May 17, 2023

*) Turkish women in parliament Women's representation in the Turkish parliament has risen to the highest level in history after Sunday’s parliamentary elections. According to the unofficial results, 121 women secured seats in the 600-member parliament. The female representation rate, which was 17.1 percent in the previous elections, rose to 20.1 percent this year. *) Chinese fishing vessel capsizes A Chinese fishing vessel has capsized in the central Indian Ocean with its crew of 17 Chinese, 17 Indonesian and five Filipino sailors missing. State media reported that so far, none of the missing 39 persons had been found as President Xi Jinping ordered a search and rescue operation. Search and rescue teams from Australia and several other countries had also arrived on the scene. *) Biden scraps visits to focus on debt talks United States President Joe Biden has scrapped planned visits to Australia and Papua New Guinea to instead focus on talks on the nation's debt limit. After the G7 summit in Japan, Biden will join the final negotiations with congressional leaders to ensure that Congress takes action to avert a default. Biden’s decision came after the secretary of treasure warned of "catastrophic" consequences if the US ran out of cash to pay its bills, defaulting on debts as early as June 1st. *) East Libya-based parliament replaces PM Libya's eastern-based parliament has voted to replace Fathi Bashagha as prime minister, assigning his finance minister Osama Hamad to take over his duties. The parliament spokesperson said the move came after Bashagha failed to take office in Tripoli where the incumbent Abdulhamid Dbeibah has refused to cede power. *) Germany jails five over art heist A German court has sentenced five gang members to up to six years in prison for snatching priceless 18th-century jewels from a Dresden museum in November 2019. The court handed down sentences ranging from just under to just over six years for armed robbery, aggravated arson and grievous bodily harm. In what has been du