ISTANBUL (AA) — Here are the main topics Anadolu's English Desk plans to cover on Friday, Nov. 24, 2023 (coverage may change depending on developing/ breaking stories):
MIDDLE EAST
PALESTINE
GAZA CITY - The four-day humanitarian pause agreement in the Gaza Strip began at 7 a.m. local time (0500GMT) on Friday, confirmed by Israeli Army Radio. The Qatar-brokered pause will be followed by an exchange of the first group of hostages from both sides at around 4 p.m. local time (1400GMT) under the supervision of the Red Crescent and Red Cross. A total of 50 Israeli captives and 150 Palestinian prisoners are expected to be released in batches in the implementation of the agreement.
About 200 trucks loaded with aid are expected to enter from Egypt through the Rafah border crossing on Friday amid dire humanitarian conditions in the enclave.
WEST BANK - Ongoing tension in the occupied West Bank as at least 228 people have been killed by Israeli army forces since Oct. 7.
LEBANON
BEIRUT - Cross-border attacks continue between Lebanese group Hezbollah and Israel. The Lebanese group yesterday staged its largest attack since Oct. 8 targeting northern Israel with at least 48 rockets. Attacks coincide with an imminent humanitarian pause in the Gaza Strip.
EUROPE
SWITZERLAND
GENEVA - UN Information Services to hold bi-weekly press conference.
NETHERLANDS
AMSTERDAM - Political reverberations continue after Dutch parliamentary election, where far-right leader Geert Wilders' party won most seats.
US
WASHINGTON - Repercussions of Israeli-Palestinian conflict, statements from Biden administration and possible protest.
EURASIA
AZERBAIJAN
BAKU - Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to pay official visit to Baku for UN Special Program for Central Asian Economies (SPECA) summit.
TÜRKİYE
ANKARA - Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak to attend meeting of intergovernmental commission on trade, economic cooperation between Russia, Türkiye.
ISTANBUL - International Strategic Communication (Stratcom) Summit to kick off.
ASIA-PASIFIC
CHINA
BEIJING - Chinese, French foreign ministers, Wang Yi and Catherine Colonna, to co-host 6th meeting of China-France high-level dialogue mechanism on people-to-people exchanges. Two sides preparing for 60th diplomatic anniversary next year.
BEIJING - Beijing says Chinese military on "high-alert" as US, Philippines concluded three-day maritime activities Thursday. Daily news conference to be held by China's Foreign Ministry, with possible significant statement.
KOREAN PENINSULA
SEOUL / PYONGYANG - Two Koreas end 2018-signed military agreement at time when Pyongyang has launched military satellite into space.
SEOUL - South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol in France for three-day visit to bid to host 2030 World Expo. He will meet delegates from member states of Bureau International des Expositions to push Seoul's bid for hosting rights.
NEW ZEALAND
WELLINGTON - New Zealand set to witness new coalition government taking formal shape on Friday after weeks of delay in talks among political parties.
INDIA
NEW DELHI - Indian authorities expected to safely pull trapped workers stranded behind collapsed tunnel in northern Uttarakhand state.
THE ECONOMY
TOKYO - Japan's consumer inflation rate for October to be announced. Japan's annual consumer inflation slowed to 3% in September, lowest level since September 2022.
BERLIN - Destatis to release second reading of Germany's economic growth rate for third quarter of this year. According to flash estimates, Germany's gross domestic product (GDP) contracted 0.1% in third quarter of 2023 from second quarter. Country saw contraction of 0.3% on annual basis in July-September after stagnating in previous three-month period.
ANKARA - Turkish Central Bank to reveal capacity utilization rate for November. The capacity utilization rate of the Turkish manufacturing sector was at 76.8% in October, down 0.1 percentage point from previous month.
ANKARA - TurkStat to announce Turkiye's sectoral confidence indices for November.
ANKARA - Turkish Culture, Tourism Ministry to announce foreign tourist arrivals for October. Türkiye welcomed 5.8 million foreign visitors in September, rising 5.7% at annualized pace.
SPORTS
PARIS - French top-tier football division Ligue 1 leaders Paris Saint-Germain to play against title contenders Monaco at Parc des Princes.
ISTANBUL - Turkish basketball club Anadolu Efes to host Serbia's Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade in Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Round 10. In addition, Olympiacos vs. Zalgiris Kaunas, Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz vs. Monaco, Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade vs. EA7 Emporio Armani Milan games to be held.
SPECIAL REPORTS
WITH VIDEO – ‘Not in my name’: Jews in UK take a stand against Israel’s Gaza assault
By Burak Bir
LONDON – Interviews with Jews in the UK, including top figures of advocacy groups, about the ongoing Gaza crisis and Israel’s decades of discriminatory policies against Palestinians. The speakers include Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi, co-founder of Jewish Voice for Labour, David Cannon, chair of the Jewish Network for Palestine, and Dennis McEldownay from the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions. They express strong opinions against Israel’s offensive on the besieged Palestinian enclave, with Wimborne-Idrissi terming it “ethnic cleansing and genocide against a captive population” by a “very far-right wing Israeli government.” They also give reasons for why many Jews in the UK and around the world do not condone the Israeli state’s policies towards Palestinians.
Gaza pause ‘totally insufficient,’ say French, Belgian humanitarian groups
By Nur Asena Erturk
ANKARA – Interviews with officials from French and Belgian groups about the humanitarian pause agreed between Israel and Hamas. Pierre Motin, advocacy manager at the Platform of French NGOs for Palestine, and Arnaud Zacharie, secretary-general of Belgian NGO National Center for Development Cooperation, welcome the announcement of the agreement but point out that it will not be sufficient. They also speak about solidarity protests in their own countries, giving an insight into the differences between how French and Belgian authorities handled social movements in the respective states.
NEW MEDIA
VIDEOS – Latest developments in Israel-Palestine conflict
Reports covering developments in Israel-Palestine conflict, including packages from correspondents on the ground, updates about the overall situation, and other major developments.