Morning Briefing: May 27, 2023
Anadolu’s recap of top stories from around the globe
NEW YORK
Here’s a rundown of all the news you need to start your Saturday, including negotiations on the US debt ceiling crisis, Russia's nuclear moves in Belarus and the arrest of a suspect in the Turkish House attack in New York City.
TOP STORIES
US President Joe Biden said he is ''hopeful'' of a deal to raise the national debt limit by Friday night that could prevent an economic meltdown.
"Things are looking good, I'm very optimistic," he said. "I hope we'll be able to know by tonight whether we have a deal.''
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned in a letter Friday to Congress that the US will run out of money to pay its financial obligations by June 5.
The deadline is four days later than previous estimates by the agency.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said Russia has started moving tactical nuclear weapons to his country.
“We had to prepare storage areas and stuff. We have done this, so the movement of nuclear weapons has already begun," Lukashenko told Russia’s Pervy TV.
On Thursday, the Russian and Belarusian defense ministers signed an agreement to deploy Russian nuclear weapons in Belarus, which stipulates terms for keeping them in a special storage facility.
The suspect accused of attacking the Turkish House in New York City earlier this week has been taken into custody, the New York Police Department announced Friday.
Recep Akbiyik, 29, has been charged with seven counts, including burglary, making a terroristic threat, criminal mischief, menacing and criminal possession of a weapon.
Akbiyik was put in a police vehicle in handcuffs, accompanied by two police officers late Friday.
NEWS IN BRIEF
- Britain's King Charles III and Queen Camilla visited Northern Ireland, their first visit out of England since his May 6 coronation.
- A son of a local lawmaker in Japan was arrested on suspicion of killing four people in a stabbing and shooting attack, local media reported.
- A California man was exonerated and released after spending 33 years in prison for a wrongful conviction over an attempted murder in the 1990s, according to a US prosecutor.
- German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he is planning to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the situation in Ukraine.
- Serbia ordered its army to advance to the administrative border with Kosovo and demanded that NATO urgently stop violence against local Serbs in Kosovo.
- The US Treasury Department accused Russia’s private military company, Wagner Group, of providing missiles to Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and “contributing to a prolonged armed conflict.”
- A 33-year-old man has been detained for allegedly opening the emergency door of an airplane mid-air, minutes before its scheduled landing in South Korea.
- More than 550,000 Syrian refugees in Türkiye have returned to areas cleared of terrorism, according to Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.
- Italy urged residents in the northern flood areas to "stay away from flooded houses" as stagnant waters pose health and hygiene risks.
- Fulgence Kayishema, one of the most wanted suspects in the 1994 Rwanda genocide, appeared before a court in South Africa.
SPORTS
- Formula 1 to visit Monaco for Sunday's Grand Prix
The 2023 Monaco Grand Prix will be run Sunday after the Formula One skipped the season's previous Emilia Romagna GP as floods inundated northern Italy.
The 78-lap race will take place at Monte Carlo's 3.337-kilometer (2.07-mile) Circuit de Monaco, a street circuit near the city-state's port.
The first Grand Prix at the Circuit de Monaco was held in 1950.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
- Oil up over weaker dollar amid uncertainties of OPEC+ next output move
Oil prices rose on a weakening US dollar, making dollar-indexed crude oil cheaper for investors, while contradicting statements by top OPEC+ ministers raised market uncertainties ahead of the group’s impending meeting.
International benchmark Brent crude traded at $76.40 per barrel at 9.56 a.m. local time (0656 GMT), a 0.18% rise from the closing price of $76.26 in the previous trading session.
The declining value of the dollar was the main factor driving the increase in dollar-indexed oil prices on the last day of the week.
- China's 1st indigenous passenger jet set to make debut revenue flight
China's first large indigenous passenger plane is making its inaugural commercial flight this weekend with China Eastern Airlines, according to the airline.
The C919, built by Shangai-based Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC), will fly from Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport to Beijing Capital International Airport on Sunday, state-run Global Times newspaper reported, citing the airline's flight schedule.
Flight MU 9191 will be spanning the country's busiest route lasting 2 hours and 25 minutes.
- Türkiye hosts 9.5 million foreign tourists in 4 months
Türkiye hosted 9.5 million foreign tourists in the first four months of this year, according to official figures.
The number of foreign arrivals in January-April rose 27.51% on a yearly basis, the Culture and Tourism Ministry stated.
Istanbul, Türkiye's largest city by population and a top tourist draw, welcomed more than half of all foreign visitors, or nearly 4.77 million, in the four-month period.
