Diary

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

IRAN/ISRAEL

Tehran/Tel Aviv - Developments of Iran's Saturday airborne attack on Israel, which took place in response to the assassination of Gen. Mohammad Reza Zahedi in an Israeli airstrike on the Syrian capital, Damascus.

According to Israeli army, Iran attacked Israel with 290 missiles and drones, including 100 ballistic missiles. After a suspension that lasted for several hours due to the Iranian overnight attack on Israeli territory, Israel reopened on Sunday its airspace to the movement of civilian aircraft.

World reactions in the wake of the attack.

US

Washington - Statements from Biden administration following Iran's attack on Israel. President Joe Biden will convene G7 leaders to coordinate diplomatic response to Tehran's 'brazen attack'.

New York - UN Security Council to hold emergency meeting over Iran's attack on Israel.

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.

Hezbollah said Sunday it targeted several Israeli sites in the Golan Heights in response to civilian casualties in overnight Israeli raids in southern Lebanon. Israeli Channel 12 reported Sunday that sirens were sounding in northern Israel.

PALESTINE

Gaza City – The humanitarian and military situation in the Gaza Strip as Israel continues its relentless onslaught despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire in the besieged enclave.

The Israeli offensive resulted, in its 191st day, in killing nearly 33,700 people and injured at least 76,300 others since last October amid a crippling blockade that has left most of the population on the verge of starvation.

Ramallah – Continuous security tension in the West Bank amid almost daily Israeli military raids on Palestinian towns in the occupied territory, which resulted in the death of at least 463 Palestinians since Oct. 7, 2023. The number of arrests has risen to 8,165, reaching record highs over nearly 6 months, exceeding those recorded on an annual basis in previous years.

Illegal Israeli settlers' attacks on Palestinian villages in the West Bank. A Palestinian teen died of his wounds Saturday from gunfire by illegal Israeli settlers near the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, according to the Health Ministry. Separately, the Palestinian official news agency, WAFA, said two Palestinians were injured in another settler attack in Sinjil in northeast Ramallah.

EGYPT

Cairo - Developments in negotiations regarding hostage swap and cease-fire in the Gaza Strip between Israel and Hamas, awaiting a response from Hamas to a proposal put forward by mediators in the latest round of talks in Cairo to reach an agreement.

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 amid fears of a significant disruption to maritime traffic in one of the busiest global routes for oil and fuel transport.

CHINA

Beijing- German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to pay an official visit to China from April 14 to 16.

AUSTRALIA

Sydney - Investigation has been launched into knife attack at a Sydney shopping mall that killed six and critically injured several others with chances of rise in death toll.

SPORTS

Leverkusen, Germany - Bayer Leverkusen to face Werder Bremen in German Bundesliga. Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen will have to win game to be champions.

London / Liverpool – Title contenders Arsenal to meet 4th-place Aston Villa in English Premier League. Meanwhile Liverpool to face Crystal Palace. Arsenal, Liverpool have 71 points each to chase leaders Manchester City, who have 73 points.

SPECIAL REPORT

'British Embassy in Berlin should have been there to protect British citizen'

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - The UK should have protected Doctor Ghassan Abu Sitta who was prevented by Germany from entering Friday to address a pro-Palestine conference in Berlin, according to Andrew Feinstein, who was among speakers in the event.

In an interview with Anadolu, Feinstein, a one-time key figure in the ruling African National Congress (ANC), who now lives in Britain, defined Germany's treatment over Palestine Congress as 'the most extraordinary situation."

“it is a reflection of the extent to which countries like Germany, the United States, the United Kingdom, and other so-called Western countries, are prepared to go to corrode their own democracies and their citizens' own democratic rights in order to protect Israel,” says Feinstein, the son of a Holocaust survivor.