Diary

ISTANBUL (AA) – Here are the main topics Anadolu's English Desk plans to cover on Friday, Feb. 16, 2024 (coverage may change depending on developing/ breaking stories):

PALESTINE

Gaza City – The humanitarian and military situations in the Gaza Strip due the Israeli onslaught in its 134th day which resulted in killing more than 28,663, injured 68,395 others and caused mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The evolving threat of famine on the Palestinians in Gaza Strip. The famine 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.

The wave of reverse displacement from Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip to the central governorates amid Israeli preparations to expand its ground offensive into Rafah city, home to 1.4 million Palestinian residents seeking refuge from war after warnings of humanitarian catastrophe in the city from the planned Israeli onslaught.

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 7,040, 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.

ISRAEL

Tel Aviv – Israeli evening rallies demanding release of Israeli captives held in Gaza and the resignation of Netanyahu’s government in the main streets and squares.

YEMEN

Sanaa – The growing tension in the Red Sea due to Houthi attacks on commercial ships suspected of having links with Israel and US-UK retaliatory airstrikes against Houthi targets inside Yemen.

GERMANY

Berlin - President Frank-Walter Steinmeier to host his Israeli counterpart Isaac Herzog at Bellevue Palace. Leaders are expected to discuss the situation in Gaza, diplomatic efforts to free captives held by Hamas, and improve humanitarian assistance for Palestinian civilians.

Berlin - Chancellor Olaf Scholz to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss security issues, boosting military support and ammunition deliveries to Ukraine. Zelenskyy has been warning allies for weeks that Ukrainian army is running short of artillery ammunition.

Munich - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to open 60th Munich Security Conference, an annual meeting of global leaders on international security issues. Wars in Gaza and Ukraine will top the agenda of the three-day conference, where Israel’s President Isaac Herzog, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh, US Vice President Kamala Harris, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will deliver speeches.

Munich - NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen are due to deliver press statements alongside Minister-President of Bavaria Markus Soder at 11:20 a.m. CET (1020GMT) on Friday.

Munich - UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron to join a ministerial meeting with EU and Arab foreign ministers on the margins of the Munich Security Conference. Cameron said he hoped participants would be joined by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the meeting.

FRANCE

Paris - President Emmanuel Macron to host his counterpart from Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, for talks in Paris.

RUSSIA

Moscow - Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, deputy head of Russia's Security Council Ddmitry Medvedev will address the plenary session of the Forum of Campaigners against Modern Practices of Neo-Colonialism.

Moscow - Meeting of the Board of Directors of the Bank of Russia to be held on the key rate.

CHINA

Beijing - Foreign Minister Wang to attend Munich Security Conference to elaborate on China’s position on major international issues. Wang is also expected to meet US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, besides European officials, for talks on the sidelines of the conference.

THE ECONOMY

Ankara – Turkish Central Bank to release private sector’s foreign debt figures for December. Private sector debt totaled $163.6 billion, up by $4.8 billion from end-2022, in November.

Ankara – Turkish Statistical Institute to reveal house sales figures for January. Last year, country saw 1.22 million house sales and 138,577 units in December alone.

Berlin – Germany’s Destatis to reveal wholesale prices for January. Wholesale inflation rate in negative side since April stemmed from base effect related to Russia-Ukraine war, which affects food and energy prices severely.

Moscow – Russian Central Bank to release interest rate decision. Bank gradually increased rate from 7.5% to 16% during last five monetary policy meetings but expected to keep rate constant in this meeting.

Washington – The US to reveal producer inflation for January. Rate under the estimates at last three months, at 1% in December, 0.9% in November and 1.3% in October.

Istanbul - Türkiye’s Foreign Economic Relations Board to organize Türkiye-Saudi Arabia Business Forum with ministerial participation from both countries.

SPECIAL REPORTS

All hopes on European Court of Human Rights if UK okays Assange’s US extradition: Wife

By Mehmet Solmaz

London – Interviews with Julian Assange’s wife Stella and Kristinn Hrafnsson, the current editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks, about the ongoing legal fight to prevent his extradition to the US.

Stella speaks about Assange’s plan if the UK approves the extradition at next week’s hearing, reiterating that all hopes will be on an injunction from the European Court of Human Rights that Britain “has to respect.”

Hrafnsson shares his views on Assange’s legal prospects, emphasizing that there is precedent for the European court to intervene in cases in the UK, such as the plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda.

He, however, expresses apprehensions that the UK will expedite the extradition to avoid that legal hurdle.

Shrinking support: How Israel’s allies have changed their tune on Gaza war

By Rabia Ali

Istanbul – Report charting how Israel’s Western allies have been changing their stance of unconditional support as the deadly war on Gaza drags on toward a fifth month.

The story presents a comparative look at statements from Western governments since Oct. 7, detailing how their comments regarding Gaza and Israel’s actions have seen a marked change in tune, moving toward the position maintained by countries such as Türkiye and some other Arab Muslim nations.

It focuses particularly on countries such as the US, UK, France, Canada, Germany, and Australia, and their altered narrative over the past few weeks as global concern spikes over Israel’s plan to launch a ground operation in Rafah, the southern Gaza region sheltering some 1.4 million displaced Palestinians.

Who is Prabowo Subianto, the ex-general claiming victory in Indonesia’s presidential elections?​​​​​​​

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

Istanbul – Report about Prabowo Subianto, Indonesia’s incumbent defense minister, who claims to have won the race to be the country’s next president after the Feb. 14 elections.

The story presents a profile of Subianto’s personal and political life, which saw him evolve from a general to a strongman politician expected to succeed outgoing President Joko Widodo, to whom he lost two previous presidential races.

It includes comments from Effendi Gazali from Jakarta’s Institute for Media and Political Literacy and Ubedilah Badrun, sociopolitical analyst from Jakarta State University.

NEW MEDIA

VIDEO – Interviews with Julian Assange’s wife Stella and Kristinn Hrafnsson, the editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks, about the ongoing legal fight to prevent his transfer to the US from the UK, where they speak about the critical role of the European Court of Human Rights if Britain approves the extradition.

INFOGRAPHIC – Visual illustration of how Western nations have been changing their stance of unconditional support for Israel and its deadly war on Gaza, presenting a comparative look and timeline of statements from leaders and governments since Oct. 7 last year.