Morning Briefing: Aug. 28, 2024

By Alperen Aktas

ISTANBUL (AA) - Here’s a rundown of all the news that you need to start your Wednesday with, including the UN secretary-general warning Pacific nations of rising sea levels and calling for a fossil fuel phase-out, the EU foreign policy chief warning of the swift spread of polio in Gaza and Israeli attacks killing 41 more Gazans as the death toll surged to 40,476.

TOP STORIES

• UN chief warns Pacific nations of rising sea levels, calls for fossil fuel phase-out

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that Pacific island nations face severe threats from rising sea levels due to climate change and called on the international community to end its reliance on fossil fuels.

Speaking at a gathering of Pacific island leaders in Tonga’s capital Nuku’alofa, Guterres emphasized the dangers posed by increasing ocean levels.

“This is a crazy situation: rising seas are a crisis entirely of humanity’s making. A crisis that will soon swell to an almost unimaginable scale, with no lifeboat to take us back to safety,” he said.

• EU foreign policy chief warns of swift spread of polio in Gaza

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell warned of the rapid spread of poliovirus in the Gaza Strip, stressing the need for a cease-fire to allow children to be vaccinated against the disease, which causes certain limbs to be immobile for the rest of their lives.

“The quick spread of polio threatens all children in Gaza, already weakened by displacement, deprivation & malnourishment,” he said on X.

Urging an immediate three-day cease-fire, independent of wider negotiations, to enable the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to conduct vaccinations, Borrell said “our humanity demands it.”

• Israeli attacks kill 41 more Gazans as death toll surges to 40,476

At least 41 more Palestinians were killed in relentless Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip, taking the overall death toll since last Oct. 7 to 40,476, the Health Ministry in the battered territory said.

A ministry statement added that some 93,647 others have been injured in the ongoing assault.

“Israeli forces killed 41 people and injured 113 others in three ‘massacres’ of families in the last 24 hours,” the ministry said.

NEWS IN BRIEF

• At least seven people were killed in Ukraine as Russia conducted large-scale airstrikes on multiple regions for the second day in a row.
• The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) announced that he had arrived in Russia's Kursk region due to concerns that fighting between Russian and Ukrainian troops nearby could trigger a "nuclear incident."
• The Israeli army claimed to have rescued an Israeli captive held in the Gaza Strip since last Oct. 7.
• The first High-Level Political Dialogue meeting between Iraq and NATO took place in Brussels.
• Recent remarks by Israel's national security minister for a synagogue to be built on the site of Al-Aqsa Mosque represent a "new and extremely dangerous" attempt to alter the status and identity of Jerusalem and its holy sites, Türkiye said.
• Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador announced a halt in relations with the US and Canadian embassies in Mexico.
• US Vice President and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris has taken a 4-point lead over former President and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump after the conclusion of last week's Democratic National Convention, according to a poll.
• Azerbaijan said the territorial claims made in Armenia’s constitution are the “main obstacle” in the completion of a peace agreement between the two countries.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country successfully tested its first domestically produced ballistic missile.
• Only 11% of the Gaza Strip is not under evacuation orders, a UN official said.
• Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said relations between Moscow and Paris are "now at a low point," partly due to France's actions that curb free speech and limit information dissemination.
• Ukrainian troops have taken control of 100 settlements in the Russian border region of Kursk, where Kyiv launched what it described as an “operation” three weeks ago, the Ukrainian commander-in-chief claimed.
• The Israeli army claimed to have rescued an Israeli captive held in the Gaza Strip since last Oct. 7.
• NATO criticized the entry of a suspected Russian drone into Polish airspace, describing it as “irresponsible, potentially dangerous.”
• After a recent incident where a Russian object violated Poland's airspace, a Polish general said that Moscow was trying to measure the country's defense response to such transgressions.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke by phone on the Ukraine conflict as well as other important bilateral issues, the Kremlin said in a statement.
• China launched three-day live-fire drills near the Myanmar border, state-run media reported.
• Russia claimed that Ukrainian troops are attempting to break through in Belgorod, its western region bordering Ukraine, but all such attempts have been successfully thwarted.
• The Israeli government will finance for the first time the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque by illegal Israeli settlers in occupied East Jerusalem.

SPORTS

• Paris 2024 Paralympic Games to start with opening ceremony on Wednesday

The Paris 2024 Paralympic Games will begin with Wednesday’s opening ceremony in the heart of the French capital.

In a statement, the organizers said that Paris' historic square Place de la Concorde and famous Champs-Elysees Avenue will host the opening ceremony as 4,400 Paralympic athletes from 184 delegations will take part in a parade.

Filled with cafes and luxury shops, Champs-Elysees Avenue connects Place de la Concorde with Arc de Triomphe as the para-athletes' parade will be held between these two spots.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

• X shareholders' links to Russian oligarchs raise questions

A company linked to the sons of Russian oligarchs has been found to be among the shareholders of the X social media platform owned by billionaire Elon Musk, raising questions about Moscow’s influence on the technology sector.

According to The Washington Post, X's former investors and employees sued the company for not receiving their salaries, resulting in the disclosure of its shareholders to the public.

In July this year, lawyers for the nonprofit organization the Committee to Protect Press Freedom on behalf of independent tech journalist Jacob Silverman asked the court to disclose X's shareholders. In response, the court ordered X to share the full list.