Morning Briefing: Dec. 23, 2023

ANKARA

Here is a rundown of all the news that you need to start your Saturday, including the UN Security Council passing a resolution for an immediate increase in humanitarian aid to Gaza, Reporters Without Borders filing a second complaint with the ICC on Palestinian journalists killed in Gaza, and a phone conversation between Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron calling for a 2-state solution in Gaza.

TOP STORIES

• UN Security Council passes resolution calling for immediate increase in humanitarian aid into Gaza

The UN Security Council on Friday passed a resolution calling for "urgent steps" to immediately allow "safe, unhindered, and expanded" humanitarian access to Gaza amid the ongoing Israeli offensive on the strip.

After several days of intense negotiations and nail-biting delays, the resolution submitted by the United Arab Emirates passed by a vote of 13-0, with the US and Russia – both permanent council members – abstaining.

Palestinian resistance group Hamas denounced the resolution, which did not include a demand for an immediate cease-fire, as an "insufficient step."

• Reporters Without Borders files second complaint with ICC on Palestinian journalists killed in Gaza

Paris-based NGO Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said Friday that it has filed a second complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC) on seven Palestinian journalists killed in Gaza from Oct. 22 to Dec. 15.

In response to the continuing tragedy in Gaza, the RSF filed its latest complaint ... this one concerning "probable war crimes" by Israel forces, it said in a statement.

The "RSF has urged the ICC prosecutor (Karim Khan) to investigate all of the deaths of Palestinian journalists killed by the Israeli military since 7 October, currently totaling 66," it added.

• Egyptian, French presidents stress need to work internationally to advance 2-state solution

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron stressed the need Friday to act at the international level to advance a two-state solution as a solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, according to a statement by the Egyptian Presidency.

In a phone conversation, Macron "was keen on getting a better understanding of President al-Sisi’s vision with regard to the crucial necessity to end the military operations in the Gaza Strip, so as to protect civilians" and allow further humanitarian aid into Gaza, said the statement.

They "reiterated the importance of averting what might expand the scope of the conflict in the region, in order to preserve the resources of the peoples, which requires solidifying regional stability."

NEWS IN BRIEF

• Six Turkish soldiers were killed and one wounded in an attack by terrorists near the northern Iraqi border, Türkiye's National Defense Ministry said early on Saturday.
• The Turkish parliament will discuss Sweden's NATO accession protocol on Tuesday, its Foreign Affairs Committee said in a statement on Friday.
• UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday said a humanitarian cease-fire is needed in the Gaza Strip, even as efforts to call for such a cease-fire in the UN Security Council again fell short.
• The World Food Program on Friday warned that the number of people in Gaza facing "catastrophe-level hunger" is four times greater than those facing similar conditions worldwide.
• Israel's war is pushing Gaza into famine and a staggering 90% of the people there are on the brink of starvation, UK-based anti-poverty organization Oxfam warned.
• Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday was granted bail in a state secrets case, local media reported.
• The Palestinian death toll from Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has soared to 20,057, the Health Ministry in the blockaded enclave said on Friday.
  
• The first American Israeli hostage has died while being held as a hostage by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Missing Persons Families Forum said Friday.
  
• The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) denounced Friday the "maritime spatial planning" approved earlier this week by the Greek Cypriot administration.
• A Bosnia Herzegovina court sentenced five defendants to prison on Friday for war crimes against humanity during the war between 1992 and 1995.
  
• China on Friday slammed Israel for building settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories and said Beijing opposes any unilateral change to Jerusalem’s status and status quo shaped by history.

SPORTS

• Manchester City topple Fluminense 4-0 to win FIFA Club World Cup as Alvarez scores twice

Two goals and one assist from Julian Alvarez led Manchester City to beat Fluminense 4-0 to bag the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup on Friday.

Man City broke the deadlock early when Alvarez made a close-range finish in the first minute and doubled the lead with an own goal from Nino in the 27th minute at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

• Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid, Sevilla reject proposed new European 'super league'

Following a top court ruling giving the legal green light to a new league, several top football clubs from Germany, England, and Spain on Thursday and Friday turned down the idea of joining a possible European Super League.

The European Court of Justice (CJEU) on Thursday ruled that the International Association of Football Federation (FIFA) and the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) rules on prior approval of interclub football competitions, such as the Super League, violate EU law. The decision has allowed further competitions between different leagues.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

• Türkiye expects faster global capital inflow as inflation brought under control

International capital inflow to Türkiye will accelerate once rising inflation is brought under control, the country's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday.

"The positive impact of the decline in the default swaps and the improvement in the credit rating will be felt in our capital markets, especially the stock market," Erdogan said at a ceremony marking the 150th anniversary of Borsa Istanbul, Türkiye’s stock market.

• EU greenhouse gas emissions fall by 22% in 2022

The EU’s greenhouse gas emissions from economic activities declined by 22% in 2022 compared to levels in 2008, according to the EU's statistical office, Eurostat, on Thursday.

Data revealed that the European bloc slashed about 3.6 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2-eq) during the 14-year period between 2008 and 2022.