Diary

Here are the main topics Anadolu's English Desk plans to cover on Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023 (coverage may change depending on developing/breaking stories):

BELGIUM

BRUSSELS - European Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee and Security and Defense Subcommittee to discuss latest developments in Ukraine with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

BRUSSELS - Stoltenberg also to host Kosovo’s President Vjosa Osmani-Sadriu; joint press conference expected.

FRANCE

PARIS - French President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne to attend first meeting of National Council for Refoundation, along with about 50 local and national politicians, experts, activists, and other important actors.

UKRAINE

LUHANSK / ZAPORIZHZHIA - Early elections to conclude in Ukraine's Russian-controlled Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions.

AZERBAIJAN

BAKU - Organization of Turkish States' (OTS) 2nd Meeting of Ministers responsible for Disaster and Emergency Management continues, set to conclude Friday.

UZBEKISTAN

SAMARKAND - International Conference on Food Security continues, set to conclude Friday.

KAZAKHSTAN

ASTANA - Albanian President Bayram Begaj's visit to Kazakhstan continues at the invitation of his Kazakh counterpart Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, set to conclude Friday.

US

WASHINGTON - US President Joe Biden to head to India for G-20 summit. He is expected to meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for bilateral talks ahead of summit.

WASHINGTON - Status conference to take place in case of controversial New York Republican Congressman George Santos, who faces charges of fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds, and false statements. He pleaded not guilty at his May 10 arraignment.

TÜRKİYE

ANKARA - Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and his Algerian counterpart Ahmed Attaf to co-chair second meeting of Joint Planning Group, formed to follow up outcomes of Türkiye-Algeria High Level Cooperation Council held in Türkiye in 2022.

ANKARA - Attaf also expected to be received by Turkish Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmus and to discuss bilateral relations as well as regional and international issues.

INDONESIA

JAKARTA - Annual summit of leaders of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states to conclude. Indonesia, current chair of 10-member bloc representing Southeast Asia, hosted 43rd summit since Monday, with participation by ASEAN partners from outside bloc, including China, US, Canada, Japan, and South Korea. Joint statement expected to be issued at end of summit including such issues as Myanmar, South China Sea, challenges to peace and stability.

THE ECONOMY

BEIJING - China to share foreign trade data for August. Exports have been decreasing for the last three months and are also expected to drop in August. Imports also dropped during the last two months and are forecast to fall in August as well.

BERLIN - Germany’s Destatis to share industrial production data for July. Production was down by 1.8% last month. Germany entered a recession period after its economy contracted in Q4 2022 and Q1 2023. Factory orders also saw recent declines.

LUXEMBOURG - Eurostat to release GDP figures for Q2. Euro area is expected to continue its GDP growth rate period in Q2 by 0.3%, after posting 0.3% rates both in Q1 and Q4 2022.

ANKARA - Turkish Treasury to share cash balance data for August. The country’s budget posted a surplus of 19.3 billion liras in July but a decline in June, 206.3 billion liras.

SPECIAL REPORT

True test lies in changing Africa summit pledges into real outcomes: UN climate chief

By Andrew Wasike

NAIROBI, Kenya (AA) – The inaugural Africa Climate Summit has seen significant pledges and given hope for concrete action, but the real challenge lies in how “that translates into real action on the ground,” UN climate chief Simon Stiell told Anadolu.

SPECIAL REPORT

Japan-Türkiye business ties expanding, says Japanese minister

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) – Businesses from Japan are expanding their operations in Türkiye, a country which offers a significant geographical advantage and other benefits, Japanese Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura told Anadolu.

SPECIAL REPORT

A year after Elizabeth II: A look at King Charles’ reign

By Aysu Bicer

LONDON (AA) – As the UK marks the first anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s passing and the start of King Charles III’s reign, a recent YouGov tracker survey shed light on public sentiment towards the monarch and the royal family.

SPECIAL REPORT

US general warns of imminent Chinese attack on Taiwan

By Jo Harper

KARPACZ, Poland (AA) – Chinese President Xi Jinping could soon decide to copy Russian President Vladimir Putin’s actions in Ukraine with a military attack on Taiwan, according to a retired senior US general.

NEW MEDIA

Video interview with UN climate chief

Interview with Simon Stiell, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, focusing on the outcomes of the Africa Climate Summit. He acknowledges the progress made in terms of pledges, but stresses the need for steps to ensure that they actually lead to real-world outcomes.

Video interview with ex-US National Security Council official

Interview with Robert Spalding, retired US Air Force brigadier general and former National Security Council official, about tensions between China and the island nation of Taiwan. He warns of growing risk of conflict, saying a Chinese attack could take place in the near future.​​​​​​​