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| Here are today's top stories: - Two gunmen opened fire at a Jerusalem bus stop after Israel and Hamas agreed to extend their truce
- Saudi Arabia offered to invest in Iran's economy as it seeks to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East
- Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who played a key role in shaping post-Cold War geopolitics, has died
Gregory
p/Gregory_Bridgman | |
| 1 | | Israel and Hamas agreed to extend their ongoing truce by an additional day. This is the second extension to the truce, which first started on Nov. 24, and has allowed for the release of hostages and the deployment of humanitarian aid in Gaza. More: - Israel and Hamas agreed to the additional extension only minutes before their truce was set to expire.
- Hamas has agreed to continue releasing 10 Israeli hostages per day in exchange for 30 Palestinian prisoners.
- It has already released most of the women and children it held in captivity, which may make additional truce extensions more difficult to negotiate.
- Hamas said Israel initially rejected the list of captives it submitted for release and Israel noted that it agreed to the extension after Hamas presented a new list.
- After both sides agreed to the truce extension, two gunmen opened fire at a bus stop in Jerusalem killing at least three people and injuring several others, local police reported.
- Both attackers were from a neighborhood in East Jerusalem and were killed by off-duty soldiers and an armed bystander.
- The attack occurred in a region that was not covered by the truce and does not appear to have affected it.
- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is on his third visit to the region and is expected to push for the truce to be extended further.
Zoom Out: - The truce marked the first break in fighting since the conflict began on Oct. 7.
- The Biden administration urged Israel earlier this week to limit further displacement of Palestinian civilians if it continues military operations in Gaza.
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| 2 | | 
What the numbers say: The ratio of Saudi Arabia's military expenditure to its gross domestic product (GDP) stood at 7.42% in 2022, down slightly from 7.58% in 2021. Relevance: Saudi Arabia's military spending as a portion of its GDP has declined since peaking at 13.33% in 2015. Nonetheless, the country continued to spend over 7.4% of its GDP on its armed forces in 2022. As a share of its GDP, Saudi Arabia spent more on its armed forces last year than any other country except Ukraine. The U.S. approved an arms sale to Saudi Arabia worth more than $5B in 2022. What's next: The sale came after Saudi Arabia faced drone and rocket attacks from Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi movement. Riyadh's military spending is unlikely to decrease as the war between Israel and Hamas threatens to weaken regional stability in the Middle East. | | | |
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| 3 | | Saudi Arabia offered to invest in Iran's economy if Tehran stops its proxies from escalating the Israel-Hamas war. Washington is working with Riyadh and other allies to avoid Iran "weaponizing" the conflict, according to U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Barbara Leaf. More: - Riyadh proposed the deal to Tehran through multiple diplomatic channels, reports Bloomberg, citing Arab and Western officials familiar with the matter.
- A deeper engagement between the two countries was also proposed when Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman at a summit last month.
- Iran arms and trains Hamas, which killed 1,200 Israelis and took 240 people captive during a brutal attack on Israeli territory on Oct. 7.
- Raisi was reportedly one of the first global leaders that Bin Salman spoke with after the attack.
- Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal Bin Farhan on Wednesday called for a permanent ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
- He said the region will face a "continuing crisis" if Palestinians are not allowed to form their own state.
Zoom Out: - The war between Israel and Hamas has given Iran its first chance to mobilize its "Axis of Resistance," an alliance of armed groups in the Palestinian territories and countries such as Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen.
- Saudi Arabia is seeking to normalize its relations with Israel, support Palestinian statehood, and maintain recently reestablished diplomatic ties with Iran according to Elham Fakhro, research fellow at Exeter University's Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies.
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| 4 | | GOOD NEWS: Megan Wiltshire from Yate England ran 62 miles on Nov. 14 to raise diabetes awareness. Wiltshire was able to raise over $4,300 (£3,400) for a diabetes charity after her brother was diagnosed with the condition. More: - Wiltshire's brother, Max, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes just before his 18th birthday.
- To support her brother, Wiltshire organized a run to raise awareness of diabetes and raise money for charity.
- Wiltshire completed the 62-mile (100-kilometer) in over 14 hours and, to mark her progress, she changed hats every 10 kilometers.
- A group of friends, including Max, accompanied Wiltshire on bikes.
- The journey took Wiltshire through the English towns and cities of Portishead, Clevedon, Chew Magna, Saltford, and Bristol.
- Wiltshire's GoFundMe page raised over £3,400 ($4,300) for British charity Diabetes U.K, surpassing her initial target of £1,000.
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| 5 | | Prominent U.S. diplomat Henry Kissinger died on Wednesday at 100 years of age. Kissinger won a Nobel Peace Prize in 1973 after a lengthy diplomatic career that included serving as a national security adviser and as Secretary of State under two U.S. presidents. More: - Kissinger became a U.S. citizen after fleeing Germany as a Jewish refugee in 1938.
- He gained a Ph.D. at Harvard in 1954 and worked at the university for 17 years.
- Kissinger worked as a consultant at U.S. government agencies before former President Richard Nixon appointed him as national security advisor in 1968.
- In the 1970s, Kissinger played a key role in several global developments including:
- The opening of diplomacy between the U.S. and China.
- Landmark arms control talks between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.
- The expansion of ties between Israel and neighboring Arab countries.
- The 1973 Paris Peace Accords that officially ended the Vietnam War.
- Kissinger was active late into his life, meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping as recently as July this year.
- Xi noted Kissinger's formative role in Sino-U.S. relations and said "old friends" like him will not be forgotten.
- A public memorial service for Kissinger will be held in New York City after he is interred at a private service, according to his consulting firm, Kissinger Associates.
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| 6 | | The gross domestic product (GDP) of the U.S. grew at an annualized pace of 5.2% in the third quarter. The estimate was released by the U.S. Commerce Department on Wednesday after it upwardly revised its previous estimate of 4.9%. More: - The new estimate surpassed the forecast of economists polled by Dow Jones who expected the U.S. economy to grow 5% in the third quarter.
- The upward revision was mainly driven by increases in nonresidential fixed investment, which rose 1.3%.
- This investment category includes equipment, structures, and intellectual property.
- The 1.3% rise still signals a major slowdown compared to previous quarters.
- Government spending increased 5.5%, which also helped raise the third-quarter estimate.
- Consumer spending was downwardly revised from 4% to 3.6% for the quarter.
- Corporate profits rose 4.3% and the personal consumption expenditures price index, a measure of inflation followed by the Federal Reserve, rose 2.8%.
Zoom Out: - Declining inflation and strong hiring are raising hopes that the U.S. economy may avoid a recession after the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates 11 times in a row in a bid to suppress inflation.
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- A U.S. Air Force CV-22B Osprey crashed on Wednesday off the shore of Japan's Yakushima Island. According to CNN, at least one person was killed in the incident but U.S. officials have not confirmed the report.
- Italy's parliament passed a law banning the production, sale, and import of lab-grown meat. The country's right-wing government said it is acting in defense of Italian tradition.
- Four photographers were shot in Mexico's southern Guerrero state on Tuesday and a fifth in the neighboring state of Michoacan. The first four victims, two of whom are in serious condition, were attacked after returning from a crime scene.
- The Dutch New Social Contract (NSC) party said it will not enter government coalition talks with Geert Wilders' Freedom Party (PVV). The anti-Islam PVV won the most seats in an election earlier this month but not enough to secure a majority in the country's parliament.
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 | Writer / Editor | | Gregory Bridgman is a politics and e-commerce researcher with a PhD. from the University of Cambridge. He also holds a Master of Science from University College London and a Bachelor's degree from the University of Cape Town. Please follow me on Twitter or email me at gregory@inside.com. | | This newsletter was edited by Eduardo Garcia | |
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