Diary

ISTANBUL (AA) - Here are the main topics Anadolu's English Desk plans to cover on Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024 (coverage may change depending on developing/breaking stories):

PALESTINE

Gaza City – The humanitarian and military developments in the Gaza Strip amid Israel’s ongoing offensive, which has killed 26,751 people and injured 65,636 others since Oct. 7, amid accusations that Tel Aviv is using starvation as a means of war to drive people out of the enclave. This comes as several Western countries suspended funding to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) due to Israeli accusations against the agency.

Ramallah – Israel continues its daily military raids into Palestinian towns in the occupied West Bank, which have left at least 380 people dead and 4,200 others injured, while 6,370 have been detained since Oct. 7 amid rising tensions due to Israel’s ongoing onslaught on the Gaza Strip. On Tuesday, Israeli soldiers disguised as doctors, nurses, and civilians raided a hospital in Jenin city and killed three Palestinians, including two brothers.

ISRAEL

Tel Aviv – Ongoing talks for a cease-fire and hostage swap deal between Israel and Hamas amid a proposed deal for the release of 35 Israeli hostages in return for a 6-week cease-fire in Gaza and the release of thousands of Palestinian detainees, according to Israeli media. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to visit Israel this week to push for a cease-fire deal with Hamas despite Israeli public statements rejecting the release of Palestinian detainees and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip.

LEBANON

Beirut – Escalating tensions between Lebanese group Hezbollah and Israel amid an exchange of cross-border fire with Tel Aviv vowing that its army will “very soon go into action” near the border with Lebanon. The ongoing clashes are the deadliest between the two sides since Hezbollah and Israel fought an all-out war in 2006.

YEMEN

Sanaa – Rising tensions in the Red Sea due to Houthi attacks on commercial ships suspected of having links with Israel and US retaliatory airstrikes against Houthi targets inside Yemen. Houthis say their attacks aim to pressure Israel to halt its deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip and allow humanitarian aid into the Palestinian enclave.

UAE

Dubai - Turkish Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmus to meet with Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, Prime Minister and Vice-President of the UAE and ruler of Dubai.

UK

London – Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to respond to questions from lawmakers in the House of Commons.

London - Home Secretary James Cleverly to brief Home Affairs Committee on his department's priorities. Cleverly is expected to face questions on illegal migration, asylum and the Rwanda scheme, along with Home Office culture, violence against women and girls and policing, crime and counter-terrorism.

London/Belfast – The UK government is to publish the details of the deal reached with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) to form a new executive in Northern Ireland.

GERMANY

Berlin- German chief of defense Gen. Carsten Breuer to deliver a speech at “Security and Defense 2024” conference, organized by the business daily Handelsblatt.

BELGIUM

Brussels - EU defense ministers to conclude a two-day informal ministerial meeting.

ROMANIA

Bucharest - Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to meet with his Romanian counterpart Luminita Odobescu, and also President of the Senate Nicolae Ciuca to discuss bilateral relations, and regional issues. Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu is also expected to receive Fidan for talks.

US

Washington - Secretary of State Antony Blinken to meet with UN Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza Sigrid Kaag at the Department of State. Meeting comes as international community evaluates extent of damage across besieged coastal enclave as Israeli war continues to lay waste to wide swathes of Gaza.

Washington - Tech CEOs, including leaders of Meta, X, TikTok and Snap, to testify before Senate Judiciary Committee on child sexual exploitation. Senators on both sides of aisle expected to grill executives on steps their firms have taken to combat exploitation.

Washington - US Federal Reserve to meet to decide whether to raise, lower or keep steady interest rates amid continued battle with inflation. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in December that rates would be cut in 2024.

Washington - NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg to deliver address at the Heritage Foundation conservative think tank. Remarks expected to address need to provide Ukraine with additional military assistance amid strong Republican opposition.

Washington - Street interviews with young Americans aged 18-29 to further gauge views on whether Israel is conducting genocide in Gaza. Interviews will be fourth in a series being conducted by Anadolu.

New York - UN Security Council to convene session to discuss last week's ruling by the International Court of Justice to impose provisional measures on Israel as genocide charges brought by South Africa continue to play out in international court.

GEORGIA

Tbilisi — The Georgian Dream party will hold a congress during which the country's cabinet is expected to be re-shuffled.

RUSSIA

Moscow — Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova will hold a news conference on current issues of foreign affairs.

MALAYSIA

Kuala Lumpur - Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar assumed role of Malaysia's new king, locally called Agong, for a term of five years. He was elected by the Southeast Asian nation's monarchy last October and succeeds Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah.

CHINA

Beijing - Foreign Ministry to hold regular news conference.

NORTH KOREA

Pyongyang – North Korea releases details of its missile launches conducted on Tuesday. Since over the weekend, Pyongyang has said it test-fired several cruise missiles launched from submarine. The tit for tat launch of weaponry and military drills have continued tensions over the Korean Peninsula.

PAKISTAN

Islamabad - Former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi on Wednesday were sentenced to 14 years in jail over state gifts case. On Tuesday Khan, and the South Asian nation’s former top diplomat Shah Mahmood Qureshi were sentenced in State Secrets case and are expected to appeal against 10-year jail term given to them. Both the jail sentences were pronounced by a special court inside jail, almost a week ahead of general elections.

SOUTH AFRICA

Pretoria - Foreign Affairs Minister Naledi Pandor will host a media briefing in capital Pretoria to discuss various issues including the ongoing Israeli offensive on Gaza in the wake of the recent ICJ ruling.

SPORTS

Kaunas - Lithuania's Zalgiris to host Turkish club Anadolu Efes in Round 24 of Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.

BUSINESS ECONOMY

Ankara – Turkish Statistical Institute to reveal foreign trade figures and tourism statistics for 2023.

Ankara – Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry to share number of tourist figures for 2023.

Berlin – Germany’s Destatis to share unemployment and inflation figures for January.

SPECIAL REPORTS

Evidence given to ICC enough to prove Israel’s genocide in Gaza, says member of legal team

By Hafsa Alami

Paris – Interview with Abdelmajid Mrari, a Palestinian lawyer and senior member of the Brussels-based Alliance for Freedom and Dignity, about actions being taken against Israel at the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Mrari shares details of the evidence presented to the ICC by a group of human rights organizations and more than 600 lawyers, saying it includes enough material to prove that the crime of genocide is being committed in Gaza.

He also shares his assessment on the interim ruling given last week by the International Court of Justice in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel, terming it a “historic” moment and explaining why it is particularly damning for the Israeli side.

Four years on, what has Brexit done for the UK?

London – Report on the fourth anniversary of Brexit, the UK’s withdrawal from the EU in 2020.

The story presents an overview of the decision’s impact and includes a spectrum of perspectives from experts and citizens, ranging from cautious optimism to deep-seated concern.

Experts interviewed for the story include Julian Jessop, former head of the Brexit Unit at the Institute of Economic Affairs, and Alexander Turk, professor of law at King’s College London.

AI in political campaigns: Boon or barrier?

By Necva Tastan

Istanbul – Interview with Bruce Schneier, an internationally renowned security technologist and lecturer at Harvard Kennedy School, focusing on the potential role of artificial intelligence in political campaigns.

Schneier speaks about the ways in which AI is being utilized in politics and political activities worldwide, while laying out the possible positive and negative impacts of the technology in this particular field.

He also delves into the need for stronger regulation and control of evolving AI technologies.

NEW MEDIA

VIDEO – Interview with Abdelmajid Mrari, a Palestinian lawyer and senior member of the Brussels-based Alliance for Freedom and Dignity, about legal action being taken against Israel at the International Criminal Court, along with his assessment of the interim ruling given by the International Court of Justice in South Africa’s genocide case.

VIDEO – Report on the fourth anniversary of Brexit focusing on its impact and the present-day situation, including interviews with citizens and experts such as Julian Jessop, former head of the Brexit Unit at the Institute of Economic Affairs, and Alexander Turk, professor of law at King’s College London.