Morning Briefing: Sept. 11, 2024

By Rabia Ali

ISTANBUL (AA) - Here is a rundown of all the news you need to start Wednesday, including South Africa vowing to continue genocide case against Israel, UN chief condemning Israeli airstrike in Gaza safe zone, and a feisty presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.

TOP STORIES

• South Africa says genocide case against Israel ‘will continue,’ to file memorial next month

- The genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) will continue and South Africa will file a memorial next month, the presidency said in a statement on Tuesday.

"South Africa intends to provide facts and evidence to prove that Israel is committing the crime of genocide in Palestine," the statement said.

"This case will continue until the court makes a finding. While the case is in progress, we hope that Israel will abide by the court’s provisional orders issued to date."

The remarks come amid reports that Israeli diplomats are being instructed to lobby members of the US Congress to pressure South Africa into dropping the case.

• UN chief 'strongly condemns' Israeli airstrike on ‘safe zone’ in Gaza

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday "strongly" condemned a deadly Israeli airstrike on a declared "humanitarian safe zone" in the southern Gaza Strip.

"I can tell you that the Secretary-General (Guterres) is deeply alarmed by the continued loss of life in Gaza. He strongly condemns today's Israeli airstrike in an Israeli designated zone for displaced persons in Khan Younis," spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters.

"The use of heavy weapons in densely populated areas is unconscionable," he said in conveying Guterres’s message.

Saying that the Palestinians were displaced from the area, "in search of safety," Dujarric reiterated the UN chief's demand for an immediate cease-fire and the release of all hostages in Gaza.

At least 40 people were killed and dozens injured in the airstrike early Tuesday on a tent camp in Khan Younis in the al-Mawasi area, which Israel designated as a "humanitarian safe zone" for displaced civilians in Gaza.

• Harris seeks to get under Trump's skin during feisty presidential debate

Democratic nominee Kamala Harris did something rarely seen Tuesday night when she faced off against her Republican challenger, repeatedly putting Donald Trump on the defensive during their closely-watched presidential debate.

Throughout the fierce one-hour and forty-five-minute showdown, Harris attempted to cast herself as Trump's diametric opposite: cool, calm and collected under pressure, fending off repeated attacks from the ex-president and launching salvos of her own as the duo addressed America's hot-button issues, including immigration, abortion and the economy.

Harris repeatedly sought to get under Trump's skin and bait him, saying world and military leaders view him as a "disgrace" and seeking to cast doubt about his repeatedly-touted business acumen.

"World leaders are laughing at Donald Trump," she said in the battleground state of Pennsylvania.

NEWS IN BRIEF

• US President Joe Biden called the shooting last week of a Turkish American activist in the head by an Israeli sniper in the occupied West Bank an "accident."
  
  
• The International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor has urged the court's Pre-Trial Chamber to issue arrest warrants “with utmost urgency” for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant as well as Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Deif.
  
  
• The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday urged parties to respect humanitarian pause zones in Gaza's north as some parts of the zones fall under Israeli evacuation orders.
  
  
• The Israeli army used massive bombs supplied by the US to strike a “humanitarian safe zone” in the southern Gaza Strip, burying entire families, a Geneva-based human rights group said on Tuesday.
  
  
• The killing of Turkish American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi by Israeli soldiers has shown Israel targets even those “who are in favor of peace,” Türkiye's foreign minister said on Tuesday.
  
  
• British Foreign Secretary David Lammy and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on Tuesday that they will travel to Kyiv this week to demonstrate their "commitment to Ukraine."
  
  
• An Arab ministerial meeting convened in the Egyptian capital Cairo, on Tuesday to discuss Israel’s ongoing offensive on the Gaza Strip.
  
  
• Dozens of Rohingya refugees, held by India in its largest transit camp in the northeastern state of Assam, have begun a hunger strike, a media report said on Tuesday.
  
  
• At least 32 Palestinians were killed in relentless Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip, pushing up the overall death toll since last Oct. 7, to 41,020, the Health Ministry in the battered territory said on Tuesday.

SPORTS

• Harry Kane scores twice in his 100th cap as England beat Finland 2-0 in Nations League

England forward Harry Kane scored twice during his 100th international appearance Tuesday as the Three Lions beat Finland 2-0 in a UEFA Nations League match.

Team captain Kane scored a brace in the 57th and 76th minutes to cement a home win in a Group B2 match at London's Wembley Stadium.

The 31-year-old Bayern Munich regular has scored 68 goals for England since 2015.

Before the Finland match, Kane received a gold cap for reaching 100 England appearances.

• World Anti-Doping Agency urges 'reforms' in US policy

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) urged "root and branch reforms" in a statement Tuesday for the system in the US.

WADA highlighted that 90% of American athletes remain outside the jurisdiction of the agency’s code, in a letter to Tobie Smith, chair of the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) board of directors.

"Of primary concern is the matter of college sports, which account for so many athletes who go on to compete at the very highest levels, including the Olympic Games," said WADA. Seventy-five percent “of U.S. athletes competing in Paris came through the collegiate system. That is three-quarters of American Olympians who were at one time part of an elite system that operates far below the globally recognized clean sport standard."

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

• US sanctions multiple entities linked to Mexican cartel for fentanyl trafficking

The US Treasury Department announced Tuesday that it imposed sanctions on multiple entities linked to a Mexican cartel.

Those sanctioned include nine Mexican nationals and 26 Mexico-based entities linked to a fuel theft network that generates millions of dollars benefiting the Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG) Cartel.

The US agency said CJNG is a Mexico-based drug trafficking organization that is responsible for a significant proportion of fentanyl and other deadly drugs trafficked into the US.

• Fitch revises up global growth forecast to 2.7% from 2.6%

Fitch Ratings revised up its global economic growth forecast for this year to 2.7%, according to its Global Economic Outlook September report released Tuesday.

The revision is 0.1 percentage points higher than the previous forecast made in June.

"We expect global GDP to slow to 2.5% in 2025 as US growth falls to 1.6% on a fading fiscal impulse and a gradual slowdown in consumption, as household income decelerates," said the report.