- Turkey’s Erdogan submits Sweden’s bid for NATO membership to parliament Al Jazeera English
- Turkey’s President Sends Sweden’s NATO Bid to Parliament for Ratification The New York Times
- Russia-Ukraine war live: undersea telecoms cable between Sweden and Estonia damaged by ‘external force’ The Guardian
- Turkey’s Erdogan submits Sweden’s NATO bid to parliament for ratification -presidency Reuters
- Turkey’s president submits protocol for Sweden’s admission into NATO to parliament for ratification Yahoo News
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Tag Archives: membership
Turkey ‘seriously upset’ over Washington linking F-16 sales to Sweden’s NATO membership – Al-Monitor
- Turkey ‘seriously upset’ over Washington linking F-16 sales to Sweden’s NATO membership Al-Monitor
- Turkey’s Big Pro-Russia Push At G20; Erdogan Asks West To Accept Putin’s Demands On Grain Deal Hindustan Times
- Sweden’s NATO accession and Turkey’s bid to buy F-16 jets should be kept separate, Erdogan says Reuters
- Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan At G20: “India Our Greatest Trade Partner In South Asia” NDTV
- Excluding Russia From Grain Deal Talks Will Not Be Sustainable, Erdogan Says Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty
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Ukraine NATO Membership Would Worsen Global Tensions – Putin – The Moscow Times
- Ukraine NATO Membership Would Worsen Global Tensions – Putin The Moscow Times
- Live news: Putin says a Nato with Ukraine would create new threats for Russia Financial Times
- Putin on NATO Summit: Russia isn’t against Ukraine discussing security guarantees, as long as ‘Russia’s security is ensured’ Meduza
- Putin: foreign-made tanks are ‘priority target’ for Russian forces in Ukraine Reuters
- Putin on Ukraine’s accession to NATO: Nothing good, this will not increase Kyiv’s security Yahoo News
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Russia-Ukraine war news: Moscow slams NATO’s expansion as Finland readies for membership – The Washington Post
- Russia-Ukraine war news: Moscow slams NATO’s expansion as Finland readies for membership The Washington Post
- Russia-Ukraine live news: Finland to join NATO in historic shift Al Jazeera English
- 🔴Live: Finland joins NATO as Russia says it may get ‘tough’ on hostile EU FRANCE 24 English
- Ukraine-Russia war latest: Ukraine intercepts wave of Russian drone strikes over key port city The Telegraph
- Sweden Summons Russia’s Ambassador Over ‘Legitimate Target’ Statement Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty
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Peacock has removed its free membership tier for new customers
NBCUniversal will no longer be offering a free membership tier for new customers subscribing to its Peacock streaming service. As of January 30th, new Peacock customers will now need to subscribe to the Premium plan ($4.99 / month) with ads or Premium Plus ($9.99 / month) without ads to access content on the platform, as first reported by The Streamable.
A great deal of marketing for Peacock’s streaming debut in 2020 focused on the free membership tier, even introducing the service alongside the tagline “free as a bird.” The free membership was supported by ads and gave users access to a limited selection of Peacock content. Existing users will continue to have access to the free tier of Peacock, as will Premium Peacock subscribers who want to step down from their current paid membership.
Peacock is still operating at a loss despite recently surpassing 20 million paid subscribers
The Streamable reports an NBCUniversal source (delivering a message similar to an NBCUniversal spokesperson reached by Variety) said that the membership change would allow Peacock to better focus on its Premium membership offerings, which the company feels is the best way for customers to experience the service.
Peacock has managed to increase its total paid subscribers to 20 million, up from 9 million subscribers the previous year, likely due to broadcasting Premier League soccer matches alongside the success of original shows like Dr. Death, Bel-Air, and the first four seasons of Yellowstone — all of which require a Premium membership to watch in full. The sudden popularity of Peacock’s latest original series Poker Face is also likely to drive additional paid subscribers to the platform.
Disclosure: Comcast, which owns NBCUniversal, is also an investor in Vox Media, The Verge’s parent company.
Turkey says Sweden was complicit in burning of Quran amid tension over NATO membership bid
CNN
—
The Swedish government was complicit in the burning of the Quran at a protest in Stockholm last weekend, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu reportedly said Thursday.
Increased tensions between the two countries come at a time when Sweden is relying on Turkey to support its bid for membership of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) military alliance, of which Turkey is a member, in the light of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Çavuşoğlu blamed the Swedish government after police in the capital Stockholm authorized the demonstration by right-wing politician Rasmus Paludan, and held it responsible for the burning of the Islamic holy book, according to state news agency Anadolu.
Turkish-Swedish relations suffered a major blow last week after the rally outside the city’s Turkish Embassy last Saturday at which anti-immigration politician Paludan set a copy of the Quran alight.
The incident sparked anger in the Turkish capital, Ankara, where protesters took to the streets and burned the Swedish flag outside the Swedish embassy in response.
Speaking Thursday, Çavuşoğlu said the Swedish government had “taken part in this crime by allowing this vile act” to go ahead, according to Anadolu.
The foreign minister described the incident as a “racist attack” that had nothing to do with freedom of thought, the agency said.
Çavuşoğlu advised Sweden to “demine” its path to NATO membership or risk ruining its chance by “stepping on those mines,” Anadolu reported.
Earlier this week, Ankara called for a February meeting between Turkey, Sweden and Finland to be postponed, according to Turkish state broadcaster TRT Haber, which cited unnamed diplomatic sources.
Finland is also applying to join NATO, along with its Nordic neighbor, after Moscow’s assault on Ukraine sparked renewed security concern across the region.
Anadolu reported Thursday that the meeting around Sweden and Finland’s NATO applications was postponed in light of the current “unhealthy political environment.”
The three countries have met in the past under the “trilateral memorandum” to discuss Sweden and Finland’s NATO membership requests.
Ankara also canceled Swedish Defense Minister Pål Jonson’s planned trip to Turkey in the wake of the incident.
Sweden and Finland applied last year to join NATO following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but all 30 member states, including Turkey, must approve their bids.
Turkey has 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.
Swedish foreign minister says country closing in on NATO membership approval
Sweden’s foreign minister says his country is inching closer to having its NATO application ratified by one of the military alliance’s last holdouts.
Twenty-eight of NATO’s 30 current members have ratified both Sweden and Finland’s requests for membership since the two Scandinavian countries submitted formal applications in May. Canada was the first to ratify the requests.
But Turkey — along with Hungary — has yet to approve the bids. The Turkish government has said Sweden in particular needs to crack down on Kurdish and other groups that Ankara considers terrorists.
New NATO memberships must be approved by all current member states.
Sweden’s Foreign Minister Tobias Billström told CBC News Network’s Rosemary Barton Live in an interview airing Sunday that the sticking points with Turkey are nearly resolved.
WATCH | Swedish foreign minister discusses NATO bid:
Rosemary Barton Live speaks with Sweden’s foreign minister, Tobias Billström, in his first Canadian interview about Sweden and Finland’s NATO ratification process. Their entry into the military alliance is currently being held up by Turkey and Hungary’s approval.
“We are now very close to the moment in time when it is time for the Turkish parliament to start the ratification process,” Billström told host Rosemary Barton.
Sweden, Finland and Turkey signed a trilateral memorandum at the NATO summit in June that laid out a path for the Turkish government to sign off on the two applications.
Billström said that his country has “thoroughly” upheld its part of that agreement, but he noted that its provisions must fall in line with Sweden’s constitution following recent push-back from Turkey.
Pro-Kurdish and anti-NATO groups have complicated matters for the Swedish government by staging anti-Turkey demonstrations that have infuriated the Turkish government, including an effigy of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that was briefly hung outside Stockholm’s city hall earlier this month.
The Turkish government has called for an investigation of the protest, saying it amounted to racism and a hate crime. Prosecutors in Sweden have thus far said they won’t open an investigation.
WATCH | Senior adviser to Ukrainian military discusses conflict:
Rosemary Barton Live speaks with Dan Rice, special adviser to the commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, for his assessment of the war and about the mounting pressure on Germany to allow for the export of its Leopard 2 tanks.
On Saturday, Turkey’s Defence Minister Hulusi Akar cancelled a visit by his Swedish counterpart scheduled for later in the month, citing what he described as “disgusting” anti-Turkish demonstrations in Sweden.
The meeting no longer held “any importance or point,” Akar said.
NATO applications a response to Russia’s war on Ukraine
Sweden and Finland abandoned decades of non-alignment and applied to join NATO following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“The reason why we are so keen to join is because of the deteriorating security situation in our neighbourhood,” Billström said.
Dan Rice, an American military expert who is currently acting as a special adviser to the head of the Ukrainian forces, said providing security in the region is exactly why NATO was originally formed.
“I think it’s an outstanding and great example of NATO coming together to finally fulfil the mission that it was formed in 1949,” Rice told Rosemary Barton Live in a separate interview airing Sunday.
U.K. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly told CBC News Network’s Power & Politics on Thursday that Russia’s invasion has strengthened NATO.
“Vladimir Putin was hoping to fracture NATO as a defensive alliance, and instead what we’ve seen is NATO coming together and two new countries applying to join NATO as a direct response to Russia’s attempted invasion of Ukraine,” he said.
Ukraine’s path to NATO membership gains support of 9 countries including some former Soviet Bloc states
The leaders of nine NATO nations from Central and Eastern Europe issued a joint statement on Sunday in support of Ukraine’s path to membership in the alliance.
“We firmly stand behind the 2008 Bucharest NATO Summit decision concerning Ukraine’s future membership,” the presidents of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, Poland, Czechia, Romania, North Macedonia, and Slovakia said on Sunday.
At that 2008 summit, NATO allies said they “welcomed” Ukraine and Georgia’s aspirations to the join the alliance, though no clear timetable has ever been announced.
Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, tweeted on Sunday that 10 NATO countries support Ukraine’s bid for membership, including some nations that used to belong to the Soviet Union.
“We are grateful for the leadership and responsibility,” Podolyak tweeted. “History is being made today.”
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends meeting with military officials as he visits the war-hit Mykolaiv region.
(Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)
Zelenskyy said on Friday that Kyiv has “accelerated” its application for NATO membership after Russia annexed four Ukrainian territories.
RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN ANNOUNCES ANNEXATION OF 4 UKRAINIAN TERRITORIES AFTER ‘SHAM’ REFERENDUMS
“De facto, we have already proven compatibility with alliance standards. They are real for Ukraine – real on the battlefield and in all aspects of our interaction,” Zelenskyy said. “We trust each other, we help each other, and we protect each other. This is the alliance.”
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg declined to comment on Ukraine’s pathway to membership, telling NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday that any decision “has to be taken by consensus” but that the alliance’s “top priority” is to support Ukraine.
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White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Friday that the United States supports NATO’s open-door policy for countries that want to join.
“Right now, our view is that the best way for us to support Ukraine is through practical, on-the-ground support in Ukraine, and that the process in Brussels should be taken up at a different time,” Sullivan said during a press conference.
Zelensky pushes “accelerated” application for Ukraine NATO membership
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine is applying for “accelerated ascension” into NATO, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday, in an apparent answer to Russia’s move to illegally annex four of the country’s partially occupied regions.
The remarks were more symbolic than practical: The speedy admittance of Ukraine to the alliance would require members to immediately send troops to fight Russia, under collective defense obligations.
Ukraine has long sought NATO membership, but Zelensky conceded in March that Ukraine had to accept that it was not going to be accepted into the Western military alliance, despite receiving security assistance from countries in it.
“De facto, we have already made our way to NATO,” Zelensky said in a Telegram statement. “De facto, we have already proven compatibility with Alliance standards. They are real for Ukraine — real on the battlefield and in all aspects of our interaction. We trust each other, we help each other, and we protect each other.”
In practice, the chances of Ukraine joining NATO have only grown slimmer in the course of the Russian invasion. Member countries, including the United States, have drawn clear lines: They arm Ukraine, but they don’t have their own troops on the ground out of concern for triggering a World War.
Just an hour before Zelensky’s announcement, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Moscow’s illegal annexation of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, which Russian forces have partially occupied. At the time of Putin’s speech, Zelensky was meeting with his National Security Council. “There will be no negotiations with Russia while Putin is the president,” Andriy Yermak, Zelensky’s chief of staff, said on Telegram. “We are moving forward. To victory.”
Disney is exploring a ‘Disney Prime’ membership program
Disney is exploring a membership program in the style of Amazon Prime, as first reported by The Wall Street Journal. The program could offer various exclusive perks, discounts, and other enticements for subscribers to spend more money on Disney products and services. A secondary benefit would be allowing the company to collect more information on customers’ tastes and habits, improving its ability to cross-sell across its various businesses — from streaming services to theme parks to merchandise.
According to the WSJ, discussion of the membership program is very much in its early stages. It’s not clear what segments of Disney’s audience it would target, how much it would cost, or when the program might launch. Internally, some executives have referred to the project as “Disney Prime,” though that would not be the program’s name at launch.
Disney’s chief communications officer Kristina Schake confirmed that the company is looking into a membership program in a statement to the WSJ. “Technology is giving us new ways to customize and personalize the consumer experience so that we are delivering entertainment, experiences and products that are most relevant to each of our guests,” said Schake. “A membership program is just one of the exciting ideas that is being explored.”
Disney does already offer a membership program of sorts: the D23 fan club, which costs $99.99 a year for one person or $129.99 for two (the “23” refers to the year of Disney’s founding: 1923). Benefits include the opportunity to buy exclusive merchandise, a subscription to the quarterly Disney twenty-three magazine, and discounted tickets to the D23 Expo, which bills itself as the “ultimate Disney fan event.” The mooted membership program, though, would be aimed at more casual fans, according to the WSJ.
A primary benefit of a “Disney Prime” membership program would be allowing the company to target customers with more of its products. In a recent earnings call, Disney CEO Bob Chapek referred to the company’s “franchise flywheel” and its ability to “reach people with our uniquely engaging content across an array of touch points.” In other words: Disney owns a lot of content, from Marvel to Star Wars to Pixar and more; it has a streaming service, theme parks, resorts, and is even building its own residential communities. Why not bundle more of this together and let people really live Disney.