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Delegations from Sweden, Finland Hold NATO Talks in Turkey

Flags of NATO member countries flap in the wind outside NATO headquarters, in Brussels, Wednesday, May 25, 2022. (AP)
Flags of NATO member countries flap in the wind outside NATO headquarters, in Brussels, Wednesday, May 25, 2022. (AP)
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Delegations from Sweden, Finland Hold NATO Talks in Turkey

Flags of NATO member countries flap in the wind outside NATO headquarters, in Brussels, Wednesday, May 25, 2022. (AP)
Flags of NATO member countries flap in the wind outside NATO headquarters, in Brussels, Wednesday, May 25, 2022. (AP)

Senior officials from Sweden and Finland held some five hours of talks with Turkish counterparts in Ankara on Wednesday in an effort to overcome Turkey’s strong objections to the Nordic nations' bids to join NATO.

Sweden and Finland submitted their written applications to join NATO last week. The move represents one of the biggest geopolitical ramifications of Russia’s war in Ukraine and could rewrite Europe’s security map.

Turkey has said it opposes the countries’ membership in the Western military alliance, citing grievances with Sweden's - and a to a lesser extent Finland’s - perceived support of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, and other entities that Turkey views as security threats.

The PKK, which is listed as a terror organization by several of Turkey’s allies, has waged a decades-long insurgency against Turkey, a conflict that has cost the lives of tens of thousands people.

The Turkish government also accuses Finland and Sweden of imposing arms exports restrictions on Turkey and refusing to extradite suspected "terrorists."

Turkey’s objections have dampened Stockholm's and Helsinki’s hopes for joining NATO quickly amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and put the trans-Atlantic alliance's credibility at stake. All 30 NATO members must agree on admitting new members.

The Swedish and Finnish delegations met with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's spokesman, Ibrahim Kalin, and Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Onal. The Swedish delegation was led by state secretary Oscar Stenstrom, while Jukka Salovaara, the foreign ministry undersecretary, headed up the Finnish delegation, Turkish officials said.

Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said following a meeting with European Council President Charles Michel in Stockholm that her country wanted to "clarify" claims that have been floating around during discussions with Turkey.

"We do not send money or weapons to terrorist organizations," Andersson said.

During a news conference with the Estonian prime minister later Wednesday, Andersson said that "in these times, it is important to strengthen our security."

She said Sweden has "a constructive dialogue" with Turkey and that Stockholm was "eager to sort out issues and misunderstandings and questions."

Michel, who is scheduled to head to Helsinki from Stockholm, said it was "a pivotal moment for Sweden" and "we fully support your choices."

Turkey this week listed five "concrete assurances" it was demanding from Sweden, including what it said was "termination of political support for terrorism," an "elimination of the source of terrorism financing," and the "cessation of arms support" to the banned PKK and a Syrian Kurdish group affiliated with it.

The demands also called for the lifting of arms sanctions against Turkey and global cooperation against terrorism.

Turkey said that it has requested the extradition of Kurdish militants and other suspects since 2017 but hasn’t received a positive response from Stockholm. The Turkish government claimed Sweden had decided to provide $376 million to support the Kurdish militants in 2023 and that it had provided them with military equipment, including anti-tank weapons and drones.

Finland has received nine extradition requests from Turkey in a recent period covering over three years, Finnish news agency STT said Wednesday, citing data from the Finnish justice ministry. Two people were extradited while six of the requests were rejected. A decision was pending regarding one other case.

Sweden has denied providing financial assistance or military support to Kurdish groups or entities in Syria.

"Sweden is a major humanitarian donor to the Syria crisis through global allocations to humanitarian actors," Foreign Minister Ann Linde told the Aftonbladet newspaper.

"Cooperation in northeastern Syria is carried out primarily through the United Nations and international organizations," she said. "Sweden doesn't provide targeted support to Syrian Kurds or to the political or military structures in northeastern Syria, but the population in these areas is, of course, taking part in these aid projects."

Speaking Tuesday before a meeting of the Council of the Baltic Sea States, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Russia had left Sweden and Finland "no choice" but to join NATO.

She said Germany would support the two countries’ membership, calling it "a real gain" for the military alliance.

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World

Taiwan Says Chinese Aircraft Carrier Sailed Through Taiwan Strait 

Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong sails in Pacific Ocean waters, about 300 kilometers (186 miles) south of Okinawa prefecture, Japan, April 5, 2023. (Reuters)
Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong sails in Pacific Ocean waters, about 300 kilometers (186 miles) south of Okinawa prefecture, Japan, April 5, 2023. (Reuters)
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Taiwan Says Chinese Aircraft Carrier Sailed Through Taiwan Strait 

Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong sails in Pacific Ocean waters, about 300 kilometers (186 miles) south of Okinawa prefecture, Japan, April 5, 2023. (Reuters)
Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong sails in Pacific Ocean waters, about 300 kilometers (186 miles) south of Okinawa prefecture, Japan, April 5, 2023. (Reuters)

China's newest and most advanced aircraft carrier, the Fujian, sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Tuesday, Taiwan's defense ministry said, its first transit of the sensitive waterway since formally entering service last month.

Taiwan, which Beijing views as its territory, reports almost daily Chinese military activity around the island in what Taipei views as an ongoing pressure campaign against the democratically elected government.

In a statement on Wednesday, Taiwan's defense ministry said the Fujian had transited the strait the previous day and that Taiwan's forces had monitored it.

The ministry showed a grainy, black-and-white picture of the carrier with no aircraft on its deck. It did not say where the picture was taken and offered no other details.

China's defense ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

China says it alone has sovereignty over the strait, a major maritime artery for freight traffic. Taiwan and the United States say it is an international waterway.

In September, the carrier sailed through the Taiwan Strait and into the disputed South China Sea during trials.

The Fujian is China's third aircraft carrier, with a flat flight deck and electromagnetic catapults for take-offs that make it a potentially far more powerful naval weapon than China's first two Russian-designed carriers.

The Fujian will be able to carry significantly more and heavier armed jet fighters than the Liaoning and Shandong carriers, which are smaller and rely on ramps to launch aircraft.

With a flat deck and electromagnetic catapults to launch aircraft, the Fujian is expected to host a larger and wider range of planes than the other two carriers - including early-warning aircraft and, eventually, China's first carrier-capable stealth jet fighters.

China's President Xi Jinping attended its commissioning and flag presenting ceremony in the southern island province of Hainan last month and boarded the vessel for an inspection tour.

World

Alleged Bondi Gunman Charged with 15 Murders as Funerals of Victims Begin 

Police officers remove police tape from the scene of Sunday's shooting at Bondi Beach, in Sydney on December 17, 2025. (AFP)
Police officers remove police tape from the scene of Sunday's shooting at Bondi Beach, in Sydney on December 17, 2025. (AFP)
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Alleged Bondi Gunman Charged with 15 Murders as Funerals of Victims Begin 

Police officers remove police tape from the scene of Sunday's shooting at Bondi Beach, in Sydney on December 17, 2025. (AFP)
Police officers remove police tape from the scene of Sunday's shooting at Bondi Beach, in Sydney on December 17, 2025. (AFP)

A man who allegedly opened fire on a Jewish Hanukkah celebration on Sydney's famed Bondi Beach has been charged with 59 offences, including murder and terrorism, police said on Wednesday.

The alleged father-and-son perpetrators opened fire on the celebration at Sydney's famed Bondi Beach on Sunday, killing 15 in an attack that shook the nation and intensified fears of rising antisemitism and violent extremism.

Funerals of the Jewish victims of the attack began on Wednesday, amid anger over how the gunmen - one of whom was briefly investigated for links to extremists - were allowed access to powerful firearms.

Sajid Akram, 50, was shot dead by police at the scene, while his 24-year-old son Naveed Akram emerged from a coma on Tuesday afternoon after also being shot by police.

New South Wales Police said on Wednesday that a man had been charged with 59 offences, including 15 counts of murder, 40 counts of wounding with attempt to murder, as well as a terror offence and other charges.

"Police will allege in court the man engaged in conduct that caused death, serious injury and endangered life to advance a religious cause and cause fear in the community," it said in a statement.

"Early indications point to a terrorist attack inspired by ISIS, a listed terrorist organization in Australia."

A court filing on Wednesday named Naveed Akram, who remains in a Sydney hospital under heavy police guard, as the man charged.

He will appear via video link before a local court on Monday morning.

The father and son had travelled to the southern Philippines, a region long plagued by militancy, weeks before the shooting that Australian police said appeared to be inspired by ISIS.

US President Donald Trump told a Hanukkah event at the White House late on Tuesday that he was thinking of the victims of the "horrific and antisemitic terrorist attack".

"We join in mourning all of those who were killed, and we're praying for the swift recovery of the wounded," he said.

STATE GOVERNMENT TO PASS GUN REFORMS

The leader of the Australian state of New South Wales said on Wednesday he will recall parliament next week to pass wide-ranging reforms of gun and protest laws, days after the country's deadliest mass shooting in three decades.

Chris Minns, the Premier of New South Wales state where the attack took place, told a news conference parliament would return on December 22 to hear "urgent" reforms, including capping the number of firearms allowed by a single person and making certain types of shotguns harder to access.

The state government will also look at reforms making it harder to hold large street protests after terror events, in order to prevent further tensions.

"We've got a monumental task in front of us. It's huge," he said.

"It's a huge responsibility to pull the community together. I think we need a summer of calm and togetherness, not division."

FUNERALS FOR JEWISH VICTIMS BEGIN

A funeral for Rabbi Eli Schlanger, an assistant rabbi at Chabad Bondi Synagogue and a father of five, was held on Wednesday. He was known for his work for Sydney’s Jewish community through Chabad, a global organization fostering Jewish identity and connection.

Schlanger would travel to prisons and meet with Jewish people living in Sydney's public housing communities, Jewish leader Alex Ryvchin said on Monday.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is facing criticism that his center-left government did not do enough to prevent the spread of antisemitism in Australia during the two-year Israel-Gaza war.

"We will work with the Jewish community, we want to stamp out and eradicate antisemitism from our society," Albanese told reporters.

The government and intelligence services are also under pressure to explain why Sajid Akram was allowed to legally acquire the high-powered rifles and shotguns used in the attack.

The government has already promised sweeping reforms to gun laws.

Naveed Akram, meanwhile, was briefly investigated by Australia's domestic intelligence agency in 2019 over alleged links to ISIS, but there was no evidence at the time he posed a threat, Albanese said.

MAN PRAISED AS HERO TO UNDERGO SURGERY

Albanese said Ahmed al-Ahmed, 43, the man who tackled one of the shooters to disarm his rifle and suffered gunshot wounds, was due to undergo surgery on Wednesday.

Al-Ahmed's uncle, Mohammed al-Ahmed in Syria, said his nephew left his hometown in Syria's northwest province of Idlib nearly 20 years ago to seek work in Australia.

"We learned through social media. I called his father and he told me that it was Ahmed. Ahmed is a hero, we're proud of him. Syria in general is proud of him," the uncle told Reuters.

The family of 22-year-old police officer Jack Hibbert, who was shot twice on Sunday and had been on the force for just four months, said in a statement on Wednesday he had lost vision in one eye and faced a "long and challenging recovery" ahead.

"In the face of a violent and tragic incident, he responded with courage, instinct, and selflessness, continuing to protect and help others whilst injured, until he was physically no longer able to," the family said.

New South Wales Premier Minns said 23 people were still in several Sydney hospitals.

HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR AMONG VICTIMS

Other shooting victims included a Holocaust survivor, a husband and wife who first approached the gunmen before they started firing, and a 10-year-old girl named Matilda, according to interviews, officials and media reports.

Matilda's father told a Bondi vigil on Tuesday night he did not want his daughter's legacy to be forgotten.

"We came here from Ukraine ... and I thought that Matilda is the most Australian name that can ever exist. So just remember the name, remember her," local media reported him as saying.

In Bondi on Wednesday, swimmers gathered on Sydney's most popular beach and held a minute's silence. A New Year's Eve party due to be held on the beach was cancelled by organizers.

"This week has obviously been very profound, and this morning, I definitely feel a sense of the community getting together, and a sense of everyone sitting together," Archie Kalaf, a 24-year-old Bondi man, told Reuters. "Everyone's grieving, everyone's understanding and processing it in their own way."

World

Iran FM in Russia for Nuclear Talks

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi meets with Russian legislators in Moscow. (Iranian Foreign Ministry)
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi meets with Russian legislators in Moscow. (Iranian Foreign Ministry)
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Iran FM in Russia for Nuclear Talks

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi meets with Russian legislators in Moscow. (Iranian Foreign Ministry)
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi meets with Russian legislators in Moscow. (Iranian Foreign Ministry)

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Moscow on Tuesday amid a crisis in his country’s relations with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and ongoing disagreements with the West over a nuclear deal.

Ahead of Araghchi’s arrival, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Iranian state media that the IAEA needed to be neutral in dealing with Iran.

“The IAEA did not condemn the (US and Israeli) strikes on Iran (in June) even though the agency had a mandate to monitor the bombed sites – these were the sites in question. This omission was a blatant violation of all the rules and norms,” Lavrov said.

“This is why IAEA’s actions did not exactly please anyone in Iran, to say the least, which is more than understandable,” he noted.

Iran passed a law in July to suspend its cooperation with the IAEA, denying UN inspectors access into the country. The suspension came after US and Israeli airstrikes targeted Iran’s nuclear facilities on June 22.

The FM said Russia supported Iran at various stages of the negotiations with the IAEA.

President Vladimir Putin “discussed the current situation with our Iranian friends at various levels. We shared with our Iranian friends our opinion on how to deal with this situation, how to restore relations with the IAEA and with Western countries and on what terms, if they are interested in this. But the final decision remains, of course, with the leadership of Iran,” Lavrov added.

IAEA chief Rafael Grossi had been calling on Iran to allow inspectors access to three key nuclear facilities that enrich uranium and were hit by the US and Israeli airstrikes in June.

But head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Mohammad Eslami said the IAEA has no right to demand inspections of the targeted sites.

In a related development, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty held telephone talks with Grossi on Monday over the Iranian nuclear file.

Abdelatty underscored the importance of continuing efforts aimed at building confidence and paving the way for sustained cooperation between Iran and the IAEA.

In an interview with Radio France International (RFI) on Monday, Grossi said: “Contact with Iran remains in place. We haven’t yet been able to restore cooperation to the required level, but I believe it is critically important.”

He said dialogue with Iran continues through behind-the-scenes negotiations and confidential contacts.

Last month, Kamal Kharrazi, a top foreign affairs advisor to Supreme Leader Ali Khamanei, said Tehran was ready to consider a Russian and Chinese plan to resume cooperation with IAEA.

In Russia, Araghchi met with Leonid Slutsky, chairman of the international committee of the lower house of parliament, and leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR).

He said Russian-Iranian ties are developing across all areas of cooperation.

Araghchi and Lavrov are set to meet on Wednesday.