Diary

ANKARA (AA) - Here are the main topics Anadolu Agency's English Desk plans to cover on Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2021 (coverage may change depending on developing/breaking stories):

TURKEY

ANKARA - President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to attend 40th provincial muftis consultation meeting at Presidential Complex. Erdogan is also due to chair Cabinet meeting.

ANKARA - Following worldwide pandemic situation, efforts to study and stem new omicron coronavirus variant.

US

WASHINGTON - Jake Sullivan, President Joe Biden’s security adviser, to speak on US foreign policy at Defense One summit.

GERMANY

BERLIN - Parliament to elect country’s next chancellor. Social Democrat Olaf Scholz is expected to be sworn In as Germany’s new chancellor.

RUSSIA

SOCHI - President Vladimir Putin to hold talks with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Putin is also due to meet with participants of Congress of Young Scientists.

MOSCOW - Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to meet separately with 5+5 Libyan Joint Military Commission, Secretary-General of Organization of Black Sea Economic Cooperation Lazar Comanescu.

BELARUS

MINSK - Following ongoing migrant crisis at Belarus-Poland border.

THE ECONOMY

ANKARA - Turkish Statistical Institute to reveal health and education expenditure figures for 2020.

WASHINGTON - US Labor Department to announce job openings for October.

SPORTS

MUNICH - UEFA Champions League group phase to end with Wednesday's matches.

SPECIAL REPORT

Yemeni immigrant creates history, becomes first Muslim mayor in US city

By Mohammed Alragawi

ISTANBUL (AA) - Amer Ghalib, a 42-year-old immigrant from Yemen, who secured a significant election victory in Hamtramck – a city in the US state of Michigan – said his message is inclusive and he will represent everyone in the city.

SPECIAL REPORT

Bangladesh pursues balance in military modernization efforts

Md. Kamruzzaman

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) - Bangladesh has been modernizing its armed forces by maintaining a balanced approach, overcoming its dependency on any single other country or the dominance of great powers, say officials as well as geopolitical analysts.

SPECIAL REPORT

With war over, economic crisis puts lives of millions of Afghans in jeopardy

By Islamuddin Sajid

KABUL, Afghanistan (AA) - Peace is slowly returning while an economic crisis is quickly growing in Afghanistan, a landlocked South Asian country that was mired in conflict for decades.

SPECIAL REPORT

‘India's anti-corruption system needs to be strengthened’

By Ahmad Adil

NEW DELHI (AA) - Unless there is transparency and institutions of anti-corruption and grievance redressal are strong, corruption cannot be controlled in a country like India, the country's top anti-corruption activist has said.