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Erdogan Says 'No' to Sweden and Finland's NATO Bid

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a news conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, February 3, 2022. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a news conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, February 3, 2022. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko
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Erdogan Says 'No' to Sweden and Finland's NATO Bid

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a news conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, February 3, 2022. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a news conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, February 3, 2022. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko

Turkey will oppose Sweden and Finland joining NATO, the country's president flatly stated in a video released Thursday.

“We have told our relevant friends we would say ‘no’ to Finland and Sweden’s entry into NATO, and we will continue on our path like this,” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told a group of Turkish youth in the video for Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day, a national holiday.

Turkey’s approval of Finland and Sweden's application to join the Western military alliance is crucial because NATO makes decisions by consensus. Each of its 30 member countries has the power to veto a membership bid.

Erdogan has said Turkey's objection stems from grievances with Sweden's - and to a lesser degree with Finland’s - perceived support of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, and an armed group in Syria that Turkey sees as an extension of the PKK.

Turkey also accuses Sweden and Finland of harboring the followers of Fethullah Gulen, whom the Turkish government blames for 2016 military coup attempt.

In the remarks, Erdogan accused the two prospective NATO members and especially Sweden of being “a focus of terror, home to terror.”

He accused them of giving financial and weapons support to the armed groups, and claimed the countries' alleged links to terror organizations meant they should not be part of the trans-Atlantic alliance.

The United States struggled Wednesday to get clarity from Turkey over the severity of its opposition to Finland and Sweden joining NATO.

In a meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the United Nations, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu offered mixed signals. He affirmed his country’s support for NATO’s “open-door” policy and its understanding of Finland and Sweden's desire to join the alliance following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. But he also repeated Erdogan’s demands that Turkey’s security concerns about the candidate nations be addressed.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters in Berlin on Sunday after discussions with Turkish officials that “Turkey has made it clear that their intention is not to block membership.” Meanwhile, Blinken and other foreign ministers, including Germany’s top diplomat, Annalena Baerbock, expressed absolute confidence that all NATO members, including Turkey, would welcome the two newcomers.

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World

NKorea's Kim Showcases Missile Capable of Reaching US as Trump Signals Possible Meeting

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his daughter Kim Ju Ae attend the opening ceremony of the National Defense Revolution Museum of the Second Economic Committee, North Korea, October 11, 2026, in this picture released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency. KCNA/via REUTERS KCNA via REUTERS
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his daughter Kim Ju Ae attend the opening ceremony of the National Defense Revolution Museum of the Second Economic Committee, North Korea, October 11, 2026, in this picture released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency. KCNA/via REUTERS KCNA via REUTERS
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NKorea's Kim Showcases Missile Capable of Reaching US as Trump Signals Possible Meeting

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his daughter Kim Ju Ae attend the opening ceremony of the National Defense Revolution Museum of the Second Economic Committee, North Korea, October 11, 2026, in this picture released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency. KCNA/via REUTERS KCNA via REUTERS
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his daughter Kim Ju Ae attend the opening ceremony of the National Defense Revolution Museum of the Second Economic Committee, North Korea, October 11, 2026, in this picture released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency. KCNA/via REUTERS KCNA via REUTERS

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited a defense industry museum displaying an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the United States, state media KCNA showed on Tuesday.

The report came a day after US President Donald Trump said he might meet Kim during a planned trip to Asia. Trump is expected to attend ⁠the Asia-Pacific Economic ⁠Cooperation summit in China in mid-November.

Kim, accompanied by his daughter known as Ju Ae and wife Ri Sol Ju, attended the opening of the newly opened Defense Revolution Museum on Sunday, KCNA said.

The museum displayed weaponry developed under Kim's leadership ranging from drones to the Hwasong-20 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), KCNA photographs showed.

A display in front of the Hwasong-20 launcher appeared to show a multiple ⁠warhead design and a world map depicting ranges extending beyond the US mainland to the Middle East, Australia and South America, said Shin Jong-woo, Secretary General of the Korea Defense and Security Forum.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, his wife Ri Sol Ju and his daughter Kim Ju Ae attend the opening ceremony of the National Defense Revolution Museum of the Second Economic Committee, North Korea, October 11, 2026, in this picture released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency. KCNA/via REUTERS

"The exhibition appears intended to highlight the achievements of Kim's defense science development program," Reuters quoted Shin as saying. "It gave the impression of propaganda aimed at gaining a strategic advantage ahead of potential a North Korea-US summit."

Analysts said the museum also reflected a broader effort by Kim to elevate North Korea's weapons displays into lasting symbols of the regime's military accomplishments.

"By turning what were once temporary weapons exhibitions into a permanent ⁠museum, Kim ⁠is institutionalizing his military achievements and portraying North Korea's nuclear and missile buildup as a completed and enduring legacy," said Lim Eul-chul, a professor at Kyungnam University's Institute for Far Eastern Studies.

Separately, North Korea said it test-fired a tactical ballistic missile on Monday to confirm the successful technical upgrade of an unspecified key component.

KCNA said the upgrade marked an important step in improving the performance of all offensive weapons systems, without providing further details.

South Korea's military said on Monday that North Korea had fired multiple ballistic missiles towards the sea off its east coast. The launch was Pyongyang's fourth in a month, following Seoul's recent test of a hypersonic missile.

World

Nobel Peace Laureate Defends International Justice as It Comes Under US Criticism

Former ICC judge Navi Pillay, who was awarded the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, poses for a photograph in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026. (AP)
Former ICC judge Navi Pillay, who was awarded the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, poses for a photograph in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026. (AP)
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Nobel Peace Laureate Defends International Justice as It Comes Under US Criticism

Former ICC judge Navi Pillay, who was awarded the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, poses for a photograph in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026. (AP)
Former ICC judge Navi Pillay, who was awarded the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, poses for a photograph in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026. (AP)

Navi Pillay, the South African-born jurist who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last week, told The Associated Press in an interview Monday that, as a judge, she had to see the evidence of her win before she could believe the news.

“I received the letter in writing ... so now I have read it for myself, and it’s true,” said Pillay, 85, who won the award for promoting international law at a time when the system is under attack.

Her career has ranged from defending the rights of an imprisoned Nelson Mandela to leading a panel that found that Israel committed genocide in Gaza to serving as a judge on three international courts.

“To be honored for that kind of work is tremendous, not only for me, but for all my colleagues,” Pillay said.

On the 125th anniversary of the prize’s inception, the Norwegian Nobel Committee sought “to remind the world that the rule of law, national and international, underpins the system we have set up to ensure peace and resolve conflicts nonviolently. Peace requires justice,” committee Chairman Jørgen Watne Frydnes said.

Pillay’s win is seen as a high-profile rebuke to US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who have both rejected the findings of the UN commission she led on Gaza. The leaders also have been highly critical of the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court, both of which have had Pillay on the bench.

“I value the focus of the selection committee on this important area, because it does affect the whole world if the rule of law is not respected,” she said.

Pillay had sharp words for Trump, who has coveted the peace prize for years, calling Washington’s attacks on the International Criminal Court “completely unlawful” as well as “negative and cruel.”

“Heads of countries have a particular responsibility to spell out the principles, which is that you respect the law, you respect international law,” she said.

Hours after the announcement of her award was made in Oslo, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced sweeping new sanctions on the ICC, where Pillay once sat as a judge, as part of a campaign to dismantle the institution.

The octogenarian called on countries to defend the court and the international legal order more broadly, saying she would like to see “collective action, not just words” from the rest of the world.

Pillay said that impunity is unpopular everywhere and that the public wants justice. People are dismayed, she said, that powerful countries like Russia and the United States are not members of the International Criminal Court but sit on the United Nations Security Council and can reject any attempt to hold them to account.

She faced strong criticism from Israel for her work chairing a UN commission on Gaza, which concluded last year that Israel was responsible for genocide in Gaza with a specific intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza. Pillay dismissed the Israeli response, saying only the US and Israel took issue with the conclusions.

“We just have this condemnation by the state of Israel because they are the ones that we have held responsible,” she said.

Human rights groups and many experts on genocide have reached similar conclusions.

The ICC has issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Israel strongly denies the allegations.

Pillay says that while things in the world may seem challenging at the moment, she said that international law is a relatively recent development for humanity. “Justice is slow, so we must not be impatient,” she said.

But she urged people not to be complacent and to see the world a bit more like a judge would. “Don’t fall for false propaganda or just repeat slogans,” Pillay said, urging everyone to make sure they check the evidence.

World

British Airbase Plot ‘Almost Certainly Directed’ by Iran Guards, Says UK PM

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham speaks during a reception to celebrate Black History Month at Downing Street, in London, Britain, October 12, 2026. (Reuters)
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham speaks during a reception to celebrate Black History Month at Downing Street, in London, Britain, October 12, 2026. (Reuters)
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British Airbase Plot ‘Almost Certainly Directed’ by Iran Guards, Says UK PM

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham speaks during a reception to celebrate Black History Month at Downing Street, in London, Britain, October 12, 2026. (Reuters)
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham speaks during a reception to celebrate Black History Month at Downing Street, in London, Britain, October 12, 2026. (Reuters)

Britain's government Monday accused Iran's Revolutionary Guards of being behind a major scare at a UK airbase used by the United States, as allies including Washington warned Tehran against hostile acts.

Iran denied any involvement.

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham told the British parliament that Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) "almost certainly directed" an incident at the Royal Air Force base of Fairford in southwest England last month.

The US, which had been using the base for its war in Iran, abruptly withdrew all its B-1 bombers from the site last week after the mysterious episode on September 27.

Burnham said Britain's assessment of the incident was that it "is highly likely to have been coordinated in Iran, almost certainly directed by Iran's Revolutionary Guard".

"We will not tolerate these threats on our soil. We will crack down on Iran's use of criminal networks, using our full range of powers to target them and their funding streams," he told MPs.

Iran's state news agency IRNA reported that "the Iranian ambassador in London, Ali Moussavi, has again categorically rejected the accusations concerning Tehran's role in the incident at the Fairford military base" and "called on the British government to present evidence supporting its allegations if it possesses any."

Shortly after Burnham spoke to parliament, 29 countries, including the US, Britain, Australia, Canada, France and Germany, released a joint statement denouncing "in the strongest terms Iran's use of violent attacks".

The statement said such attacks included "acts of lethal plotting, arson, sabotage, cyber-attacks, and other hybrid activities against us and our partners".

"Any attempt by Iran to threaten, silence, intimidate, harass, harm, or coerce people on our territories through proxies or any other means is unacceptable," it read.

The Foreign Office confirmed in its own statement Monday that Iran's ambassador to the UK had been summoned for talks.

"We are also announcing the designation of two Iranian nationals for their role in facilitating or engaging in hostile activity on behalf of the Iranian regime, with the clear intent of threatening, planning or conducting attacks overseas," foreign minister Ed Miliband said.

The foreign ministry said the individuals included Ruhollah Bazghandi, the IRGC's head of counterespionage operations, who is "now subject to an immediate asset freeze, travel ban and director disqualification".

Speculation has swirled about the incident since police were called to the base after a local farmer reported a group of men with several white vans engaged in "suspicious" activity.

- 'Major' incident -

Despite a major counter-terrorism probe, seven suspects arrested in the days following, including a British-Iranian national, have all since been released on bail. None has been charged.

The incident was declared "major" by British authorities and triggered the evacuation of a nearby village.

But the source and nature of the threat have remained shrouded in mystery.

Investigators did not find any explosives in the vans, but did recover some petrol, according to officials.

Burnham has previously said there were "strong indications that Iran played a part" in the incident, which Tehran has rejected.

Britain gave Washington permission in March to use Fairford for "specific defensive operations into Iran," and US bombers and other planes had been seen taking off and landing at the base.

US President Donald Trump has said Washington withdrew its bombers because of "threats" he believed were linked to Tehran.

In the foreign ministry statement, Miliband noted that the UK had already "designated the IRGC under our new state threats powers, and imposed major sanctions on those responsible for Iran's malign activity".