WASHINGTON, 20 May 2022, (TON): President Joe Biden met with the leaders of Finland and Sweden at the White on Thursday to offer robust US support for their applications to join NATO.

Meanwhile Turkey threatened to block the Nordic nations from becoming members of the alliance.

Biden, who has rallied the West to stand up to Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, joined Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson and Finnish President Sauli Niinistö in a sunny White House Rose Garden bedecked with their countries’ flags in a show of unity and support.

Biden said “Finland and Sweden make NATO stronger.”

“They’re strong, strong democracies, and a strong, united NATO is the foundation of America’s security.”

Biden said his administration was submitting paperwork to the US Congress for speedy approval once NATO members gave the two countries a green light.

The president said “they meet every NATO requirement and then some.”

“Having two new NATO members in the high north will enhance the security of our alliance and deepen our security cooperation across the board.”

ANKARA, 20 May 2022, (TON): Turkey’s opposition to NATO’s decision to open accession talks with Finland and Sweden has sparked debate about concessions Ankara might extract to greenlight membership for the two Scandinavian countries the biggest change in European security architecture for decades.

Any country seeking to join NATO requires consensus approval from its 30 members, with the next NATO summit in Madrid coming in late June.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan insists that Ankara, a NATO member since 1952 and possessing the alliance’s second largest military, does not support membership for Finland and Sweden, accusing both countries of harboring terror groups. 

Turkey has told allies “it will say no to Sweden and Finland’s NATO applications, Erdogan said in a video posted on his Twitter account.”

Paul Levin, director of Stockholm University’s Institute for Turkish Studies said “this move, which has poured cold water on expectations about Finland and Sweden’s ‘historic’ accession to the military alliance, was not really a surprise.”

WASHINGTON, 20 May 2022, (TON): A US official familiar with the findings said “the US has gathered intelligence that shows some Russian officials have become concerned that Russian forces in the ravaged port city of Mariupol are carrying out grievous abuses.”

The Russian officials are concerned that the abuses will backfire and further inspire Mariupol residents to resist the Russian occupation.

The US official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that the Russians, who were not identified, also feared that the abuses will undercut Russia’s claim that they’ve liberated the Russian-speaking city.

According to the intelligence finding “the abuses include beating and electrocuting city officials and robbing homes.”

The new intelligence has been declassified and was shared by a US official as some of the last Ukrainian fighters in the devastated city emerged from the ruined Azovstal steelworks.

LONDON, 20 May 2022, (TON): UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg concluded a two-day meeting with a diverse group of Yemeni public figures.

The meeting comes as part of Grundberg's consultations with Yemeni groups on the way forward, including their priorities for economic, political, and security paths.

Attendees discussed the implementation and extension of the truce, as well as ways to capitalize on the momentum it has created to initiate a comprehensive political dialogue.

The envoy said “this is the time to seize the window of opportunity provided by the truce. Our focus is to ensure the truce is extended for the benefit of Yemeni civilians while making progress on the peace process.”

Participants highlighted the need to continue prioritizing improving conditions and the livelihoods of civilians, including by lifting restrictions on the freedom of movement of individuals and commercial goods across the war-torn country.

SEOUL, 20 May 2022, (TON): A South Korean lawmaker said “North Korea has completed preparations for a nuclear test and is seeking the best moment to carry it out.”

Lawmaker Ha Tae-keung told reporters “preparations for a nuclear test have been completed and they are only looking for the right time.”

The United States said earlier it believes there is a genuine possibility that North Korea could conduct a nuclear test while Biden is on his first trip as president to Asia.

Biden will arrive in Seoul late Friday for a series of summits.

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said “our intelligence does reflect the genuine possibility of nuclear-capable missile tests or a nuclear weapon test around the time of Biden’s trip.”

WASHINGTON, 20 May 2022, (TON): The US Treasury Department issued new Hezbollah-related sanctions, designating Lebanese businessman and the Iran-backed group’s financial facilitator, Ahmad Jalal Reda Abdallah, and his companies.

The department said “Abdallah, five of his associates and eight of his companies in Lebanon and Iraq were sanctioned and added to the sanctions list of the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.”

According to the Treasury “Abdallah is a Hezbollah official and an active member of its global financial network.”

The department said “he has supported Hezbollah for decades, carrying out commercial activities in various countries where the profits are transferred to the Iran-backed group.”

WASHINGTON, 20 May 2022, (TON): The UN warned “a growing global food crisis could last years if it goes unchecked, as the World Bank announced an additional $12 billion in funding to mitigate its devastating effects.”

Food insecurity is soaring due to warming temperatures, the coronavirus pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has led to critical shortages of grains and fertilizer.

At a major United Nations meeting in New York on global food security, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said “the war threatens to tip tens of millions of people over the edge into food insecurity.”

He said “what could follow would be “malnutrition, mass hunger and famine, in a crisis that could last for years.”

RIYADH, 20 May 2022, (TON): A Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs official confirmed “the Kingdom had taken crucial steps to enhance food security, put forward strategies to promote food growth and face climate change and water scarcity.”

Saudi Press Agency reported “Waleed Al-Khuraiji, Saudi deputy minister of foreign affairs, said these measures contributed to improving food security indicators in the Kingdom.”

During the Global Food Security Call to Action meeting at the United Nations on Wednesday, Al-Khuraiji said that the food security challenge proves that sustainable recovery depends on international cooperation.

He said “despite progress in the development process, achieving the 2030 Social Development Goals had become extremely difficult, as global expectations and indicators show a deviation in the path towards achieving the second goal of the program, which includes the eradication of hunger.

Al-Khuraiji said “among the global health challenges are the spread of pandemics, as the spread of the pandemic revealed to us the fragility of the international system in combating a virus that is not visible to the naked eye, which led to severe consequences that affected societies and economies.”

He said Saudi Arabia led a global response to the pandemic that accompanied the Kingdom’s G20 presidency, as it supported global efforts to confront this pandemic with $500 million.

DHAKA, 20 May 2022, (TON): President M Abdul Hamid expressed his profound shock and sorrow at the death of journalist, columnist, poet, writer and language veteran Abdul Gaffar Chowdhury.

In a condolence message, the President said at the death of Gaffar Chowdhury,

Composer of the famous song 'Amar Bhaiyer Rokte Rangano Ekushey February,' Bangladesh lost a pioneer who was progressive, creative and believed in the spirit of Liberation War.

He said “his immortal song on Ekushey gave immense courage and inspiration to the Bengali nation in the Language Movement and the War of Liberation.”

President said “he had worked throughout his life to promote the spirit of the Liberation War through writings.”

NEW DELHI, 20 May 2022, (TON): Lawyers said “members of hardline Hindu groups filed petitions in a court in northern India to stop Muslims from entering a historic mosque, until the court decides on an earlier plea seeking approval to look for any Hindu relics which may be on the site.”

Meanwhile, Hindutva organization Sri Ram Sene said “it is preparing a list of churches and mosques in Karnataka it claims are illegal.”

Another Hindutva outfit, the Narendra Modi Vichar Manch, called for a survey of mosques in the state to look for evidence of Hindu monuments that may have stood at the same sites.

Judges of a local court in Mathura in Uttar Pradesh allowed the new petitions but are yet to start hearings in the 2020 case aimed at securing permission to film and survey inside the 17th century Shahi Eidgah mosque.