ISTANBUL

Here’s a rundown of all the news you need to start your Friday, including US President Donald Trump announcing the death of one of the two National Guard members critically wounded in a shooting in Washington, DC this week, the Senegalese Foreign Ministry announcing that ousted Guinea-Bissau President Umaro Sissoco Embalo has arrived “safe and sound” in Senegal, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan calling Pope Leo XIV's visit to Türkiye a "very important step that strengthens our common ground."

• National Guard member wounded in DC shooting dies, says Trump

One of the two National Guard members wounded in a Washington, DC shooting this week has died, US President Donald Trump announced.

"Sarah Beckstrom of West Virginia, one of the guardsmen that we’re talking about, a highly respected, young, magnificent person...She’s just passed away," Trump said in a video call with members of the US military.

He was speaking from his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida in his first live remarks since a shooter opened fire blocks away from the White House in what authorities called a "targeted" attack that critically wounded two members of the West Virginia National Guard stationed in the US capital.

• Ousted Guinea-Bissau president arrives 'safe and sound' in Senegal

Ousted Guinea-Bissau President Umaro Sissoco Embalo has arrived “safe and sound” in Senegal aboard a government-chartered aircraft, Senegal’s Foreign Ministry said.

“An aircraft was chartered by the Government to travel to Bissau in order to assist in this repatriation operation. This allowed for the safe and sound arrival in Senegal of President Umaro Sissoco Embalo,” the ministry said in a statement.

Dakar said it has been in constant contact with Bissau-Guinean actors since the political crisis and coup, focusing on the release of Embalo and others and reopening borders to aid the repatriation of detainees and various electoral observation missions.

• President Erdogan calls pope’s visit to Türkiye ‘very important step that strengthens common ground’

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called Pope Leo XIV’s visit to Türkiye a “very important step that strengthens our common ground.”

Pope Leo XIV, the head of the Catholic Church and the sovereign of the Vatican City State, arrived in the Turkish capital Ankara on his first trip abroad, including both Türkiye and Lebanon. The pope will be in Türkiye through Sunday on an official visit at the invitation of the Turkish president. In addition to Ankara, he is scheduled to visit Istanbul and Iznik, a historic site for the early Christian Church, when it was known as Nicaea.

In a joint address at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, Erdogan said the pope’s visit comes at a highly critical moment amid regional and global tensions.

NEWS IN BRIEF

• Pope Leo XIV, the head of the Vatican City State and Catholic Church, said Türkiye has an important place in both the present and future of the Mediterranean region and the wider world, praising the country for valuing its internal diversity.
• In a tit-for-tat move, Russia announced that it had decided to close Poland’s Consulate in the Siberian city of Irkutsk by the end of the year.
• Israel carried out 669 airstrikes on Lebanon since a ceasefire took effect in November 2024, at a rate of two attacks per day, an Israeli security institute said.
• African Union Commission Chair Mahmoud Ali Youssouf condemned the military coup in Guinea-Bissau, calling for the immediate release of ousted President Umaro Sissoco Embalo and other detained officials.
• Seven people died and several others were missing following a landslide in Tahiti, the largest island in French Polynesia.
• The Russian space corporation Roscosmos announced a successful launch of the manned Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
• China said that Japanese media reports claiming Tokyo is considering sinking China’s first electromagnetic catapult-equipped aircraft carrier in the event of a conflict over Taiwan are “nothing but sheer fantasy and an overestimation of one’s own abilities,” according to the state-run Global Times.
• The Danish government has decided to allocate 125-130 million kroner ($12.3 million-$12.8 million) for its first moon mission called Mani, broadcaster DR reported.
• British armed personnel were trained in Israel after the beginning of attacks on Gaza in October 2023, according to reports.
• Polish authorities have detained a 23-year-old Russian citizen accused of hacking the IT systems of several Polish companies in what officials describe as a serious breach of digital security, with investigators examining possible links to broader cyber operations in Europe.
• Türkiye criticized the renewed Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) delimitation agreement signed between Lebanon and the Greek Cypriot Administration, saying the deal ignores the rights of Turkish Cypriots and does not represent the island as a whole.
• The US has ordered "a lot more" B-2 Spirit stealth bombers, President Donald Trump announced.
• The US will “very soon” start taking action to stop suspected Venezuelan drug traffickers on land, President Donald Trump said.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

• Turkish stock exchange opens Thursday in green

Türkiye's benchmark stock index opened Thursday at 10,973.54 points, up 0.54% or 58.89 points from the previous close.

On Wednesday, the BIST 100 gained 0.53% to 10,914.65 points, with a daily transaction volume of 113 billion Turkish liras ($2.66 billion).

As of 09.50 am local time (0650GMT), exchange rates stood at 42.4460 Turkish liras to the US dollar, 49.3145 to the euro, and 56.3850 to the British pound.

• Chinese firms' industrial profits shrink 5.5% in October, largest decline in 5 months

The profits of the industrial companies in China plunged 5.5% year-on-year in October when the economy's overall growth pace stalled and trade tensions with the US resurfaced that month.

The monthly fall reversed the double-digit growth figures in August and September and was the largest monthly decline since June, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Thursday.

On the other hand, in the January-October period, industrial profits grew 1.1% compared to the same period of the previous year, slowing from a 3.2% rise in the January-September period.