Diary

ISTANBUL (AA) - Here are the main topics Anadolu's English Desk plans to cover on Thursday, January 11, 2024 (coverage may change depending on developing/ breaking stories):

MIDDLE EAST

PALESTINE

Gaza Strip - Israel continues its deadly offensive on Gaza Strip, which has killed at least 23,357 Palestinians and injured 59,410 others since Oct. 7 as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken continues regional tour seeking to rally Arab support for post-Hamas, postwar era in Gaza amid opposition from major Arab countries to plan, such as Egypt and Jordan.

Ramallah - Israeli army continues almost daily military raids into Palestinian towns in occupied West Bank, with at least 341 Palestinians killed, 3,800 others injured, and 5,780 others detained since Oct. 7 amid deadly Israeli military offensive on Gaza Strip.

EGYPT

Cairo - Reports emerge of Egypt resuming mediation efforts to reach prisoner swap deal between Hamas and Israel following Israeli delegation’s visit to Cairo on Monday. Egypt suspended its mediation efforts following last week’s assassination of Hamas deputy chief Saleh Arouri in Israeli airstrike in Lebanon as calls grow inside Israel for reaching deal with Hamas to secure release of nearly 136 hostages. November swap deal saw release of 84 Israelis and 24 foreigners by Hamas in exchange for 240 Palestinians from Israeli jails, including 71 women and 169 children.

LEBANON

Beirut - Tensions continue to escalate along Lebanon’s border with Israel amid exchanges of weapons fire between Hezbollah and Israeli forces in wake of last week’s death of Hamas deputy chief Saleh Arouri in Israeli airstrike. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken set to visit Beirut for talks with Lebanese officials to discuss ways to prevent expansion of current Gaza conflict in region. At least 200 people have been killed in Lebanon, including 29 civilians, since outbreak of border clashes in October.

EUROPE

THE NETHERLANDS

The Hague - International Court of Justice (ICJ) to begin hearings on genocide case against Israel. South Africa’s government filed case with ICJ stressing that by committing atrocities against Palestinian people, Israel is violating 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

GREECE

Athens - Left-wing student groups set to take to streets to protest conservative government’s education reforms that will enable opening of private universities.

EURASIA

ESTONIA

Tallinn - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to hold talks with his Estonian counterpart and the country's prime minister, as well as address its parliament amid unannounced visit to Baltic region.

LATVIA

Riga - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to hold meeting with Latvian counterpart amid unannounced visit to Baltic region which began on Wednesday.

RUSSIA

Khabarovsk - President Vladimir Putin expected to meet with businesses in Russian Far East and inspect plans for development of local cities.

US

WASHINGTON - Monitoring statements from Biden administration on Gaza conflict and potential protests in solidarity with Palestinians.

WASHINGTON - President Joe Biden's son Hunter to be arraigned after being charged with three felony tax offenses and six misdemeanor tax offenses.

ASIA – PACIFIC

BANGLADESH

Dhaka - Ruling Awami League party leader Sheikh Hasina set to take oath as prime minister of Bangladesh for fifth time. Her party won weekend elections in landslide amid complete boycott by opposition parties. Besides Hasina, her Cabinet will also take oath after newly elected 298 lawmakers were sworn in on Wednesday.

CHINA

Beijing - Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo to pay 2-day official visit to China at invitation of Chinese Premier Li Qiang.

Beijing - Foreign Ministry to hold regular news conference.

KOREAN PENINSULA

Seoul / Pyongyang - Tensions on Korean Peninsula have grown to threat of war as Pyongyang reiterated for second time its threat to “annihilate” South while Seoul was readying to resume military drills in waters between two Koreas.

JAPAN

Ishikawa - Japan continues operations to find survivors as around 52 people still remain missing more than a week since massive earthquakes hit the country on New Year’s Day. Around 206 people have been declared dead amid bad weather hindering rescue efforts. Economists fear GDP of world’s third-largest economy could be dealt heavy blow if factories remain closed for longer term in earthquake-hit regions.

TÜRKİYE

Ankara – National Defense Ministry to hold background briefing on Türkiye’s defense issues, including fight against terrorism.

TURKISH REPUBLIC OF NORTHERN CYPRUS

Lefkosa - Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz to hold a press conference at Ercan Airport, attend opening of Dr. Suat Gunsel Mosque, meet with Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus President Ersin Tatar, and visit villages of Guvercinlik and Vadili.

THE ECONOMY

Paris - OECD to release inflation figures for November. In October, annual consumer inflation in OECD area eased to a two-year low. Consumer prices rose 5.6% year-on-year in October, the slowest pace since October 2021.

Washington – US to release inflation figures for December.

SPECIAL REPORTS

Israel in ICJ dock: Legal eye says crimes of genocide in Gaza ‘more than obvious’

By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal

The Hague - Curtain-raiser for start of hearing of South Africa’s case at International Court of Justice (ICJ) accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza.

Report has information on South Africa’s application, including main arguments in filing and what it is seeking from court.

Includes interview with Dimitris Kaltsonis, professor of state theory and law at Panteion University in Athens, who says main function of case will be to bring international public pressure to bear on countries supporting Israel’s military campaign.

INTERVIEW - ‘Far worse than apartheid’: Ex-Zionist, pro-Israel campaigner decries brutality against Palestinians

By Hassan Isilow

Johannesburg - Interview with Pamela Ngubane, former Christian Zionist and spokeswoman of the South African Friends of Israel, who recently turned into pro-Palestine advocate.

Ngubane speaks about reasons for shift in her stance, including political, ideological and religious considerations, telling how she realized her job was essentially “a lot of deception on behalf of Zionists.”

She strongly condemns Israel’s historic oppression of Palestinians and its deadly ongoing campaign in Gaza Strip.

She also goes into detail about how actions of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his “very right-wing, racist” government are alienating people like her.

AI-generated content becoming greater risk to democratic processes, experts warn

By Nuran Erkul

London - Report on growing fears of how content generated by artificial intelligence and related technologies poses graver threat to democratic processes, particularly with upcoming elections in a number of major economies around world.

Report includes interviews with Carolina Klint, chief commercial officer for Europe at risk and strategy company Marsh McLennan, and John Scott, head of sustainability risk at Zurich Insurance Group.

They speak about issue of misuse of AI technologies and threat of misinformation and disinformation, while explaining potential impacts on democratic activities and stressing need for legislative action to tackle these technology-related risks.

NEW MEDIA

VIDEOS - On-ground reports from correspondents at the International Court of Justice covering South Africa’s genocide case against Israel, including updates on hearing and related developments in The Hague.