The Turkish parliament was the last among the 30 members of the alliance to ratify Finland's membership after Hungary's legislature approved a similar bill.

The ban, agreed overnight after weeks of wrangling, aims to halt 90% of Russia's crude imports into the 27-nation bloc by year-end.

The central European country is currently in talks with other EU members seeking to push through a Russian oil ban following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine had appeared to upend Orban's campaign in recent weeks, forcing him into awkward manouvering to explain decade-old cosy business relations with President Vladimir Putin.

Authorities in UK had withdrawn hundreds of units while those in Colombia instructed the removal of others after a number of patient deaths.

This comes amid an investigation involving Vinod Sekhar, on the back of a lucrative deal to sell medical ventilators to Hungary.

This is said to be a common tactic to silence critics and journalists who carry damning reports which are difficult to counter or rebut.

Transparency International says it is prepared for a lengthy court process as it steps up its scrutiny of the controversial purchase of ventilators last year.

This comes as a Malaysian businessman defends his part of the huge contract as being 'above board'.

Imposing “imaginary European values,” like LGBT promotion he argued, would be the “fastest road to collapse” for the bloc.

He says he can understand gays and lesbians but not 'these transgender people'.

The deal to supply ventilators to Hungary was one of scores of purchases by Budapest in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic last year.