Turkey has agreed to support Sweden's bid to join Nato after previously blocking the country from joining. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said during a briefing that he would forward Sweden's bid to join Nato to the Turkish parliament for ratification. It comes after the president previously appeared to suggest that Turkey would only back Sweden joining if it was re-considered for EU membership. Nato’s directory general Jens Stoltenberg said: “President Erdogan has agreed to forward the accession protocol for Sweden to the Grand National Assembly [Turkey’s parliament] as soon as possible and work closely with the assembly to ensure ratification.” Mr Stolenberg said this is a “historic step” but that a clear date could not be given for when Sweden officially joins. Turkey previously resisted Sweden joining the alliance after accusing Swedish authorities of being complicit in Islamophobic demonstrations. It also claims that Sweden allowed members of recognised Kurdish terror groups to operate, such as the Kurdistan Workers’ Party. Although Sweden changed its terrorism laws earlier this year to make it a crime to be part of these groups. As a member of Nato, Turkey has a veto on allowing other nations to join the alliance. But the Turkish president faced pressure from European and American allies to allow Sweden to join. Joe Biden spoke with Mr Erdogan while flying aboard Air Force One on Sunday, CNN reported. The US president conveyed his desire to welcome Sweden into Nato as soon as possible, according to a readout from the White House. In a statement, the White House said: “I welcome the statement issued by Turkey, Sweden and the Nato secretary general this evening, including the commitment by President ErdoÄŸan to transmit the Accession Protocol for Sweden to Turkey’s Grand National Assembly for swift ratification. “I stand ready to work with President ErdoÄŸan and Turkey on enhancing defence and deterrence in the Euro-Atlantic area. “I look forward to welcoming Prime Minister Kristersson and Sweden as our 32nd Nato Ally. And I thank secretary general Stoltenberg for his steadfast leadership.” From Tuesday, during a two-day meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania, Nato allies will also discuss the prospect of Ukraine joining. It has been agreed that although Ukraine cannot join during the war, a measure has been removed to allow the nation to join more quickly after the conflict is over. The Membership Action Plan, which involves a host of bureaucratic and military reforms designed to ensure a prospective member is up to NATO standards, is no longer a requirement for Ukraine to join. However, the move has sparked outrage in Moscow. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "You know the absolutely clear and consistent position of the Russian Federation that Ukraine's membership in NATO will have very, very negative consequences for the security architecture, the already half-destroyed security architecture in Europe. "And it will be an absolute danger, a threat to our country, which will require from us a sufficiently clear and firm reaction." Read More Joe Biden meets King Charles at Windsor Castle as part of flying UK visit Why Ukraine’s plea for Nato membership is such a challenge for the West Biden news – live: Palace denies breach of royal protocol between King Charles and Biden during awkward moment Deadly flooding hits several countries, scientists said this will be increasingly common Swedish foreign minister optimistic Turkey will drop objections to NATO membership Former POWs welcomed back to Ukraine in ceremony headed by Zelensky

Ukraine is already stockpiling fuel ahead of another challenging winter under siege from Russia, the UK’s Ministry of Defence said on Thursday. The ministry said in its intelligence report that “despite the consistent pressures of war, Ukrainian efforts to build up fuel stockpiles will likely be successful in ensuring that it will have sufficient fuel reserves during the approaching winter period.” It also noted that “Ukraine has been effective in mobilising its mining sector to maintain output, ensuring a continuous supply of coal is available for thermal power and heating plants in the winter, with substantial gas stocks providing a further reserve”. “Despite Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure likely continuing this winter, Ukraine demonstrated last winter that it has the skilled workforce and expertise needed to operate and maintain the power network, even in wartime conditions,” it further noted in the defence intelligence report. Even as British analysts acknowledged the likelihood of Russia resuming attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in winter, they highlighted the country’s ability to sustain its power network in the face of wartime challenges, the Kyiv Independent reported. In the winter of 2022-2023, Russian forces attempted to severely damage Ukraine’s power network through extensive attacks. Despite this, prime minister Denys Shmyhal reported that substantial repairs have been carried out, restoring 80 per cent of the primary power grids and high-voltage stations affected by the assaults. On 15 November last year, Mr Shmyhal pointed out that Moscow had launched approximately 100 missiles, primarily targeting the country’s energy infrastructure. Energy minister Herman Haluschenko labelled the attack the “most massive” bombardment of power infrastructure since the beginning of the war. In July this year, infrastructure minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said that nearly 100 per cent of thermal power stations, which had suffered damage from Russian attacks in late 2022 and early 2023, have been successfully repaired. “In general, as of today, the preparation level of utility networks for stable operation in the autumn-winter period of 2023-2024 is roughly 60 per cent,” the minister wrote on social media, adding that Ukraine will be 100 per cent ready in technical terms before the start of the next heating season on 1 October. “We must be prepared for the worst-case scenario, which includes repeated missile and drone attacks on energy infrastructure,” Ukraine’s state energy operator Ukrenergo’s head, Volodymyr Kudrytskyi said in Kharkiv on 27 July, according to Ukrainska Pravda. He continued: “We at Ukrenergo are absolutely certain that our main network will be ready to function without restrictions during the heating season.” However, he also added: “We don’t want to help the enemy understand the power system in detail.” Read More Ukraine’s intelligence service claims responsibility for Crimean Bridge drone attack Staff at Ukraine's experimental nuclear site pick up pieces from Russian strikes A camp teaches Ukrainian soldiers who were blinded in combat to navigate the world again UK inflation falls 1.1% in just one month as Ukraine war energy price crisis starts to ease Wagner mercenaries issue a chilling message on Poland’s doorstep: ‘We are here’

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An engagement party became very rocky very quickly after a woman exposed the bride's OnlyFans account. In a now deleted Reddit post, the woman explained she was invited to her sister-in-law's engagement party and told the (now ex) groom that he was "very open minded" to marry his fiancee given she used to use OnlyFans. From there, the proverbial hit the fan. She explained: "Well, apparently her fiancé didn't know about her OnlyFans account, so you can imagine all the drama that created between them." She went on to explain how her sister-in-law ended up running out of the party in tears, leaving guests with their jaws on the floor. "My husband tried going after her, but his twin brother stopped him and told him that this whole situation is his fault for bringing that troublemaker (referring to me) to the party," she added. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter "I told him it's not a surprise that he's up for covering up someone's past considering what's in his and that made both him and their mother go off at me and my husband." They ended up leaving the party and her husband was pretty annoyed at her. The engagement then got called off but she thinks the bride should have just been more honest. Chaos. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

LONDON The London Stock Exchange Group said on Monday that it had appointed Charlie Walker as deputy CEO

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TEANECK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 14, 2023--