Morning Briefing: September 23, 2023

By Dilara Hamit

ANKARA (AA) — Here's a rundown of all the news you need to start your Saturday, including the indictment of US Senator Bob Menendez on graft charges, an upgrade to Syria-China ties during a rare foreign visit by regime head Bashar al-Assad, and Poland's prime minister downplaying tensions with Ukraine over grain export curbs.

TOP STORIES

• US Senator Menendez indicted on bribery charges following long-running probe

US Sen. Bob Menendez and his wife were indicted Friday on bribery charges following a federal investigation into their relationships with a trio of New Jersey businessmen.

Menendez is accused of participating in a number of corrupt acts that benefited himself, his wife, foreign governments, and businessmen.

He has previously denied wrongdoing, but decided to "temporarily" step down as Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee after the indictment.

• At Xi-Assad meeting, China, Syria upgrade ties to 'strategic partnership'

China and Syria on Friday upgraded their bilateral relations to a "strategic partnership" during a summit meeting between Xi Jinping and his visiting Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad, Beijing said.

Hua Chunying, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said the establishment of the strategic partnership "will be a significant milestone in the history of China-Syria relations where the two sides build on the past and usher in the future."

Assad was in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou. He arrived in the country on Thursday on a rare foreign visit.

• Polish president downplays differences between Poland, Ukraine

Polish President Andrzej Duda on Friday downplayed recent tensions between Poland and Ukraine over Ukrainian grain exports to Poland and Warsaw's statement on halting arms supplies to Kyiv.

“I do not believe that one political and legal dispute can erase what you have achieved,” Duda said at the Congress for the Reconstruction of Ukraine in Poznan, western Poland.

On Wednesday, PolishPrime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said Warsaw would halt Polish supplies of arms to Ukraine over an ongoing dispute on Ukrainian grain exports to Poland that he said had undercut Polishfarmers’ prices, hitting a key group of supporters for the governing Law and Justice (PiS) party before a general election in Oct. 15.

NEWS IN BRIEF

• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday that the Palestinians should not have the right to veto peace agreements between Israel and the Arab countries, stressing that Israel "is on the cusp of an even more dramatic breakthrough, a historic peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia."

• Ukraine on Friday launched a missile attack on the headquarters of Russia's Black Sea Fleet in the Crimean city of Sevastopol, said local administrators appointed by Moscow, which illegally annexed the peninsula in 2014.

• The Libyan unity government announced on Friday that search and rescue teams recovered 245 bodies in a single day from the flood-affected city of Derna.

• Pope Francis said Friday that tragedies and challenges of migrationwhich turned the Mediterranean into a "cemetery" need to be humanelyaddressed across the region.

• The Turkish-Russian Joint Observation Center detected 258 cease-fire violations by Armenia in Karabakh since January 2021.

• A Muslim student, who had been turned away from school for wearing a kimono, a Japanese garment, in France, has filed a complaint with the UN over being "discriminated against" due to her religious affiliation following a ban on abayas.

• Israel announced on Friday that it will seal off the Palestinian territories for the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, which begins Saturday midnight, while dozens of Palestinians were injured on Friday when Israeli forces used tear gas and gunfire to disperse weekly anti-settlement rallies in the northern occupied West Bank, with another killed near Jenin city.

SPORTS

• Türkiye continue flawless run in 2023 FIVB VolleyballWomen's Olympic Qualifiers

Türkiye continue their flawless run in the 2023 FIVB Volleyball Women's Olympic Qualification tournament on Friday.

The Crescent Stars beat Brazil 25-21, 29,27 and 25-19 sets in game 5 of Pool B.

• Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates Saudi National Day in traditional attire

Ronaldo on Friday appeared in a video wearing traditional Saudi attire to celebrate the Kingdom's National Day.

The Saudi people are set to mark their 93rd national day on Saturday, September 23, during which military parades, a biker parade, an arms exhibition across major cities will be held, and other festivals.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

• US, China launch economic, financial working groups

The US and China, two of the biggest economies in the world, have launched an Economic Working Group and a Financial Working Group, the US Treasury Department announced Friday.

The two groups will provide channels for discussions on economic and financial policy matters, in addition to an exchange of information on macroeconomic and financial developments, it said.

• Fed governor supports more rate hikes to lower inflation

US Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman on Friday supported more interest rate increases in order to lower inflation.

"Inflation is still too high, and I expect it will likely be appropriate for the Committee to raise rates further and hold them at a restrictive level for some time toreturn inflation to our 2% goal in a timely way," she said during her speech at Independent Community Bankers of Colorado.