Morning Briefing: Sept. 16, 2025

ISTANBUL

Here is a rundown of all the news you need to start your Tuesday, including the Arab-Islamic Summit in Qatar warning Israel of consequences, Luxembourg pledging to recognize a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly, and US President Donald Trump saying that Israel will not carry out further strikes in Qatar.

TOP STORIES​​​​​​​

• Arab-Islamic Summit in Qatar warns Israel of consequences for its attacks

Leaders at an emergency Arab-Islamic Summit in Doha warned that Israel’s attacks on Qatar had dangerous consequences for the region, urging collective action to counter Israeli attempts to impose a new reality on the Middle East.

The final statement published by Qatar’s official news agency QNA condemned the strikes on Doha and expressed full solidarity with Qatar. The summit said Israeli aggression “undermines any chances of achieving peace in the region.”

The statement stressed the need to “stand against Israel’s plans to impose a new reality in the region,” warning that such efforts pose a “direct threat to regional and international security.”

• Luxembourg to recognize Palestinian state at UN General Assembly

Luxembourg intends to recognize Palestine as a state later this month at the UN General Assembly in New York, local media reported.

Prime Minister Luc Frieden and Foreign Minister Xavier Bettel made the announcement before a parliamentary commission, according to the reports.

Last Friday, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution endorsing the “New York Declaration,” which seeks to recognize a Palestinian state and advance a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

• Trump says Israel 'won't be hitting' Qatar again after last week's strikes

US President Donald Trump said Israel will not carry out further strikes in Qatar after it hit Doha repeatedly last week in an operation it says was intended to take out senior Hamas officials.

"Well, he won't be hitting in Qatar," Trump said of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he responded to reporters' questions in the Oval Office.

Qatar, Trump said, has "been a very good ally, and a lot of people don't know that, but he won't be hitting Qatar. He will be maybe going after them."

It is unclear what the president meant, but the comments appear to leave the door open to Netanyahu taking other actions against Hamas figures in the Gulf Arab state.

NEWS IN BRIEF

• Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a meeting with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in Doha, where he attended the Extraordinary Summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Arab League.
• Meeting with his Syrian counterpart, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan highlighted the importance of preserving Syria's unity and solidarity as well as the SDF fulfilling its deal with Damascus made on March 10.
• Pakistan urged the UN to suspend Israel, calling for an Arab-Islamic task force to combat "expansionist designs."
• Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi warned that Israel’s actions risk undermining current peace agreements.
• China lodged a “serious protest” with Washington over what it called “wrongful” remarks by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the disputed South China Sea.
• US Secretary of State Marco Rubio sought to reassure Qatar and Gulf allies following last week’s Israeli attack on Doha, hours before the opening of an Arab-Islamic Summit in the Qatari capital.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country is awaiting decisions by the US on the supply of Patriot systems and funding for the PURL initiative, stressing Kyiv’s readiness for joint arms production with international partners.
• The man accused of fatally shooting conservative activist Charlie Kirk appears to have confessed to friends in a private online chat shortly before surrendering to law enforcement, The Washington Post reported.
• The US has decided to decertify Colombia as an ally in the fight against drug trafficking, Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced.
• More than 21,000 families in Sudan have been affected by floods and heavy rains in 11 states across the country since June, authorities announced.

SPORTS

• Duplantis breaks world pole vault record with 6.30m in Tokyo

Swedish athlete Armand Duplantis set the 14th world pole vault record of his career by clearing 6.30m at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.

Emmanouil Karalis of Greece cleared 6.00m to secure silver, and Australian Kurtis Marschall equaled his personal best of 5.95m to clinch bronze.

The 20th World Athletics Championships in Japan brought together more than 2,200 athletes from 200 countries to compete for medals across nine days of competition.

• Young footballer killed with 14 family members in Israeli strike on Gaza home

The Palestinian Football Association announced that 14-year-old Al-Hilal player Mohammed Ramez Al-Sultan was killed along with 14 members of his family in an Israeli airstrike on their home in the north of Gaza City.

In a statement, the association said the player was killed Friday when Israeli forces struck his family’s house in the Al-Tuwam area.

Al-Hilal Club wrote on the US social media company Facebook’s platform that Al-Sultan was “one of the graduates of the club’s academy accredited by FIFA” and that he was killed alongside his father and relatives, joining teammate Malik Abu Al-Amaren.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

• US Senate confirms Stephen Miran as Fed governor

The US Senate confirmed Stephen Miran to serve on the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors.

Miran, a Harvard-trained economist, chairs the White House Council of Economic Advisers and previously served at the Treasury Department during President Donald Trump’s first term.

He has been a vocal defender of the administration’s trade and tax policies.

• WTO fisheries subsidies deal enters into force, hailed as landmark for sustainability

The World Trade Organization's Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies entered into force, marking the first multilateral trade pact focused on environmental sustainability.

The deal prohibits subsidies that fuel illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing or that target overfished stocks and unregulated high seas.

The agreement commits members to curbing billions of dollars in harmful subsidies that contribute to the depletion of marine resources, according to the WTO.