President Joe Biden plans to host Sweden’s prime minister at the White House on Wednesday in a show of solidarity as the United States presses for the Nordic nation’s entry into NATO, a week before the alliance's summit. Biden and Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson will “review our growing security cooperation and reaffirm their view that Sweden should join NATO as soon as possible,” the White House said a statement announcing the meeting. The leaders also will discuss the war in Ukraine and matters involving China. Sweden and neighbor Finland ended their longstanding policy of military nonalignment after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Both applied for NATO membership, seeking protection under the organization’s security umbrella. Finland, which shares a more than 800-mile or 1,300-kilometer border with Russia, joined NATO in April. But Sweden, which has avoided military alliances for more than 200 years, has seen its ascension delayed by Turkey and Hungary; NATO requires the unanimous approval of all members to expand. NATO had hoped the road to Sweden’s membership would be smoothed out before the alliance’s summit July 11-12 in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. Sweden’s entry would be a symbolically powerful moment and the latest indication of how Russia’s war is driving countries to join the alliance. Those hopes have dimmed. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has resisted, with his government accusing Sweden of being too lenient toward groups that it says pose a security threat, including militant Kurdish organizations and people associated with a 2016 coup attempt in Turkey. Last week, he condemned Sweden over a Quran-burning protest. Swedish police allowed the protest outside a mosque in central Stockholm, citing freedom of speech after a court overturned a ban on a similar Quran-burning. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said he would gather senior officials from Turkey, Sweden and Finland on Thursday to try to overcome Turkey’s objections. Hungary also has yet to ratify Sweden’s bid. Hungarian lawmakers said a long-delayed parliamentary vote on that would not happen until the autumn legislative session. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government has alleged that Swedish politicians have told “blatant lies” about the condition of Hungary's democracy. High-ranking Hungarian officials have said they support Sweden’s membership bid while also making vague demands from Stockholm as conditions for approval. Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide

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Russia will oppose the final declaration at the G20 summit if Moscow’s position on Ukraine is disregarded, said foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, casting doubts on India’s aspirations to make its presidency a success with a joint communique. Mr Lavrov is set to lead the Russian delegation in Delhi for the two-day summit betweeb 9 and 10 September in the absence of Russian president Vladimir Putin. Speaking to the students at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, Mr Lavrov said India will be forced to issue a non-binding communique in absence of agreement on all points from the G20 member countries. "There will be no general declaration on behalf of all members if our position is not reflected," Mr Lavrov said. The foreign minister said the western countries were eroding international institutions by promoting their own interests and said if the G20 meeting is not able to reach a consensus, the G20 president might consider releasing a chair summary. "Another option is to adopt a document that focuses on specific decisions in the sphere of G20 competences, and let everyone say the rest on their own behalf," he said. The pushback by Russia at the G20 summit in Delhi has thrown India’s hopes to conclude the economic forum with a Delhi Declaration in doubt as the host country was expecting to reach a breakthrough in reaching a consensus in the final meeting of the leaders. The G20 under India’s president risks going down as the first summit to conclude without a joint statement since the forum was created in 1999 if consensus is not reached between members. So far, none of the G20 ministerial or working groups meeting have been able to release a joint statement as representatives from the west on one side and Russia and China from another wrangled over language on the Ukraine conflict. Instead, India has been releasing a chair summary amid disagreement over some points in the final statement. Raising hopes over issuing a joint communique at the G20 summit, Indian foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar last week said he was “very confident” India will be able to provide a joint statement due to its unique position. "As a consultative chair, I am confident at the G20 summit, there will be shared interest for a common statement. We will do everything from our side," he told NDTV. In March, the G20 meeting foreign ministers ended without a joint meeting as there were “divergences” on the issue of the war in Ukraine “which we could not reconcile as various parties held differing views”, Mr Jaishankar had said after concluding the meeting. It comes as another blow to India’s presidency amid speculations that Chinese president Xi Jinping will give a miss to the summit after Mr Putin confirmed prime minister Narendra Modi that he will not travel to Delhi. Unconfirmed government sources told Reuters that Premier Li Qiang will fill for Mr Xi over the latest map controversy between the two countries, which are already amidst a bitter border dispute from past three years. China’s foreign minister was unable to confirm Mr Xi’s attendance most recently when asked at a regular press briefing. It would mark the first time that Mr Xi will skip the G20 gathering, a major economic platform, since taking power. Read More India tries to scare off monkeys as it gets Delhi ready for G20 leaders’ arrival India protests China's land claim ahead of the G20 summit President Xi Jinping is expected to attend Xi Jinping set to skip India’s G20 summit in blow to hopes for consensus The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary

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With the festive season fast approaching, TikTokers have seemingly gone into Christmas mode as people are already obsessed with a particular Christmas tree that everyone wants to get their hands on. TikTok is known for making some of the most bizarre things go viral, including everything from Pink Sauce to putting a toilet roll in your fridge. However, even though it’s only November, things have taken a more festive turn as the T27 Christmas Tree has become all the rage, making it tricky for people to get hold of. What is the TikTok famous T27 Christmas Tree? The T27 Christmas tree has gone viral on TikTok, but what many might not realise is that the tree is artificial. Unlike a real tree, it won’t drop needles all over the floor and helpfully comes pre-lit, with all the LED lights already attached, making it possibly the easiest tree to put up for the Christmas period. On TikTok, users have been sharing videos of their T27 Christmas trees, showing how they look straight after being put up. @mermaid1723 #T27 #christmastree #homedepot In the comments of one clip, TikToker @mermaid1723 revealed she bought her tree at the American store Home Depot, but explained that when she checked after her purchase, it was already sold out. Others shared unboxing videos that saw them setting up their viral trees that were instantly illuminated by a remote control. @luxxyy This was worth every penny! #grandduchesstree #homedepot #t27 #t28 #christmastree #grandduchessbalsamfir #christmas2023 #christmas #diychristmas #christmasdecor One TikToker commented: “That is so pretty.” Another wrote: “I’ve never seen a tree so pretty it didn’t need ornaments on it. Wow.” How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Sign up to our free indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

A look at the day ahead in U.S. and global markets from Mike Dolan Hopes for a late August bloom