News in Brief
N. Korea informs Japan of ‘satellite launch’
AFP – North Korea has informed Japan that it is preparing to launch a satellite as early as this week, Tokyo announced Monday but warned it may actually be a sanctions-defying ballistic missile test.
North Korea informed Japan that it will launch a rocket between May 31 and June 11, identifying waters near the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea and to the east of Luzon Island in the Philippines as warning areas, a Japanese coast guard spokesman told AFP.
Spanish PM calls early general election
AP – Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Monday called an early general election for July 23 in a surprise move after his Socialist party took a serious battering in local and regional elections. Prior to Sunday’s debacle, Sánchez had insisted that he would ride out his four-year term with leftist government coalition partner United We Can, indicating that an election would be held in December.
Sweden, Turkey to hold NATO discussions
REUTERS – The foreign ministers of Sweden and Turkey will meet “soon” to discuss Stockholm’s delayed bid to join NATO, the Swedish Foreign Ministry said on Monday. Sweden and Finland applied for NATO membership following Russia’s “military operation” in Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. However, while Finland joined the Western military alliance in April, Sweden’s bid has been held up by objections from Turkey and Hungary.