 So you're watching The Daily Roundup by Peoples Dispatch where we bring you some of the top stories from around the world. Let's take a look at the headlines. Iran and Cuba seek to enhance cooperation. Sweden and Finland take forward plans to join NATO. Protests continue against President Kais Said in Tunisia. Residents of Okinawa call for demilitarization and peace. Iran and Cuba are holding a joint economic summit to increase cooperation between the two countries in the sphere of political, economic and trade relations. The 18th session of the Intergovernmental Commission for Economic Relations began on Sunday, May 15 and will last till Tuesday, May 17. The joint summit being held in the Iranian capital Tehran is being attended by the Iranian Minister of Health, Bahram Ainullahi, Cuba's Deputy Prime Minister Ricardo Cabrisa, Cuban Minister of Energy and Minds, Levan Aront and other officials. Among the top agenda points of summit are to significantly enhance cooperation between the two countries in the fields of trade, investment, transit and transportation, electricity and energy and more. They are also expected to sign numerous joint agreements. The two countries hailed the joint vaccine production with Cuban Deputy PM Cabrisa calling the Pasto Kovac vaccine a mascot for Iran-Cuba ties. They also expressed hope to increase this cooperation in the medical field in the future as well as extend to other sectors. Both countries also pledged mutual political and diplomatic support to each other on the international stage. Just before the summit began, Iranian Foreign Minister Hussain Amir Abdul-Lihyan called Cuba a reliable strategic partner of Iran, while Deputy PM Cabrisa thanked Iran for its support in the face of unilateral US sanctions on Cuba. Denouncing the US sanctions on both Iran and Cuba, both countries vowed to keep improving their bilateral ties and to learn from each other's experiences to ultimately neutralize the sanctions effect. The Nordic countries of Sweden and Finland have confirmed their intentions to join NATO in a major policy shift from decades of neutrality and military non-alignment. Both countries have cited the ongoing Russian war in Ukraine as the primary reason for a change in their stance towards joining NATO. Finland's government was the first to express its intentions to join NATO with Finnish President Sauli Niinesto, terming it a historic day and the opening of a new era. Finnish Prime Minister Sana Mariin later in a statement expressed hope that the country's parliament would vote in favour of the government's decision. The Swedish government followed soon after with Prime Minister Mac Dalana and Dresden on Sunday, May 15, saying in a news conference, the best thing for the security of Sweden and the Swedish people is to join NATO. The two countries are expected to submit a joint membership application after receiving approvals from their respective parliaments. The proposals for joining NATO are expected to be presented to the respective parliaments on Monday, May 16. The moves by the two countries to join NATO are expected to antagonize Russia even further. Russia already opposes NATO's expansion towards its borders and has said that it would be obliged to restore military balance in the Baltic Sea region. Russian President Vladimir Putin on a call with the Finnish President described the Finnish move as a mistake since there is no threat to Finland's security. Furthermore, NATO member Turkey has also expressed its reservations over the two countries joining NATO with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Shavusholo saying that they must stop supporting the PKK Kurdish militant group, provide security guarantees and lift export bans, especially in the defence sector on Turkey. He added that both his Swedish and Finnish counterparts have offered reassurances to Turkey regarding its concerns. We move on to Tunisia where more than 2,000 Tunisians took part in protests in the capital Tunis against President Kai Said on Sunday, May 15, demanding his exit and the country's return to democracy. The protests were held in the central Habiburgiba Avenue and were the first to be organised by the newly formed Alliance, the National Salvation Front to oppose the President's ongoing power grab in the country which started in July last year. Among the protesters were members and supporters of the NAHDA party, the largest in the now dissolved parliament, members of the citizens against the coup movement as well as many other members and supporters of other political parties. The protesters also denounced the President's move to replace the independent Electoral Commission in the country with one of his own choosing. This move has been preceded by several other similar moves such as replacing the Supreme Judicial Council, giving himself extraordinary legal and legislative powers, announcing and drafting of a new constitution among others. The protesters were seen chanting slogans and rallied in front of the municipal theatre on the avenue even as the government had put in place stringent security measures for the protests. The protesters noted that the deployment and security formations of a large number of security forces who were also deployed at the entry and exit points of the avenue. Tunisia which went through a revolution in 2011 returned to democracy has been witnessing regular protests since July last year after the President dismissed the Prime Minister and the Cabinet and suspended the parliament and assumed power in the country. Critics have termed these terms unconstitutional and amounting to a presidential coup. The President has continued to secure and expand his hold on power in the following months, announcing numerous other controversial decisions, leading to widespread domestic and international concern and condemnation. And finally protests marked the 50th anniversary of Okinawa reverting back to Japanese sovereignty which fell on Sunday, May 15. In the capital city of Naha, more than a thousand Okinawans congregated, re-iterating the long-standing calls to demilitarize the island and for peace in the region. A massive march was held in the city of Ginoban that passed a major US military installation. For decades, Okinawans have been at the forefront of the struggle against US military bases and calling for peace and demilitarization in Japan. Solidarity protests were also held in Tokyo. The anniversary comes at a time when plans are afoot by both Japan and the US to build a new military base in Hinoko in Okinawa as part of expanding US presence in the island prefecture. The plans for a new base in Hinoko continues despite recent promises from the national parliament to decrease and redistribute US military installation to other parts of the country. Despite accounting for less than 1% of the country's landmass, it houses a bulk of US military bases in Japan. The island hosts 70% of the foreign military infrastructure and lands used exclusively by the US. The massive US military presence in the island has been met with a strong opposition from the residents. The island was previously under US military rule between 1945 and 1972 after it occupied the islands in a bloody battle during the Second World War that killed a quarter of the island's population at the time. Despite much protests from the Okinawans, the US relinquished its military control of the island in 1972, but struck a deal with the Japanese government to maintain its military infrastructure in the island. And that's all for today's episode. For more such stories, visit our website peoplesdispatch.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.