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The US has struck weapons and ammunitions facilities used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard in eastern Syria, following more than a dozen attacks on American forces in the region in recent weeks.
The bombings were carried out by two American F-16 fighter jets early this morning on facilities near Abu Kamal in Syria, US defence secretary Lloyd Austin said, and follow 19 rocket and drone attacks on US forces and bases in Iraq and Syria since October 17.
The strikes show the Biden administration’s determination to stop Iran from targeting US forces in the region. But they will raise fears of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, which is backed by Tehran, spreading to other countries.
“These precision self-defence strikes are a response to a series of ongoing and mostly unsuccessful attacks against US personnel in Iraq and Syria by Iranian-backed militia groups,” Austin said.
The US strikes came as Israeli forces said they had conducted a second “targeted raid” inside the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip involving ground forces, fighter jets and drones.
Meanwhile, Egyptian media reported a missile launched by forces involved in the Israel-Hamas war landed in the resort town of Taba, on the Egypt-Israel border. It was not immediately clear which side fired the rocket. Here’s the latest on the Israel-Hamas war.
More coverage of the conflict:
Here’s what I’m also keeping tabs on today:
Economic data: The US Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation metric, the core personal consumption expenditures index, for September is released today as well as the University of Michigan’s final reading for its October consumer sentiment index.
Earnings: US oil majors ExxonMobil and Chevron will report earnings for the first time since each company announced huge acquisitions earlier this month.
FTX trial: A judge will decide today what evidence jurors can hear from the testimony of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried. Here’s what SBF told the judge yesterday without the jury present.
EU summit: Leaders of the 27-country bloc meet today amid signs of division over military aid for Ukraine.
How well did you keep up with the news this week? Take our quiz.
Five more top stories
1. Li Keqiang, the former Chinese premier who served under President Xi Jinping, has died suddenly at the age of 68. Li was seen as the business-friendly face of Xi’s increasingly authoritarian government before he stepped down in March this year. His death represents a challenging political moment for China’s Communist party, write Joe Leahy in Beijing and Edward White in Seoul.
2. Driverless car company Cruise is to pause self-driving operations across its fleet. The General Motors-owned company made the decision after the California Department of Motor Vehicles barred the company’s autonomous vehicles in response to an accident earlier this month involving one of its driverless vehicles in San Francisco. Read the full story.
3. Goldman Sachs is setting up an institute to analyse geopolitics and technology, the latest firm to bet on demand from companies for advice on how to navigate a disorderly world. The Goldman Sachs Global Institute will be led by partners George Lee and Jared Cohen and follows similar launches by Lazard and McKinsey. Here’s more on the new venture which will offer a mix of written analysis and convening events and discussions.
4. Amazon said strong online sales and an expanding advertising business propelled its third-quarter earnings. Chief financial officer Brian Olsavsky forecast that revenue for the fourth quarter, the peak period for retail, would rise between 7 and 12 per cent compared with last year. But the cloud computing division remained a headwind for the company.
5. Hurricane Otis smashed into the Mexican coast yesterday, near the resort of Acapulco, catching authorities unprepared and leaving at least 27 people dead. Within 24 hours Otis went from a tropical storm of less than 100km per hour (60mph) to a Category 5 hurricane, the highest on the Saffir-Simpson scale, with maximum sustained winds of 270km per hour (165mph). Here’s more on the trail of destruction left by the hurricane.
News in-depth
When Terry Gou announced his intention to run for president of his native Taiwan, the billionaire founder of Foxconn argued that China could not touch him or his company. Now, Beijing has called his bluff, launching an investigation into the iPhone maker over tax and land use. Taiwanese officials say the probe smacks of a politically motivated crackdown, while analysts see a potential watershed moment in China’s relationship with international investors.
We’re also reading . . .
Chart of the day
The US economy expanded by an annualised rate of 4.9 per cent in the third quarter, a blistering pace that beat forecasts. The resilience of the world’s largest economy has stemmed from one primary force: consumer spending, which was by far the biggest contributor to the economy’s boom in the three months.
Take a break from the news
In 2017 Cat Person, a short story which appeared in the New Yorker by previously obscure writer Kristen Roupenian, went viral. Now it has been made into a film starring Emilia Jones and Nicholas Braun and directed by Susanna Fogel. It’s one of our six films to watch this week.
Additional contributions from Gary Jones and Benjamin Wilhelm
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Source: Economy - ft.com
