Morning Briefing: Sept. 24, 2024

By Faruk Zorlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - Here is a rundown of all the news you need to start your Tuesday with, including Israeli airstrikes on southern and eastern Lebanon that killed 492 people, including women and children, as well as 24 more Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, and an overnight Russian airstrike on Ukraine’s southeastern Zaporizhzhia region that claimed the lives of 21 people.

TOP STORIES

• The death toll from Israeli airstrikes on southern and eastern Lebanon surged to 492, including women and children, according to official figures.

Some 58 women and 35 children were among those killed, in addition to 1,645 others who were injured, said the Lebanese Health Ministry.

Health Minister Firas Abiad said earlier that the Israeli airstrikes forced thousands of people to flee southern Lebanon towards the north, particularly those near border areas.

Lebanese authorities said they opened schools and other institutions to accommodate civilians displaced by Israeli airstrikes in the country’s south.

In a statement, Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi said he directed governors to cooperate fully with the mass evacuation from southern regions.

• Israeli army attacks killed 24 more Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, pushing the overall death toll since last Oct. 7 to 41,455, the Health Ministry in the enclave said.

A ministry statement added that a total of 95,878 people have been injured in Israeli attacks since last October.

“Israeli forces killed 24 people and injured 60 others in three ‘massacres’ of families in the last 24 hours,” the ministry said.

“Many people are still trapped under the rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them,” it added.

• At least 21 people were injured in an overnight Russian airstrike on Ukraine’s southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, local authorities said.

"The number of injured as a result of the overnight strike in Zaporizhzhia increased to 21. Thirteen women and eight men sought medical help after the night attack by the Russians," Governor Ivan Fedorov said on Telegram.

Earlier, Fedorov said that 16 people were injured as a result of the overnight Russian attack, four of which were hospitalized.

Fedorov said the airstrike damaged various public and private buildings, including 13 high-rise buildings, as well as an unspecified number of educational institutions and private homes.

NEWS IN BRIEF

• The Israeli army claimed that it had hit over 1,100 Hezbollah targets in the last 24 hours.
• The Israeli government announced a nationwide state of emergency until Sept. 30 amid its escalating strikes on Lebanon and anticipated expansion of Hezbollah rockets firing towards Israel.
• The US announced that it is sending a "small number" of additional forces to the Middle East as Israel dramatically increased airstrikes across Lebanon, prompting unprecedented Hezbollah retaliatory strikes.
• The Lebanese group Hezbollah fired rockets at an Israeli military industrial complex in Haifa, marking the second attack on the northern city since the current conflict began last Oct. 8.
• Sri Lanka's newly elected President Anura Kumara Dissanayake is set to pick his Cabinet after he took the oath of office.
• At least four migrants died in a boat that capsized off the Greek island of Samos due to bad weather, local media reported.
• Tanzania's main opposition leader Freeman Mbowe was arrested by police in the Magomeni area of Dar es Salaam.
• Heavy rainfall caused flooding in Cannes, France, the municipality said.
• Tokyo lodged a protest with Moscow after alleged violations of Japanese airspace by a Russian military plane.
• Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration have signed a framework of understanding for a project to connect their energy grids, according to local media.
• The man authorities identified as the gunman at ex-President Donald Trump's Florida golf course earlier this month left a note with a friend saying "this was an assassination attempt," prosecutors said in court filings.
• Somalia received a large consignment of military equipment from Egypt amid tensions with a breakaway territory of the East African country.
• Germany’s ruling Social Democrats have won the most votes in Brandenburg state elections after a neck-and-neck race against the far right.
• A nuclear-powered submarine from the US docked in South Korea amid persistent cross-border tensions with North Korea.
• The death toll from heavy rains in Japan has climbed to six with 10 others still missing, authorities said.

SPORTS

• Barcelona in the Spanish La Liga and Bayern Munich in the German Bundesliga both have won all their matches so far this season.

Torino are surprise leaders in the Italian Serie A, while Manchester City top the English Premier League and Paris Saint-Germain top the French Ligue 1.

Continuing their unbeaten run in La Liga, Barcelona beat Villarreal 5-1 away and won all six of their games.

Bayern Munich hammered Werder Bremen 5-0 away and won four out of four in the 2024-25 season.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

• Germany's private sector economy contracted further in September, marking the steepest decline in seven months, according to a report by data provider S&P Global.

The country’s business activity saw a sharp reduction in manufacturing output along with a near-halt in the growth of the service sector. Employment also dropped at an accelerating pace as business expectations turned pessimistic for the first time in 2024.

The report noted a softening of inflationary pressures, with price increases easing in services and more prevalent discounting in the manufacturing sector.

Germany’s manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) fell to 47.2 in September from 48.4 in August, reflecting the steepest contraction in 12 months, the report showed. A PMI below 50 indicates a contraction in activity.

• Eurozone business activity saw a renewed decline in September, data provider S&P Global said.

The fall in output was the first in the last seven months and came amid a sustained reduction in new orders, it noted.

New business fell at the sharpest pace since January, it said.

"With new orders and volumes of outstanding business falling at sharper rates and business confidence at a 10-month low, companies scaled back their workforce numbers for the second month running," it said.