World News Roundup: Finnish centre-right eyes coalition talks as defeated Marin considers future; Analysis-Russia's arrest of reporter deepens Biden's detainee challenge and more

With relations between the world's two largest nuclear powers strained to the breaking point by Russia's war in Ukraine, officials in Washington have for months been unable to reach a deal to free Whelan, convicted by a Russian court of espionage in 2020. Macron says France will prepare 'end of life' bill this year President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday France must improve the availability of palliative care and there would be a draft bill by the end of the summer on whether some form of assisted dying should be allowed.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Finnish centre-right eyes coalition talks as defeated Marin considers future

Outgoing Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin was left to consider her future after she conceded defeat in a tight parliamentary election on Sunday that handed her centre-right rival Petteri Orpo the right to try and form a coalition. Despite gaining three seats, Marin's left wing Social Democratic Party (SDP) came third with 43 of parliament's 200 seats behind Orpo's centre-right National Coalition Party with 48 seats and the nationalist Finns on 46.

Analysis-Russia's arrest of reporter deepens Biden's detainee challenge

Even before Russia detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich on Wednesday, the Biden administration was at an impasse over another American held by Moscow: Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine serving a 16-year sentence in a Russian prison. With relations between the world's two largest nuclear powers strained to the breaking point by Russia's war in Ukraine, officials in Washington have for months been unable to reach a deal to free Whelan, convicted by a Russian court of espionage in 2020.

Macron says France will prepare 'end of life' bill this year

President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday France must improve the availability of palliative care and there would be a draft bill by the end of the summer on whether some form of assisted dying should be allowed. He said the bill would build on the work of a group of 184 randomly appointed French citizens who have debated the issue since December. They concluded their work this weekend with 76% of them saying they favoured allowing some form of assistance to die, for those who want it.

Ukraine says its forces fight on in Bakhmut, mocks Russian claim to have captured city

Ukraine's military said its troops were locked in combat with Russian forces around the administration building of Bakhmut on Monday, and it poured scorn on Russian claims that mercenary fighters had captured the eastern city after months of warfare. A Ukrainian spokesman said the Russians had raised a victory flag not over the building but over "some kind of toilet".

Bomb kills Russian war blogger in St Petersburg cafe

Well-known Russian military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky was killed by a bomb blast in a St Petersburg cafe on Sunday in what appeared to be the second assassination on Russian soil of a figure closely associated with the war in Ukraine. Russia's state Investigative Committee said it had opened a murder investigation. St Petersburg's governor said that 25 people were wounded and 19 of them were being treated in hospital.

Philippines reveals locations of 4 new strategic sites for U.S. military pact

The Philippines identified on Monday four more of its military bases that the United States will get access to, almost doubling the number included in a defence agreement that seeks to advance a decades-old alliance between them. The expansion of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) underlines the Philippines' strategic importance to the former colonial ruler the United States, coming at a time of growing concern over China's conduct in the South China Sea and tension over self-ruled Taiwan.

Chinese spy balloon gathered intelligence on US military sites- NBC News

A Chinese balloon that flew across the United States was able to gather intelligence from several U.S. military sites and transmit it back to Beijing in real time, despite the Biden administration's efforts to prevent it from doing so, NBC News reported on Monday. The high-altitude balloon, controlled by Beijing, was able to make multiple passes over some of the sites before it was shot down on Feb. 4, at times flying in a figure-eight formation, NBC said, citing two current senior U.S. officials and one former senior administration official.

Finland will join NATO on Tuesday - Stoltenberg

Finland will join NATO on Tuesday, a step that will make Finland safer and the alliance stronger, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday. "We will raise the Finnish flag for the first time here at NATO headquarters. It will be a good day for Finland's security, for Nordic security and for NATO as a whole," he told reporters in Brussels.

Germany's Scholz in Bucharest to stress support for Romania, Moldova

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited Romania on Monday to underscore Western support for a key NATO ally that borders Ukraine and also for neighbouring Moldova, which has looked especially vulnerable since Russia's invasion last year. Moldovan President Maia Sandu, who has accused Moscow of fomenting unrest in her tiny former Soviet republic, was due to join Scholz and Romanian President Klaus Iohannis in Bucharest later in the day.

Trump to fly to New York for court surrender amid tight security

Former U.S. President Donald Trump is set to fly from Florida to New York City on Monday, ahead of his scheduled arraignment related to hush money paid to a porn star before the 2016 election, as security tightens in Manhattan. Trump, the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges, is due to be arraigned, fingerprinted and photographed at the downtown Manhattan courthouse on Tuesday. His lawyers have said he will enter a plea of not guilty.