March 15. 2023

*) Some 1,000 Israeli figures urge Germany, UK to cancel Netanyahu visit In a letter addressed to the German and British ambassadors in Israel, some 1,000 Israeli figures have called on the European countries to cancel upcoming visits by Prime Minister Netanyahu. The group of writers, artists and intellectuals expressed their disapproval of Netanyahu’s plan to overhaul Israel's judicial system, saying he has put the country on a destructive course. Netanyahu is scheduled to meet Germany’s Chancellor on Thursday in Berlin, where Israeli expats say they are organising a large protest against their visiting prime minister. *) Russian jet collides with US drone over Black Sea: US military A Russian fighter jet has dumped fuel on an American drone over the Black Sea and then collided with it, causing the drone to crash, according to the US military. US European Command said that two Russian fighters intercepted the unmanned combat aerial vehicle over international waters and one clipped its propeller. Russia's defence ministry said it ordered the immediate take off of the jets following the detection of a US drone over the Black Sea but denied causing it to crash. The US State Department says it has summoned Russia's ambassador to protest the crash. *) Facebook parent Meta to lay off 10,000 more employees Facebook parent Meta is slashing another 10,000 jobs and will not fill 5,000 open positions as the social media pioneer cuts costs. The company said it would reduce the size of its recruiting team and make further cuts in its tech groups in late April, and then its business groups in late May. In February, Meta posted lower fourth-quarter profit and revenue, hurt by a downturn in the online advertising market and competition from rivals such as TikTok. *) Price set for Türkiye's first domestically-produced electric car TOGG T10X Türkiye's first indigenous electric car maker TOGG has unveiled the prices of its first model, with online pre-orders to begin later this week. The price of the standard range