Europe

ZAGREB, May 12 (Xinhua) -- As this year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Croatia and China, former Croatian President Ivo Josipovic told Xinhua in a recent interview that this would inject new impetus into the development of bilateral relations and open up new possibilities for cooperation.

HELSINKI, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin on Thursday publicly supported the idea of Finland applying to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

"Finland must apply for NATO membership without delay. We hope that the national steps still needed to make this decision will be taken rapidly within the next few days," the two leaders said in a joint statement, arguing that NATO membership would strengthen Finland's security.

12 May 2022; MEMO: Voters in the UK will be lobbying parliament today, a day after Israel targeted Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, calling on MPs to end their complicity in Israeli apartheid and for sanctions on the occupation state.

12 May 2022; MEMO: French prosecutors have opened an investigation into global police agency Interpol President, Ahmed Nasser Al-Raisi over allegations that he may have been an accomplice to torture, an official said, and Reuters reports.

Raisi, a United Arab Emirates official, was appointed President of Interpol, which is headquartered in France, in November 2021 despite accusations from rights groups that he had failed to act on allegations of torture of detainees in the UAE.

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — A Nepali Sherpa broke her own record as the most successful female climber of Mount Everest by reaching the summit of the world’s highest peak Thursday.

Lakpa Sherpa and several other climbers took advantage of favorable weather to reach the 8,849-meter (29,032-foot) summit early in the morning, her brother and expedition organizer Mingma Gelu said. He said she was in good health and was safely descending from the peak.

PISTOIA, Italy (AP) — A Ukrainian circus troupe is performing a never-ending “Alice in Wonderland” tour of Italy, caught in the real-world rabbit hole of having to create joyful performances on stage while their families at home are living through war.

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A man in a Russian military uniform stood at the entrance of a large home improvement store in Poland’s capital, saluting shoppers and thanking them for funding Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.

His chest bedecked with medals, Polish activist Arkadiusz Szczurek was protesting at a French-owned retailer Leroy Merlin store in Warsaw as shoppers flocked to buy plants and gardening equipment with spring’s arrival. Some shoppers turned around to go elsewhere. Others were indifferent or irritated.

HELSINKI (AP) — Finland’s president and prime minister said Thursday they’re in favor of applying for NATO membership, paving the way for the alliance to expand amid Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The dramatic move by Finland was announced by President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin in a joint statement. It means that Finland is virtually certain to seek NATO membership, though a few steps remain before the application process can begin. Neighboring Sweden is expected to decide on joining NATO in coming days.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian forces were continuing their airstrikes on the Azovstal steel mill in Mariupol and pressing their advance on towns in eastern Ukraine, the general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces said Thursday.

The bombardment came as Ukraine offered to release Russian prisoners of war in exchange for the safe evacuation of the badly injured fighters that remained trapped inside the mill in the ruined city.

BUCHA, Ukraine (AP) — As he listened to his father die, the boy lay still on the asphalt. His elbow burned where a bullet had pierced him. His thumb stung from being grazed.

Another killing was in progress on a lonely street in Bucha, the community on the outskirts of Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, where bodies of civilians are still being discovered weeks after Russian soldiers withdrew. Many had been shot in the head.

The 14-year-old Yura Nechyporenko was about to become one of them.