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Sweden Should Not Expect Türkiye Support for NATO Membership after Protest, Says Erdogan

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks to the media during a joint news conference with Sweden's new prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, in Ankara, Türkiye, Nov. 8, 2022. (AP)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks to the media during a joint news conference with Sweden's new prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, in Ankara, Türkiye, Nov. 8, 2022. (AP)
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Sweden Should Not Expect Türkiye Support for NATO Membership after Protest, Says Erdogan

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks to the media during a joint news conference with Sweden's new prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, in Ankara, Türkiye, Nov. 8, 2022. (AP)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks to the media during a joint news conference with Sweden's new prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, in Ankara, Türkiye, Nov. 8, 2022. (AP)

Sweden should not expect Türkiye’s support for its NATO membership after a protest near the Turkish embassy in Stockholm at the weekend including the burning of a copy of the holy Quran, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday.

"Those who allow such blasphemy in front of our embassy (in Stockholm) can no longer expect our support for their NATO membership," Erdogan said in a speech after a cabinet meeting.

Protests in Stockholm on Saturday against Türkiye and against Sweden's bid to join NATO, during which a copy of the Quran was burned, have heightened tensions with Türkiye, whose backing Sweden needs to gain entry to the military alliance.

The Quran-burning was carried out by Rasmus Paludan, leader of Danish far-right political party Hard Line. Paludan, who also has Swedish citizenship, has held a number of demonstrations in the past where he has burned the Quran.

Several Arab countries including Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Kuwait denounced the incident.

Sweden and Finland applied last year to join NATO following Russia's invasion of Ukraine but all 30 member states must approve their bids.

Ankara has previously said Sweden in particular must first take a clearer stance against what it sees as terrorists, mainly Kurdish militants and a group it blames for a 2016 coup attempt in Türkiye.

"If you love members of terrorist organizations and enemies of Islam so much and protect them, then we advise you to seek their support for your countries' security," Erdogan also said.

Türkiye had already summoned Sweden's ambassador about the incident, cancelled a planned visit by Swedish defense minister to Ankara and strongly condemned the event.

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Typhoon Gaemi Weakens to Tropical Storm as It Moves Inland Carrying Rain toward Central China

In this photo released by the Taiwan Ministry of National Defense, Taiwanese soldiers clear debris in the aftermath of Typhoon Gaemi in Kaohsiung county in southwestern Taiwan, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Taiwan Ministry of National Defense via AP)
In this photo released by the Taiwan Ministry of National Defense, Taiwanese soldiers clear debris in the aftermath of Typhoon Gaemi in Kaohsiung county in southwestern Taiwan, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Taiwan Ministry of National Defense via AP)
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Typhoon Gaemi Weakens to Tropical Storm as It Moves Inland Carrying Rain toward Central China

In this photo released by the Taiwan Ministry of National Defense, Taiwanese soldiers clear debris in the aftermath of Typhoon Gaemi in Kaohsiung county in southwestern Taiwan, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Taiwan Ministry of National Defense via AP)
In this photo released by the Taiwan Ministry of National Defense, Taiwanese soldiers clear debris in the aftermath of Typhoon Gaemi in Kaohsiung county in southwestern Taiwan, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Taiwan Ministry of National Defense via AP)

Tropical storm Gaemi brought rain to central China on Saturday as it moved inland after making landfall at typhoon strength on the country's east coast Thursday night.

The storm felled trees, flooded streets and damaged crops in China but there were no reports of casualties or major damage. Eight people died in Taiwan, which Gaemi crossed at typhoon strength before heading over open waters to China.

The worst loss of life, however, was in a country that Gaemi earlier passed by but didn't strike directly: the Philippines. A steadily climbing death toll has reached 34, authorities there said Friday. The typhoon exacerbated seasonal monsoon rains in the Southeast Asian country, causing landslides and severe flooding that stranded people on rooftops as waters rose around them.

China Gaemi weakened to a tropical storm since coming ashore Thursday evening in coastal Fujian province, but it is still expected to bring heavy rains in the coming days as it moves northwest to Jiangxi, Hubei and Henan provinces.

About 85 hectares (210 acres) of crops were damaged in Fujian province and economic losses were estimated at 11.5 million yuan ($1.6 million), according to Chinese media reports. More than 290,000 people were relocated because of the storm.

Elsewhere in China, several days of heavy rains this week in Gansu province left one dead and three missing in the country's northwest, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

Taiwan Residents and business owners swept out mud and mopped up water Friday after serious flooding that sent cars and scooters floating down streets in parts of southern and central Taiwan. Some towns remained inundated with waist-deep water.

Eight people died, several of them struck by falling trees and one by a landslide hitting their house. More than 850 people were injured and one person was missing, the emergency operations center said.

Visiting hard-hit Kaohsiung in the south Friday, President Lai Ching-te commended the city's efforts to improve flood control since a 2009 typhoon that brought a similar amount of rain and killed 681 people, Taiwan's Central News Agency reported.

Lai announced that cash payments of $20,000 New Taiwan Dollars ($610) would be given to households in severely flooded areas.

A cargo ship sank off the coast near Kaohsiung Harbor during the typhoon, and the captain's body was later pulled from the water, the Central News Agency said. A handful of other ships were beached by the storm.

Philippines At least 34 people died in the Philippines, mostly because of flooding and landslides triggered by days of monsoon rains that intensified when the typhoon — called Carina in the Philippines — passed by the archipelago’s east coast.

The victims included 11 people in the Manila metro area, where widespread flooding trapped people on the roofs and upper floors of their houses, police said. Some drowned or were electrocuted in their flooded communities.

Earlier in the week, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered authorities to speed up efforts in delivering food and other aid to isolated rural villages, saying people may not have eaten for days.

The bodies of a pregnant woman and three children were dug out Wednesday after a landslide buried a shanty in the rural mountainside town of Agoncillo in Batangas province.