Anadolu Agency's Morning Briefing - May 27, 2022

Anadolu Agency is here with a rundown of the latest developments around the world.

Current and future operations across Turkiye's southern borders do not target its neighbors' territorial integrity but are necessary for the country's national security, the Turkish National Security Council said Thursday."It was stated that the operations being carried out to clear our southern borders of the threat of terrorism, as well as those that will be carried out, in no way target our neighbors' territorial integrity or sovereignty and are a requirement of our national security needs," the council said in a statement following its meeting.

In COVID-19 news, Turkiye registered 1,310 new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours, according to data released Thursday.

Meanwhile, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz promised continued support for Ukraine, including heavy weapons, to put more pressure on Russia to stop the war.

He made the remarks while speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland."For the first time ever, Germany is supplying arms to a war zone," he told the participants.

Russia sees that Turkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stands for achieving peace in Ukraine and is ready to contribute to it in every possible way, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Thursday.

Speaking in an interview with the RT Arabic TV channel, Lavrov noted that Turkiye does not have a plan for solving the crisis but is ready to provide a platform for peace talks between Russia and Ukraine as was done in March in Istanbul.

The Russian central bank announced that it has cut its key interest rate by 300 basis points from 14% to 11% effective from Friday.

"Inflationary pressure eases on the back of the ruble exchange rate dynamics as well as the noticeable decline in inflation expectations of households and businesses," the Bank of Russia said in a statement.

Veteran Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was killed by an armor-piercing projectile fired directly at her head by an Israeli sniper, Palestinian attorney general Akram Al-Khatib said Thursday.

Al-Khatib shared the details based on the Public Prosecution's report about the killing of the Al Jazeera journalist at a news conference in Ramallah city.

Australia's newly elected premier pledged to rebuild the country's bilateral relationship with France on "trust and respect" after ties between the two countries declined to a nadir under his predecessor, according to a statement from the Elysee palace in Paris.

In a phone call, French President Emmanuel Macron congratulated Anthony Albanese on winning the country's general elections and taking over from Scott Morrison. The two leaders agreed to renew floundering ties hit by Canberra's abrupt cancelation of a multibillion-euro submarine contract under Morrison's administration. -