JERUSALEM, Nov 15 (NNN-MA’AN) – The number of passengers taking international flights at Israel’s Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv fell by 41.25 percent year-on-year, in Oct, the Israel Airports Authority (IAA) said in a report yesterday.

Due to the conflict between Israel and Hamas that broke out on Oct 7, the airport only saw 1.17 million passengers passing through in the month, compared to almost two million in Oct, 2022.

Yesterday, the daily passenger count at the airport declined to 11,100, the lowest daily figure since the conflict erupted.

LONDON, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Britain's Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that the government's scheme to send asylum seekers to Rwanda was unlawful, dealing a crushing blow to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak before an election expected next year.

With his flagship immigration policy in tatters, Sunak said he was working on a new treaty with Rwanda, and said if this did not solve the issue, he would pass new laws and revisit any international treaties which frustrated his plans.

LONDON, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- Britain's national tourism agency VisitBritain is to lead a three-day trade mission to Shanghai for a trade fair, marking its first mission to China since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the agency announced late Tuesday.

Taking place during Nov. 22-24, the trade fair titled "Destination Britain China and North East Asia" will bring together 43 industry suppliers from across Britain with top buyers from China, according to a press release issued by VisitBritain.

MOSCOW, November 14. /TASS/: The presidents of Russia and Egypt, Vladimir Putin and Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, emphasized during a phone conversation on Tuesday that the sides to the Israli-Palestinian conflict need to end bloodshed and release hostages as soon as possible, the Kremlin press service said.

"The principal importance of soonest ceasefire, release of hostages and unimpeded humanitarian assistance to Gaza civilians was underscored," the press service said in a statement.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said Wednesday it successfully tested new solid-fuel engines designed for intermediate-range ballistic missiles as it works on enhancing its nuclear-capable arsenal with more powerful, harder-to-detect weapons that can potentially target U.S. military bases in Guam and Japan.

North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said the country’s military scientists tested the first-stage and second-stage missile engines on Saturday and Tuesday. The report did not say when the new missile system was expected to be completed.

BERLIN, Nov 15 (Reuters) - The German government froze major spending pledges focused on green initiatives and industry support on Wednesday after a constitutional court ruling on unused pandemic emergency funds blew a 60 billion euro ($65 billion) hole in its finances.

The decision threw into disarray budget negotiations taking place this week within Chancellor Olaf Scholz's three-way ruling coalition, whose popularity has slumped as Europe's biggest economy teeters close to another recession.

PARIS, Nov 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Countries’ climate pledges will cut carbon emissions by just two percent by the end of the decade from 2019 levels, far short of the 43 percent fall needed to limit warming to 1.5C, the UN warned
Tuesday.

The annual assessment of climate commitments shows they are “severely off track”, said UN Climate Change chief Simon Stiell, calling for climate talks in Dubai this month to mark a “clear turning point” for a world already
wracked by increasing floods, heatwaves and storms. 

PARIS, Nov 15 (Reuters) - French judges have issued arrest warrants for Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad, his brother Maher al-Assad, and two other senior officials over the use of banned chemical weapons against civilians in Syria, a judicial source said on Wednesday.

The arrest warrants -- which refer to charges of complicity in crimes against humanity and complicity in war crimes -- follow a criminal investigation into chemical attacks in the town of Douma and the district of Eastern Ghouta in August 2013, attacks which killed more than 1,000 people.

Nov 14 (Reuters) - Ukrainian forces have secured a foothold on the east bank of the Dnipro River in southern Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's chief of staff said on Tuesday.

Andriy Yermak's remarks were the first official acknowledgement that Ukrainian troops were established on the Dnipro's east bank in Kherson region.

"Against all odds, Ukraine's Defense Forces have gained a foothold on the left (east) bank of the Dnipro," Yermak said in an address to the Hudson Institute think-tank in the United States. The remarks were posted on Zelenskiy's website.

BRUSSELS, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- In collaboration with global strategy consulting firm Roland Berger, the China Chamber of Commerce to the EU (CCCEU) released the chamber's annual flagship report titled "Building Trust, Boosting Prosperity."

The report sees Chinese enterprises' rating of the EU business environment dipping for the fourth year in a row, albeit at a slower pace.

NEW YORK (AP) — House Speaker Mike Johnson endorsed Donald Trump for president on Tuesday, a move that was a symbolic departure from his ousted predecessor leading the House.

Johnson, an ally and defender of the former president, said in an interview on CNBC Tuesday morning, “I have endorsed him wholeheartedly.”

He added a bit later: “I’m all in for President Trump.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — The last time Congress tried to fund the government to prevent a federal shutdown, it cost House Speaker Kevin McCarthy his job.

This time, new Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., appears on track for a better outcome Tuesday as the House prepares to vote on a stopgap package to keep the government running into the new year. If approved, the Senate would act next, ahead of Friday’s shutdown deadline.