Finland

The efforts to link Türkiye's demand to buy F-16 jetfighters from the United States with its delayed ratification of Sweden and Finland's bid to join NATO are "illogical and counterproductive," a senior Turkish official has said, repeating that these two Nordic states will enter the alliance once they fulfill their commitments on the anti-terror fight.

Bulgaria is the least free country in the European Union after Hungary. This is according to Freedom House's annual ranking in the organization's report on the state of freedoms and rights around the world. The survey covers 210 countries and territories.

Day 380 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours:

In other news, the new Czech president finds a note in Prague Castle saying 'I'm afraid there is no booze left'; the Polish media's responsibility in the suicide of a youth comes under the spotlight; a Hungarian parliamentary delegation visits Sweden and Finland to demand "more respect" before the country accedes to their NATO accession; and Slovakia's caretaker prime minister, Eduard Heger, fo

Türkiye welcomes the steps taken by Finland and Sweden against the illegal PKK group, but they are not enough to ratify the Nordic countries' NATO bid, presidential spokesperson Ibrahim Kalın said on March 9.

Turkey has acknowledged that Sweden and Finland have taken concrete steps to meet Ankara's concerns over their bids to join NATO and the three will hold further meetings, Sweden's chief negotiator in the accession process said on Thursday.

With 1,787 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, Bulgaria has the highest mortality rate in the EU in 2020, reported the European Union's statistical agency Eurostat.

Bulgaria is followed by Romania (1,622), Hungary (1,513), Lithuania (1,482) and Latvia (1,445).

Türkiye will hold a trilateral mechanism meeting with Sweden and Finland on March 9 in Brussels to discuss the commitments of the Nordic countries for their bid to join NATO.

Presidential spokesperson Ambassador İbrahim Kalın and newly appointed Deputy Foreign Minister Burak Akçapar will attend the meeting.

Nearly 1 million euros is the amount collected in Bulgaria from donations on the account opened to help the victims of the earthquakes in Turkey last month, reported the Turkish TV channel CNN-Turk, quoted by BTA.

The TV channel presents a report on the financial aid collected in various European countries for the areas of Turkey destroyed by the February 6 earthquakes.

Tina Šutej won silver in the pole vault at the European Indoor Athletics Championships in Istanbul on 4 March to cement her status as currently Slovenia's most successful female track-and-field athlete.