World News Roundup: Russia, China are not creating military alliance, Putin says; Roxham Road, asylum-seeker destination, busy after Biden-Trudeau pact and more

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Russia, China are not creating military alliance, Putin says

Russia and China are not creating a military alliance and the cooperation between their armed forces is "transparent", President Vladimir Putin said in comments broadcast on Sunday, days after hosting Chinese leader Xi Jinping in the Kremlin. Putin and Xi professed friendship and pledged closer ties, including in the military sphere, during their March 20-21 summit, as Russia struggles to make battlefield gains in what it calls a "special military operation" in Ukraine.

Roxham Road, asylum-seeker destination, busy after Biden-Trudeau pact

Asylum seekers warned by police they could be sent back continued to walk into Canada through the unofficial United States border crossing into Quebec at Roxham Road a day after the two countries amended a 20-year-old asylum pact trying to stem the influx. On Saturday afternoon, as snow began to fall at Roxham Road, a Canada Border Services Agency spokesperson said officials had just begun to process asylum seekers apprehended under the new protocol and had sent one back to the U.S.

What did Putin say on tactical nuclear weapons and Belarus?

President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday that Russia has struck a deal with neighbouring Belarus to station tactical nuclear weapons on its territory. Here are his key remarks on the subject, made on state television and translated by Reuters.

"As to our talks with (Belarus President) Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko, the trigger was the statement by the British Deputy Minister of Defenсe that they are going to supply depleted uranium munitions to Ukraine, this is somehow related to nuclear technology. Even outside the context of these events, this statement, Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko has long been raising the question of the deployment of Russian tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus."

Putin says Moscow to place nuclear weapons in Belarus, US reacts cautiously

Russia will station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday, sending a warning to NATO over its military support for Ukraine and escalating a standoff with the West. Although not unexpected and while Putin said the move would not violate nuclear non-proliferation promises, it is one of the Russia's most pronounced nuclear signals since the beginning of its invasion of Ukraine 13 months ago.

Ukraine slams Putin plan to station Russian nuclear weapons in Belarus

A top security adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday that Russian plans to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus would destabilise that country, which he said had been taken "hostage" by Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the decision on Saturday, sending a warning to NATO over its military support for Ukraine and escalating a standoff with the West.

Russia's nuclear rhetoric is dangerous and irresponsible, NATO says

NATO on Sunday criticised Russia for its "dangerous and irresponsible" nuclear rhetoric, a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia would station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. "NATO is vigilant, and we are closely monitoring the situation. We have not seen any changes in Russia's nuclear posture that would lead us to adjust our own," a NATO spokesperson said.

China opens ties with Honduras, Taiwan decries monetary demands

China established diplomatic ties with Honduras on Sunday after the Central American country ended its decades-long relationship with Taiwan, while Taiwan's foreign minister accused Honduras of demanding exorbitant sums before being lured away by Beijing. The ending of ties with Taiwan had been expected after the Honduran foreign minister travelled to China last week to open relations and President Xiomara Castro said her government would start ties with Beijing.

Lebanon in confusion as daylight savings dispute deepens divisions

Lebanon woke up in two time zones on Sunday amid an escalating dispute between political and religious authorities over a decision to extend winter time for a month. Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati decided on Thursday to roll clocks forward an hour on April 20, instead of entering daylight savings time on the last weekend of March as is usually the case in Lebanon, Europe and other regions.

Hong Kong police keep tight tabs on first authorised protest in years

Hong Kong police on Sunday permitted a small protest march under tight restrictions in one of the first demonstrations to be approved since the enactment of a sweeping national security law in 2020. Several dozen demonstrators were required to wear numbered lanyards and were barred from wearing masks, as police monitored their march against a proposed land reclamation and rubbish processing project.

Palestinians accuse settlers of West Bank arson, Israel sees electrical fire

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry accused "Jewish terrorist elements" of an arson attack against a family home in the occupied West Bank on Sunday, but Israeli police said the fire appeared to have been an accident. West Bank tensions have been running high as Palestinians mark the Muslim holy month of Ramadan amid a surge of violence, including a gun attack on Saturday in which two Israeli soldiers were wounded and almost nightly arrest raids by the Israeli army.

(With inputs from agencies.)