Diary

ISTANBUL (AA) – Here are the main topics Anadolu's English Desk plans to cover on Thursday, February 15, 2024 (coverage may change depending on developing/ breaking stories):

PALESTINE

Gaza City – Developments of the humanitarian and military situations in the Gaza Strip amid Israeli preparations to expand its ground offensive into Rafah city, home to 1.4 million Palestinian residents seeking refuge from war amid warnings of humanitarian catastrophe in the city from the planned Israeli onslaught.

The Israeli offensive on the enclave has killed more than 28,576, injured 68,291 others, and caused mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The evolving threat of famine on the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. The hunger endangers the people's lives due to the shortage of humanitarian aid and Israeli restrictions on its entry, amid warnings from the government media office that residents of the northern governorates are now even unable to find fodder to eat.

Ramallah - The daily military incursions by the Israeli army into the cities and towns of the occupied West Bank, which killed nearly 394 Palestinians and injured over 4,400 others since Oct. 7. The number of arrests has risen to 7,020, reaching record highs over approximately 4 months, exceeding those recorded on an annual basis in previous years.

LEBANON

Beirut – The developments of the significant escalation on the Lebanese-Israeli border since the beginning of the war on Gaza, after a barrage of missiles launched from southern Lebanon at an Israeli military base in Safed, northern Israel, resulting in the death of an Israeli soldier and the injury of seven others. In response, Israel extensively targeted several facilities belonging to the al-Ridwan forces affiliated with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, leading to the death of four Lebanese individuals.

EGYPT

Cairo – International and regional reactions over the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit to Cairo.

YEMEN

Sanaa – The 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.

US

Washington - Desk to monitor statements from the Biden administration regarding the ongoing conflict in Gaza as Israel mulls operation in Rafah and potential protests in solidarity with Palestine.

Washington - President Joe Biden's National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan is due to attend a briefing for the House members of the Gang of Eight - the Chair and Ranking Member of the House Intelligence Committee and House Speaker and Minority Leader - on a national security threat.

New York - UN Security Council to receive briefing followed by consultations on UN Support Mission in Libya and Libya sanctions. In the afternoon, members will meet for an annual briefing on threats to international peace and security posed by terrorist acts of Daesh/ISIS.

New York - Hearing expected in the case against former President Donald Trump, who faces a 34-count indictment about his alleged involvement in paying hush money to adult movie star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign.

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BELGIUM

Brussels – NATO defense ministers to meet to discuss major operational issues.

UK

London – A media briefing to be held by jailed WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange’s wife Stella Assange, WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Kristinn Hrafnsson, and WikiLeaks legal counsel Jennifer Robinson. The briefing comes a week before a High Court hearing on Feb 20-21. The two-day hearing may be the final chance for Julian Assange to prevent his extradition to the US. If extradited, Assange faces a sentence of 175 years for exposing war crimes committed by the US in the Afghan and Iraq wars.

ALBANIA

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

POLAND

Warsaw - UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron to visit Poland, where he will meet with Foreign Affairs Minister Radosław Sikorski.

GREECE

Athens - Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis will meet his Palestinian counterpart, Riyad al-Maliki.

Athens - The Conference on the Reconstruction of Ukraine, in cooperation with European Investment Bank, will be held in Athens.

KAZAKHSTAN

Cosmodrome Baikonur - The launch of the Soyuz-2.1a rocket with the Progress MS-26 cargo ship to the International Space Station.

RUSSIA

Moscow - Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will take part in the presentation of the documentary collection, Crimea in the development of Russia: history, politics, diplomacy.

TÜRKİYE

Ankara – Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and his Hungarian counterpart Peter Szijjarto to attend the first meeting of the Türkiye-Hungary Joint Economic and Trade Committee, co-chaired by Turkish Trade Minister Omer Bolat. Fidan and Szijjarto will discuss bilateral relations, Türkiye-EU relations, and current regional developments. The ministers are expected to hold news conference.

Ankara – Fidan will meet his Georgian counterpart Ilia Darchiashvili to discuss bilateral ties, as well as current regional and international developments.

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

Istanbul – Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz to attend the Türkiye-Saudi Arabia Investment and Business Forum.

INDONESIA

Jakarta - Incumbent Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto appears to secure a clear win after millions of Indonesians voted in the world’s biggest one-day elections. Early unofficial results showed Prabowo, whose running mate is President Joko Widodo’s son, in the lead with over 57% of the vote.

THE ECONOMY

Ankara – Turkish Treasury and Finance Ministry to reveal central government’s budget balance table for January. In 2023, the government’s budget posted a decline of $59 billion.

Tokyo – Japan to reveal provisional GDP figures for the last quarter of 2023. Country’s economy has narrowed by 2.9% in the third quarter last year. Markets expect slight increase in the last quarter.

London – UK to reveal provisional GDP figures for the last quarter of 2024. Country’s economy saw under-estimate growth figure in the third quarter - 0.3% - and expected similar rate in the last quarter. UK’s statistical authority to also release international trade figures for December.

Ankara – Turkish Central Bank to release international reserve figures for January. Reserves totaled $140.9 billion in December 2023, up 3.1% on a monthly basis. Reserves amounted to $125.3 billion at the beginning of 2023 and saw a $97-billion level in May but the new government, after May, increased reserves rapidly.

Paris – OECD to reveal unemployment figures for December. Jobless rate in OECD area last November stood at its record low of 4.8% for ninth consecutive month.

Washington – US to reveal jobless claims figures.

SPORTS

Istanbul / Rotterdam / Amsterdam - UEFA Europa League, Conference League playoff first-leg matches to kick off.

Galatasaray to face Sparta Praha while Feyenoord to take on Roma in UEFA Europa League playoff first leg.

Ajax to play against Bodo/Glimt in first-leg of UEFA Conference League.

SPECIAL REPORTS

Rocky ride ahead for Pakistan’s new government

By Aamir Latif

Karachi, Pakistan – Report about the potential challenges that lay ahead for Pakistan’s new government, ranging from a serious economic crunch to the threat of political instability and a worsening security situation.

It gives details of the main issues afflicting the South Asian nuclear power, where general elections were held on Feb. 8 and have led to a hung parliament, with political parties working to stitch together a coalition government.

The story includes comments from economist Shahid Hasan Siddiqui, political analyst Khaqan Najeeb, security analyst Talat Masood, and Maleeha Lodhi, who was Pakistan’s former ambassador to the US and its permanent representative to the UN.

Does end of peace deal with rebels shatter Mali’s hopes for peace?

By James Tasamba

Kigali, Rwanda – Report about the threat of growing insecurity in Mali after the military government announced in late January that it has ended with immediate effect a peace deal with separatist rebels that was brokered by the UN in 2015.

The report explains the key parts of the agreement and the reasons that potentially pushed the government to revoke the deal.

It also lays out possible implications for the security situation in the country and the wider region, supplemented with comments from Rwandan analyst Ladislas Ngendahimana and Freddie David Egesa, a security analyst based in Uganda.

Can astronomy help tackle the climate crisis?

By Zehra Nur Duz

Ankara – Report on the role of astronomy in addressing global environmental crises.

The story explains how astronomers can contribute to the development and implementation of policies to counter the global climate crisis, and help formulate plans to mitigate the ever-growing disruptions to ecosystems.

It includes an interview with Raphaelle Haywood, a senior lecturer in physics and astronomy at the University of Exeter in the UK, about her work in the field and her assessment of future solutions.

NEW MEDIA

VIDEO – Interview with Raphaelle Haywood, a senior physics and astronomy lecturer at the University of Exeter, about the potential role of astronomy in addressing global environmental crises, where she speaks about her work in the field and shares her assessment of future solutions.