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Good morning. Hundreds of people were feared dead after an explosion at a hospital in Gaza, which the Palestinians and Israel each blamed on the other.
The Hamas-controlled health ministry said at least 200 people were killed in what it said was an Israeli strike on Al Ahli hospital in Gaza City. The Israel Defense Forces, meanwhile, cited its intelligence in blaming the explosion on a misfired rocket that was launched by Islamic Jihad, an Islamist militant group also based in Gaza.
The number of deaths and the cause of the blast could not be independently verified. Speaking from Jerusalem, Reverend Fadi Biab, vice-chair of the hospital’s board, said it was assessing the number of casualties, adding he could not currently confirm the number.
The explosion will cast a cloud over US president Joe Biden’s trip to Israel, where he was due to arrive on Wednesday to show solidarity with the Jewish state and push for the delivery of aid into Gaza.
Following the blast, Jordan cancelled a summit at which Biden was to meet the Jordanian and Egyptian leaders, as well as Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority, a Jordanian official said.
This is a developing story. Here are the latest updates.
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Here’s what else I’m keeping tabs on today:
China’s economy: China will release third-quarter economic growth data as Beijing chases a target of about 5 per cent this year. Here are five things to look for in the latest figures.
Russia-North Korea ties: Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov will visit North Korea, just days after the US accused Pyongyang of providing weapons to Moscow for its war in Ukraine. (Reuters)
Results: Morgan Stanley, Tesla and Netflix are among the companies reporting third-quarter earnings.
Five more top stories
1. Chinese fighter jets conducted several hundred “risky and coercive” aerial intercepts against aircraft flown by America and its allies in the Indo-Pacific over the past two years, the US defence department has said. Ely Ratner, the top Asia defence official, said the manoeuvres were not the acts of rogue pilots and instead a “centralised and concerted” effort by the Chinese military to pressure the US and its allies.
2. Vladimir Putin has arrived in China for a high-level meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, the Russian president’s first visit to Beijing since he ordered the invasion of Ukraine last year. The two-day trip comes as Xi hosts the Belt and Road Forum, one of the biggest events of China’s diplomatic calendar this year. Here’s what analysts are saying about the Russia-China relationship.
3. The Biden administration is tightening export controls for cutting-edge artificial intelligence chips, in an update to existing rules that will severely limit the ability of Nvidia and other manufacturers to sell the technology to China. Commerce secretary Gina Raimondo said the goal of the update was to curb China’s access to advanced chips that “could fuel breakthroughs in artificial intelligence” that are critical for the Chinese military. Read more on the revamped rules.
US politics: Donald Trump ally Jim Jordan has lost a vote to become Speaker of the House of Representatives, after 20 members of his own party voted against the firebrand Republican.
4. Ukraine has used long-range US ATACMS missiles that were secretly shipped to Kyiv to strike nine Russian military helicopters and airfields deep inside occupied territory. The bombardment marked the first use of the US-supplied weapon system against Russian military targets, while Kremlin bloggers called it one of the most damaging hits on their forces since the war began.
5. Shareholders in Reliance Industries should reject the appointment of tycoon Mukesh Ambani’s youngest son to the oil-to-data conglomerate’s board, two proxy advisers have said. Given the Ambani family and other insiders have 49 per cent voting rights, the 28-year-old Anant is likely to be appointed to Reliance’s board despite shareholder objections. But the dissent highlights scepticism his father could face as he tackles his succession plan.
The Big Read
Once seen as science fiction, space-based solar power has long been dismissed as too costly and technologically challenging to be commercially viable. But as the sense of urgency over the threat of climate change grows and the economics of space evolve, governments around the world are reconsidering its potential.
We’re also reading . . .
Chart of the day
Chinese electric vehicle groups are confronting an uncertain future after a 10-year investment boom. Collapsing sales among scores of carmakers in China is fuelling expectations for a wave of consolidation that will leave only a handful of companies in the world’s largest car market.
Take a break from the news
Former Vanity Fair editor Tina Brown made her mark as one of the most famous, and most feared, journalists of the 1980s and 1990s. In an interview with the FT, Brown reflects on magazines, sexism (she was once called “Stalin in high heels”) and why investigative journalism must be supported. Explore the rest of our Women in Business series here.
Additional contributions from Tee Zhuo and Gordon Smith
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Source: Economy - ft.com
