Morning Briefing: Jan. 9, 2024

By Rabia Ali

ISTANBUL (AA) - Here is a rundown of all the news that you need to start your Tuesday, including Israel starving millions in Gaza, death toll of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces exceeding 23,000, emergency declared in Ecuador, and resignation of the French prime minister.

TOP STORIES

• Israel starving 2.2M people in Gaza: Israeli rights group

An Israeli human rights group has accused the government of starving more than 2 million people in the Gaza Strip amid its deadly military offensive on the Palestinian enclave.

"The 2.2 million people of Gaza are going hungry. This is not a byproduct of war but a direct result of Israel’s declared policy, which denies them food," B'Tselem said in a statement.

The rights group said Israeli authorities are "letting in only a fraction of the amount entering before the war, with limitations on the types of goods" instead of allowing enough food into the territory.

• Gaza death toll from Israeli onslaught exceeds 23,000

At least 23,084 Palestinians have been killed and 58,926 others injured in ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, the Health Ministry in the besieged enclave said.

A ministry statement said 249 people had been killed and 510 others injured in the Israeli onslaught in the last 24 hours.

The offensive has left Gaza in ruins, with 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure damaged or destroyed and nearly 2 million residents displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicines due to a continuing blockade.

• Ecuador declares emergency after gang leader goes missing from prison

Ecuador declared a state of emergency after one of the country’s most dangerous gang leaders disappeared from his prison cell, triggering riots in at least six correctional facilities across the country.

President Daniel Noboa declared a 60-day state of emergency, allowing the army to act to control internal security, especially in prisons.

The leader of the powerful Los Choneros gang, Jose Adolfo Macias, alias Fito, was reported missing Sunday from his high-security cell at a prison in the city of Guayaquil.

Macias was sentenced in 2011 to 34 years in prison for various crimes, including murder and drug trafficking.

• French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne resigns

French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne resigned, the presidency said.

President Emmanuel Macron posted a message on X thanking Borne for her "exemplary" efforts as France’s premier.

Borne was appointed prime minister in May 2022, and her departure comes in the wake of the passage of a hardline, controversial immigration bill late last year.

She will act as caretaker until a new government is named.

NEWS IN BRIEF

• Two more Palestinian journalists, Abdullah Breis and Mohammad Abu Dayer, were killed in fresh Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip, pushing up the tally to 112 since Oct. 7, the government media office said.

• Some 13,000 Israelis have been injured, including 2,500 soldiers, since the outbreak of the Gaza war on Oct. 7, Health Minister Uriel Busso said.

• Senior Hezbollah leader Wissam al-Hassan was killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon, the group said.

• Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu arrived in the eastern Fujian province on his maiden state visit to China at the invitation of President Xi Jinping.

• More than 12,000 attacks were carried out by Israeli authorities and illegal settlers in 2023, according to a Palestinian official.

• The military commanders of Ethiopia and Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland met in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa, and discussed military cooperation amid an escalation in tensions.

• The US said Sunday's parliamentary elections in Bangladesh, in which the ruling Awami League party secured a landslide victory amid an opposition boycott, "were not free or fair."

• A US attempt to land on the moon for the first time in a half-century suffered a major setback Monday when the private company operating the lunar lander said it suffered a major fuel leak after launch.

SPORTS

• German football legend Beckenbauer dies aged 78

German football legend Franz Beckenbauer died at the age of 78, the Bundesliga confirmed.

Born in 1945, Beckenbauer played 103 times for then-West Germany between 1965 and 1977, helping it win the World Cup in 1974, and also lifted the 1990 World Cup trophy as manager of West Germany.

The German legend was honored with the 1972 and 1976 Ballon d'Or awards.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

• Vessel traffic down 20% in Red Sea due to rerouting

Ship traffic in the Red Sea decreased by 20% in December 2023, as shipping companies suspended operations or shifted their routes to the Cape of Good Hope after Houthi rebels in Yemen attacked commercial vessels in the Red Sea.

According to data obtained by Anadolu from MarineTraffic, ship traffic decreased noticeably, especially in the second half of December 2023, as many shipping companies decided to stop their operations there.

• Türkiye in 2023 emerged as key player in electric car sales

Türkiye saw 65,562 electric car sales in 2023, surpassing many EU countries and securing the No. 6 spot in the European sales ranking.

According to recent European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) data, the sales of fully electric cars in EU countries rose 48.2% year-on-year to 1.3 million units in October and November 2023.

In this period, Germany saw the highest number of electric car sales in the EU with 469,565.