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Added on the 16/04/2015 21:31:01 - Copyright : Reuters - Next Media
NATO forces cross the Vistula River at Korzeniewo in Poland as part of the US-led defence alliance's Exercise Dragon 24, involving around 4,500 soldiers and almost 1,000 vehicles. Dragon 24 is itself part of Exercise Steadfast Defender 24, NATO's largest military exercise since the Cold War, which is designed to test its defences in the face of Russia's war on Ukraine. IMAGES
China's UN ambassador tells an emergency meeting of the world body's General Assembly that "nothing can be gained" from a new Cold War between America and Russia. SOUNDBITE
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov meets Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono amid increasing tensions around the disputed Kuril islands. A decades-long row over the islands lingers as Moscow and Tokyo never signed a peace treaty after World War II due to the territorial dispute over the islands invaded by the Soviet Union in the final days of the war. IMAGES
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says he raised concerns with China about support for Russia, saying Moscow's invasion of Ukraine depended on Beijing's support. "Russia would struggle to sustain its assault on Ukraine without China's support," Blinken told reporters after his meetings with top leaders in Beijing. SOUNDBITE
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken accuses China of "fuelling" Russia's invasion of Ukraine through the transfers of dual use materials and weapons components from Chinese businesses to Russia for use in Moscow's military expansion. "If China purports on the one hand to want good relations with Europe and other countries, it can't on the other hand be fuelling what is the biggest threat to European security since the end of the Cold War," Blinken tells a press conference after a meeting of G7 foreign ministers on the Italian island of Capri where he had urged urged his European counterparts to increase pressure on Beijing. SOUNDBITE
Supporters of Zambian President Lungu hold a rally in Lusaka during a tense presidential race, which has been marked by clashes between rival supporters. The presidential election will take place on Thursday. IMAGES.