ISTANBUL-The Turkish government is unlikely to seek parliamentary approval for Ankara to back Sweden and Finland's entrance to NATO before Turkey's national election later this year, a top aide to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday.
Ibrahim Kalin, who is Mr. Erdogan's spokesman and effectively serves as his national-security adviser, told journalists in Istanbul that the government was unlikely to seek a vote in parliament due to public opinion in Turkey, which is broadly supportive of Mr. Erdogan's hard line against Sweden and Finland over their relations with Kurdish separatists.
Ukraine Searches for Survivors After Apartment-Block Strike
Ukraine's allies were gearing up for talks on whether to provide Kyiv with more sophisticated weapons to counter Russian forces in the coming months as Ukrainian officials said at least 29 people died over the weekend in one of the deadliest Russian missile attacks on civilians since the war began.
Valentyn Reznichenko, head of the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, said that 73 people were also wounded after an apartment building in the regional capital of Dnipro was hit, and that some 30 remained in the hospital. As of Sunday morning, he said, 40 people were missing-many of them believed to be buried under the rubble. A 27-year-old woman was pulled alive from the wreckage Sunday afternoon and was hospitalized for treatment of hypothermia.
Russian Strikes Sap Ukraine Mobile Network of Vital Power
Russia's attacks on Ukraine's electrical grid are straining the war-torn country's mobile-telephone network, leading to a global hunt for batteries and other equipment critical for keeping the communications system working.
Ukraine's power outages aren't just putting out the lights. The electricity shortages also affect water supplies, heating systems, manufacturing and the cellular-telephone and internet network, a vital communications link in a nation where fixed-line telephones are uncommon.
Iran Restricts Supply of Cheap Oil to Syria, Leaving Ally in Crisis
Iran's ambitions to position itself as a leading power broker in the Middle East have been dealt a fresh blow-this time by its own struggling economy and how it is crimping Tehran's ability to supply cheap oil to allies such as Syria.
The Islamic Republic of Iran has used cash and discounted oil in a hearts-and-minds campaign to expand its influence in Syria and challenge regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Israel. Iran and Russia are the main military sponsors of the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad, helping him to suppress an armed rebellion that began during the pro-democracy Arab Spring uprisings of 2011.
Thousands of Israelis Protest Netanyahu Government's Judicial Overhaul Plans
TEL AVIV-Tens of thousands of Israelis took to the streets in Tel Aviv and other Israeli cities Saturday night to protest the newly sworn-in Netanyahu government's plan to overhaul the country's judicial system, saying that such a move could weaken Israel's democracy.
Activists and the political opposition say the ruling coalition's proposals, which aim at curbing the power of Israel's judiciary, could undermine the country's existing system of checks and balances. The proposed changes include giving the ruling coalition more say in which judges are appointed, limiting the top court's ability to strike down laws and allowing a simple majority of lawmakers to override the Supreme Court should it strike down legislation.
Iraqi Prime Minister Supports Indefinite U.S. Troop Presence
BAGHDAD-Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani defended the presence of U.S. troops in his country and set no timetable for their withdrawal, signaling a less confrontational posture toward Washington early in his term than his Iran-backed political allies have taken.
"We think that we need the foreign forces," Mr. Sudani said in his first U.S. interview since taking office in October, referring to the American and North Atlantic Treaty Organization troop contingents that train and assist Iraqi units in countering Islamic State but largely stay out of combat. "Elimination of ISIS needs some more time," he added.
U.S., Russia Agree to Use Russian Ship for Backup Space Station Mission
The space agencies for the U.S. and Russia agreed that a Russian spacecraft will fly next month to the International Space Station to retrieve three people, after a leak emerged on the Russian ship that flew them to the facility.
Officials are still determining when the trio would board the empty ship, called Soyuz MS-23, for a return trip to Earth after it docks to the research facility. They are expected to remain in orbit for several extra months, beyond their planned six-month mission.
Iran Hangs Alireza Akbari, Dual U.K. Citizen Accused of Spying
Iran said Saturday it had executed a former high-ranking defense official and dual British citizen on charges of espionage, a move likely to exacerbate tensions with the West as the government is wrestling with nationwide protests.
Alireza Akbari, a former deputy defense minister, was convicted of passing classified national-security information to the British foreign intelligence service, MI6, in return for more than $2 million in foreign currencies, the Iranian judiciary's news agency, Mizan, said.
GLOBAL NEWS
Economists in WSJ Survey Still See Recession This Year Despite Easing Inflation
Despite signs that inflation has started to recede, economists still expect higher interest rates to push the U.S. economy into a recession in the coming year, according to The Wall Street Journal's latest quarterly survey.
On average, business and academic economists polled by the Journal put the probability of a recession in the next 12 months at 61%, little changed from 63% in October's survey. Both figures are historically high outside actual recessions.
China's PBOC Leaves Key Policy Rates Unchanged
China's central bank kept its key policy rates unchanged on Monday, which may suggest a hold on benchmark lending rates later this month.
The People's Bank of China injected 779 billion yuan ($116.22 billion) of liquidity into the banking system via its one-year medium-term lending facility at an interest rate of 2.75%.
Decline in China's New Home Prices Stabilized in December
The decline of new home prices in China's 70 major cities stabilized in December, as Beijing rolled out more supportive measures to counter the prolonged slump of the real-estate sector.
Average new-home prices in the 70 cities fell 0.25% in December from the prior month, on par with the decline recorded in November, according to calculations made by The Wall Street Journal based on data released Monday by the National Bureau of Statistics.
Four Signs Consumers Are Pessimistic About the Economy
Many consumers around the world see an economic downturn coming in the year ahead.
U.S. consumer sentiment reached an all-time low in June 2022 and remains 15% below where it was a year ago, according to the University of Michigan. Expectations also took historic dips over the past year and remain depressed in Europe and China, according to TradingEconomics data from the European Commission and National Bureau of Statistics of China.
Crossover Hedge Funds Lost Big in 2022. They're Still Launching in 2023.
Hedge funds investing in fast-growing public and private companies lost tens of billions of clients' money last year. That isn't stopping more "crossover" funds from launching.
Mala Gaonkar, 53 years old, a former co-investment chief of Lone Pine Capital LLC, launched her New York-based crossover fund, SurgoCap Partners, on Jan. 3 with $1.8 billion, people familiar with her firm said. Ms. Gaonkar's launch was widely anticipated given her experience and marks the largest-ever startup from a female hedge-fund manager. Lone Pine, which Ms. Gaonkar left roughly a year ago, lost 36% in 2022 in its flagship hedge fund.
McCarthy Renews Calls for Spending Cuts to Raise Debt Ceiling
WASHINGTON-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) said Sunday he would seek to negotiate with President Biden over raising the federal debt ceiling but renewed his calls for cuts in spending, days after the Treasury Department said the government may not be able to pay its bills by early summer.
"Let's sit down together. Let's look at the places that we can change our behavior," Mr. McCarthy said in an interview on Fox News. "Why would we sit back and be so arrogant to say, 'No, there's no waste in government?'"
BlackRock vs. Goldman in the Fight Over 60/40
The best-known names in asset management and investment banking are taking opposite sides in the debate over the classic way of building a portfolio-60% stocks and 40% bonds-after a disastrous performance for the 60/40 model last year.
BlackRock says the losses-the worst in nominal terms for a 60/40 portfolio since the financial crisis of 2008-9 and the worst in real terms in a calendar year since the Great Depression-show that the structure is outdated. Goldman demurs, arguing that the odd big loss is inevitable in any strategy and that 60/40 remains a valid basic approach. Strategists and fund managers at other large money managers and banks have been piling in on both sides.
House GOP Seeks Biden Residence Visitor Logs as Classified-Document Saga Continues
House Republicans are seeking two years of visitor logs from President Biden's Delaware home as part of a push for more details about documents marked as classified that were found in Mr. Biden's home and at a Washington office he used after his vice presidency.
"Given the serious national security implications, the White House must provide the Wilmington residence's visitor log," House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R., Ky.) wrote in a Sunday letter to White House chief of staff Ron Klain.
WHO Welcomes China's Accounting of 60,000 Covid Deaths
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