Morning Briefing: March 6, 2024

By Rabia Ali

ISTANBUL (AA) - Here is a rundown of all the news that you need to start your Wednesday, including a meeting between Turkish President Erdogan and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ankara, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's meeting with Qatari officials over the Gaza cease-fire talks, UN experts accusing Israel of intentionally starving people in Gaza, and International Criminal Court issuing arrest warrants for Russian commanders.

TOP STORIES

• Israeli attacks on Gaza one of century's 'greatest barbarities': Turkish President Erdogan

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday reaffirmed his condemnation of Israel's "barbarism" against Palestinians.

"For the past 151 days, we have been witnessing one of the greatest barbarities of the last century," Erdogan said at a joint news conference with his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas in the Turkish capital Ankara.

Accusing the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of committing "blatant genocide against Palestinians," Erdogan said this was happening with "unlimited support from Western powers."

• Blinken meets Qatari counterpart over Gaza cease-fire talks

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Tuesday with his Qatari counterpart amid efforts to reach a six-week cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in exchange for a hostage swap deal.

Blinken said ahead of his meeting with Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani at the State Department that there is an "opportunity for an immediate cease-fire that can bring hostages home, that can dramatically increase the amount of humanitarian assistance getting to Palestinians who so desperately need it, and can also set the conditions for an enduring resolution."

• UN experts accuse Israel of 'intentionally starving' people in Gaza

The UN experts on Tuesday accused Israel of "intentionally starving" people in Gaza since Oct. 8, 2023, and now targeting civilians seeking humanitarian aid and humanitarian convoys.

"Israel has been intentionally starving the Palestinian people in Gaza since 8 October. Now it is targeting civilians seeking humanitarian aid and humanitarian convoys," the experts said in a statement.

"Israel must end its campaign of starvation and targeting of civilians," they urged, as 15 children have already died of malnutrition at the Kamal Adwan Hospital and there are fears that the figures could be higher in other hospitals.

• International Criminal Court issues arrest warrants for 2 Russian commanders

International Criminal Court judges on Tuesday issued arrest warrants for two Russian commanders over the war in Ukraine, which recently began its third year.

In a statement, the court said the judges issued arrest warrants for Sergei Ivanovich Kobylash, commander of long-range aviation of the Aerospace Force, and Viktor Nikolayevich Sokolov, commander of the Black Sea Fleet, "in the context of the situation in Ukraine for alleged crimes committed from at least 10 October 2022 until at least 9 March 2023."

NEWS IN BRIEF

• The US is working to open up a maritime corridor to deliver humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, the White House said Tuesday.
  
  
• Some 80% of the world’s most hunger-ravaged people live in the Gaza Strip, said Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki at an extraordinary ministerial meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in the Saudi city of Jeddah.
  
  
• South Africa’s foreign minister warned Tuesday that if talks on the release of hostages and a cease-fire in Gaza fail, there will be an "unbelievable tragedy and catastrophe.”
  
  
• Indirect talks between Hamas and Israel for a cease-fire deal in the Gaza Strip are still ongoing but are facing “difficulties,” according to Egyptian media on Tuesday.
  
  
• Bulgarian Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov submitted his resignation to parliament Tuesday as part of a planned step with his party's governing coalition partner under an agreement following last year’s elections.
  
  
• More than 99,000 people including 61,492 children have fled their homes due to renewed violence in northern Mozambique, Save the Children said Tuesday.
  
  
• Palestinian television presenter and journalist was killed Tuesday in an Israeli air raid on the Gaza Strip, pushing the death toll of press members targeted by Israel since Oct. 7 to 133, said officials and state media.
  
  
• Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Tuesday told Muslim nations that there was "overwhelming expectation" that they take immediate action on the situation in the Gaza Strip, not ruling out doing so unilaterally.
  
  
• Three civilians were killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, according to local media.
  
  
• The UNICEF on Tuesday warned that under the current circumstances, malnutrition-related deaths in Gaza would "skyrocket" as at least 10 children have been confirmed to have starved to death.
  
  
• Two people lost their lives on Tuesday following a mid-air collision of two planes over Kenya's capital Nairobi.
  
  
• Former US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Israel must “finish the problem” in its war against Hamas as he backed the Israeli army's attacks on Gaza.

SPORTS

• Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain advance to Champions League quarterfinals

Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain qualified for the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals on Tuesday.

Bayern beat Lazio 3-0 in a Round of 16 match to proceed to the last eight phase of the competition.

English star Harry Kane scored a double as German forward Thomas Muller scored for the home team.

• Former Grand Slam champion Simona Halep's doping ban reduced

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Tuesday reduced former Grand Slam women's champion Simona Halep's four-year doping ban to nine months.

"The CAS Panel has unanimously determined that the four-year period of ineligibility imposed (on Halep) by the ITF (International Tennis Federation) Independent Tribunal is to be reduced to a period of ineligibility of nine (9) months starting on 7 October 2022…” according to a statement by the international sports court.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

• Russia and China plan to place a nuclear power unit on the moon

Russia and China plan to place a nuclear power unit on the moon in the year 2033-2035, said Yury Borisov, director general of Russian state space corporation Roscosmos, on Tuesday.

The countries signed an agreement for the joint project on the moon, Borisov said at an event in Moscow.

• UK lags behind European counterparts in low-carbon energy spending

A recent analysis by Greenpeace revealed that the UK falls behind other major European economies in its expenditure on low-carbon energy policies.

The country's spending on low-carbon measures from April 2020 to April 2023 amounted to approximately $33.3 billion (£26.2 billion), the lowest among the top five European economies.​​​​​​​