Diary

ANKARA (AA) - Here are the main topics Anadolu Agency’s English Desk plans to cover on Monday, Feb. 4, 2019 (coverage may change depending on developing/breaking stories):

TURKEY

ANKARA - President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to chair Cabinet meeting at presidential complex.

ANKARA - Parliament speaker Binali Yildirim to meet Alassane Bala Sakande, president of the National Assembly of Burkina Faso, and to host him at lunch.

ANKARA - Yildirim to separately receive Asaf Hajiyev, Secretary General of the Parliamentary Assembly of Black Sea Economic Cooperation (PABSEC), and chairman of American-Turkish Council (ATC) James Jones.

ANKARA - Turkey’s statistical authority, TurkStat, to release inflation figures for January.

ANKARA - Trade Ministry to release preliminary foreign trade figures for January.

TURKISH REPUBLIC OF NORTHERN CYPRUS

LEFKOSA - President Mustafa Akinci to meet UN special envoy on Cyprus Jane Holl Lute for the second time.

BELGIUM

BRUSSELS - EU, Arab League to meet at foreign ministers level.

UK

LONDON - UK's Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) to make statement on found wreckage of airplane that went missing two weeks ago over the Channel Island.

LONDON - Brexit related developments to be followed.

SERBIA

BELGRADE - Lantern Festival or Chinese Festival of Light marking final day of traditional Chinese New Year to be held in the capital Belgrade for the first time.

KYRGYZSTAN

BISHKEK - Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to pay official visit to Bishkek and to meet with Kyrgyz President Sooronbay Jeenbekov and Foreign Minister Chingiz Aidarbekov.

SOUTH AFRICA

JOHANNESBURG - South Africa to host largest annual mining investment conference in Africa, brining together leading global mining experts, ministers, some heads of state between Feb. 4-7.

PRETORIA - South Africa's Foreign Ministry expected to sermon heads of mission of US, UK, the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland after they sent memorandum to office of president bypassing the foreign affairs ministry.

VENEZUELA

CARACAS - Monitoring developments on opposition-held demonstrations and demonstrations in support of President Nicolas Maduro in different parts of capital Caracas.

SYRIA

ALEPPO/IDLIB - Monitoring developments in Syrian civil war in wake of US decision to withdraw its troops.

YEMEN

SANAA - Monitoring developments in humanitarian crisis amid civil war.

SPECIAL REPORT

Afghanistan bleeds with 1700 casualties in January

By Shadi Khan Saif

KABUL, Afghanistan (AA) - Afghanistan saw a bloody start to the new year with over 1,700 war-related casualties in January alone.