Diary

ISTANBUL (AA) – Here are the main topics Anadolu's English Desk plans to cover on Wednesday, February 14, 2024 (coverage may change depending on developing/ breaking stories):

US

Washington - Biden administration in the spotlight as Israel mulls operation in Rafah and potential protests in solidarity with Palestine.

Washington - Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to virtually join US-led Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting after having medical procedure for bladder issue.

New York - UN Security Council to hold briefing on situation in Yemen as US and allied nations continue strikes on Houthi rebel sites in retaliation for ongoing attacks on international shipping lanes in and around the Red Sea.

South Carolina - Former US President Donald Trump, Republican front-runner for 2024 presidential nomination, to hold campaign rally in South Carolina. Desk will monitor for key remarks.

EGYPT

Cairo – Representatives of Egypt, the US, Israel and Qatar convene in Cairo for Day 2 of meeting on a cease-fire in Gaza and hostage-prisoner swap between Hamas and Israel. Hamas is believed to be holding nearly 134 Israeli hostages in Gaza. Last week, Israel rejected a Hamas proposal for a 135-day pause in the fighting in return for the release of hostages.

PALESTINE

Gaza City – Israeli's planned ground offense into Rafah city, home to 1.4 million displaced Palestinians, could spell disaster.

Ramallah - Israel's daily military incursions continue into the cities and towns of the occupied West Bank, which killed nearly 190 Palestinians and injured over 4,400 others since Oct. 7.

LEBANON

Beirut – Cross-border tensions continue between Hezbollah and Israeli forces along Lebanon’s border with Israel.

YEMEN

Sanaa – Growing tension 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.

BELGIUM

Brussels - NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to hold a press conference ahead of this week's meeting of NATO defense ministers.

FRANCE

Paris - Verdict to be announced in former French President Nicolas Sarkozy's appeal over his conviction for illegal campaign financing. Appeal took place in November and December last year. On Sept. 30, 2021, Sarkozy was sentenced to a year of prison for illegal funding of his election campaign in 2012.

ALBANIA

Tirana - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to visit Tirana.

UK

London - Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to release national statistics on the emissions of major atmospheric pollutants, including air pollution, power stations, traffic, household heating, agriculture and industrial processes.

RUSSIA

Moscow — Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will speak and answer deputies’ questions at the Government Hour during a plenary meeting of the State Duma, devoted to topical aspects of Russia’s foreign policy.

Moscow — Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova to hold a weekly news conference on current foreign policy issues.

Moscow — A member of the Bureau of the Supreme Council of the biggest political United Russia Party, Andrey Klimov, will hold a briefing about the founding meeting of the international Forum of supporters of the fight against modern neo-colonialism practices "For the Freedom of Nations!”, which will take part in Moscow on Feb. 15-17.

EGYPT

Cairo - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to meet his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to discuss steps that can be taken to improve bilateral relations and revitalize high-level bilateral cooperation mechanisms. Current global and regional issues, particularly Israel’s attacks on Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territories, will also be on the agenda. The leaders are expected to hold a news conference.

INDONESIA

Jakarta - Millions of people cast their ballot to elect a new president, vice president, parliament among about 20,000 administrative posts across Indonesia. Incumbent Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, former Central Java governor Ganjar Pranowo and former Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan are the three frontrunners to succeed President Joko Widodo, popularly known as “Jokowi.”

PAKISTAN

Islamabad - Former Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to lead coalition government after tightly-contested general elections last week. Independent candidates linked to jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan continue to claim stake in forming government after winning the highest number of seats in the National Assembly.

THE ECONOMY

Luxembourg – EU’s statistical office to reveal eurozone GDP growth for the 4th quarter and industrial production in December. Previously released preliminary flash estimates showed that The GDP in both eurozone and EU posted a 0% quarter-on-quarter growth in Q4, shifting from a 0.1% quarterly contraction in both zones in Q3. In November, industrial output in the euro area fell for the third consecutive month by 0.3% m-o-m, following a 0.7% decline in October.

Ankara - Türkiye's airport authority expected to announce air passenger traffic in Türkiye in January. Last year, some 214.2 million passengers – including transit passengers – traveled through Türkiye’s airports, a hike of 17.6% from the prior year. Türkiye's airports served 2.17 million planes, including overflights, in 2023.

Ankara - TurkStat to release dairy and poultry production figure for 2023.

London – UK to reveal inflation figures for January. Rate exceeded forecast by reaching 4% in December and expected to be at 4.1% in January.

SPORTS

ITALY

Rome - German club Bayern Munich to visit Italy's Lazio in UEFA Champions League Round of 16 first leg. Meanwhile in the same round, Paris Saint-Germain to face Spain's Real Sociedad in French capital.

SPECIAL REPORTS

Israel testing new weapons in Gaza for global sales, laying blueprint for ‘automated murder’ with AI: Expert

By Leila Nezirevic

London – Interview with Antony Loewenstein, an independent journalist and author, about Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza.

Loewenstein is the author of a book, The Palestine Laboratory: How Israel Exports the Technology of Occupation Around the World, and he speaks about how Tel Aviv is using its current assault on Gaza to test out more weapons that it will sell around the world.

He also shares his assessment on Israel’s intelligence failure and its increasingly oppressive policies against the Palestinian population in Gaza and the West Bank.

Music of the Mind: Tate Modern hosts UK’s largest exhibition dedicated to iconic artist Yoko Ono

By Aysu Bicer

London – Report about an upcoming exhibition at the Tate Modern art gallery in London dedicated to iconic artist Yoko Ono.

The story charts Ono’s artistic journey that spans decades and continents, as well as details of the exhibition, which is the UK’s largest ever dedicated to the artist.

It includes an interview with Andrew de Brun, assistant curator at Tate Modern, who explains the vision behind the project and shares his views on Ono’s works and repertoire.

Valentine’s Day spending projections in US top $25 billion for second straight year

By Ovunc Kutlu

Istanbul – Report about the economic side of Valentine’s Day and the projected spending figures for the US, which are expected to shatter all previous records this year.

The story breaks down the various areas of spending and presents figures for each from the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics.

These include new expected spending records for jewelry with $6.4 billion, flowers at $2.6 billion, an evening out with $4.9 billion, and clothing $3 billion.

Interpol integrating AI technologies to boost investigation capabilities

By Muhammed Tarhan

Ankara – Interview with Stephen Kavanagh, who is the UK’s candidate for the post of secretary general of Interpol, about the organizations efforts to integrate artificial intelligence in its operations.

Kavanagh explains how AI is helping Interpol in various ways, including early identification of threats and high crime risk areas, as well as developing models to track and predict criminal behavior.

He also speaks about Türkiye’s cooperation with Interpol, stressing that the country has a strategically and geographically important role, and lauding its recent successful operation against Daesh/ISIS terrorists.

NEW MEDIA​​​​​​​

VIDEO – Report about an upcoming exhibition at the Tate Modern in London dedicated to iconic artist Yoko Ono, with details of the event and an interview with Andrew de Brun, assistant curator at the art gallery, who explains the vision behind the project.​​​​​​​