ISTANBUL (AA) - Here are the main topics Anadolu's English Desk plans to cover on Friday, May 31, 2024 (coverage may change depending on developing/ breaking stories):
PALESTINE
Gaza City - Israeli offensive in Gaza Strip entered its 238th day, with more than 36,240 Palestinians killed and over 81,777 others injured as crippling blockade has left majority of population on verge of starvation.
Israeli military offensive in Gaza's southernmost city of Rafah also continued, with the army taking full control of the Philadelphi Corridor separating the Gaza Strip from Egypt.
Ramallah - Israeli raids in occupied West Bank have continued since Oct. 7, 2023, with at least 519 Palestinians so far killed, 5,000 more injured, and at least 8,935 detained, according to Palestinian sources.
ISRAEL
Tel Aviv - Protests in Israel to pressure government to resign and reach hostage swap deal with Palestinians.
EGYPT
Cairo - Efforts aimed at reaching a hostage swap deal and cease-fire in Gaza are underway.
IRAN
Tehran - Registrations for presidential elections to replace late Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash earlier this month.
Elections were initially scheduled for 2025. But Following Raisi's death, elections moved up to June 28.
LEBANON
Beirut - Cross-border attacks between Hezbollah and Israel that erupted last October, in deadliest clashes between the sides since their full-fledged war in 2006.
YEMEN
Sanaa - Tensions in Red Sea continue to increase amid Houthi attacks on commercial ships suspected of having ties to Israel and airstrikes by US-led coalition forces on targets in Yemen.
CZECH REPUBLIC
Prague - Two-day informal meeting of NATO foreign ministers ahead of NATO Summit in July, hosted by Czech Republic, concludes.
SWITZERLAND
Geneva - United Nations Information Service holds biweekly press briefing for UN bodies headquartered in Geneva.
Geneva - AI for Global Good Summit to conclude.
TÜRKIYE
Ankara - President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to receive Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Libyan National Unity Government Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh at presidential complex.
KAZAKHSTAN
Almaty - Meeting of Council of Defense Ministers of Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) to be held.
RUSSIA
Moscow - Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to hold meeting of Business Council at Russian Foreign Ministry on topic of interaction between Russian business community and BRICS partners.
SOUTH AFRICA
Johannesburg - Electoral commission of South Africa continues to release results of Wednesday’s tightly contested National and Provincial elections.
UGANDA
Kampala - East Africa nation is expected to respond to sanctions imposed on five senior officials over accusations of corruption and human rights abuses.
TANZANIA
Dar es Salaam - President Samia Suluhu Hassan to embark on six-day official visit to South Korea aimed at securing $2.5 billion concessional loan agreement.
SOUTH SUDAN
Juba - Health Ministry to receive nearly 700,000 doses of R21 malaria vaccines which will be distributed to most malaria-burdened regions of the country.
CHINA
Beijing - President Xi Jinping hosts Tunisian President Kais Saied and is expected to host Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa for bilateral talks.
NORTH KOREA
Pyongyang - North Korea likely to release details after it fired a salvo of short-range ballistic missiles toward waters off its eastern coast.
SINGAPORE
Singapore - Shangri-la Dialogue to host officials from around 50 nations for high-profile political and security conversations.
US
Washington - Developments after Donald Trump became first former US president to be convicted of felony criminal charges in New York hush money trial.
Washington - President Joe Biden to host Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo at White House.
Washington - Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell to host Japanese Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Masataka Okano and South Korean First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Kim Hong-kyun for trilateral dialogue in Virginia.
New York - UN Security Council to vote on draft resolution renewing mandate of UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) for final 19-month period until Dec. 31, 2025.
New York - UN Security Council to discuss North Korea's failed attempt to launch new military reconnaissance satellite. Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, Asia, and the Pacific Mohamed Khaled Khiari is expected to give briefing.
THE ECONOMY
Ankara - Turkish Statistical Institute to release GDP figures for first quarter. Turkish economy is expected to expand by 5.9% in first quarter on yearly basis. Country's economy grew by 4% in final quarter of 2023.
Tokyo - Japan to reveal unemployment figures for April.
Berlin - Germany to release retail sales figures for April.
Luxembourg - Eurostat to share provisional annual inflation data for May. Annual inflation rate in euro area was at 2.4% in April, unchanged from March.
SPORTS
PARIS - French Open to run for 2 weeks, ending with final on June 9.
SPECIAL REPORTS
US doctors back from ‘catastrophic’ Gaza urge Biden to stop Israel’s war
By Diyar Guldogan
Washington DC - Interviews with three doctors who have recently returned from humanitarian missions in the Gaza Strip.
Doctors Tammy Abughnaim, Zaher Sahloul and Thaer Ahmad narrate their experiences in Gaza, sharing harrowing stories of the dire conditions created by Israel’s ongoing war, including instances where the lack of resources forced them choose which baby gets to live and which dies.
All three condemn Washington’s role in the entire situation with its continuing support to Israel, calling on the Biden administration to use its leverage to put an end to the deadly war.
Economic, diplomatic pressure must to make Israel comply with international law: Greek legal expert
By Ahmet Gencturk
Athens – Interview with Dimitris Kaltsonis, professor of international law at the Panteion University in Athens, about the global push to hold Israel accountable for its deadly war on Gaza.
Kaltsonis emphasizes the need for sustained economic and diplomatic pressure to supplement legal actions against Israel, specifically the steps taken by the International Court of Justice and International Criminal Court.
The professor explains the ways in the international community has failed to fulfill its responsibility so far, stressing that the lack of global pressure has allowed Israel to continuously evade any accountability.
Mexico’s presidential election: All you need to know
By Jorge Antonio Rocha
Mexico City – Explainer about Mexico’s presidential election due to be held on June 2.
The story gives a breakdown of key information, including voter statistics and the main contenders, and explains why the polls are being touted as the biggest election in the country’s history.
It includes an interview with Arturo Espinoza, head of the Laboratorio Electoral think tank, who speaks about the promises and prospects of frontrunners Claudia Sheinbaum, Xochitl Galvez and Jorge Alvarez Maynez.
World grain production expected to increase despite Russia-Ukraine war: Expert
By Gokhan Ergocun
Istanbul – Interview with Eren Gunhan Ulusoy, head of the International Association of Operative Millers Eurasia, about global grain production in 2024.
He presents a positive outlook for the current year, saying worldwide grain output is expected to increase despite the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war, and explains the reasons for the projected uptick.
Ulusoy also speaks about the grain production situation in Türkiye, giving current figures and comparative data from previous years.
NEW MEDIA
VIDEO – Interviews with three US doctors – Tammy Abughnaim, Zaher Sahloul and Thaer Ahmad – who have recently returned from the Gaza Strip, where they narrate the dire conditions created by Israel and call on the Biden administration to use its leverage to end the war.