Diary

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

TURKEY

ISTANBUL - President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to attend opening of Kagithane Square from Vahdettin Palace via video link.

ANKARA - Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu to attend Migration Board Meeting.

ANKARA - Following latest developments in Eastern Mediterranean.

ANKARA - Monitoring latest developments in coronavirus outbreak in Turkey, worldwide.

US

WASHINGTON - Vice President Mike Pence to get COVID-19 vaccine at White House.

WASHINGTON - Monitoring developments over reported cyberattacks on US institutions, businesses.

WASHINGTON - Following repercussions of US sanctions against Turkey over purchase of S-400 missile system.

UKRAINE

KIEV - Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and Defense Minister Hulusi Akar to attend meeting with their Ukrainian counterparts. Cavusoglu also to meet with representatives of Turkic Crimean Tatars, Gagauzes, and Ahiskas.

AZERBAIJAN

BAKU - Monitoring cease-fire between Azerbaijan, Armenia, latest developments on front line, international repercussions.

GERMANY

BERLIN – UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to meet Chancellor Angela Merkel, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier after addressing Bundestag.

THE ECONOMY

ANKARA - Turkish Central Bank to release International Investment Position data for October.

ANKARA - Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) to release established and liquidated companies data for November.

SPORTS

ISTANBUL - Youth and Sports Minister Mehmet Muharrem Kasapoglu to attend online Brand&Sport Summit 2020.

MERSIN - 33rd European Women's Artistic Gymnastics Championships at Mersin Olympic Gymnastics Hall, southern Turkey in junior category.

BELGRADE - Individual World Cup in Serbia, where national athletes also compete in wrestling, to end with repechages and final competitions in freestyle.

SPECIAL REPORT

Syrians find security, hope, comradeship in Turkey

By Merve Aydogan

ANKARA (AA) – After spending almost his entire life in Syria’s capital Damascus, Yusuf Mohammed – also known as Yusuf Molla – says he wants to become a bridge between the Turkish and Syrian peoples when the war in his country is over.

SPECIAL REPORT

Migrants hard hit by COVID-19: UN refugee agency

By Merve Aydogan

ANKARA (AA) – Marking International Migrants Day in the capital of Turkey – which hosts more migrants than any country in the world – representatives of the UN’s migrant agency told Anadolu Agency that "hundreds of thousands of refugees and migrants continue to face elevated levels of risk" due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

SPECIAL REPORT

Pakistan, India, China tensions spike in 2020

By Aamir Latif and Ahmad Adil

KARACHI, Pakistan / NEW DELHI, India (AA) - The relations between Asian nuclear neighbors Pakistan, India, and China plummeted to new depths in 2020, with experts foreseeing no detente next year either.