Diary

ANKARA (AA) - Here are the main topics Anadolu Agency’s English Desk plans to cover on Friday, Nov. 8, 2019 (coverage may change depending on developing/breaking stories):

TURKEY

ISTANBUL - President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to attend opening ceremony for the week of Mawlid al-Nabi (the birth of prophet Mohammad).

MEXICO

MEXICO CITY - Turkish Parliament Speaker Mustafa Sentop to meet Mexican counterpart Laura Angelica Hernandez Rojas as part of MIKTA Parliament Speakers Meeting.

GERMANY

BERLIN - German Chancellor Angela Merkel to meet US Secretary of State Pompeo for talks on bilateral relations, international issues.

BERLIN - Merkel also to meet European Commission President-elect Ursula von der Leyen.

BERLIN - Pompeo to deliver speech at Korber Foundation on 30th anniversary of fall of Berlin Wall.

FRANKFURT - Lufthansa cabin crew striking for second day in ongoing dispute over pay, working conditions.

SWITZERLAND

GENEVA - Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to attend Strategic Dialogue on the Western Balkans Leaders Summit hosted by World Economic Forum.

RUSSIA

MOSCOW - Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to deliver speech at Moscow Nonproliferation Conference about Russia’s basic approaches and priorities.

MOSCOW - Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova to hold news conference.

PALESTINE

GAZA CITY - Gazans to take part in the 81st Friday of protests.

SYRIA

ALEPPO/IDLIB - Monitoring developments in Syrian civil war.

IRAQ

BAGHDAD - Following Iraqi anti-government protests.

LIBYA

TRIPOLI - Monitoring months-long battles between Libyan rivals over capital Tripoli.

LEBANON

BEIRUT - Following weeks-long anti-government protests.

ETHIOPIA

ADDIS ABABA - Conference to be held on migration, refugees and internally displaced persons in Africa.

SPECIAL REPORT

East Germany gripped by surging xenophobia, Islamopobia

By Oliver Towfigh Nia

BERLIN (AA) - Germany marks the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall this week, but growing xenophobia and Islamophobia in especially formerly communist East Germany is seriously threatening the country's national security.

SPECIAL REPORT

ANALYSIS - Brexit pledges shape UK election campaigns

By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal

LONDON (AA) - British voters on Dec. 12 will once again go to polling stations to elect their new parliament members, two-and-a-half years since the last snap election and three-and-a-half years since the fateful EU membership referendum.

SPECIAL REPORT

Sri Lanka: Candidates lure voters with divergent agenda

By Munza Mushtaq

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AA) - As the final countdown begins for the presidential elections in Sri Lanka, two major contestants Gotabaya Rajapaksa, 70, of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) and Sajith Premadasa, 52, of the United National Party (UNP) are seeking votes offering a contrasting agenda.

SPECIAL REPORT

Papuans await answers to long unresolved issues

By Nicky Aulia Widadio and Muhammad Nazarudin Latief

JAKARTA (AA) - Tensions have been rising over the past few months in Indonesia’s easternmost province of Papua after dozens died in riots triggered by racial issues and discrimination against the indigenous population.

SPECIAL REPORT

Malaysia, India locked in spat over Kashmir

By Hayati Nupus and Muhammad Nazarudin Latief

JAKARTA (AA) - A diplomatic row between Malaysia and India has spilled over into trade relations between the two countries.

SPECIAL REPORT

Malaysia in dilemma over US sanctions on Iran

By Pizaro Gozali Idrus

JAKARTA (AA) - Malaysia has witnessed a wave of protests against the closing of financial accounts mostly belonging to immigrants from Muslim countries, especially Iran.