Morning Briefing: Aug. 24, 2025

By Fatma Zehra Solmaz

ISTANBUL (AA) - Here’s a rundown of all the news you need to start your Sunday, including Türkiye warning that impunity for war crimes is emboldening Israel amid Gaza’s famine; at least 57 people killed and dozens injured in new Israeli strikes, with two more babies reported to have died of starvation; the UK saying it remains “committed to diplomacy, but time is short” as it threatens sanctions against Iran’s because of its nuclear program; Gaza’s death toll surpassing 62,600 as eight more Palestinians die of starvation; and a letter from Turkish first lady Emine Erdoğan to Melania Trump on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, urging action: “Indeed, it is time.”

TOP STORIES

• Unpunished war crimes encourage Israel’s recklessness, Türkiye says about Gaza famine

The Turkish Foreign Ministry cited a UN-backed report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), that confirmed famine in the Gaza Strip as of Aug. 15 with reasonable evidence, stressing that it highlighted once again “the scale of the humanitarian catastrophe caused by the genocidal policies implemented by the (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu government against the Palestinian people in Gaza.”

• At least 57 killed, dozens injured in new Israeli strikes, as 2 more babies die of starvation in Gaza

The Israeli army has killed at least 57 people in attacks across the Gaza Strip, with the besieged enclave losing two more babies to starvation, according to medics.

Three Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a house in the al-Tuffah neighborhood in eastern Gaza City.

Another Palestinian was killed and several others were injured in an Israeli strike that targeted a tent sheltering displaced people in the Al-Mawasi area west of Khan Younis in southern Gaza.

• 'Committed to diplomacy, but time is short': UK threatens Iran with sanctions for nuclear program

The UK warned that time is running out to reach a diplomatic agreement with Iran on its nuclear program, as talks with European and US partners continue.

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said Britain remained committed to diplomacy but was prepared to pursue sanctions if no progress was made.

In a post on US social media platform X, Lammy said he had spoken by phone with Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi and European partners to “reiterate concerns about Iran’s nuclear program.”

• Gaza death toll tops 62,600 as 8 more Palestinians die of starvation

At least 62,622 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip since October 2023, the Health Ministry said.

A statement said 61 bodies were brought to hospitals in the last 24 hours, while 308 were injured, taking the number of injuries to 157,673 in the Israeli onslaught.

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

• Letter from Emine Erdogan to Melania Trump on humanitarian crisis in Gaza: 'Indeed, it is time'

Turkish first lady Emine Erdogan sent a letter to US first lady Melania Trump, urging her to extend the compassion she showed for the war in Ukraine to the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.

“I hope you will nurture the same hope for Gaza’s children, who long for peace and serenity,” Erdogan wrote, and suggested that a call from the US first lady to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would help end the suffering in Gaza.

NEWS IN BRIEF

• Israeli army says missile launched from Yemen toward central Israel
• Never witnessed Trump in ‘any inappropriate setting,’ Ghislaine Maxwell says in newly released Justice Department interview
• Pro-Palestine supporters protest outside Israeli Embassy in London to draw attention to Gaza famine
• Switzerland urges immediate humanitarian aid as famine hits Gaza
• Trump announces 'major tariff investigation’ on imported furniture
• Military court seeks death penalty against former DR Congo President Joseph Kabila
• US supply plant explosion forces evacuation of elementary school
• Rwanda denies Human Rights Watch report on massacres in eastern DR Congo
• Dutch police secretly use controversial AI software by American company Palantir: Report
• Kilmar Abrego Garcia released from US criminal custody 5 months after being mistakenly deported
• UN warns Rohingya situation worsening after 8 years
• Arab states accuse Israel of genocide after UN confirms Gaza famine
• South Korean president visits Japan for summit with premier
• North Korea says South opened fire on its soldiers
• South Korea seizes Japanese steel firms' shares in forced labor dispute
• Pakistani foreign minister makes 1st Bangladesh visit in 13 years
• Netanyahu ties government survival to reoccupation of Gaza: Report
• 6.0 magnitude earthquake strikes El Salvador
• 46 deaths from malnutrition reported in Sudan’s South Kordofan state
• Dutch MPs fail to agree on measures against Israel following NSC party ministers' departure
• Death toll at 4 from fires in Portugal
• India says no one forced to buy refined Russian oil as US names envoy to New Delhi
• Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung met in Tokyo, vow to expand ties.
• Maduro calls US warship deployment ‘illegal’ bid to topple Venezuelan government
• Israeli strikes kill 28 more Palestinians across Gaza Strip
• It is time for Israel to stop denying Gaza famine: UNRWA chief
• Pakistan dispatches 19th relief consignment for Gaza
• Floods sweep Yemen, leaving 8 dead over past 2 days
• Palestinian journalist Khaled al-Madhoun killed by Israeli fire while covering aid seekers in Gaza
• US warns of Daesh/ISIS, al-Qaeda expansion, commends partners in Iraq, Syria, Somalia
• Anti-migrant, anti-racism demonstrators clash outside asylum seeker hotel in UK

ECONOMY & BUSINESS

• Trump says US paid nothing to own, control ‘10% of INTEL’

President Donald Trump confirmed that the US “now fully owns and controls 10% of INTEL” for nothing, after announcing the company agreed to give up that portion of the stake.

Trump said at a news conference in the White House that Intel's CEO Lip-Bu Tan agreed to give the stake to the US.

He later wrote on the Truth social media platform that the US paid nothing for the shares, now valued at approximately $11 billion.

• Turkish central bank terminates foreign-exchange-protected deposits

The Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (CBRT) terminated the opening and renewal of foreign-exchange-protected deposits (KKM) as of Aug. 23.

"Accounts opened prior to this date will remain valid until their maturity, following which the relevant communiqués will be repealed," according to the bank.

• US state of California signs climate, tech partnership with Denmark

California signed a pact with Denmark that will focus on bolstering commercial and research ties between the US state and the European Union member on climate and technology, according to media reports.

Officials said the partnership will focus on green energy, sustainability, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity.

"California and Denmark are leaders in green energy, in sustainability and innovation," Denmark Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said at a news conference in San Francisco.

• Canada to lift tariffs on US goods under CUSMA trade deal

Canada announced it would eliminate all countertariffs on US products covered by the Canada-US-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) starting next month.

"The Canadian government will now match the United States by removing all of Canada's tariffs on US goods specifically covered under CUSMA," Prime Minister Mark Carney told reporters.