Morning Briefing: Jan. 24, 2024

By Rabia Ali

ISTANBUL (AA)- Here is a rundown of all the news that you need to start your Wednesday with, including approval of a bill by Turkish parliament related to Sweden’s NATO membership, US targeting facilities in Iraq of Iranian-backed group, UN chief statements about the situation in Gaza, and the third phase of Israel’s war on Gaza.

TOP STORIES

• Turkish parliament approves bill for Sweden’s NATO membership

Turkish parliament on Tuesday approved the bill regarding Sweden's accession protocol to NATO.

After discussion on the bill approving the protocol on Sweden's accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in the Turkish parliament, the bill was approved by 287 out of 346 members of the parliament who participated in vote.

While 55 members of the parliament voted "against" the bill, four members “abstained.”

Finland and Sweden, applied for NATO membership soon after Russia launched its war on Ukraine in February 2022.

• US strikes facilities used by Iranian-backed groups in Iraq

The US carried out strikes on Tuesday against three facilities used by the Iranian-backed group Kataib Hezbollah and other Iran-affiliated groups in Iraq amid attacks against US forces in Iraq and Syria.

“These precision strikes are in direct response to a series of escalatory attacks against U.S. and Coalition personnel in Iraq and Syria by Iranian-sponsored militias,” Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said in a statement. “We do not seek to escalate conflict in the region,” he added.

• Gazans 'enduring destruction at a scale without parallel in recent history': UN chief

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Tuesday the destruction the people in Gaza have been enduring is on a scale not known in “recent history."

Guterres said at a UN Security Council session on the situation in Gaza that the last 100 days have been "heartbreaking and catastrophic" for civilians.

"Everyone in Gaza is hungry, with a quarter of Gaza’s population, more than half a million people, grappling with catastrophic levels of food insecurity," he said.

Guterres said nearly 1.5 million people are crammed inside the Rafah governorate, and disease is spreading as the health system collapses.

• Israel’s Netanyahu says 3rd phase of Gaza war to last 6 months

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his Cabinet ministers that what he called the third phase of the Gaza war will take six months, local media reported on Tuesday.

“Netanyahu said that it will take six months for the army to finish the third phase of the war, which has already begun in the northern Gaza Strip,” said Israeli public broadcaster KAN.

NEWS IN BRIEF

• Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan slammed the international community on Tuesday for not stopping the war in Gaza and voiced concern about the spillover effect of the war to the region.

• Hungary has invited Sweden to negotiate on Stockholm’s NATO accession bid, Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban said on Tuesday.

• French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne urged the international community on Tuesday to come together and contribute to the reconstruction of Gaza, which is facing ongoing Israeli attacks.

• The US State Department said Tuesday that President Joe Biden has long been clear about his support for modernizing Türkiye’s F-16 fleet as it welcomed the Turkish parliament’s ratification of Sweden’s NATO accession protocol.

• Israeli leaders are offering genocide and ethnic cleansing to Palestinian people, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki said Tuesday.

• At least 18 people were killed Tuesday in Russian airstrikes on various regions of Ukraine, including the capital Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an evening address.

• Former US President Donald Trump won the New Hampshire Republican primary on Tuesday, defeating former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.

• The Israeli army said Tuesday that at least 21 troops were killed and several others injured in a single ambush in the central Gaza Strip.

• The Palestinian death toll from Israel's continued attacks in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7 has surged to 25,490, the Health Ministry in the besieged enclave said in a statement on Tuesday.

SPORTS

• Real Madrid defender Militao extends contract to 2028

Real Madrid's Brazilian defender Eder Militao extended his deal Tuesday with the Spanish football powerhouse for the next four and half years.

The team said Militao, 26, inked a contract that will keep him at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium until June 30, 2028.

Militao was diagnosed with a "torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee" in August.

• Novak Djokovic, Aryna Sabalenka advance to Australian Open semifinals

Defending champions Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka advanced Tuesday to the semifinals of the 2024 Australian Open.

Serbian top seed Djokovic beat Taylor Fritz from the US in four sets -- 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 -- in the men's quarterfinals.

Sinner, the world’s no. 4 player, eliminated fifth-seeded Russian Andrey Rublev, in straight sets, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

• Türkiye’s new communications satellite to expand country's coverage to over 5B people

Turkish satellite operator Turksat finalized the country’s first indigenous communications satellite, officials at the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye (TUBITAK) said Tuesday.

Having passed its endurance tests, it will expand Türkiye’s satellite coverage to over 5 billion people after its launch at the end of June, authorities added.

Turksat 6A is the name of the indigenous satellite that was created as a result of a project contract signed between the Transport and Infrastructure Ministry.

• Singapore ratifies UK membership to trans-Pacific trading bloc

Singapore became the second country on Tuesday to ratify UK membership to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

Britain is a step closer to becoming a fully-fledged member of the trade group after Singapore ratified the UK’s membership -- following Japan, UK's Foreign Office and Department for Business and Trade said in a statement.