Britain, Italy, the Netherlands and Finland became the latest countries on Saturday to pause funding for the UN refugee agency for Palestinians (UNRWA), after the body said Friday that it had sacked “several” employees accused by Israel of involvement in Hamas’s October 7 massacre.

The United States, Australia and Canada had already paused funding to the aid agency, a critical source of support for people in Gaza, after the allegations by Israel. The agency said on Friday it had opened an investigation into several employees and severed ties with those people.

The European Union is dealing with an increase in legal and illegal arrivals by migrants, prompting some member states to temporarily re-introduce border controls within what is normally a zone of free movement.

The bloc's Schengen rules allow such action "as a last resort" in cases that are deemed serious threats to internal security or public policy.

These countries have reinstated stricter checks:

* Austria introduced checks at its border with the Czech Republic in October, set to last until Dec. 6.

President Biden grew flustered with a reporter here Thursday and angrily told her that she doesn’t know if she will make it home — after he confused the nations of Iceland and Ireland, the latter of which he called his “home” despite nearly two centuries of genealogical distance.

Iida Tikka, of Finland’s public broadcaster YLE, was the second member of the press in two days to provoke a presidential outburst in response to a question.

Sweden's path to NATO membership remains blocked by Turkey and Hungary as neighbour Finland officially joined the 30-member alliance on Tuesday after its application was ratified in record time.

Analysts do not expect Turkey to ratify Sweden's application until after Turkey's May 14 election at the earliest. Even then, it is unclear what would trigger a change of heart by President Tayyip Erdogan. Hungary is seen following Ankara's lead.

Finland officially became the 31st member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on Tuesday, marking a major shift in the security landscape in northeastern Europe that adds some 1,300 kilometers (830 miles) to the alliance’s frontier with Russia.

The Nordic nation’s accession was sealed during a formal ceremony at the NATO headquarters in Brussels on Tuesday.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg were on hand as the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Pekka Haavisto, established Finland’s accession.

Finland became the 31st member of the NATO military alliance on Tuesday amid warnings of "countermeasures" from the Kremlin.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year prompted Finland — which has a 1,300-kilometer (800-mile) border with Russia — and its neighbor Sweden to drop decades of military non-alignment.

Finland joined NATO to become the alliance's 31st member on Tuesday, issuing a major rebuke to Moscow and doubling the border length Russia shares with the military alliance.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine spurned Finland to join the military alliance last year. Both Finland and Sweden filed to join NATO, though Sweden's process is still ongoing. NATO officials will raise Finland's flag between the French and Estonian flags in a ceremony later Tuesday.

Finland formally joined the NATO military alliance on Tuesday in a historic policy shift brought on by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, drawing a threat from Moscow of "countermeasures".

Finland's accession roughly doubles the length of the border that NATO shares with Russia and bolsters its eastern flank as the war in Ukraine grinds on with no resolution in sight.

Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto completed the accession process by handing over an official document to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at NATO headquarters in Brussels.

Finland on Tuesday became an official member of the military alliance NATO, prompted by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine last year.

The Nordic nation is the 31st country to join the alliance, which vows in its treaty that an attack on one of its members is an attack on them all. It’s a historic moment for Finland, which has followed a path of neutrality for decades.