Rabia Ali
16 November 2023•Update: 17 November 2023
ISTANBUL
Here’s a rundown of all the news you need to start your Thursday, including withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital, a rare meeting between US President Joe Biden and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, adoption of UN’s Security Council resolution on humanitarian pauses, and UK parliament voting against cease-fire in the Palestinian enclave.
TOP STORIES
The Israeli army withdrew some of its vehicles from the Al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City while leaving a few soldiers inside, a source at the hospital told Anadolu on Wednesday.
The Israeli army had stormed the Al-Shifa Medical Complex after besieging it for days.
The complex is hosting civilians who have been displaced from their homes due to ongoing Israeli airstrikes in the area.
US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping had a bilateral meeting, with hopes of relieving some of the stressors defining US-Sino relations.
Biden and Xi met on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco, California, their first sit-down since last seeing each other in November 2022 in Bali, Indonesia.
Biden and his senior officials said ahead of the meeting that Washington was seeking to restore military-to-military communications.
UN Security Council adopted a draft resolution calling for "urgent and extended humanitarian pauses and corridors" throughout Gaza.
Twelve countries voted in favor of the resolution, spearheaded by Malta, while the US, UK and Russia abstained.
In addition to calling for "urgent and extended humanitarian pauses and corridors throughout the Gaza Strip for a sufficient number of days" to allow humanitarian access into Gaza, the resolution also calls for the release of all hostages, especially children, being held by Hamas and other groups.
The UK parliament voted against a motion calling for an “immediate” cease-fire in Gaza.
The Scottish National Party’s amendment to the King’s Speech sought to call on the government to “join with the international community in urgently pressing all parties to agree to an immediate ceasefire.”
Some 125 MPs voted in favor of the motion and 293 others against.
The ruling Conservatives and the main opposition Labour Party’s leadership made it clear that they would not back the motion.
NEWS IN BRIEF
- US President Joe Biden said at a news conference in California that he told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a two-state solution is the "ultimate answer."
- Israel opposed a deal with Hamas which could have resulted in the release of 50 Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian women and children and a 3-day cease-fire commitment in Gaza, state media reported.
- British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he will pass an emergency law to declare Rwanda a safe country, and would not let deportation flights be blocked, after the UK Supreme Court ruled the government's plan to send asylum seekers to the African country as unlawful.
- A protest outside the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington, D.C. calling for a cease-fire in Gaza broken up by US Capitol Police.
- Türkiye to ensure those responsible for Gaza massacre face trial in international courts, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, adding that if Israel continues its massacres it will be seen everywhere in the world as a "universally condemned terrorist state."
- The Israeli army urged residents of several neighborhoods in the city of Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip, to evacuate.
- The Turkish parliament extended for one more year the deployment of troops sent to Azerbaijan in the wake of a fall 2020 conflict with neighboring Armenia over the Karabakh region.
- A total of 26 Gazan patients and their 13 attendants who passed through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, will be brought to Türkiye, the Turkish health minister said.
- Bangladesh's Election Commissioner Habibul Awal announced polls will be held on Jan. 7 next year.
- Türkiye’s first lady Emine Erdogan called on her counterparts worldwide to be a voice for Gaza, and to help stop Israeli attacks on Palestinians. She hosted the summit, “United for Peace in Palestine,” in Istanbul including first spouses from around the world.
SPORTS
Manchester City registered record-breaking revenue of £712.8 million ($888 million) for the 2022-23 season.
"The Club has reported revenues of £712.8 million, an increase of £99.8 million on the previous twelve months, and profits of £80.4 million, nearly double that of the previous year’s record of £41.7 million," the club said in a statement.
Anwar El Ghazi, a Dutch winger of Moroccan descent, has taken legal action against Mainz 05 for being dismissed by the German club over a pro-Palestine social media post, according to German newspaper Bild.
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
Head of International Monetary Fund Kristalina Georgieva said central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) can replace cash in island economies.
"This is not the time to turn back. The public sector should keep preparing to deploy CBDCs and related payment platforms in the future," she told the Singapore Fintech Festival. "These platforms should be designed from the start to facilitate cross-border payments, including with CBDCs."
US producer inflation fell by a monthly 0.5% in October, according to official figures.
The market expectation for the producer price index (PPI), which measures changes in the price of goods and services from a producer perspective, was for a 0.1% monthly increase.
