NATO TO INCREASE PRESENCE IN BALTIC IF SWEDEN APPLIES FOR NATO MEMBERSHIP PAGE 43

 May 6 , 2022

 NATO Beefed Up Baltic Presence On Cards If Sweden Applies To Join - Stoltenberg 

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday that the instant Sweden applies for membership, the US-led alliance has a "very strong obligation" to ramp up its presence in the Baltic to protect the country. 

Finland is also anxious to join NATO, with top-ranking officials from both countries discussing the matter with Washington this week. 

Swedish FM Ann Linde said Tuesday that the US was prepared to offer "different kinds of security assurances" during an application process, while Finnish PM Sanna Marín - who's also held talks with the UK, France and Germany - stressed a quick ratification process would be "the best security guarantee". 

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 Sweden Ruling Party SPLIT On NATO Membership Bid

The women's faction of Sweden's ruling Social Democrats reportedly wants the country to maintain its two-century long policy of military neutrality and stay out of NATO, according to local media outlet Svenska Dagbladet citing Climate & Environment Minister Annika Strandhall. 

Her comments are the first major political pushback against Sweden's possible NATO membership, and come a week before Sweden's security policy assessment is due out, with the coalition govt set to decide on the issue by May 24 after Foreign Ministry position paper is issued. 

PM Magdalena Andersson has said a referendum won't be used if the Riksdag approves the bid. According to recent polls 51% of Swedes want to join, significantly higher than before the conflict with Ukraine - which Pope Francis said Tuesday could have been sparked by "the barking of NATO at Russia’s door”. 

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 Sanctions: Opportunity in Disguise / 2022

#Russia

    Russia's special military operation in Ukraine has triggered a wave of anti-Russian sanctions from the West, and they keep coming. People and businesses try to adjust their operations to the new reality. Some try to experiment with their product range, and others look for alternative suppliers, the rest partner with local businesses. How are these new adjustment plans working?

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May 7 , 2022

Beijing Orders Govt Agencies & State Orgs To Dump Foreign PCs

China has ordered all employees of government bodies and state organizations to ditch foreign-branded PCs for domestic equivalents. (Bloomberg) 

Just at central govt level alone this is likely to cull 50mn foreign PCs, with sales of HP and Dell - China's two biggest non-domestic computer brands - likely to take a serious hit. 

Stocks in Chinese tech companies unsurprisingly leapt up; Lenovo and Kingsoft erased losses to post 5% and 3.3% gains respectively on Hong Kong markets, while mainland exchanges saw rises of between 4-10% for other Chinese computer-related brands. 

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 With anti-Russia content swamping US TV networks since the Ukraine hostilities began - it’s no wonder liberals were furious when Fox News host Tucker Carlson offered an opinion diverging from the mainstream

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 ‘Don’t patronize us’ over Ukraine - India warns Netherlands

India's UN Permanent Rep, TS Tirumurti, has accused the Netherlands of “patronizing” his country after the Dutch ambassador to the UK publicly scolded New Delhi for abstaining on UN General Assembly resolutions on Ukraine.

"Kindly don't patronise us, Ambassador. We know what to do," Tirumurti tweeted Dutch envoy Karel van Oosterom Thursday, in response to the ambassador’s now-deleted warning that India should “respect the UN Charter,” and “not abstain” on votes.

Despite growing pressure to join the West in isolating Russia over the Ukraine conflict, New Delhi has been reluctant to cut ties with Moscow and abstained on multiple votes against Russia.

Tirumurti reiterated India's position that "pursuing the path of dialogue and diplomacy" is the "only way out" of the crisis.

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