Anadolu Agency’s Morning Briefing - Jan. 19, 2023

ANKARA (AA) - Anadolu Agency is here with a rundown of the latest developments around the world.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese urged the US and UK to close the extradition process against Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange, saying "enough is enough."

Russian President Vladimir Putin has put forward a draft bill to terminate the country’s agreements with the Council of Europe (CoE).

Russian State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin said former German Chancellor Angela Merkel and former French President Francois Hollande should be punished for plotting to start a war with Russia.

At least 22 bodies of passengers of Nepal's Yeti Airlines have been handed over to their families after their identification, while 49 others have been brought to the capital Kathmandu, said a senior aviation official.

Hate speech is one of the "most fundamental" problems of media and needs to be combatted as it targets social peace, the Turkish communications director said.

A Saudi business tycoon has won a special ticket at a charity auction after bidding 10 million riyals ($2.66 million) which enables him to watch a friendly match between football superstars Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in Riyadh, an official said.

More than 10,000 police officers will be deployed in France on Thursday to ensure security during demonstrations against pension reform, the country's interior minister said.

A helicopter crash in the city of Brovary in Ukraine’s Kyiv region Wednesday killed at least 18 people, including three children, as well as the country’s interior minister, first deputy minister and state secretary.

Israeli forces bulldozed two Palestinian-owned homes near Jericho city in the occupied West Bank, according to witnesses.

In a letter to world leaders attending the Davos Economic Forum, more than 200 millionaires called for higher taxes on ultra-rich individuals "for our common good."

Türkiye's Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) supported over 134,000 orphaned children in the country and around the world in 2022.

Iran’s Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi criticized a draft law by the European Parliament to list the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist group.

Microsoft announced Wednesday that it will lay off 10,000 workers by the end of September.

Thousands of ambulance workers across Britain will stage more strikes in February and March, said the GMB, a general trade union in the country.

Defense Minister Anita Anand announced that Canada will send 200 more armored vehicles to Ukraine.

The Greek government is working to find legal ways to prevent Ellines, the neo-Nazi party led by a former leader of the notorious Golden Dawn party, from running in elections, local media reported.

Russia’s Finance Ministry said Wednesday that 2.4 trillion rubles ($35 billion) was spent from the National Welfare Fund to meet the budget deficit.

With the signing of a new export deal, the number of countries which signed contracts to import Turkish drone-maker Baykar’s Bayraktar TB2 unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAV) reached 28.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen met with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He to deepen communication and work to address global challenges, said the Treasury Department.

NATO’s position on Ukraine has not changed, and the alliance is still supporting the idea of having Ukraine as a member state, said the alliance chief during a speech at a World Economic Forum conference in Davos, Switzerland.

The White House sharply rejected "ludicrous" accusations from Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that the approach by the West to Russia’s war against Ukraine is akin to the Holocaust.

The UN warned that Israelis and Palestinians remain on a collision course amid escalating political and inflammatory rhetoric as well as heightened violence in the West Bank.

Russian troops captured the Sol settlement near Bakhmut in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, said the Russian Defense Ministry.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that Türkiye's request for F-16 fighter jets and Sweden and Finland's NATO bids are “not related.”

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said his administration would consider a request by convicted drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman to complete his sentence in Mexico.

Türkiye and the US agreed to continue their engagement under a strategic mechanism to review progress and maintain momentum in their "positive bilateral agenda," said a joint statement.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced that she is stepping down from office by Feb. 7.

Canada summoned the Russian ambassador to answer for a missile strike in Ukraine that killed dozens of civilians.