Morning Briefing: Feb. 6, 2024

By Rabia Ali

ISTANBUL (AA) — Here is a rundown of all the news that you need to start your Tuesday, including the arrival of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Saudi Arabia, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's remarks on the first anniversary of the powerful Feb. 6 earthquakes, the displacement of 100,000 people in southern Lebanon, and King Charles' cancer diagnosis.

TOP STORIES

• US' Blinken arrives in Saudi Arabia to seek Gaza cease-fire

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday as the first stop in his latest regional tour as efforts for a cease-fire continue in the Gaza Strip.

The tour marks Blinken's fifth trip to the Middle East since Israel launched its devastating offensive on the Gaza Strip following Hamas' Oct. 7 attack.

He is expected to hold talks on the situation in the Gaza Strip, Saudi broadcaster Al-Arabiya reported.

Blinken is also expected to visit Egypt, Qatar, Israel, and the occupied West Bank.

• Turkish President Erdogan vows to heal wounds of Feb. 6 earthquake victims

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan promised Tuesday to heal the wounds of the victims of the Feb. 6, 2023 earthquakes that hit the southern part of the country.

"The pain of the lives we lost in the Kahramanmaras-centered earthquakes that we experienced a year ago continues to burn our hearts as fresh as the first day," Erdogan said on X to mark the first anniversary of the powerful quakes that killed a total of 53,537 people and injured more than 107,000 others.

The destruction experienced was "truly enormous," he said.

• 100,000 people displaced by Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon

Around 100,000 people have been displaced by Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon, according to the country's foreign minister on Monday.

"We have about 100,000 displaced people from the south as a result of recent events and Israeli attacks," Abdullah Bou Habib said during a meeting with President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Mirjana Spoljaric.

"They are in dire need of care and assistance," he added.

Bou Habib said Lebanon welcomes all possible assistance from the ICRC to the displaced Lebanese.

• King Charles diagnosed with cancer

Britain's King Charles has been diagnosed with cancer and has started treatment, Buckingham Palace announced on Monday.

The disclosure follows an earlier medical intervention for benign prostate enlargement, which led to the discovery of the secondary condition, it said in a statement.

Although the palace refrained from specifying the type of cancer afflicting the monarch, it affirmed that the diagnosis did not pertain to prostate cancer.

"The King is grateful to his medical team for their swift intervention, which was made possible thanks to his recent hospital procedure," the statement said.

NEWS IN BRIEF

• Over 100,000 Palestinians have been killed, injured, or went missing in the past four months during the Israeli onslaught on Gaza, the head of a UN agency said on Monday.

• The UN said Monday that it would be following Russian President Vladimir Putin's upcoming visit to Türkiye "closely" amid efforts to broker a new mechanism to facilitate grain exports from Ukraine and Russia.

• At a news conference in Jerusalem, France's foreign minister Stephane Sejourne on Monday called for a permanent cease-fire in the Middle East.

• A food convoy came under Israeli artillery fire in the Gaza Strip on Monday, the UN Palestinian refugee agency's Gaza chief Thomas White said on X.

• Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on Monday signed a decree accepting the resignation of his country's government.

• The Bangladesh High Court issued a ruling Monday that prevents Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus and three of his colleagues accused of violating labor laws from traveling abroad without its permission.

• UN Security Council members criticized the US on Monday over last week's airstrikes in Syria and Iraq to avenge the killing of three of its service personnel in Jordan.

• France's Foreign Ministry summoned the Russian ambassador to the country on Monday over the deaths of two French aid workers in Ukraine.

• Israel's defense minister said Monday that the army's next target in the Gaza Strip will be the southern city of Rafah, claiming it is the last remaining stronghold of Palestinian group Hamas.

SPORTS

• Manchester City beat Brentford in Premier League

Manchester City beat Brentford 3-1 in a week 23 match Monday in the English Premier League with midfielder Phil Foden's hat-trick.

Brentford's Neal Maupay drew first blood in the 21st minute. Manchester City's Phil Foden leveled the score.

Foden netted another one in the 53rd minute with an accurate header and made it 2-1.

He completed his hat-trick in the 70th minute.

• English defender Joe Worrall joins Türkiye's Besiktas on loan

Istanbul club Besiktas announced Monday that English defender Joe Worrall had joined the Black Eagles on loan from Nottingham Forest.

The 27-year-old will stay with the Turkish Trendyol Super Lig side until the end of season, according to a statement.

Worrall previously played for the Scottish club Rangers, as well. He also made three appearances for the England U21 National Team.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

• McDonald's stocks down 4% with weak results, Middle East

The stock price of American multinational fast food chain McDonald's was down 4% on Monday as its financial results came lower than market expectations.

Revenues rose 8% to almost $6.41 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023 from approximately $5.93 billion in the same period of the previous year, according to its financial results statement released before market opening on Monday.

• Global semiconductor sales last year fell 8.2%

Global semiconductor sales fell 8.2% in 2023, the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) said in a report on Monday.

Semiconductor industry sales totaled $526.8 billion last year, down from $574.1 billion in 2022, the highest annual level on record, the SIA said in a statement.

While sales picked up during the second half of 2023, fourth-quarter sales totaled $146 billion.