Diary

ISTANBUL (AA) – Here are the main topics Anadolu's English Desk plans to cover on Thursday, March 28, 2024 (coverage may change depending on developing/ breaking stories):

PALESTINE

Gaza city - Humanitarian and military developments in the Gaza Strip as Israel continues its unabated offensive despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire in the besieged enclave.

The Israeli onslaught, now in its 174th day, has resulted in the killing of more than 32,500 Palestinians and the injury of over 74,900 others since last October amid a crippling blockade that has left most of the population on the verge of starvation.

Ramallah – Continuous security-related tension in the West Bank amid almost daily Israeli military raids on Palestinian towns in the occupied territory, which have resulted in the death of nearly 453 Palestinians and the injury of around 4,750 others since Oct. 7, 2023. The number of arrests has risen to nearly 7,820, reaching a record high over nearly six months.

QATAR

Doha - Indirect talks between Hamas and Israel after Tel Aviv pulled out its negotiating team from the Qatari capital, accusing Hamas of being 'not interested in talks.' Doha, however, says the talks are ongoing between technical teams.

Hamas on Wednesday ruled out releasing any Israeli hostage in its captivity until its demands are fulfilled. The Palestinian movement demands an end to Israel’s deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip and the withdrawal of the Israeli forces from the territory for any hostage-prisoner swap deal with Tel Aviv.

LEBANON

Beirut - Cross-border attacks between Hezbollah and Israel that broke out last October, in the deadliest clashes between the two sides since their full-scale war in 2006. More than 300 people are estimated to have been killed in Lebanon, including 247 Hezbollah fighters, while nearly 20 Israelis have perished, according to Israeli figures.

YEMEN

Sanaa - Growing tension in the Red Sea amid Houthi attacks on commercial ships suspected of ties to Israel and US retaliatory airstrikes against Houthi targets inside Yemen, as well as fears of significant disruption to maritime traffic in one of the globe's busiest routes for oil and fuel transport.

SWITZERLAND

Geneva - The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and humanitarian partners will launch the 2024 Regional Refugee Response Plan for the South Sudan situation.

Geneva - UN Human Rights Council to continue session, with agenda including independent expert dialogues on the situation of human rights in Mali, along with an oral update by the High Commissioner on the situation of human rights in Ukraine.

UK

London - Department for Energy Security and Net Zero to release provisional statistics on greenhouse gas emissions for 2023.

POLAND

Warsaw - Polish and Ukrainian governments to hold talks on their dispute over cheap Ukrainian grain imports.

RUSSIA

Moscow - Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin to meet with representatives of the United Russia and New People political parties.

US

Washington - President Joe Biden to travel to New York to attend campaign reception alongside predecessors Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.

Washington - Biden administration may comment on Israeli attacks in Gaza, developments related to scrapped visit to Washington by Israeli delegation for talks on planned operation on Rafah. Israel has asked Washington to reschedule the scrapped visit.

New York - UN Security Council expected to vote on draft resolution extending mandate of Panel of Experts assisting 1718 Democratic People’s Republic of Korea Sanctions Committee.

CHINA

Beijing - Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to pay two-day visit to China where, besides attending Boao Asian Forum, he is expected to meet President Xi Jinping.

Beijing - Kazakh deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Murat Nurtleu to hold first China-Kazakhstan foreign ministers' strategic dialogue in Beijing.

Beijing - Beninese Foreign Minister Shegun Adjadi Bakari to pay official visit to China.

Hainan - Zhao Leji, chairman of Standing Committee of China's National People’s Congress, delivers keynote speech at Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2024 in Hainan province.

INDIA

New Delhi - Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba to pay two-day official visit to India.

SOUTH KOREA

Seoul - Monitoring state of country's health care as more doctors join walk-off protests against government plan to appoint 2,000 more new doctors per year.

PAKISTAN

Islamabad - Foreign Ministry to hold weekly news conference.

RWANDA

Kigali - Rwanda to host inaugural E3 International Cancer Conference aimed at advancing cancer care, research, education in Africa beyond post-coronavirus era.

SOUTH AFRICA

Johannesburg - Political parties crisscross country promising voters delivery of services, free tertiary education, employment ahead of May 29 general election.

KENYA

Nairobi - WRC Safari Rally to be kick off.

BUSINESS ECONOMY

Ankara - Turkish Statistical Institute to reveal economic confidence index for March.

London - UK to reveal GDP figures for last quarter of 2023. It was at 0.3% in previous quarter but is expected to be at negative side in last quarter with minus 0.2%.

Washington - US to release continued jobless claims data, GDP figures for last quarter of 2023. Continued unemployment claims were at 4.9% in third quarter, expected to be at 3.2% in last quarter.

SPORTS

MUNICH - 14th-place Bayern Munich to host 4th-place Barcelona at BMW Park in Round 32 of Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.

BELGRADE - Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade, at 11th place, to face 5th-place Olympiacos Piraeus at Stark Arena in EuroLeague's Round 32.

Best 6 teams in standings at end of regular season move directly to playoffs. Teams ranked 7th through 10th advance to play-in, knockout phase before playoffs.

SPECIAL REPORTS

Ukraine needs ‘quantitative leap’ in Western support: Ex-US ambassador to NATO

By Semir Sejfovic

Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina – Interview with Kurt Volker, the former US ambassador to NATO and special representative for Ukraine negotiations.

The report focuses on the current situation in the Russia-Ukraine war and the diplomat’s assessments of tensions between European powers such as France and Germany over support for Kyiv.

Volker also speaks about Washington’s position and explains how the Biden administration is pushing to extend more support to Ukraine, laying out possible scenarios for the coming months.

Fresh casualties dampen hopes for revival of Pakistan’s kite-flying festival

By Aamir Latif

Lahore, Pakistan – Report about the persistent issues over the revival of Basant, a traditional kite-flying festival celebrated in Pakistan to welcome the arrival of spring, particularly in the agricultural hub of Punjab.

The story explains why the festival remains a controversial issue and how efforts to restart it have suffered more setbacks with a new wave of deaths caused by stray kite strings.

It includes comments from various relevant stakeholders, including culture analyst Mian Abid and Syed Mubasher Hussain, a government official in the province of Punjab.

NEW MEDIA

VIDEO - Interview with Kurt Volker, the former US ambassador to NATO, about the current situation in the Russia-Ukraine war, tensions between European powers over support for Kyiv, and Washington’s position on the matter.