Morning Briefing: Sept. 21, 2023

By Rabia Ali

ISTANBUL (AA) - Here’s a rundown of all the news you need to start your Thursday with, including the suspension of Azerbaijan’s counter-terrorism measures in Karabakh, normalization of Israel-Saudi Arabia relations, and South Korea’s warning to Russia and North Korea over a potential arms deal.

TOP STORIES

• At conclusion of anti-terror activities in Karabakh, Azerbaijani president assures relief to Armenian-origin residents

Azerbaijan harbors no hostility toward Armenian-origin residents of Karabakh and will provide them relief, the country's president Ilham Aliyev assured on Wednesday, hours after Baku concluded anti-terror activities in the region.

Aliyev emphasized that Azerbaijan promptly took necessary actions, initiating anti-terror measures that were successfully accomplished within a day.

Counter-terrorism measures were launched on Tuesday to uphold provisions outlined in a trilateral peace agreement with Russia and Armenia to end the 2020 conflict.

On Wednesday, an agreement was reached to suspend the activities.

• Saudi Arabia getting 'closer' to Israel normalization, says crown prince

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said Wednesday that the Kingdom is moving towards a deal to normalize relations with Israel.

"We hope that it will reach a place that will ease the life of the Palestinians, and get Israel as a player in the Middle East," he said during an interview with Fox News. "Every day we get closer."

Riyadh has insisted that any deal to establish ties with Israel includes a component advancing efforts to establish a Palestinian state.

Saudi Arabia is reportedly seeking additional concession from Washington as part of any potential agreement, including a security pact with the US.

• South Korea warns arms deal between North Korea, Russia would be a ‘provocation’

Any arms deal between North Korea and Russia would be tantamount to a “direct provocation” against Seoul, the South Korean president Yoon Suk-Yeol said at the annual UN General Assembly in New York on Wednesday.

Yoon said if Pyongyang acquires information and technology to enhance its weapons of mass destruction capabilities in exchange of supporting Russia with conventional weapons, the deal will be a direct provocation.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un returned to Pyongyang on Tuesday after paying a weeklong trip to Russia.

NEWS IN BRIEF

• Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim strongly condemned the recent burnings of the Holy Quran and populist discourse that incites hate speech against Islam during their meeting in New York.

• The White House urged India on Wednesday to "fully cooperate" with Canada's investigation into the killing of a Sikh separatist leader on Canadian soil, adding that it is "deeply concerned.”

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an address to a Security Council meeting demanded suspension of Russia’s veto power and said that the authority in the “hands of the aggressor” has pushed the UN into a deadlock.

• At least 30 refugees have died of hunger and malnutrition in Ethiopia’s Gambella region, according to the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) as it called for the immediate resumption of food assistance to refugees.

• EU lawmakers on Wednesday approved €400 million (approximately $427 million) in disaster recovery aid for Türkiye, expressing “deepest solidarity” with the victims of the twin earthquakes that struck the country this February.

• Saudi Arabia on Wednesday welcomed the "positive results" of the peace talks with a delegation from Sana’a, which is visiting the Kingdom to carry forward the peace process in Yemen.

• Bosnia Herzegovina on Wednesday unearthed the remains of a victim from the 1995 genocide in Srebrenica, according to the Institute for Missing Persons that said the remains were found in the garden of a house.

SPORTS

• Turkish National Football Team head coach Stefan Kuntz dismissed

After two years on the job, Stefan Kuntz, head coach of the Turkish National Football Team, was dismissed on Wednesday, the country's football authority announced.

The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) board met with Kuntz on Wednesday to agree to part ways with him as part of "goodwill and professionalism.”

Kuntz, 60, a former forward in Germany and for Istanbul powerhouse Besiktas, was hired by Türkiye in September 2021.

• Real Madrid's Bellingham nets last minute winner in Champions League

Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham netted a last-minute winner Wednesday in a UEFA Champions League Group C match against German Bundesliga side Union Berlin.

The 20-year-old English midfielder got the winning goal for Los Merengues in the 94th minute at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Bellingham joined the Madrid club from Germany's Borussia Dortmund for a fee of €103 million ($112 million) in June.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

• US Fed expects additional rate hike in 2023

The US Federal Reserve expects an additional rate hike in 2023 and indicated fewer rate cuts are expected next year, according to the bank's projection materials released Wednesday.

The terminal rate, the peak spot where the federal funds rate is expected to climb before being trimmed, was unchanged at 5.6% after the Fed skipped an interest rate increase at the conclusion of its two-day meeting and left the federal funds rate unchanged between the 5.25% - 5.5% target range.

• Confidence in Türkiye's economic stability strengthened after elections: President

Confidence in Türkiye's economic stability has strengthened following the country’s May presidential polls, said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at an event organized by the Türkiye-US Business Council in New York.

The US became the second-largest destination for Turkish exports and the fifth-largest source of imports, said the Turkish leader.

"By the end of 2022, our bilateral trade volume had exceeded $32 billion," he added.