Morning Briefing: Aug. 14, 2023

By Merve Berker

Here's a rundown of all the news you need to start your Monday, including the latest on the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, the dust storm in southeastern Iran and Typhoon Khanun in Russia.

TOP STORIES

• Ukraine says 6 killed, 2 injured by Russian shelling in Kherson region

Ukraine said Sunday that six people were killed and two others were injured due to Russian shelling in the southern Kherson region. “The enemy continues to bombard the Kherson region. The Russians hit the village of Stanislav with anti-aircraft guns,” Andriy Yermak, the head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office, said on Telegram.

• Dust storm disrupts life in southeastern Iran, sending over 700 people to hospitals

A sand and dust storm in Iran's southeastern region disrupted daily life, sending 733 people to hospitals to seek medical attention. "Due to the storm, 733 people from the cities of Zabul, Zehek, Hamun, Hirmend and Nimruz in the northern part of Sistan-Baluchestan province sought medical attention at hospitals within three days. Among these individuals, 58 were hospitalized and treated,” Sistan-Baluchestan Emergency Director Mecid Muhibbi told Iran's official news agency IRNA.

• 2,000 people evacuated in Russia as Typhoon Khanun brings rains, floods

Russia said Sunday that more than 2,000 people, including 405 children, were evacuated from the country’s eastern region of Primorsky amid flooding caused by heavy rains brought by Typhoon Khanun. The Emergency Situations Ministry said on Telegram that 16 municipalities in the region remain flooded, while 4,368 residential buildings, 5,654 personal plots and 43 sections of highways were still underwater.

NEWS IN BRIEF

• China on Sunday strongly condemned a US decision to arrange a two-day "stopover" for Taiwan's Vice President Lai Ching-te, saying it firmly opposes any visit by "Taiwan independence separatists to the United States in any name or under whatever pretext."
• Two minor earthquakes struck Sunday near North Korea's nuclear test site, the latest in a series of natural earthquakes to hit the region in recent months, South Korea's state weather agency said.
• Türkiye's domestic probe rocket was successfully tested on Saturday, the country’s Defense Industry Agency (SSB) said.
• Malaysia's key elections in six states have ended in a status quo outcome as Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s unity government and the opposition alliance, Perikatan Nasional (PN), clinched three states each.
• Russia claimed Sunday that it thwarted at least four Ukrainian drone attacks in the Belgorod and Kursk regions.
• The death toll from wildfires on Hawaii's Maui island rose to 93 on Sunday, according to local media reports.
• Tajikistan claimed Sunday that about 100 Tajik prisoners were sent to the Russia-Ukraine war from Russian prisons.
• A total of 21 people lost their lives as a result of a rain-triggered landslide in China's Shaanxi province, according to officials on Sunday.
• Members of the far-right Reichsburger (Reich Citizens) movement, who were arrested in December 2022 in Germany for allegedly planning a coup, reportedly aimed to detain the chancellor and Cabinet ministers during a parliamentary session.
• Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said Sunday that the tense situation on the border between Poland and Belarus is the result of "a joint plan of Minsk and Moscow to destabilize the country and the EU."
• Pope Francis on Sunday called for diplomatic and political efforts to prevent shipwrecks which cause migrants to perish at sea.
• The Turkish Coast Guard on Sunday rescued 60 irregular migrants who were illegally pushed back into Turkish territorial waters by Greek authorities.
• Dengue continues to wreak havoc in Bangladesh with 11 more deaths reported in the past 24 hours, the country's health authority said.
• At least one person was killed and eight others injured Sunday in an attack on a shrine in Iran's southern city of Shiraz, local officials said.
• A group of Jewish settlers raided a Palestinian school in the West Bank, according to local media Sunday.

SPORTS

• Real Madrid defender Militao to undergo surgery for knee injury

Real Madrid's Brazilian central defender Eder Militao will undergo surgery for a knee injury. "Following tests carried out on our player Eder Militao, he has been diagnosed with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. The player will undergo surgery in the coming days," Real Madrid said in a statement.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

• Spot market electricity prices for Monday, Aug. 14

The highest electricity price rate for one megawatt-hour on Türkiye's day-ahead spot market for Monday will be 2,592.69 Turkish liras at 8 p.m. (1700 GMT), according to official figures Sunday. The lowest rate was set at 1,500 liras at 4 a.m. (0100 GMT), the data showed.