Briefly

TURKIYE

NATO membership for Sweden ratified

Turkiye finalized the ratification of Sweden's membership in NATO on Thursday, bringing the previously nonaligned Nordic country a step closer to joining the military alliance. Hungary now remains the only NATO ally not to have ratified Sweden's accession. Sweden, along with Finland, have abandoned its traditional position of military nonalignment to seek protection under NATO's security umbrella. Finland joined the alliance in April, becoming NATO's 31st member, after Turkiye's parliament ratified the Nordic country's bid.

UNITED STATES

Alabama executes man with nitrogen

Alabama began carrying out the first execution of a condemned prisoner using asphyxiation by nitrogen gas on Thursday evening, a new method the state hopes to advance as a simpler alternative to lethal injections. Kenneth Smith, convicted of a 1988 murder-for-hire, is a rare prisoner who has already survived one execution attempt. Though poisonous gases such as hydrogen cyanide have been used in executions previously, this would be the first time a death sentence has been carried out anywhere using an inert gas to suffocate someone.

Ex-Trump adviser sentenced to jail

Peter Navarro, a White House trade adviser to former president Donald Trump, was sentenced to four months in prison on Thursday for refusing to testify before the congressional panel that investigated the Jan 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol. He is the second close Trump ally to be convicted of contempt of Congress for defying subpoenas from the House committee. Steve Bannon, one of the masterminds behind Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and victory, was also found guilty of contempt of Congress. Bannon was sentenced to four months in prison, but remains free pending an appeal.

IRAQ

Talks will start to end coalition's presence

Iraq said on Thursday that it agreed with the United States to form a commission to discuss the end of the US-led international coalition's mission in Iraq. The commission will assess the threat posed by the Islamic State terror group and evaluate the capabilities of Iraqi security forces, in order to formulate a clear timetable for the gradual reduction of international coalition advisers in Iraq and the end of the coalition's military mission, according to the Iraqi Foreign Ministry.

Agencies - Xinhua