Diary

ANKARA (AA) - Here are the main topics Anadolu Agency’s English Desk plans to cover on Thursday, Dec. 16, 2021 (coverage may change depending on developing/breaking stories):

TURKEY

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

BELGIUM

BRUSSELS - EU leaders to attend last summit of year to discuss most pressing issues for bloc.

US

WASHINGTON - President Joe Biden to meet with members of White House COVID-19 Response Team on latest developments related to omicron variant.

​​​​​​​THE ECONOMY

ANKARA - Turkish Central Bank to release statistics on outstanding loans received from abroad by private sector for October.

ANKARA - Turkish Central Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee to determine interest rates at last Monetary Policy Meeting of year.

ISTANBUL - 3rd Turkey-Africa Partnership Summit to start in Turkish metropolis Istanbul.

LUXEMBOURG - Eurostat to release international trade in goods statistics for October.

WASHINGTON - US Labor Department to announce initial jobless claims.

FRANKFURT - European Central Bank to determine interest rates.

SPORTS

NYON, Switzerland - 2022-23 UEFA Nations League draw to be held, including Turkey's opponents in League C.

ISTANBUL - Following Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Round 16.

SPECIAL REPORT

Fed could do first rate hike in May: Economist

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - The US Federal Reserve could do its first interest rate hike as early as May, after signaling three hikes for next year, according to Ryan Sweet, an economist at Moody's Analytics.

SPECIAL REPORT

Poverty pushing Afghans to join terror group Daesh/ISIS-K

By Islamuddin Sajid

KABUL, Afghanistan (AA) – The terrorist group Daesh/ISIS-Khorasan is taking advantage of Afghanistan's economic crisis to hire poor people to swell its ranks in the war-torn country, according to both experts and locals.

SPECIAL REPORT

Analysts hope US will skip sanctions on India over Russian S-400 purchase

By Ahmad Adil

NEW DELHI (AA) – Indian analysts hope that the US will keep strategic interests in mind and decide against sanctions in the wake of the country receiving $5.5 billion worth of the Russian S-400 missile defense system.