Morning Briefing: Sept. 14, 2024

By Alperen Aktas

ISTANBUL (AA) - Here is a rundown of all the news you need to start Saturday, including the US sanctioning Russian media outlet RT for "covert activities" and "military procurement;" the UN refugee agency saying that one of its workers was killed by a sniper in the West Bank; Russia expelling 6 British diplomats on spying allegations and Boeing's workers going on strike after overwhelmingly rejecting a contract.

TOP STORIES

• US sanctions Russian media outlet RT for ‘covert activities’, ‘military procurement’

The US announced new sanctions on Russian state media outlet RT, accusing the network of conducting covert cyber intelligence and influence operations targeting countries across Europe, Africa, and North and South America.

“These Kremlin-backed media outlets are not only playing this covert influence role to undermine democracy in the United States, but also to meddle in the sovereign affairs of countries around the world,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters.

Blinken, citing new information from RT employees, claimed that the outlet possessed cyber capabilities and engaged in “covert information influence operations and military procurement.”

• UN refugee agency says worker killed by sniper in West Bank

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees said an employee was killed by a sniper in the northern West Bank.

“An UNRWA sanitation labourer in the northern West Bank was shot and killed on the roof of his home by a sniper yesterday,” the agency wrote on X.

• Russia expels 6 British diplomats on spying allegations

Russia revoked the accreditations of six British diplomats in Moscow on spying allegations.

The Federal Security Service said it acquired documents confirming that the Directorate of Eastern Europe and Central Asia of the British foreign office made it its main task "to inflict strategic defeat" on Russia.

It said after the beginning of Russia's "special military operation" in Ukraine in 2022, the directorate was transformed "into a special service," working against Russia.

• US aircraft maker Boeing's workers reject contract in overwhelming vote, set to strike

More than 30,000 employees from Boeing are set to strike, bringing most aircraft production to a halt after staff overwhelmingly rejected a new labor contract.

Workers in the US state of Oregon and the Seattle area in Washington voted 94.6% against a tentative agreement presented Sunday by the US aircraft maker and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, according to CNBC.

They also voted 96% in favor of a strike, significantly surpassing a two-thirds majority needed to initiate a work stoppage.

NEWS IN BRIEF

• More than 30,000 Boeing employees are set to strike, bringing most of the aircraft production to a halt after the company’s staff overwhelmingly rejected a new labor contract.
• Britain criticized Russia for revoking the accreditations of six British diplomats in Moscow on spying allegations, saying the accusations are "completely baseless."
• Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Ankara appreciates Spain's support for the Palestinian cause.
• Families of Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip blocked streets in Tel Aviv, demanding a hostage exchange deal that would lead to the release of their loved ones.
• A two-state solution is the only way to guarantee a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, said the Spanish foreign minister.
• India has conducted two back-to-back successful flight tests of the vertical launch short-range surface-to-air missile, the Defense Ministry said.
• US President Joe Biden hit back at Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's claims about Haitian immigrants allegedly eating pets in Springfield, Ohio.
• The US State Department approved the possible sale of F-35 aircraft to Romania for an estimated cost of $7.2 billion, according to the Pentagon.
• Fourteen Shia Hazara community members were killed in central Afghanistan while receiving pilgrims returning from Karbala in Iraq, the interim Afghan Taliban administration confirmed.
• The Arab-Islamic Contact Group on Gaza demanded the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, including from the border area with Egypt, known as the Philadelphi Corridor.
• US Sen. Bernie Sanders urged the Justice Department to open an independent investigation into the Israeli killing of a Turkish American activist in the West Bank.
• Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa said a two-state solution requires an end to the Israeli occupation, more countries recognizing Palestine as a state and full UN membership.
• As the new academic year starts across Europe, several governments are moving to ban smartphones in schools, while others allow individual schools to set their own policies.
• The Moroccan Health Ministry announced that an international event on public health, set to be held in the country in November, has been postponed because of concerns about a monkeypox (Mpox) outbreak.
• US-based ChatGPT-maker, OpenAI, announced it is introducing a series of new models named “o1-preview” and “o1-mini,” capable of spending “more time thinking before they respond.”
• The Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, issued a stern warning that condemned recent Israeli provocations at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, labeling them a "dangerous escalation."
• Chile officially filed a declaration of intervention in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) case concerning the application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip.
• South Korea removed 1,300 Chinese-made surveillance cameras at various military bases, including near the border with North Korea, Yonhap News reported.
• Ukraine summoned a senior Mongolian diplomat for his nation's refusal to arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin under the International Criminal Court warrant during his visit to the neighboring country earlier this month.
• Heavy rains and flooding in Myanmar, intensified by Typhoon Yagi, have killed at least 19 people and forced thousands from their homes, the Myanmar Fire Services Department reported.
• At least seven people, including three Rohingya refugees, have been killed and several injured as torrential rains caused severe flooding and landslides in Bangladesh's southeastern Cox’s Bazar district.
• The body of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, a Turkish American activist killed by Israel in the occupied West Bank last week, arrived in Istanbul via Azerbaijan.
• A new poll showed that 56% of Israelis support the formation of a national unity government that would work to secure the return of hostages from Gaza and set a date for parliamentary elections, the Maariv newspaper reported.
• North Korea has made public a uranium enrichment facility for the first time, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported.

SPORTS

• Hungary winger Roland Sallai joins Galatasaray on 4-year-contract

Galatasaray confirmed the signing of Hungary player Roland Sallai from Freiburg on a four-year deal.

"As part of the agreement, Sallai's former club will receive a transfer fee of €6 million ($6.6 million), paid in four installments over four seasons," Galatasaray said in a statement.

"The player has signed a four-season contract starting from the 2024-2025 season, with a net annual salary of €2.5 million ($2.7 million) for each football season," the Lions added.

Formula One heads to Baku for round 17 of the 2024 championship

The 2024 Formula One World Championship continues with its 17th round set to take place in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Sunday.

The race will be held at the 6,003-kilometer (3,3730-mile) Baku City Circuit, featuring 51 laps.

Reigning champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull is currently leading the drivers' standings with 303 points.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

• US targets China-founded e-commerce platforms amid de minimis shipments

The US administration announced it is taking steps to target China-founded e-commerce platforms amid de minimis shipments.

"Over the last ten years, the number of shipments entering the United States claiming the de minimis exemption has increased significantly, from approximately 140 million a year to over one billion a year," the White House said in a statement.

"This exponential increase in de minimis shipments makes it more challenging to enforce U.S. trade laws, health and safety requirements, intellectual property rights, consumer protection rules, and to block illicit synthetic drugs such as fentanyl and synthetic drug raw materials and machinery from entering the country," it added.

• World Bank grants $6.4M for pollution reduction in Black Sea

The World Bank approved a grant of $6.39 million for a project to reduce pollution in the Black Sea.

A statement by the bank said that the Black Sea became one of the most polluted water bodies in Europe due to eutrophication, chemical pollution, invasive species, ineffective wastewater treatment, industrial hot spots and atmospheric deposition.

The project, Blueing the Black Sea Global Environment Facility Project (BBSEA GEF), will invest in pollution prevention and reduction, while going over the regulations of the countries concerned, which are Georgia, Moldova, Türkiye and Ukraine, whose governments and private sectors will be supported with the grant.