Diary

ANKARA

 Here are the main stories that The Anadolu Agency's English News Desk will cover on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2015:

TURKEY

ANKARA - President Erdogan, Parliament Speaker Cicek, and Prime Minister Davutoglu to meet Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita in Ankara.

ANKARA - Minister for EU Affairs Volkan Bozkir visits U.S. to participate in “National Prayer Breakfast” event in Washington, DC.

EUROPE

GERMANY

BERLIN - Angela Merkel and Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to hold a joint press conference. 

FRANCE

PARIS - Ceremony for nine French soldiers who died on Jan. 26 when a Greek F-16 fighter jet crashed in Spain.

PARIS - Second day of three-week trial of former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who faces charges of running a prostitution ring.

ITALY

ROME - Italy’s newly elected12th president Sergio Mattarella’s swearing-in ceremony and inaugural address.

ROME - Newly elected Greek PM Alexis Tsipras to meet Italian PM Matteo Renzi in Rome.

UNITED STATES

WASHINGTON, DC - Kerry to meet with Jordanian FM Nasser Judeh to sign a three year Memorandum of Understanding for U.S. bilateral assistance to Jordan. He will also meet with King Abdullah.

WASHINGTON, DC - Florida Senator Marco Rubio to hold hearing on U.S. policy towards Cuba as Obama pursues detente with the island nation.

SOUTH EAST ASIA AND PACIFIC

JAPAN

TOKYO – Government spokesperson calls on lawmakers to “strengthen antiterrorism measures together" following purported killing of nationals by ISIL.

CHINA

BEIJING – National environmental watchdog’s annual report says majority of China’s 74 major cities failed to achieve national air quality standards in 2014.

MYANMAR

YANGON - Fortify Rights calls on Myanmar authorities to stop prosecution and threatening of journalists and human rights defenders for addressing human rights abuses.

AUSTRALIA

MELBOURNE - At least one person dead, three suffer serious burns in explosion, believed to be caused by a power transformer, at shopping center in Perth.

MELBOURNE- Reserve Bank cuts interest rates to 2.25 percent -- record low since the 1990s – with its governor saying that Australia’s economy is experiencing slow growth.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

YEMEN

SANAA- End of three-day ultimatum given by Houthis to political forces

UGANDA

KAMPALA- Iranian FM Zarif Mohammad Javada in Kampala.

NIGERIA

ABUJA - Coalition of Muslim rights organizations holds presser on what it calls anti-Muslim statements by Nigerian public figures.

KENYA

NAIROBI - Meeting on humanitarian crisis in South Sudan and its impact in the region, with Valerie Amos, UN Undersecretary-General and Emergency Relief Coordinator, attending.

SPECIAL REPORTS

- Nigeria ready for critical polls

By Rafiu Ajakaye

LAGOS (AA) - Nigeria's Independent National Electoral Commission has reiterated commitment to holding the country's general elections as scheduled on Feb. 14, adding that preparations are in top gear to achieve success.

"The call for election shift is not something that the commission is partaking in," Kayode Idowu, a spokesman for the commission, told The Anadolu Agency amid heated debate over possible postponement of the polls.

- No schooling in S. Sudan as militants, IDPs occupy premises (photos)

By Okech Francis

JUBA (AA) – Despite the high hopes of achieving peace after a recent power-sharing deal between the South Sudanese government and the rebels, schooling remains on hold for now as different militant groups and displaced people continue to occupy educational premises.

SOUTH ASIA

PAKISTAN 

KARACHI – Hand grenades hurled at two schools in southern city Karachi, raising fears about security less than two months after Taliban killed more than 100 students in Peshawar city.

BANGLADESH

DHAKA – Seven people killed in petrol bomb attack on passenger bus as opposition-enforced month-long transport blockade continues.

SPECIAL REPORT

- Switching white flags for black: ISIL and Afghan Taliban. 

By Zabihullah Tamanna

KABUL – There are increasing reports of ISIL-inspired groups trying to recruit in parts of Afghanistan but questions remain over whether they are simply the same Taliban fighters using a new name.