Morning Briefing: Oct. 15, 2024

By Rabia Ali

ISTANBUL (AA) - Here is a rundown of all the news you need to start your Tuesday with, including Israel airstrikes killing Palestinians across the Gaza Strip, European countries condemning Israel's attacks on UN peacekeepers in Lebanon, India withdrawing diplomats from Canada, and Turkish President Erdogan's remarks about UN's failure to protect personnel from Israeli attacks.

TOP STORIES

• Israel kills several Palestinians across Gaza

Israel on Monday evening targeted a group of people and two shelters for displaced people in the northern Gaza Strip, killing at least 11 people and injuring others, medical sources told Anadolu.

A source in Al-Awda Hospital said the Israeli army killed three Palestinians and injured 15 others in shelling the Hafsa school that shelters displaced people in the Jabalia refugee camp.

As many as 13 others were also injured in an airstrike on the entrance of the Al-Yemen Al-Saeed shelter in Jabalia.

In Gaza City, a medical source said eight Palestinians were killed and others injured in an Israeli airstrike on a group of people in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, northern Gaza City.

• UK, France, Germany, Italy condemn threats to security of UN peacekeepers in Lebanon

The foreign ministers of France, Germany, Italy and the UK on Monday expressed "deep concern" over recent Israeli attacks on UN peacekeepers in Lebanon, condemning threats to UNIFIL’s security.

"We, the Foreign Ministers of France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom express our deep concern in the wake of recent attacks by IDF on UNIFIL bases, which have left several peacekeepers injured. These attacks must stop immediately. We condemn all threats to UNIFIL’s security," read a joint statement.

Expressing that any deliberate attack against UNIFIL goes against international humanitarian law and UN Security Council Resolution 1701, the statement noted that the protection of peacekeepers is "incumbent upon all parties to a conflict."

• India withdraws envoy from Canada as tensions over murder probe intensify

India on Monday decided to withdraw its ambassador, diplomats and other officials from Canada as bilateral ties hit bottom over a probe into the murder of a dissident Sikh activist.

The decision came after Canada identified Indian Ambassador Sanjay Kumar Verma and other diplomats as “persons of interest” in the investigation into last year's killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia.

New Delhi rejected the charges and summoned Canadian charge d’affaires to the Foreign Ministry in New Delhi.

The ministry rejected what it said was “baseless targeting” of the Indian diplomats and officials in Canada which “was completely unacceptable.”

• Concerning for global system when UN cannot protect its personnel from Israel’s attacks: Turkish president

Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday said it is concerning for the international system when the UN cannot protect its own personnel from Israel’s attacks in Lebanon, urging the global body to act against Tel Aviv.

“The image of the UN, which cannot even protect its own personnel, is a source of shame and concern for the international system,” Erdogan said in remarks after a Cabinet meeting.

"Indeed, we also wonder what the UN Security Council is waiting for to stop Israel," he added.

The Turkish president said the Security Council merely watches Israel's acts of “banditry” against the UN peacekeepers in Lebanon (UNIFIL), calling it “impotence.”

NEWS IN BRIEF

• The Israeli army late Monday started to disrupt global positioning systems (GPS) signals around Defense Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv, central Israel, said to be fearing an attack by Iran.
  
  
• Gruesome videos and pictures appearing to depict displaced Palestinian civilians burning alive in the aftermath of an Israeli airstrike in Gaza are both "horrifying" and "deeply disturbing," the White House said Monday.
  
  
• South Africa’s president Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday called on world leaders to put pressure on Israel to stop its attacks in Gaza and Lebanon.
  
  
• EU foreign policy chief on Monday stated that Israeli attacks on UN forces must be "absolutely avoided," saying attacks cannot be "justified by any kind of incident or accident."
  
  
• The Israeli army on Monday said it detected three ground-to-ground missiles fired from Lebanon towards the Tel Aviv area in central Israel.
  
  
• At least 18 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike in northern Lebanon on Monday, the Lebanese Red Cross said.
  
  
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has assured the US that his forces will attack Iranian military sites, not the nuclear and oil facilities that President Joe Biden has warned against striking, according to a report published Monday.
  
  
• The Pentagon on Monday slammed China's "irresponsible" military drills near Taiwan, saying that the US "closely" monitored the exercise.
  
  
• Ukraine will present its "victory plan" to urge Moscow to end the nearly three-year war to all "our European partners," President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday.

SPORTS

• Türkiye beat Iceland in 6-goal thriller in UEFA Nations League

Türkiye won at Iceland 4-2 in a Monday UEFA Nations League match in Reykjavik to stay on top of the group.

Orri Oskarsson, an Iceland forward, scored an early goal on a counter-attack after dribbling from midfield as the hosts took a 1-0 lead at Laugardalsvollur Stadium.

Irfan Can Kahveci, a Türkiye midfielder, scored outside the area in the 63rd minute to level the match, 1-1. The Turkish team was given another penalty for another handball by an Iceland defender. But this time Calhanoglu converted the penalty successfully to gain a 2-1 lead.

• Thousands in Italy rally for Palestine before Nations League match versus Israel

Protesting months of Israeli attacks on both Gaza and Lebanon, thousands on Monday showed solidarity with Palestine before Italy played Israel in a UEFA Nations League match.

Demonstrators gathered in Udine, northeastern Italy waved Palestinian flags and unfurled banners saying "Free Palestine," "Stop the Genocide," and "Italy vs. Israel match result = humanity's defeat" to protest Israel's genocide in Gaza, and the Israeli national football team.

Hosts Italy hammered Israel 4-1 in the match at Udine's Bluenergy Stadium as the Azzurri (Blues) keep leading Group A2.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

• Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and James Robinson awarded Nobel in economics

The 2024 Nobel Prize in economics has been awarded to Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and James A. Robinson for their influential research on "how institutions are formed and affect prosperity," according to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

The laureates' work has demonstrated the critical role that societal institutions play in a nation’s economic success. "Societies with a poor rule of law and institutions that exploit the population do not generate growth or change for the better," the Academy stated. "The laureates’ research helps us understand why."

Acemoglu, originally from Türkiye, and Johnson are both affiliated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, while Robinson is based at the University of Chicago. Their collaborative work has become essential to understanding economic development and governance worldwide.

• Former Google CEO urges UK to expand high-skilled immigration for AI sector

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt has called on the UK government to expand its high-skilled immigration policies to help the country stay competitive in the fast-evolving field of artificial intelligence (AI).

Addressing an investment summit in the UK, Schmidt emphasized the importance of a pro-growth approach that would attract top talent from around the world while ensuring that recent AI graduates are encouraged to stay in Britain.

“High-skilled immigration is already in place here and should be expanded,” Schmidt stated, noting that many international students are earning advanced degrees in AI and could contribute significantly to the UK’s technological advancement.