Morning Briefing: August 16, 2024

By Alperen Aktas

ISTANBUL (AA) - Here is a rundown of all the news that you need to start your Friday with, including a new study saying that over four billion people worldwide are without access to safe drinking water, the WHO’s Europe chief warning over the spread of mpox and urging member states to enhance surveillance, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claiming the country's forces took control of a town in Russia’s Kursk region and the UN rights chief revealing that nearly 130 people have died every day in war-torn Gaza.

TOP STORIES

• Over 4B people worldwide without safe drinking water: Study

Approximately 4.4 billion people worldwide are without access to safe drinking water, according to a new study.

The study, published in the Science journal, was conducted by scientists, including Esther Greenwood from the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology.

It indicated that over half the world's population may be without clean, accessible water, the British weekly scientific journal Nature reported.

• WHO Europe chief fears mpox spread, urges member states to enhance surveillance

The World Health Organization (WHO) regional director for Europe warned that mpox could spread to other countries after Sweden confirmed the first case of the infectious viral disease outside of Africa.

Sweden early Thursday reported the first case of the more contagious variant of mpox outside of Africa, just a day after the WHO declared the infectious viral disease a "Public Health Emergency of International Concern."

"As we noted earlier, it was only a matter of time before mpox clade I – which appears to be more severe than clade II - was detected in other @WHO Regions, given our interconnected world," Hans Kluge warned on X.

• Zelenskyy claims Ukrainian forces took control of town in Russia’s Kursk region

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed that his country’s forces have taken control of the town of Sudzha in Russia’s Kursk region, where Kyiv launched an incursion last week.

In a video statement following a staff meeting, Zelenskyy said that Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi reported on the "completion of the liberation of the town of Sudzha."

He said that a Ukrainian military commandant's office is being established in the town, adding that several other settlements have also been captured by the Ukrainian army.

• 130 killed in war-torn Gaza every day: UN rights chief

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk condemned the ongoing Israeli violence in the war-torn Gaza Strip, revealing that nearly 130 people have died daily since Oct. 7.

“On average, about 130 people have been killed every day in Gaza over the past 10 months. The scale of the Israeli military’s destruction of homes, hospitals, schools and places of worship is deeply shocking,” Turk said.

Turk stressed that the "unimaginable situation" in the besieged enclave is overwhelmingly due to the recurring failures of the Israeli army to comply with the rules of war.

NEWS IN BRIEF

• A Jordanian citizen in the US was arrested for threatening to use explosives and an attack on an energy facility, the Justice Department said.
• The Houthi group said that US and British forces carried out a joint airstrike in Yemen's western Al Hudaydah province.
• The US State Department approved a possible sale of Patriot missiles to Germany for an estimated cost of $5 billion, the Pentagon said.
• Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Colombian President Gustavo Petro suggested that new elections be held in Venezuela as a possible solution to the crisis in the South American country.
• The US State Department approved a possible sale of MQ-9 Block 5 aircraft to Italy for an estimated cost of $738 million, the Pentagon said.
• Pakistan reported its first suspected case of mpox for this year, prompting health authorities to issue a national advisory.
• The US is closely keeping an eye on the situation in the Middle East amid rising tensions, the Pentagon said.
• More than 100 illegal Israeli settlers attacked a Palestinian town in the occupied West Bank, killing one person and setting fire to a home and several vehicles, according to multiple sources.
• Seven Palestinians, including children, were killed and others injured in an Israeli airstrike that targeted a residential apartment in the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, the civil defense said on Telegram.
• American aerospace and defense corporation Lockheed Martin said it signed a definitive agreement to acquire satellite manufacturer Terran Orbital for $450 million.
• Armenia opened fire at Azerbaijan’s military positions in the autonomous Nakhchivan exclave, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy proposed a draft bill ratifying the Rome Statute to parliament.
• Israeli authorities have arrested more than 400 people, primarily Arab citizens, in a sweeping crackdown on online activity deemed to incite or support Hamas in the months following the Oct. 7 attack by the Palestinian resistance group.
• The EU foreign police chief held a phone conversation with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and reiterated the EU's “steadfast commitment” to upholding the status quo of holy sites in Jerusalem.
• The British foreign secretary said that reaching a deal "urgently" is in the long-term interests of both Israelis and Palestinians as well as the wider region.
• Former US President Donald Trump is seeking to delay sentencing in his criminal hush money case until after the presidential election in November.
• Climate change has had an impact on seas, with recent research revealing a remarkable number of fish populations migrating northward, with 15 different species now observed on Norwegian coasts, up from seven previously.
• Sweden reported a first case of the more contagious variant of mpox outside of Africa, local media reported.
• Türkiye and Iraq signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in security, military and counterterrorism, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said.
• Negotiations in Qatar on a long-elusive cease-fire to end the war in the Gaza Strip will continue into Friday as negotiators seek to finalize details on its implementation, the White House said.
• The UN Development Fund (UNDP) has announced the completion of two model facilities for the safe processing and recycling of earthquake debris in Türkiye.
• Sudan's Sovereign Council announced that it will reopen the Adre border crossing for three months to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to those affected by the ongoing 15-month civil war. The decision comes after nearly six months during which no humanitarian aid reached the affected populations.
• Ireland's prime minister said that 40,000 dead in Gaza is a “milestone the world must be ashamed of.”
• South Africa’s National Prosecuting Authority said it has withdrawn charges against 95 Libyan nationals arrested last month at a suspected "secret military training camp" in northeastern Mpumalanga province.
• Pope Francis voiced deep concern over the escalating conflict in Gaza on the day the death toll from the 10-month Israeli offensive climbed above 40,000 Palestinians.
• Türkiye announced that no cases of mpox, an infectious viral disease that has hit the African continent hard this year, have been reported in the country.
• At least 30 more Palestinians were detained in fresh Israeli military raids in the occupied West Bank, prisoners’ affairs groups said.
• Russian authorities declared a state of federal emergency in the Belgorod region amid fighting with Ukrainian troops in the neighboring Kursk region.
• China backed the Myanmar junta’s efforts towards early political reconciliation, saying that Beijing is willing to deepen bilateral ties with its Southeast Asian neighbor.

SPORTS

• Father of Barcelona star Lamine Yamal stabbed 'multiple times' in Spain

In an attack, Mounir Nasraoui, the father of Barcelona and Spain star winger Lamine Yamal, was stabbed "multiple times," local media reported.

The stabbing took place in a parking lot in the town of Mataro, some 32 kilometers (20 miles) east of the Barcelona city center, according to the Spanish daily La Vanguardia.

Nasraoui, 36, was taken to Can Ruti Hospital in Badalona, around 9 kilometers (6 miles) from Barcelona, and is in serious condition, but his life is reportedly not in danger.

BUSINES & ECONOMY

• Israeli war costs economy over $67.3 billion: Economists

The Gaza war has cost the Israeli economy over $67.3 billion, Israeli economists said.

"The war has already cost the Israeli economy more than NIS 250 billion ($67.3 billion), and the defense establishment wants an annual increase of at least NIS 20 billion ($5.39 billion)," Rakefet Russak-Aminoach, the former CEO of Israel’s Bank Leumi, told Israel’s Channel 12.

"The deficit is much larger. We have evacuees, wounded, and many economic needs that are not even counted in the cost of the war,” she added.