Diary

ANKARA (AA) - Here are the main topics Anadolu Agency's English Desk plans to cover on Thursday, Sept. 30, 2021 (coverage may change depending on developing/breaking stories):

TURKEY

ANKARA - President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to chair National Security Council meeting.

ANKARA - Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to hold joint news conference with African Union Commission head Moussa Faki.

ANKARA - Following COVID-19 normalization process in Turkey, virus variants, worldwide pandemic situation.

ITALY

MILAN - Turkey's Environment and Urbanization Minister Murat Kurum to attend Pre-COP Ministerial Meeting ahead of 26th UN Climate Change Conference of Parties, also to attend a program as part of Youth for Climate Event.

AFGHANISTAN

KABUL - Monitoring situation in Afghanistan after Taliban's formation of interim government.

THE ECONOMY

ANKARA - TurkStat to release foreign trade statistics.

LUXEMBOURG - Eurostat to announce unemployment rate for August.

WASHINGTON - US Bureau of Economic Analysis to announce US GDP for Q2 (second reading).

WASHINGTON - US Labor Department to announce weekly initial jobless claims.

SPORTS

ISTANBUL - Following UEFA Europa League group matches.

MADRID - 2021-22 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague basketball season to start.

SPECIAL REPORT

France’s role in fighting extremism in question with scandal

By James Tasamba

KIGALI, Rwanda (AA) - News of a scandalous cover-up involving the French Interior Ministry and cement giant Lafarge’s ties with the notorious Daesh/ISIS terror group is nothing but “hypocrisy,” according to an expert, especially given that France is rallying a coalition of countries fighting extremist militants in Africa’s Sahel region.

SPECIAL REPORT

Kenya's world-famous java faces potential climate disaster

By Andrew Wasike

NAIROBI, Kenya (AA) - Renowned for its floral aroma and rich flavor, Kenyan coffee may now be at risk as climate change takes its toll on local weather patterns upon which the crop -- and its growers -- rely.

SPECIAL REPORT

Mevlana Rumi’s poetry transcends boundaries, say Indian scholars

By Shuriah Niazi

NEW DELHI (AA) - As the world observes the birthday of the 13th century Sufi, scholar, and mystic Mevlana Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi on Thursday, experts in India say his poetry and teachings have touched South Asia.

SPECIAL REPORT

Ethiopian coffee special, but not their prices

By Seleshi Tessema

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AA) - As the world prepares to mark International Coffee Day on Oct. 1, Ethiopia, which prides itself on being the birthplace of the arabica bean, faces daunting challenges in guaranteeing a fair price for its poor farmers due to the local and global exploitative market system.

SPECIAL REPORT

Elderly people in Uganda live in fear of being killed

KAMPALA, Uganda (AA) - As elderly people all over the world prepare to celebrate the International Day of Older Persons on Oct. 1, their counterparts in Uganda are living in fear and despair over being attacked and killed at night.

SPECIAL REPORT

‘Mevlana Jalaluddin al-Rumi's thoughts appeal to whole world’

By Zehra Nur Duz

ANKARA (AA) - The thoughts and works of Mevlana Jalaluddin al-Rumi, a 13th-century Sufi mystic and poet, appeal not just to those who are under the influence of the culture of the East but also to the whole world, said the head of a Turkey-based foundation on the occasion of the 814th anniversary of Rumi's birthday.

SPECIAL REPORT

Tanzania takes initiatives to give hope to breast cancer patients

By Kizito Makoye

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania (AA) - Mariam Lusunga is breast cancer free after being successfully treated at a facility in Tanzania’s capital.