UPDATE - Diary

ADDS TWO MORE DIARY ITEMS

ISTANBUL (AA) – Here are the main topics Anadolu's English Desk plans to cover on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023 (coverage may change depending on developing/ breaking stories):

MENA

PALESTINE

GAZA – Monitoring the developing situation in besieged Gaza and the diplomatic engagements in Middle East to contain the Palestine-Israel conflict. French President Macron also arrived in Israel on Tuesday morning on a solidarity visit, as humanitarian aid pours in Gaza that is facing a dire healthcare situation. Also, US President Joe Biden has dispatched a few high-ranking military officers to Israel to provide counsel to the Israeli military on operations in Gaza.

At least 120 Palestinians, including children and women, were killed as Israel continued to pound various parts of the Gaza Strip, marking the 18th day of the Israeli offensive. Over 5,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the bombardment began on Oct. 7, including 2,055 children, 1,119 women and 217 elders, according to the Gaza-based Health Ministry.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

ABU DHABI - Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to pay an official visit to the United Arab Emirates.

EUROPE

UK

LONDON - Lawmakers to ask questions from ministers from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, including Foreign Secretary James Cleverly. Questions on humanitarian situation in Gaza, and Middle East are expected.

SWEDEN

STOCKHOLM - Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to hold a joint press conference as Stoltenberg visits Sweden. The visit comes a day after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signs Sweden’s NATO accession protocol and submits it to the parliament for ratification.

GERMANY

BERLIN - President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal to meet in Berlin.

BERLIN - Chancellor Olaf Scholz to deliver a speech at 6th German-Ukrainian Economy Forum. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal to attend the forum.

SERBIA

BELGRADE - Turkish National Defense Minister Yasar Guler to arrive in Serbia's capital Belgrade for an official visit. Guler is expected to meet with his Serbian counterpart Milos Vucevic, Prime Minister Ana Brnabic and President Aleksandar Vucic.

SWITZERLAND

GENEVA - United Nations Information Service to hold biweekly press briefing for UN bodies headquartered in Geneva.

CZECH REPUBLIC

PRAGUE - The second Parliamentary Summit of the Crimea Platform in Prague continues.

TURKISH REPUBLIC OF NORTHERN CYPRUS

LEFKOSA - Türkiye and Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus to conduct Martyr Lieutenant Caner Gonyeli 2023 Search and Rescue Exercise. Land phase of the exercise to be carried out.

EURASIA

AZERBAIJAN

BAKU - The "Mustafa Kemal Ataturk - 2023" joint military exercises being held until Oct. 25 continues.

RUSSIA

MOSCOW - Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will take part in a presentation of the Global Youth Festival.

KAZAKHSTAN

ASTANA - The 73rd session of the Regional Committee for Europe of the World Health Organization (WHO) to be held until Oct. 26. WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus expected to attend the session.

KYRGYZSTAN

BISHKEK - Chinese Premier Li Qiang to take part in the 22nd meeting of heads of government of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

UZBEKISTAN

TASHKENT - USAID administrator Samantha Power to convene the first C5+1 Ministerial Meeting on regional cooperation in Central Asia.
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ASIA

CHINA

BEIJING – Colombian President Gustavo Petro to pay three-day state visit to China from Tuesday. China is the second-largest trading partner of the South American nation and this year the two nations are celebrating 43 years of diplomatic relations. It was in 1980 that Colombia switched relations from Taiwan to Beijing.

AFRICA

ZAMBIA

LUSAKA – Zambia celebrates 59th independence anniversary with Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan as the official guest.

RWANDA

KIGALI - Hundreds of delegates gather in Rwanda for the World Climate Research conference that opens in capital Kigali to discuss how climate science can match the rapid pace of climate change.

US

WASHINGTON - President Joe Biden to award National Medal of Science and National Medal of Technology and Innovation. In evening, Biden will welcome Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to White House.

WASHINGTON - House Foreign Affairs Committee to hold hearing, titled Friend and Ally: US support for Israel after Hamas attack. Assistant Secretary for Near East Affairs Barbara Leaf testifies.

NEW YORK - Brazil to chair open UN Security Council debate on Middle East, including on Palestinian question, attended by UN senior officials, nations' representatives.

NEW YORK - Mariana Katzarova, special rapporteur on situation of Human Rights in Russia, to hold press briefing.

SPORTS

ISTANBUL - Europe's top-tier UEFA Champions League's matchday three in group stage to begin. Second-place Galatasaray to face Group A leaders Bayern Munich at home. ​​​​​​​

SPECIAL REPORT

Lax ICC approach to Palestine compared to Ukraine shows ‘inequality loaded with political influences’: Legal expert

By Necva Tastan

ISTANBUL – Interviews with experts about the legal perspectives on the Israel-Palestine issue, focusing primarily on the International Criminal Court’s role in the situation.

The experts include Khalil Dewan, head of legal investigations at London-based law firm Stoke White, which has been part of several previous cases at the ICC involving Israel.

They highlight reasons for the ICC’s slow response in addressing issues in Palestine, the impact of political influences on the court’s decisions, and the alleged violations of international law, including the use of prohibited weapons and attacks on civilian targets.

SPECIAL REPORT

All-out or limited? Russian analyst assesses Israel’s Gaza ground offensive options

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW – Interview with Boris Dolgov, a researcher at the Russian Center for Arab and Islamic Studies at the Institute of Oriental Studies, about the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict.

Dolgov speaks about Israel’s possible strategies as it plans to launch a ground operation in the Gaza Strip.

He says the Israeli strategy could either rely on continued and widespread aerial bombardment, or they could limit their air attacks and focus more on localized raids into particular areas of the besieged Palestinian territory.

He also warns that any such incursion will elicit a strong reaction from Arab countries and the wider Muslim world.

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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.