Security concerns raised by Turkey in its opposition to Finland's and Sweden's NATO membership applications are legitimate, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Sunday during a visit to Finland.
"These are legitimate concerns. This is about terrorism, it's about weapons exports," Stoltenberg told a joint news conference with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto while visiting him at his summer residence in Naantali, Finland.
Sweden and Finland applied to join the Western defence alliance last month, in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine but they have faced opposition from Turkey, which has accused them of supporting and harbouring Kurdish militants and other groups it deems terrorists.
Stoltenberg said Turkey was a key ally for the alliance due to its strategic location on the Black Sea between Europe and the Middle East, and cited the support it has provided to Ukraine since Russia sent troops into its neighbour on February 24. Moscow calls its actions a "special military operation".
"We have to remember and understand that no NATO ally has suffered more terrorist attacks than Turkiye," Stoltenberg said, using the Turkish pronunciation of the country's name, as preferred by Turkey and its President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Scottish National Party (SNP) veteran John Swinney was elected as its new leader on Monday and is set to replace Humza Yousaf as Scotland's first minister after he emerged as the sole contender in the contest to pick a new premier.
Israel's military carried out airstrikes in Rafah on Monday, residents said, hours after Israel told Palestinians to evacuate parts of the southern Gaza city where more than a million people uprooted by the war have been sheltering.
Russia said on Monday it would practice the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons as part of a military exercise after what Moscow said were threats from France, Britain, and the United States.
The death toll from rains in Brazil's southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul rose to 83, local authorities said on Saturday morning, while dozens still have not been accounted for.
Ukrainian drone attacks on two buses taking people to work killed six people and injured another 35 in the Belgorod region of Russia, the governor said on Monday.
US and Philippine armed forces fired missiles and artillery to thwart a simulated invasion in the Philippines' northern waters facing Taiwan on Monday, in a show of military force and strengthening ties as regional tensions rise.
Family members of three tourists who went missing in northern Mexico last month have identified their bodies, the state prosecutor's office in Baja California said in a statement on Sunday.
Welcome to Pinoy Bulletin, your go-to source for staying informed about important announcements, exciting group activities, community events, and job opportunities!
Welcome to Pinoy Bulletin, your go-to source for staying informed about important announcements, exciting group activities, community events, and job opportunities!
Welcome to Pinoy Bulletin, your go-to source for staying informed about important announcements, exciting group activities, community events, and job opportunities!