ANKARA (AA) – Here are the main topics Anadolu Agency's English Desk plans to cover on Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021 (coverage may change depending on developing/breaking stories):
TURKEY
ANKARA – President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to receive Azerbaijani Prime Minister Ali Asadov.
ANKARA – Erdogan also to attend introduction meeting of scholarship for national athletes, and to chair his ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party's Central Decision and Executive Board meeting.
ANKARA – Parliament Speaker Mustafa Sentop to separately receive Husrev Emin, head of Association of Turkish Civil Society Organizations in Macedonia, along with his delegation, and Azerbaijani delegation led by Asadov.
ANKARA – Following latest developments on COVID-19 outbreak in Turkey, worldwide.
AZERBAIJAN
BAKU – Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to visit Azerbaijan for official talks.
US
NEW YORK – UN Security Council to discuss latest situation in Yemen.
NEW YORK – UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Executive Director of UN Environment Programme Inger Andersen to hold news conference.
FRANCE
PARIS – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, French Minister for Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian, and German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas to discuss nuclear dispute with Iran, developments in Middle East.
BELGIUM
BRUSSELS – Second day of virtual meeting of NATO defense ministers.
RUSSIA
MOSCOW – Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to meet UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen.
MOSCOW – Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova to hold news conference.
THE ECONOMY
ANKARA – Turkey-Azerbaijan Business Forum to be held. Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay, Azerbaijani Premier Asadov, Turkish Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan, Azerbaijani Economy Minister Mikayil Cabbarov to attend event.
ANKARA – Turkish Statistical Institute to announce consumer confidence index for February.
ANKARA – Turkish Central Bank to reveal short-term external debt for December.
ANKARA – Turkish Central Bank to hold Monetary Policy Committee meeting to announce its decision on interest rates.
SPECIAL REPORT
OPINION – New agricultural bills of India explained
By Sanjay Panada
ANKARA (AA) – The recent international outcry on three agricultural bills is based on half-truths and lack of understanding about the urgencies of Indian agriculture sector which is facing a plethora of problems due to lack of reforms.
SPECIAL REPORT
'Turkey a counterbalance to Russia, China in Central Asia'
By Riyaz ul Khaliq
ANKARA (AA) – Turkey is a counterbalance to Russia and China's growing presence in Central Asia, a Kazakh academic said.
SPECIAL REPORT
Comedians standing up to repression in Zimbabwe
By Jeffrey Moyo
MWENEZI, Zimbabwe (AA) – Despite facing a constant threat of being arrested by police, comedians in Zimbabwe still attract and amuse people in villages and towns, saying serious things in a lighter way.
