ISTANBUL (AA) - Here are the main topics Anadolu's English Desk plans to cover on Thursday, February 1, 2024 (coverage may change depending on developing/ breaking stories):
PALESTINE
Gaza City - Humanitarian and military situation in Gaza Strip on 117th day of Israeli onslaught amid international warnings of risk of famine and ongoing dire situation. War on Gaza resulted in killing of almost 27,000 Palestinians, with 65,949 other people injured. Israeli actions against UNRWA in light of arrest of number of agency's employees as they were heading from north to south.
Ramallah - Daily Israeli army incursions into West Bank, which has left 380 Palestinians dead and more than 4,000 others injured, while 6,420 people have been arrested.
ISRAEL
Tel Aviv - Israeli evening protests against Netanyahu’s government in cities and squares.
Tel Aviv - Developments in indirect negotiations for cease-fire, hostage swap deal between Israel and Hamas.
LEBANON
Beirut - Latest updates on continuous tensions between Lebanese group Hezbollah and Israel amid exchange of cross-border fire.
YEMEN
Sanaa - Escalating tension in Red Sea due to Houthi attacks on commercial ships suspected of having links with Israel and US retaliatory airstrikes against Houthi targets inside Yemen.
TÜRKİYE
Ankara - President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to receive Niger’s Prime Minister and Economy Minister Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine to discuss bilateral relations, regional and global issues.
Ankara - National Defense Ministry to hold background meeting on Türkiye’s defense issues, including fight against terrorism.
BELGIUM
Brussels - Leaders from EU countries to attend extraordinary summit in Brussels to discuss EU’s long-term budget for 2021-2027, including support to Ukraine.
Brussels - French President Emmanuel Macron to meet European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on margins of EU leaders' gathering to discuss issues related to concerns expressed by protesting farmers in France as well as elsewhere in Europe.
UK
London - House of Commons is expected to pass new legislation on trading arrangements for Northern Ireland. Bill comes to parliament after agreement between government and DUP on return to power-sharing at Stormont.
London - Swedish activist Greta Thunberg to appear in court. Thunberg is among 26 people charged over Oct. 18 protest outside Intercontinental Hotel on Park Lane, venue of Energy Intelligence Forum. She is charged with failing to comply with condition imposed by the UK police.
GERMANY
Berlin - Security personnel at Germany’s major airports to go on strike over ongoing dispute over pay. Major disruptions are expected at country’s busiest airports, including two biggest hubs, Frankfurt and Munich. Ver.di union, which represents around 25,000 security staff, is demanding €2.80 ($3.04) pay rise per hour, and higher rates for overtime pay.
ARMENIA
Yerevan - Armenian government expected to issue statement after country officially became member of International Criminal Court.
GEORGIA
Tbilisi - Georgian Dream party to hold congress during which country's Cabinet is expected to be re-shuffled.
KAZAKHSTAN
Almaty - Kyrgyz Prime Minister Akylbek Zhaparov to pay visit to Kazakhstan, will meet number of Kazakh officials to discuss development of relations between two countries.
RUSSIA
Moscow - Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to meet with ambassadors of countries of Commonwealth of Independent States. Event will outline priorities of Russian chairmanship in organization.
US
WASHINGTON - Demonstrators expected to hold general strike for Palestine at Union Station in Washington, D.C. Protest is latest in series of coast-to-coast demonstrations seeking to draw attention to Gaza’s humanitarian catastrophe, and call for an end to hostilities.
WASHINGTON - US President Joe Biden to visit state of Michigan to partake in political event. Biden has faced mounting criticism in Michigan among state’s Muslim American population for his support of Israel’s war on Gaza. Muslim voters have been key to president’s past electoral success there.
WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Antony Blinken to host Kenyan Foreign Minister Musalia Mudavadi at the State Department for closed-door discussion. Meeting comes as Washington continues to seek international force in Haiti that was once to be led by Nairobi, but whose future is uncertain following domestic court ruling.
AUSTRALIA
Melbourne - Inaugural Australia-New Zealand Foreign and Defense Ministers Consultations (known as 2+2) to be held in Melbourne.
CHINA
Beijing - Foreign Ministry will hold regular news conference.
PAKISTAN
Islamabad - Election body will hold meeting to discuss election-related violence, particularly in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and southwestern Balochistan provinces, where several people, including a candidate, have been killed in recent days.
Islamabad - Pakistan's jailed ex-Premier Imran Khan is expected to challenge his conviction in two separate cases in Islamabad High Court. Khan has been sentenced to 10 and 14 years in jail in state secrets and state gifts cases.
MYANMAR
Naypyidaw – Third anniversary of coup in Myanmar. At least 4,474 people have died since junta regime is struggling to restore full control over the Southeast Asian nation amid internal armed conflict.
THE ECONOMY
New York - US-based data provider S&P Global to release PMI data for Türkiye, Japan, UK, US.
Luxembourg - Eurostat to reveal provisional inflation figures for January and unemployment data for December.
Istanbul - Turkish Atlantic Security Conferences: Black Sea Energy Supply Security Summit, organized by Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Turkish Atlantic Council, to start. Experts and officials to discuss several topics including regional energy cooperation, energy dependency, strategic mineral security and Türkiye's importance in energy security of Eurasia.
SPORTS
Riyadh - Major League Soccer (MLS) club Inter Miami to visit Saudi Pro League's Al-Nassr at Riyadh Season Cup 2024, a friendly tournament. Saudi club confirms Cristiano Ronaldo will not play against Lionel Messi's Inter Miami due to muscular injury.
SPECIAL REPORTS
‘Unimaginable pain’: Palestinian man in UK mourns his family, fights for others in Gaza
By Burak Bir
Manchester, England – Interview with Dalloul Neder, a Gaza native living in the UK, who recently went viral on social media for his protest at a Labour Party meeting that saw him forcefully removed from the venue.
Neder shares his personal story, having lost several family members in Israel’s ongoing offensive on Gaza, including his mother, brother, pregnant sister-in-law and two nieces. The same attack also wounded his wife and six-month-old daughter.
Neder also speaks about the disappointment and frustration among Palestinians over the international community’s failure to stop Israel, calling for more sustained campaigns to pressure governments and politicians to act immediately.
How will Imran Khan’s legal woes impact Pakistan’s elections?
By Aamir Latif
Karachi, Pakistan – Report about the recent jail sentences handed to Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan, focusing on the question of how these could possibly impact the country’s general elections scheduled for Feb. 8.
The story gives details of the sentences given to Khan and the reactions from his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, while also presenting the viewpoint of the government with comments from Murtaza Solangi, the caretaker information minister.
It also has analysis and comments from political analysts Wusatullah Khan and Sajjad Mir, who speak about the current political climate in Pakistan ahead of the elections and the potential fallout of the recent developments involving Khan.
Anti-Houthi offensive: Why has Kenya broken ranks with neutral East Africa?
By Andrew Wasike
Nairobi, Kenya – Report exploring Kenya’s decision to openly align itself with the US-led coalition that is mounting an offensive against Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
The report explains the possible reasons for Kenya’s move, which goes against the position of neutrality adopted by its East African counterparts and is being viewed by experts as a paradigm shift in the country’s foreign policy.
It includes interviews with East Africa regional security expert George Musamali and foreign policy analyst Midamba Noah, along with comments from citizens in Kenya about how they view the decision and its potential repercussions.
NEW MEDIA
VIDEO – Interview with Dalloul Neder, a Gaza native in the UK who was recently viral on social media for his protest at a Labour meeting. Neder shares his personal story of loss, with several of his family members killed in Israeli attacks, and calls out the international community for its failure to protect Palestinians from Israeli atrocities.