Morning Briefing: Dec 31, 2023

By Esra Tekin

ISTANBUL (AA) - Here’s a rundown of all the news that you need to start your Sunday, including Türkiye's President Recep Erdogan's remarks about the postponement of the Super Cup final in Saudi Arabia, Israel's War Cabinet members' refusal to join a news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and the US shooting down two anti-ship ballistic missiles fired by Yemen's Houthi Group in the Red Sea.

TOP STORIES

• Turkish president says turning sports into tool for political competition is 'wrong, serves no purpose'

  Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday that turning sports into a tool for political competition is “wrong, misguided and serves no purpose.”

  “Turning sports into tool for daily political competition, for whatever reason, is wrong, misguided, and serves no purpose,” Erdogan said at an awards ceremony in Istanbul.

• Israeli War Cabinet members refuse to attend news conference with Netanyahu
  Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz refused to attend Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's late Saturday news conference.
  The Israeli broadcasting authority reported on X that Gallant and Gantz refused to attend the conference without specifying the reason.

• US shoots down 2 anti-ship ballistic missiles fired by Houthi group in Red Sea: CENTCOM

  Missiles fired from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen toward ships in Red Sea, says US Central Command

  The US said Saturday it shot down two anti-ship ballistic missiles in the Red Sea in response to a Houthi attack on a merchant vessel.

  "Today at approximately 8:30 p.m. (Sanaa time), the container ship MAERSK HANGZHOU reported that they were struck by a missile while transiting the Southern Red Sea.

NEWS IN BRIEF

• At least 22 people were killed and 109 others injured in Ukraine's shelling of the Russian city of Belgorod, the administrative center of the region with the same name. the regional governor said.

• Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday that Moscow and Ankara will continue expanding their political dialogue and productive cooperation in multiple spheres in 2024.

• Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin said on Saturday that the US wants "to open a second front against Russia" in the South Caucasus.

• Thousands of residents in Serbia’s capital gathered Saturday to protest the results of snap general and local elections.

• Tunisia’s Ennahda Movement urged authorities Saturday to release all political detainees.

• The US claimed that a Chinese spy craft, which traversed above the US earlier this year, was in communication with China through the services of a US-based internet provider.

• The Israeli army announced on Saturday that an officer and a soldier were killed during battles in the Gaza Strip, bringing the death toll to 504 since Oct. 7.

• A planned four-day strike by ground workers of Spain's Iberia Airlines forced the cancellation of more than 400 flights next week, a move expected to affect more than 45,000 passengers.

• Kazakhstan removed the Afghan Taliban movement from the list of terrorist organizations.

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BUSINESS & ECONOMY

• Türkiye to increase capacity of gas storage facility in Istanbul to 5.6 bcm, says energy minister

  Türkiye aims to increase the capacity of the Silivri Underground Natural Gas Storage Facility to 5.6 billion cubic meters (bcm), said the Turkish energy and natural resources minister on Saturday.

  "We are working on a new project that will increase the capacity here to 5.6 or 6 bcm," Alparslan Bayraktar told reporters during a visit to the country's first gas storage facility, which started operations in 2007.

• Russia to decide on gas deliveries via Ukraine based on demand in EU

  Russia will make a decision about the extension of an agreement on gas deliveries to Europe via Ukraine depending on the demand in the EU, a Russian senior diplomat said on Saturday.
  
  Speaking in an interview with the Russian state news agency RIA, Dmitry Birichevsky, the director of the Foreign Ministry Department for Economic Cooperation, pointed out that the EU in March 2022 declared the intention to gradually stop buying Russian energy.

SPORTS

• Gaza-based Supreme Council for Sports says Israeli army killed hundreds of athletes, destroyed stadiums

  The Gaza-based Supreme Council for Sports said Saturday the Israeli army has killed hundreds of sports figures and destroyed dozens of fields.

  The sports body said in a statement that the Israeli army also turned stadiums and sports clubs into torture and execution centers, citing the Yarmouk Stadium in Gaza City

• Inter Milan extends contract with defender Matteo Darmian until 2025

  Italian defender Matteo Darmian on Saturday renewed his contract with Inter Milan until June 30, 2025.

  Inter Milan heaped praises on Darmian in a statement, saying: "If the word 'Darmian' existed in the dictionary, this is what it'd mean: 'to adapt to every match situation and immediately become a hugely reliable presence, guaranteeing extraordinary performances