Headline

War: You Will Regret Joining NATO, Putin Threatens Finland

Published

3 years ago

May 15, 2022

President Vladimir Putin of Russia has told his Finnish counterpart that becoming a NATO member would be “a mistake”.

A statement from Kremlin quoted the Russian leader as stressing that “the end of the traditional policy of military neutrality would be a mistake since there is no threat to Finland’s security.”

Russia has already cut off its ten percent electricity supply to Finland following its plan to join NATO.

President Sauli Niinisto, who has been in regular talks with President Putin in recent years, said the Nordic country and eurozone member “wants to take care of the practical questions arising from being a neighbour of Russia in a correct and professional manner”

But Putin kicked against such move, saying “such a change in the country’s political orientation can have a negative impact on Russian-Finnish relations developed over years in a spirit of good neighbourliness and cooperation between partners.”

Office of the Finnish President said that the phone call, which was “initiated by Finland … was direct and straightforward and it was conducted without aggravations. Avoiding tensions was considered important.”

Russia had on February 24, invaded Ukraine over the same political issues and this has swung political and public opinion in Finland and neighbouring Sweden, who have indicated interests in joining NATO.

However, despite Russia and Turkey’s position on Finland joining NATO, Germany has backed the move.

German Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock on Saturday said she supports Finland’s and Sweden’s accession to NATO, despite Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s criticism.

Turkey’s President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Friday he was not looking at Finland’s and Sweden’s moves to join NATO “positively,” accusing both counties of housing Kurdish “terrorist organizations.”

Related Topics:Finland NATO Putin Vladimir Putin

Up Next

Edo: IOM, Laliga Hold Football Tournament To Sensitise Young Girls On Dangers Of Irregular Migration

Don't Miss

I8-year-old Opens Fire At supermarket, Kills 10

Comments

Headline

Welcome Home, Israel Confirms Return Of 20 Hostages From Gaza

Published

6 hours ago

October 13, 2025

Editor

Israel said that the last 20 living hostages released by Hamas on Monday had arrived in the country.

“Welcome home,” the foreign ministry wrote in a series of posts on X, hailing the return of Matan Angrest, Gali Berman, Ziv Berman, Elkana Bohbot, Rom Braslavski, Nimrod Cohen, David Cunio, Ariel Cunio, Evyatar David, Guy Gilboa Dalal, Maxim Herkin, Eitan Horn, Segev Kalfon, Bar Kuperstein, Omri Miran, Eitan Mor, Yosef Haim Ohana, Alon Ohel, Avinatan Or and Matan Zangauker.

AFP

Headline

20 Members Of Gang Blacklisted By US Escape Guatemala Prison

Published

8 hours ago

October 13, 2025

Editor

Twenty members of a gang designated a “foreign terrorist organisation” by the United States have escaped from detention in Guatemala, a prison chief said Sunday.

The members of the Barrio 18 gang “evaded security controls” at the Fraijanes II facility, prison director Ludin Godinez said at a news conference.

He received “an intelligence report” on Friday warning about the “possible escape” from the prison, which is southeast of the capital, Guatemala City.

Godinez said they were investigating possible acts of corruption.

Washington last month blacklisted Barrio 18, an El Salvador-based gang which has a reputation for violence and extortion, as part of its crackdown on drug trafficking.

The US embassy in Guatemala condemned the prison escape as “utterly unacceptable.”

“The United States designated members of this heinous group as the terrorists they are and will hold accountable anyone who has provided, provides, or decides to provide material support to these fugitives or other gang members,” the embassy said on X.

It called on the Guatemalan government to “act immediately and vigorously to recapture these terrorists.”

According to Interior Minister Francisco Jimenez, there are about 12,000 gang members and collaborators in Guatemala, while another 3,000 are in prison.

The country’s homicide rate has increased from 16.1 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2024 to 17.65 this year, more than double the world average, according to the Centre for National Economic Research.

According to the Salvadoran government, the gangs Barrio 18 and Mara Salvatrucha, better known as MS-13, are responsible for the deaths of about 200,000 people over three decades.

The two gangs once controlled an estimated 80 percent of El Salvador, which had one of the highest homicide rates in the world.

Headline

South Africa Bus Crash Kills 40 Including Malawi, Zimbabwe Nationals

Published

8 hours ago

October 13, 2025

Editor

At least 40 people, including nationals of Malawi and Zimbabwe, were killed when a passenger bus rolled down an embankment in South Africa, a provincial transport minister said Monday.

The bus travelling to Zimbabwe crashed around 90 kilometres (55 miles) from the border on Sunday after the driver apparently lost control, Limpopo province transport minister Violet Mathye said.

“They are still working on the scene, but 40 bodies have already been confirmed to date,” Mathye told the Newzroom Afrika channel. The dead included a 10-month-old girl, she said.

Thirty-eight people were in hospital and rescuers were searching for other victims, she told eNCA media.

The bus was travelling from the southern city of Gqeberha, around 1,500 kilometres away, and its passengers included Malawians and Zimbabweans who were working in South Africa. The crash may have been caused by driver fatigue or a mechanical fault, the minister said.

South Africa has a sophisticated and busy road network with a high rate of road deaths, blamed mostly on speeding, reckless driving and unroadworthy vehicles.

AFP