Morning Briefing: Aug. 18, 2024

By Alperen Aktas

ISTANBUL (AA) — Here is a rundown of all the news that you need to start your Sunday with, including wildfires across the globe, nearly 68 million struggling with drought in Southern Africa, and the latest death toll in Gaza approaching 40,100 people as Israel killed 69 more Palestinians.

TOP STORIES

• Wildfires across globe leave millions of hectares devastated, force thousands to flee

  Wildfires have ravaged millions of hectares of land across the globe in recent years, forcing thousands of people to evacuate their homes.

  Record-high temperatures, prolonged drought, and strong winds have made it increasingly difficult to control wildfires. From Europe to the Americas, and from Amazon to Siberia, residential areas and ecosystems alike have been threatened by these fires.

  According to information compiled from various sources by Anadolu, the fires not only pose a direct threat to human life, but also cause significant damage to ecosystems, biodiversity, and air quality.

• Russia says Ukraine might target Zaporizhzhia, Kursk nuclear power plants

Russia claimed that Ukrainian authorities plan to carry out strikes at the Kursk and Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plants and subsequently accuse Moscow of doing it.

"At the moment, it is known about the intention to attack the nuclear facilities of the Kursk and Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plants in Kurchatov and Energodar. The purpose of the strikes is to subsequently accuse the Russian Federation of provocation," the Russian military police said in a statement on Telegram.

According to the statement, Kyiv also wants to force Moscow to carry out strikes with nuclear weapons in Ukraine in response to attacks against the Kursk and Zaporizhzhia plants.

• 68M struggling with drought in Southern Africa, says SADC

An estimated 68 million people across the Southern African region have been affected by the effects of an El Nino-induced drought and are in need of urgent relief food, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) said.

Executive Secretary Elias Magosi told the 44th SADC summit in Zimbabwe’s capital Harare that the 68 million formed 17% of the region's population, which is in need of humanitarian support.

The drought severely ravaged the region’s crops with a $5.5 billion humanitarian appeal launched in May, seeking assistance to support the drought response.

• Gaza death toll nears 40,100 as Israel kills 69 more Palestinians

The Israeli army killed 69 more Palestinians in attacks in the Gaza Strip, taking the overall death toll to 40,074 since last Oct. 7, the Health Ministry in the enclave said.

A ministry statement added that some 92,537 other people have been injured in the ongoing deadly attacks.

“Israeli forces killed 69 people and injured 136 others in five ‘massacres’ against families in the last 48 hours,” the ministry said.

NEWS IN BRIEF

• At least eight people were killed and several others wounded in twin explosions in the Somali capital Mogadishu, an official said.
• At least two Palestinians were killed in an Israeli drone strike that targeted a vehicle in the city of Jenin, northern occupied West Bank.
• Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, announced that it killed and injured Israeli soldiers by targeting two military vehicles in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood in southern Gaza City.
• The UK, France, Germany, and Italy expressed support for the ongoing mediation efforts led by the US, Egypt, and Qatar to end the war in Gaza.
• Palestinian resistance movement Hamas called on the international community and the UN to protect Palestinian civilians and work to stop “Israel's brutal crimes against them.”
• Somalia’s semiautonomous state of Puntland executed 10 members of the al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group al-Shabaab.
• The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) said it opened a criminal case on illegal border crossing against two Italian journalists who arrived in Russia's Kursk region with Ukrainian troops.
• A prison break in the Saint-Marc region of western Haiti resulted in a clash that left 11 inmates dead, police said.
• The Russian Atomic Corporation (Rosatom) informed the UN's nuclear watchdog about Ukraine's alleged plans to carry out a provocation, involving two nuclear power plants and subsequently accuse Moscow of doing it.
• Palestinian Health Minister Majed Abu Ramadan said that the confirmation of a single polio case in Gaza indicates the possible existence of hundreds of undetected cases.
• Kyiv and Moscow said fighting in Russia's Kursk region still continued.
• The US has rejected an Israeli proposal to establish an inspection mechanism at the Netzarim Junction in central Gaza, the Israeli media reported.
• The Lebanese group Hezbollah announced that it had launched Katyusha rockets at the Ayelet HaShahar illegal settlement in northern Israel.
• Egypt stressed the urgency of an immediate cease-fire between Israel and the Palestinian resistance factions in the Gaza Strip.
• Dozens of rockets were launched from southern Lebanon towards the Safed area and its surroundings in the Upper Galilee region of northern Israel, reported Israeli media.
• At least 10 Syrians were killed and five more civilians injured in an overnight Israeli airstrike on southern Lebanese towns.
• China has tightened its border control to prevent mpox virus from entering the country, state-run media reported.
• At least 20 Palestinians, including 10 children, were killed and several others injured in an Israeli airstrike targeting areas in the central and southern Gaza Strip.
• Indian doctors expanded their strike across the country over rape and murder of their colleague.

SPORTS

• Undefeated Türkiye win gold medal in 2024 U20 Women's Volleyball European Championship

Undefeated Türkiye won the gold medal in the 2024 CEV U20 Women's Volleyball European Championship.

The Crescent Stars beat Italy 3-2 in the final with 22-25, 25-16, 25-19, 17-25 and 15-11 sets at Sofia's Hristo Botev Hall.

Beren Yesilirmak rallied Türkiye to victory with her 21 points, while Begum Kacmaz contributed with 14 points. Italy's Merit Chinenyenwa Adigwe was the top scorer of her team with 22 points.

Türkiye clinched their third title in the competition.