ISTANBUL (AA) – Here are the main topics Anadolu's English Desk plans to cover on Monday, May 20, 2024 (coverage may change depending on developing/ breaking stories):
IRAN
Tehran – Developments after President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and their companions were declared dead after their helicopter crashed in northwestern Iran’s East Azerbaijan province on Sunday afternoon.
PALESTINE
Gaza City – The Israeli army's military actions in Gaza Strip's southern city of Rafah continue as part of its ongoing offensive on the blockaded enclave, which has entered its 227th day, killing over 35,400 people and injuring nearly 79,500 since Oct. 7 of last year amid a crippling blockade that has left the majority of the population starving.
Clashes and confrontations between Palestinian resistance groups and the Israeli army have escalated throughout the Gaza Strip after soldiers’ incursion regions, notably Jabalia in the north and Rafah in the south.
Ramallah – Israeli raids in the occupied West Bank have continued since Oct. 7, 2023, killing at least 504 Palestinians, injuring about 5,000, and arresting at least 8,775 others, according to Palestinian sources.
ISRAEL
Tel Aviv – Protests in Israel aim to put pressure on Benjamin Netanyahu's government to resign and reach a hostage swap deal with Hamas.
EGYPT
Cairo – Indirect talks between Israel and Hamas aimed at reaching a hostage swap deal and cease-fire in Gaza.
LEBANON
Beirut – Cross-border attacks between Hezbollah and Israel erupted in October and are still ongoing, marking the worst hostilities between the two since their full-fledged war in 2006.
YEMEN
Sanaa – Tensions continue to rise in the Red Sea as a result of Houthi attacks on commercial ships suspected of having ties to Israel and US airstrikes on targets inside Yemen.
TÜRKIYE
Ankara – President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to chair a Cabinet meeting and then address the country on local and international matters, particularly Gaza.
UK
London – High Court expected to hand down judgment on WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's request to appeal against his impending extradition to the US. High Court Judge Jonathan Swift unilaterally rejected an appeal of Assange's extradition order on all grounds in June 2023. A final appeal was granted by the court in December last year. Judgment was delayed on March 26, after the court sought assurances from the US that it would not seek the death penalty if Assange was extradited. Hearing considers these assurances and a decision on whether the appeal can proceed is due.
London – UK defense minister to take questions from legislators in the House of Commons.
London – British Antarctic Survey to publish a report on the record-low levels of sea ice around Antarctica in 2023. The report finds the “one-in-a-2000-year event” was extremely unlikely to have happened without climate change.
GREECE
Athens – Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry to visit Athens to meet with his Greek counterpart George Gerapetritis.
KAZAKHSTAN
Astana – Kazakhstan's capital to host a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization's Foreign Ministers Council.
US
Washington – President Joe Biden to deliver remarks at the White House during the Jewish American Heritage Month celebrations.
New York – UN Security Council to vote on a draft resolution on the prevention of arms race in outer space and outer space security, which was proposed by Russia.
New York – UN Security Council to hold a meeting to discuss the Middle East situation, especially the Palestinian crisis.
PAKISTAN
Islamabad – Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to meet with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his counterpart Ishaq Dar during his official two-day visit to Pakistan.
INDONESIA
Jakarta – Elon Musk to meet with Indonesian President Joko Widodo.
CHINA
Beijing – Saudi Arabian Finance Minister Mohammed Aljadaan to hold delegation-level talks with his Chinese counterpart and other official during a 2-day visit.
TAIWAN
Taipei – William Lai Ching-te inaugurated as Taiwan's eighth president, assures to maintain the status quo in the Taiwan Strait and calls on China for dialogue for mutual co-existence.
CHINA
Beijing - China's likely to react to the inauguration of Taiwan's new president.
INDIA
New Delhi – Indians to vote in the fifth phase of the general elections. Several important Indian leaders are running in 49 constituencies.
JAMMU and KASHMIR
Srinagar – The second phase of Indian parliamentary elections in Kashmir is to begin for a hotly contested northern constituency. A former chief minister and a jailed former lawmaker are running in the crucial election in the Indian-administered Kashmir region.
THE ECONOMY
Ankara – Turkish Central Bank to share international investment position for the first quarter.
Ankara – Turkish Treasury and Finance Ministry to reveal central government’s debt figures for April.
Beijing – China to reveal 5-year prime rate decision.
Berlin – Germany’s Destatis to announce producer inflation for April.
SPECIAL REPORTS
Gaza is a crisis of international law, global front needed against Israeli, Western imperialism: EU lawmaker Clare Daly
By Ahmet Gencturk and Derya Gulnaz Ozcan
Athens – Interview with European Parliament lawmaker Clare Daly and Karin De Rigo, a German candidate for the EU legislative bodies, about Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza.
Irish politician Daly warns that Israel’s deadly aggression against Palestinians and the impunity granted to it by the West, has created a “crisis of international law” in the besieged enclave, asking for collective global efforts to “reimagine the UN and make international law work.”
De Rigo strongly opposes Germany's firm support for Israel and harassment of pro-Palestine voices, stressing that its actions "are not what a democratic state should do."
How South Korea won battle against food waste
By Zehra Nur Duz
Ankara – Report about South Korea’s success in tackling the issue of food waste, where decades of policy implementations have led to almost complete recycling coverage.
The story gives details of the systems introduced by South Korea starting in the mid-1990s, including recycling initiatives and alternatives to landfilling practices.
It includes an interview with Doun Moon, a Seoul-based policy researcher at the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives, who was formerly with the Korea Zero Waste Movement Network.
NEW MEDIA
VIDEO – Interviews with European Parliament lawmaker Clare Daly and Karin De Rigo, a German candidate for th1e European Parliament, about Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza, where they condemn the deadly aggression against Palestinians and blatant violations of international law.