Morning Briefing: Sept. 4, 2024

By Rabia Ali

ISTANBUL (AA) - Here is a rundown of all the news that you need to start your Wednesday with, including an Israeli airstrike killing displaced Palestinians; Jordan, Qatar condemning Netanyahu's accusations against Egypt, hindering cease-fire efforts; and Egyptian President Sisi’s visit to Türkiye.

TOP STORIES

• Israeli strike kills displaced Palestinians in Gaza City

At least seven Palestinians were killed Tuesday and several others injured in an Israeli airstrike targeting a college building housing displaced people in Gaza City, a medical source said.

The attack targeted the Namaa College building, where hundreds of displaced Palestinians have taken shelter northwest of Gaza City, the source added.

“There is a threat from the Israeli army to strike the college again,” the Palestinian Civil Defense Agency warned in a statement.

According to witnesses, one of the college buildings was destroyed in the Israeli attack.

• Jordan, Qatar condemn Netanyahu's accusations against Egypt

Jordan and Qatar on Tuesday condemned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s accusations that weapons are being smuggled to the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, through the Egyptian border.

The Jordanian Foreign Ministry expressed its rejection of Netanyahu's statements, indicating they are “baseless allegations aimed at obstructing the mediation efforts undertaken by Egypt, Qatar, and the United States to reach a swap deal leading to a permanent cease-fire in Gaza.”

It confirmed its “full solidarity with Egypt in confronting all Israeli claims.”

• Egyptian President Sisi to visit Türkiye on Wednesday

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi will pay an official visit to Türkiye on Wednesday to co-chair the first meeting of the high-level Strategic Cooperation Council, the Turkish Communications Directorate said in a statement.

Sisi will visit Türkiye at the invitation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

"As part of the visit, President Erdogan and President el-Sisi of Egypt will co-chair the first meeting of the high-level Strategic Cooperation Council, which was restructured in accordance with the joint declaration signed during President Erdogan’s visit to Cairo on Feb. 14, 2024," the communications office said.

NEWS IN BRIEF

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday that 41 people were killed and over 180 injured in a Russian missile attack in the city of Poltava.

• A Hamas official involved in cease-fire negotiations informed Turkish Foreign Ministry officials that US might be genuinely trying to broker a cease-fire due to regional security concerns and upcoming presidential elections.

• The Boko Haram terror group killed at least 127 people in an attack on a village in northwestern Nigeria, rights watchdog Amnesty International said on Tuesday.

• At least 12 people drowned, several were injured, and two more are missing after a boat carrying irregular migrants capsized in the English Channel, the French interior minister said on Tuesday.

• At least 33 more Palestinians were killed in relentless Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, taking the overall death toll since Oct. 7, to 40,819, the Health Ministry in the battered territory said on Tuesday.

• Jordan on Tuesday hailed a British decision to suspend some arms export licenses to Israel, calling for a complete weapons embargo on Tel Aviv.

• US House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul has issued a subpoena to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, demanding that he testify on America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.

• Former US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he would plead not guilty to criminal charges in a revised indictment accusing him of blocking the results of the 2020 presidential election.

• Thousands of demonstrators protested Tuesday in cities across central Israel, including Tel Aviv, to demand a hostage exchange deal with the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, according to the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper.

• The Israeli army warned the government that without reaching an agreement with Hamas, any large-scale military operation in the Gaza Strip would endanger the lives of Israeli hostages, local media reported late Tuesday.

SPORTS

• Fritz beats Zverev to reach 1st Grand Slam semifinal in US Open

Taylor Fritz eliminated Alexander Zverev late Tuesday to reach his first Grand Slam semifinal at the US Open.

Fritz, the No. 12 seed and top-ranked American player, advanced to the final four with sets of 7-6, 3-6, 6-4 and 7-6 at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

The quarterfinal clash lasted three hours and 26 minutes.

• Ugandan Olympian fighting for life after Kenyan 'boyfriend' douses her with petrol

Rebecca Cheptegei, a Ugandan athlete who recently competed in the Paris Olympics, is fighting for her life in a Kenyan hospital after being set on fire by her boyfriend, police said.

Cheptegei, 33, who participated in the 10,000 meter race at the multi-sport event just last month, is receiving treatment for 75% burns at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in the city of Eldoret.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

• Research shows nearly tenfold increase in losses to Bitcoin ATM scams since 2020

New research shows a nearly tenfold increase in losses to Bitcoin ATM scams since 2020, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said Tuesday.

"Since 2020, the amount consumers reported losing has increased nearly tenfold to over $110 million in 2023," it said in a report.

The FTC said that fraud losses to Bitcoin ATMs have topped $65 million in the first six months of this year.

• US court orders $209M payment over Ponzi schemes

A federal court in the US ordered an individual and several companies to pay more than $209 million in monetary sanctions for commodity pool Ponzi schemes, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said Tuesday.

Judge Mary Rowland of the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois requires the defendants to pay $83.7 million in restitution to customers of the so-called income fund; $36.9 million in disgorgement of unlawful gains, offset by any amounts paid in restitution; and a $110.9 million civil monetary penalty.