Morning Briefing: May 17, 2023

By Rabia Ali

ISTANBUL (AA) - Here’s a rundown of all the news you need to start your Wednesday, including US President Joe Biden cancels visits abroad as debt disaster looms, over 400 fatalities due to cyclone in Myanmar, Sudan enters second month of conflict with hundreds dead, ChatGPT chief calls for checks on artificial intelligence.

TOP STORIES

• US president cancels foreign visits as debt limit deadline nears

Negotiations between the US President Joe Biden and Republican leaders continue over raising the debt ceiling as Joe Biden scrapped his visits to Australia and Papua New Guinea. He will be, however, attending the G-7 summit in Japan.

If no deal is agreed, US could enter a default on its $31 trillion debt from June 1, sparking fears of a recession with severe implications worldwide.

House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy told reporters after a meeting with Biden that an agreement was likely to be reached.

• Cyclone Mocha death toll in Myanmar tops 400

Cyclone Mocha has killed more than 400 people in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, according to a local rights group.

Villages in Rakhine’s capital Sittwe suffered extensive damage, killing hundreds of people, mostly Muslims, the Arakan Rohingya National Alliance said.

The cyclone, one of the most powerful to ever hit the region, made landfall on Sunday on the coast between Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar district and Myanmar’s Kyaukpyu.

It has destroyed some 10,000 homes and the death toll is expected to rise.

• Sudan’s conflict enters 2nd month, heavy fighting persists

A month into the violent conflict that erupted between Sudan’s army and its rival Rapid Support Forces, gunfire and artillery shelling reverberated across neighborhoods in the country’s capital Khartoum.

At least 822 people have been killed and over 3,000 injured since April 15, say local medics. Hundreds of thousands have been forced to flee the country.

Last week, the two warring parties agreed to a declaration in Jeddah, which called for safeguarding citizens, and allowing humanitarian aid in the country.

• ChatGPT chief calls for checks on artificial intelligence

Sam Altman, the man behind the widely popular chatbot tool ChatGPT, said government regulation will be critical in managing risks associated with “increasingly powerful” artificial intelligence systems.

At a Senate hearing, the OpenAI chief proposed that the US could “consider a combination of licensing and testing requirements for developing and releasing AI models above a threshold of capabilities.”

He acknowledged that AI breakthroughs are breeding public anxiety, assuring lawmakers that OpenAI remains open to working with governments around the world

NEWS IN BRIEF

• UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte have agreed "to work to build an international coalition" to provide Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets.

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed for additional air defense systems and said his country needs "more than fighter jets" at a summit of the Council of Europe.

• An American survey has placed former US President Donald Trump in the lead with 43% points against Florida Gov Ron DeSantis for the 2024 presidential race.

• Citing poor performance and corruption, the Libyan parliament on Tuesday voted to suspend appointed Prime Minister Fathi Bashagha while referring him for investigation.

• Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in an interview vowed to "maintain contact with all leaders in world," in line with the country’s interests. For May 28 runoff, the People’s Alliance is preparing, he said.

• Describing the deadly Cyclone Mocha in Myanmar as a "truly terrifying experience," the UN’s coordinator said the disaster had affected 5.4 million people with 3.9 million at risk.

• Two people in the UK, working on poultry farms, have been infected with bird flu, the health security agency announced.

• More than 4.5M people have died from wars since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the US, says a study by Brown University. Nearly 1 million have been killed in wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Syria, Yemen, Libya, and Somalia, report says.

• Ahead of the three-day G-7 summit beginning Thursday, Japan has stressed on the need for a "nuclear-free world." To achieve this target, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called for “concrete efforts."

• Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro gave testimony at Federal Police headquarters over his alleged involvement in COVID-19 certificate fraud, and launching a coup against President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

SPORTS

• Inter Milan reach Champions League final after 13 years
  
  A second-half goal from Lautaro Martinez gave Inter Milan victory over rivals AC Milan in their Champions League semifinal second leg.

Inter clinched the tie 3-0 on aggregate to book a spot at the final in Istanbul, their first shot at European glory since winning the title back in 2010.

• Uruguay’s national football team gets a new coach
  
  Former Argentinian manager, Marcelo Bielsa, who led his country to the 2004 Olympic gold medal, will take over as Uruguay’s new head coach, its football association announced.

Bielsa, who has coached several clubs, including Leeds United, is expected to lead the team in 2026 FIFA World Cup.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

• EU agrees on cryptocurrency’s new transparency rules.​​​​​​​
• EU states approved new tax transparency rules related to crypto-assets, aiming to prevent fraud and tax evasion.

In a meeting of finance ministers in Brussels, regulations were discussed which require financial institutions to report income that clients receive from cryptocurrency transactions, which would be later shared with the tax administrations.

• EU's trade deficit shrinks to $11B in Q1

The EU's international trade gap fell to €10.1 billion (some $11 billion) year-on-year in the first quarter of this year, the bloc's statistical office. The 27-member bloc's trade balance has recovered significantly but is still in negative side.