Germany, Turkey leaders trade barbs over Israel-Hamas war
Germany and Turkey’s leaders traded barbs on Friday over Israel’s war on Hamas, with Chancellor Olaf Scholz stressing the country’s right to self-defence while President Recep Tayyip Erdogan demanded an end to Israel’s military operation.
Mr Erdogan is on a highly controversial visit to staunch Israel defender Germany, made more tricky by his recent accusations directed at Israel.
The Turkish leader has branded Israel a “terror state” and repeatedly defended the Hamas militants who rule Gaza as “liberators” fighting for their land.
Mr Erdogan did not repeat such statements in Berlin, but nevertheless lashed out at Israel over its air and ground campaign in Gaza, triggered by the deadly Oct 7 attack by Hamas in Israel.
Give us our daily bread: Gaza faces flour crisis
One of the last grain warehouses in the Gaza Strip has been damaged by Israeli strikes, and a key flour mill in Khan Yunis – where hundreds of thousands have fled – has stopped working for lack of fuel.
The store, also in Khan Yunis in the south of the territory and with room for 3,000 tonnes of wheat, was hit by an air strike overnight on Nov 15 to 16.
“If the Red Cross does not get the authorisation from the Israelis so we can do the repairs needed, we will have to stop working,” the head of the Gazan bakers’ association Abdulnasser al-Ajami said.
Ukraine claims successes on Russian-held side of river
Ukraine said on Friday it had carried out successful attacks on the Russian-occupied eastern bank of the Dnipro river, days after Moscow admitted Kyiv’s forces had gained a foothold there.
A sustained Ukrainian breakthrough across the front-line waterway would mark a significant success for Kyiv, whose wider counteroffensive against Russia’s invasion has so far failed to turn the tide of the 21-month war.
“The Defence Forces of Ukraine conducted a series of successful operations on the left bank of the Dnipro River, along the Kherson front,” Ukraine’s Marine Corps said, in a statement on social media. Kyiv said its forces had “managed to gain a foothold on several bridgeheads.”
French senator held for allegedly spiking MP’s drink
French investigators on Friday were questioning a senator arrested on suspicion of drugging a lower house MP with a view to assaulting her, in a case that has rocked France’s parliament.
Joel Guerriau, a centrist senator from western France, was arrested on Thursday after the alleged attempted assault against MP Sandrine Josso, a source familiar with the case told AFP.
He was being held on suspicion of “administering to a person without their knowledge a substance, likely to diminish their judgement or self-control, to commit a rape or sexual assault,” prosecutors said on Thursday.
OpenAI’s Sam Altman to depart as company’s CEO
ChatGPT maker OpenAI said on Friday that Sam Altman will depart as the company’s chief executive officer, after the board found he was “not consistently candid in his communications”.
OpenAI’s chief technology officer, Ms Mira Murati, will serve as interim CEO, the company said, adding that it will conduct a formal search for a permanent CEO.
“Altman’s departure follows a deliberative review process by the board, which concluded that he was not consistently candid in his communications with the board, hindering its ability to exercise its responsibilities,” according to OpenAI.
