Morning Briefing: April 26, 2024

ISTANBUL

Here is a rundown of all the news that you need to start your Friday with, including the killing of a Belgian aid worker in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza, Gaza’s death toll, and Türkiye’s new UN representative.

TOP STORIES

• Belgian aid worker killed in Israeli airstrike in Rafah

A Belgian aid worker and his son were killed in an Israeli airstrike overnight in Rafah, the Belgian development agency Enabel said Thursday.

"It is with deep sorrow and horror that we learn of the death of our colleague Abdallah Nabhan (33) and his 7-year-old son Jamal last night after an Israeli airstrike in the eastern part of the city of Rafah," the agency said on X.

According to a statement released by the agency, Nabhan’s wife is in critical condition in hospital and the couple's two other children -- aged 5 and 7 months -- sustained minor injuries.

• Gaza’s death toll surpasses 34,300 with no let-up in Israeli onslaught

Gaza’s death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks has surged to 34,305 since last October, the Health Ministry in the besieged enclave said Thursday.

A ministry statement said that 77,293 other people have been injured in the Israeli onslaught.

“At least 43 people were killed and 64 others injured in Israeli attacks in the last 24 hours,” the ministry said.

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

• Türkiye’s new UN representative presents his credentials to secretary general

Türkiye's new representative to the UN presented his letter of credentials Thursday to the UN chief.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres received Ambassador Ahmet Yildiz at his office at UN headquarters in New York.

In a meeting after the presentation of credentials, Yildiz conveyed the greetings of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to Guterres.

He expressed his honor for being appointed Türkiye's Permanent Representative to the UN and for the opportunity to work with the UN chief.

NEWS IN BRIEF

• One more Palestinian journalist was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Thursday, taking the death toll since last October to 141, according to Gaza’s government media office.

• The US has begun to construct a temporary pier off the Gaza coast to deliver humanitarian aid to the besieged enclave, a Pentagon spokesman confirmed Thursday.

• One person was killed and two others were seriously injured in an Israeli strike in the northern Gaza Strip, according to witnesses.

• Two so-called senior members of the Daesh/ISIS terror group were caught in the Operation Peace-Spring zone in northern Syria with the support of the Turkish National Intelligence Organization.

• Head of the Belarusian State Security Committee (KGB) Ivan Tertel on Thursday accused Lithuania of attempting a drone strike on its capital Minsk.

• Palestinian telecoms company Paltel said Thursday that communications and internet services went down in the central and southern Gaza Strip.

• Europe is “mortal,” the French president said Thursday, calling for stronger unity and sovereignty.

• Palestinians have uncovered 392 bodies of people in three mass graves at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, the civil defense agency said Thursday.

• The Chilean Chamber of Deputies' resolution on recognizing the events of 1915 as a “genocide” is “null and void,” Türkiye’s Foreign Ministry said Thursday.

SPORTS

• Danish cyclist Andresen wins stage 5 of Tour of Türkiye

Tobias Lund Andresen of the DSM-Firmenich-PostNL took back-to-back wins at the Tour of Türkiye on Thursday.

The Danish cyclist completed the 177.9-kilometer (110-mile) track in four hours, 18 minutes and 12 seconds in Stage 5 between the Aegean resort towns of Bodrum and Kusadasi.

His teammate Fabio Jakobsen came second, while Luri Leitao from the Caja Rural-Seguros RGA finished third.

• Galatasaray's Uruguayan goalkeeper Muslera retires from int'l football

Galatasaray's Uruguayan goalkeeper Fernando Muslera retired from international football on Thursday.

The Uruguayan national football team confirmed on X that Muslera, 37, will no longer play for La Celeste, announcing his retirement from the national team after 133 games and four FIFA World Cups.

Muslera helped Uruguay win the 2011 Copa America title.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

• US economy expands 1.6% in Q1, lower than expected

The world's largest economy, the US, expanded by 1.6% in the first quarter of 2024, below market expectations of around 2.5%.

According to an advance estimate from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the increase in the first quarter primarily stemmed from increases in consumer spending and housing investment that were partly offset by a decrease in inventory investment.

"Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, increased," the bureau added.

• Türkiye holds interest rate unchanged

The Turkish Central Bank held the policy interest rate constant at 50% on Thursday, in line with market expectations.

The bank stressed that despite an ongoing decline, the underlying trend of monthly inflation was higher than expected.

"While imports of consumption goods and gold contribute to the improvement in the current account balance, other recent indicators imply that domestic demand remains resilient," it added.