bank, Crisis, UN Security Council, Security Council, Security, United Nations Association of, Global, Madame Locations: Barbados, America, Caribbean, New York, Colombian, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Grenadines, Venezuela, Bridgetown, COP28, New York City, UN, Portuguese, United Kingdom, Trinidad and Tobago, Ukraine, Paraguay

☆ 'Gratitude' spat: NATO and Ukraine's clash over aid reveals a strained power dynamic
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Silvia Amaro | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

This culminated with the Ukrainian leader, Volodomyr Zelenskyy, saying Tuesday that the absence of a timeline for his country to join NATO was "absurd." Even if some members were very keen to follow Ukraine's request, the United States in particular isn't supportive of immediate membership for Kyiv at this time. But I promise you, the United States is doing everything we can to get you what you need as rapidly as we can get it to you." watch nowThe 31 members of NATO did not commit to a date for when Ukraine can join the group. However, Valtonen disregarded claims that Ukraine has not shown gratitude, arguing that aid should not be seen as charity.

Persons: Volodomyr Zelenskyy, Joe Biden, Sean Gallup, Jacob Kirkegaard, Jake Sullivan, Ben Wallace, Rishi Sunak, Maria Demertzis, Zelenskyy, Biden, we're, Elina Valtonen, Valtonen Organizations: Getty, NATO, CNBC, Kyiv, German Marshall Fund of, Diplomat, . Defense, Reuters, European Union, Financial Times, Twitter Locations: Ukraine, Vilnius, Lithuania, Kyiv, United States, U.S, Washington, China, British, Russia, Finland

☆ EU says aborted Russia mutiny shows Moscow's military power is 'cracking'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, June 26 (Reuters) - European Union foreign ministers on Monday said an aborted mutiny in Russia at the weekend showed Moscow's war in Ukraine was causing domestic instability and undermining its military power, but stressed their focus remained on supporting Kyiv. "The political system is showing fragilities, and the military power is cracking," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told reporters in Luxembourg as he arrived for a meeting with ministers from across the 27-member bloc. "The monster that Putin created with Wagner, the monster is biting him now, the monster is acting against his creator." German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Putin was destroying his own country with his "brutal war of aggression" in Ukraine. Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen suggested the weekend's events showed Putin's hold on power was not as strong as it seemed.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Josep Borrell, Borrell, Vladimir Putin, Prigozhin's Wagner, Putin, Annalena Baerbock, Yves Herman, Baerbock, Jean Asselborn, Alexander Schallenberg, Elina Valtonen, Sabine Siebold, Bart Meijer, Andrew Gray, Conor Humphries Organizations: Union, Kyiv, Moscow, EU, European Commission, REUTERS, Austrian, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, Russia, Ukraine, EU, Luxembourg, Brussels, Belgium, Russia's, Europe, Finnish

☆ Finland's parliament backs Petteri Orpo as PM, replacing Sanna Marin
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] National Coalition Party chair PM-designate Petteri Orpo speaks to the media, on the day of a press conference, where the four-party cabinet released the details of the governing agenda, in Helsinki, Finland, June 16, 2023. Lehtikuva/Kimmo Penttinen via REUTERSHELSINKI, June 20 (Reuters) - Finland's newly elected parliament on Tuesday voted in favour of National Coalition Party leader Petteri Orpo to become prime minister, as widely expected, ushering in a right-wing government and ending Social Democrat Sanna Marin's rule. The new finance minister will be Riikka Purra, head of the eurosceptic Finns Party, while the NCP's deputy leader Elina Valtonen will become foreign minister when the government takes office later on Tuesday. "I warmly thank you for the confidence you've shown me," Orpo told parliament shortly after the vote. A self-styled fiscal conservative, Orpo campaigned on a promise to reduce the government's budget deficit by cutting spending while also reducing taxes and seeking to boost private sector job creation.

Persons: Petteri Orpo, Penttinen, Sanna, Elina Valtonen, Orpo, Essi Lehto, Terje Solsvik Organizations: National Coalition Party, REUTERS, NCP, Finns, Swedish People's Party, Christian Democrats, eurosceptic Finns Party, Finns Party, Thomson Locations: Helsinki, Finland, REUTERS HELSINKI

☆ A brilliant cosmic burst 100 times as bright as our galaxy came from 2 black holes circling each other, study finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Chris Panella | Jessica Orwig | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Huge cosmic bursts are coming from two black holes circling each other in a distant galaxy. In this case, the flare came from a binary system consisting of two black holes trapped in a rapid dance. A cosmic burst 100 times brighter than our galaxyThe recorded burst, which astronomers observed in February 2022, occurred when the smaller black hole crashed into a disk of gas surrounding the larger black hole, the study's scientists said. Up to this point, its presence was only predicted through observations of its gravitational influence on the larger black hole. An illustration of the binary black hole system, OJ 287, showing the massive black hole surrounded by an accretion disk.

Persons: —, Mauri Valtonen, Valtonen, Swift, Cruz, they've Organizations: Service, Royal Astronomical Society, ESO, ESA, Hubble, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, NASA, OJ, University of Turku Locations: OJ287

☆ NATO membership: We're not worried about any reaction from Russia, Finnish politician says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailNATO membership: We're not worried about any reaction from Russia, Finnish politician saysElina Valtonen, chairman of the Finnish delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, says Finland has always invested heavily in defense.

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