Diary

ANKARA (AA) - Here are the main topics Anadolu Agency’s English Desk plans to cover on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2020 (coverage may change depending on developing/breaking stories):

TURKEY

ISTANBUL - President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to attend groundbreaking ceremony for construction of rail line for Gayrettepe-Istanbul Airport metro.

TURKEY/EGYPT

ANKARA/CAIRO - Following developments after Egyptian police raided Cairo office of Anadolu Agency and arrested four employees, with one staff member back in Turkey after release.

LIBYA

TRIPOLI - Monitoring developments on unraveling cease-fire, efforts for both sides to sign truce.

SYRIA

ALEPPO/IDLIB/RAQQA/HASAKEH - Monitoring developments after cease-fire brokered by Turkey and Russia came into effect in Idlib, which was targeted by Bashar al-Assad regime and allies.

IRAQ

BAGHDAD - Monitoring anti-government protests across country.

IRAN

TEHRAN - Following nationwide anti-government protests.

SPORTS

TURKEY

GAZIANTEP - Fenerbahce to face Gaziantep FK in Turkey's top-tier football league, Super Lig.

SPECIAL REPORT

Challenges ahead of Berlin conference on Libya

By Ali Murat Alhas

ANKARA (AA) - All eyes are on the Sunday’s Berlin conference, where regional and international actors are set to discuss Libya conflict that has been going on since the ouster of the country’s leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

SPECIAL REPORT

'Memory site' captures heart, soul of slain Armenian-Turkish journalist

By Murat Paksoy and Handan Kazanci

ISTANBUL (AA) - Thirteen years since his assassination on the steps of an Istanbul-based newspaper he once ran, Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink's office has at long last been reopened to the public as a memorial.

SPECIAL REPORT

War and winter scourge for displaced Afghans

By Shadi Khan Saif

KABUL, Afghanistan (AA) - Held between severe winter and war, as many as 900,000 displaced people in war-torn Afghanistan, living on the edge of a humanitarian catastrophe are crying for attention.

SPECIAL REPORT

Can Ethiopia hold a credible 2020 election?

By Addis Getachew and Ibrahim Tigli

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AA) - The much anticipated announcement of voting day for the 2020 elections in Ethiopia came just on Wednesday -- it is tentatively proposed for Aug. 16.

SPECIAL REPORT

Soleimani had sheltered al-Qaeda leaders, claims author

By Iftikhar Gilani

ANKARA (AA) - Although high-profile slain Iranian military leader Gen. Qasem Soleimani is known for extending Shia arc or Iranian influence beyond his country’s borders to Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and up to Yemen, little is known that he had also sheltered fighters of al-Qaeda terrorist group and senior members of its military council, a British author claimed.

SPECIAL REPORT

Duboeuf, French winemaker changing fortunes of Beaujolais region

By Cindi Cook

PARIS (AA) - The French wine world lost a giant: Winemaker Georges Duboeuf passed away on Jan. 4 at his home in Romanèche-Thorins near Lyon. He was 86 when he died of a stroke.

SPECIAL REPORT

Will Putin continue in politics after 2024?

By Busra Nur Bilgic Cakmak

ANKARA (AA) - After Russian President Vladimir Putin’s unexpected proposal for constitutional changes Wednesday, experts suggest Putin has further ambitions for ruling Russia after his term ends in 2024.