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Good morning. Israel’s navy stated it had surrounded Gaza City, Hamas’s political and navy base, as its floor offensive in opposition to the militant group moved right into a new phase.
Satellite pictures and stories on social media confirmed Israeli navy advancing in three instructions. As tanks gathered close to the coast in the north of Gaza, reinforcements crossed from Israel into the strip from the north-east. Additional armoured columns headed in direction of the ocean south of Gaza City.
Israel has intensified its air and floor operations in opposition to Hamas targets throughout Gaza — regardless of calls from allies, together with US president Joe Biden — for a “pause” in hostilities to assist free hostages held captive by Hamas.
US secretary of state Antony Blinken is predicted to relay the message to Israeli leaders later right this moment, as he begins his second diplomatic tour of the Middle East since Hamas’s bloody rampage by means of southern Israel on October 7. Here’s the latest on the Israel-Hamas war.
Here’s what else I’m protecting tabs on right this moment and this weekend:
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US Secretary of State travels to Middle East, Asia: Following Antony Blinken’s go to to Israel, he’ll cease in Jordan earlier than persevering with on to Asia, with deliberate stops in Japan, South Korea and India.
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Australian PM in China: Prime minister Anthony Albanese’s go to to China this weekend will underline a dramatic turnaround in relations between the nations.
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Cricket World Cup: The group stage continues with the Netherlands taking part in Afghanistan right this moment. Over the weekend matches embrace England vs Australia, New Zealand vs Pakistan, and India vs South Africa.
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Five extra high tales
1. The US has elevated it sanctions in opposition to Russia, concentrating on corporations and people in Turkey, China and the United Arab Emirates for supplying Moscow with items that can be utilized for navy functions. Here’s what the measures include. They’ll have an effect on greater than 200 names around the globe, the Treasury and state division stated.
2. Leading synthetic intelligence corporations have agreed to permit governments together with the UK, US and Singapore to check their newest fashions for nationwide safety and different dangers earlier than they’re launched to companies and shoppers. These are the companies that signed the “landmark”, but not legally binding, document.
3. The Bank of England has stored rates of interest on maintain at 5.25 per cent for the second successive assembly however warned financial coverage would wish to remain tight for “an extended period of time” regardless of a bleak financial outlook. The central financial institution’s forecasts present it’s treading a delicate line because it seeks to beat inflation whereas not pushing a weakening UK financial system into an outright recession
4. Tens of 1000’s of Afghans streamed out of Pakistan again to Taliban-run Afghanistan as Islamabad’s safety forces pursued up to 1.7mn undocumented migrants in a big crackdown. Aid teams warned that the Afghans had been returning to dire situations.
5. China’s greatest memory-chip maker has needed to increase billions of {dollars} in recent capital, after spending $7bn trying to adapt to tough US restrictions on its enterprise. Yangtze Memory Technologies Corp, which final December was added to a commerce blacklist and prohibited from procuring US gear to fabricate chips, exceeded its goal for a new spherical, based on 4 individuals accustomed to the scenario.
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More corporations information: Apple’s providers and iPhone development bolstered the corporate’s newest quarterly earnings, based on figures released today.
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The Big Read
President Xi Jinping’s promise of “common prosperity” is beginning to fade because the nation’s financial system falters. Graduates are struggling to search out jobs, the center class has misplaced cash to a property meltdown and the wealthy are reeling from Beijing’s crackdowns on totally different sectors. A as soon as optimistic society is worrying about its future as China’s social contract breaks down.
We’re additionally studying . . .
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Spooky: What does an tried Halloween ban in Shibuya must do with Japan’s financial demons? Leo Lewis explains.
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Goldman Sachs: Will chief David Solomon’s large wager on the financial institution’s newly merged asset and wealth administration unit assist him shut its valuation hole — and keep his job?
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Workplace range: Companies with extra gender-balanced workforces outperformed their least-balanced peers, a BlackRock examine of the MSCI World index has discovered.
Chart of the day
Against the backdrop of rising import prices, falling actual wages and the Japanese yen sitting at a multi-decade low, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is betting on a $113bn stimulus plan to deal with inflation ache. The future of his premiership could depend on it.
Take a break from the information
Billed because the Beatles final tune, “Now and Then” has simply been launched — an odd notion for a band that broke up in 1970, half of whose members are now not alive. But after the 1979 John Lennon demo was fleshed out by Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and machine-learning technology, the tune has new solidarity and emotional heft, writes pop critic Ludovic Hunter-Tilne.
Additional contributions from Gordon Smith and Tee Zhuo
