Diary

ANKARA (AA) - Here are the main topics Anadolu Agency's English Desk plans to cover on Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2017 (coverage may change depending on developing/breaking stories):

TURKEY

ANKARA - President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to receive Portuguese Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva at Presidential Palace.

ANKARA - Erdogan to address meeting of village, neighborhood leaders.

ISTANBUL - Prime Minister Binali Yildirim to attend opening of TRT World Forum at Conrad Hotel.

ANKARA - Yildirim to attend opening of Health Sciences University, recieve honorary doctorate.

ANKARA - Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to meet Santos Silva.

ANKARA - Cavusoglu to meet Nigerian Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama.

ANKARA - Forestry and Water Minister Veysel Eroglu to meet Nazim Cavusoglu, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus agriculture and natural resources minister.

ISTANBUL - Turkish Red Crescent President Kerem Kinik to hold news conference ahead of next month’s General Assembly of International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Antalya.

ESTONIA

TALLINN - Turkey’s EU Minister Omer Celik to meet President Kersti Kaljulaid, head of Foreign Affairs Commission Marko Mihkelson.

SOMALIA

SPECIAL REPORT: Survivors recall horror of Somalia's deadly truck blast

By Hassan Istiila and Mohamed Dhaysane

MOGADISHU, Somali (AA) - As tales of horror unfold following the weekend's massive truck bombing in capital Mogadishu, Anadolu Agency spoke to some of the survivors at a Turkish-Somali hospital that saved dozens of lives on the day.

SYRIA

IDLIB - Turkish troops monitoring mission in northwestern province as part of de-escalation strategy.

RAQQAH – Raqqah largely cleared of Daesh.

IRAQ

BAGHDAD - Iraqi forces exert authority over control of oil-rich Kirkuk in northern Iraq after taking city from Peshmerga forces.

MYANMAR

YANGON - Amnesty International reports hundreds of Rohingya Muslims killed in recent security operation, calls for arms embargo, prosecutions.

SOUTH KOREA

SEOUL - U.S., South Korean, Japanese diplomats meet to discuss response to North Korea’s nuclear program.

GERMANY

BERLIN - Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats to begin exploratory talks with Free Democratic Party, Greens on forming coalition.

UNITED KINGDOM

LONDON - Weekly parliamentary questions to Prime Minister Theresa May ahead of Thursday’s EU leaders’ summit.

ETHIOPIA

ADDIS ABABA - Foreign ministers of Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia to meet to discuss impacts of Nile dam project.