Diary

Here are the main topics Anadolu's English Desk plans to cover on Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023 (coverage may change depending on developing/breaking stories):

GERMANY

BERLIN - Chancellor Olaf Scholz to meet Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen for talks on bilateral relations, regional issues.

RUSSIA

MOSCOW - President Vladimir Putin to hold State Council Presidium meeting in Kremlin on public transport development in Russian Federation.

MOSCOW - Putin and Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin to attend launch of passenger traffic on third line of Moscow Central Diameters (MCD-3) system as part of Year of New Transport Framework exhibition.

MOLDOVA

CHISINAU - Consular service of Russian Embassy in Chisinau to resume its operations after hiatus stemming from Moldovan government's demand to reduce number of staff in the country.

US

WASHINGTON - Ex-US President Donald Trump’s attorneys in federal election meddling case face deadline to respond to prosecutors’ request for Jan. 2 trial date. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan could set highly-anticipated date as soon as Thursday.

WASHINGTON - UN Security Council to discuss human rights situation in North Korea in first such session since 2017. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk and UN Special Rapporteur Elizabeth Salmon to brief council.

WASHINGTON - UN Security Council to hold briefing on situation in Ukraine at Russia’s request. Meeting comes as Kyiv’s forces continue to press counteroffensive to retake Ukrainian territories occupied by the Kremlin’s forces.

SPORTS

ISTANBUL/OSIJEK//MARIBOR - In 2nd legs of UEFA Europa Conference League 3rd Qualifying Round, Besiktas to face Azerbaijani club Neftci, Yukatel Adana Demirspor to take on Croatia's Osijek, Fenerbahce to face Slovenia's Maribor.

SPECIAL REPORT

Recent Quran burnings across Europe aims to provoke response: Expert

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - Recent Quran-burning acts in some European countries are taking place with the aim of provoking a response to reinforce their arguments toward Muslims, according to a British expert.

SPECIAL REPORT

Ronaldo to Neymar: Big bucks pull big stars to Saudi league

By Selcuk Bugra Gokalp

Global stars have rushed to Arabian football leagues in the 2023 summer transfer window.

SPECIAL REPORT

Politicking, gifts and rights reversals crater US public trust in Supreme Court

By Darren Lyn

HOUSTON, United States (AA) - US public opinion of America’s highest court continues to plummet from once favorable highs amid controversial decisions that have rolled back long-standing rights, political maneuvering in Congress and revelations that justices have received extravagant gifts from the ultra-wealthy.