Diary

ANKARA

Here are the main stories that The Anadolu Agency's English News Desk will cover Thursday, Dec. 25, 2014:

TURKEY

ANKARA -- President Erdogan and Prime Minister Davutoglu to meet Iraqi Prime Minister al-Abadi.

SPECIAL REPORT

Nostalgic buses back on Istanbul roads in 2015

By Burcu Arik

ISTANBUL -- Bussing, Leyland and Renault-Scemia – they were all the witnesses to Istanbul's 20th century evolution from small city to metropolis – and now they are coming back.

EUROPE

GERMANY

SPECIAL REPORT

Green Party MP: Islamophobia peaks in Germany

By M.Emin Avundukluoglu

BERLIN -- Lawmakers of Germany's Green Party have reacted to Dresden-based demonstrations of right-wings extremist group called Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West, or the Pegida. 

MIDDLE EAST & NORTH AFRICA

EGYPT

CAIRO -- Court decides on appeal by an Al Jazeera reporter against his three-year jail term.

SPECIAL REPORTS

Uganda's bustling Christmas (photos)

By Halima Athumani

KAMPALA, Uganda – Long, tiring traffic jams along roads on the upper-ends within capital Kampala; queues at ATMs; people rushing in and out of shops and banking halls. It's Christmas again, and Ugandans are gearing up for it.

No Christmas, Mawlid Nabawi joy‏ under Boko Haram (photos)

By Rafiu Ajakaye, Olarewaju Kola

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria – Like fellow Christians around the world, millions of Nigerians are in festive mood, relishing the euphoria of Christmas. But not so in the country's restive northeastern region.

Ebola overshadows Christmas in Liberia

By Evelyn T. Kpadeh

MONROVIA, Liberia – The Ebola virus, which has claimed thousands of Liberian lives in recent months, is also casting its shadow over Christmas celebrations in the West African country.

Ghana's 'Christmas hampers' (photos)

By Umaru Sanda Amadu

ACCRA, Ghana – Like elsewhere, business activity in market centers across Ghana is booming in the run up to Christmas and New Year holidays. But one unique aspect of Christmas in Ghana is the exchange of gifts, locally known as "Christmas hampers."

SE ASIA-PACIFIC

HONG KONG

HONG KONG – Police detain 10 protesters after hundreds take to the streets in Mong Kok district on Christmas Eve.

CAMBODIA

PHNOM PENH – Four opposition activists to be tried on charges of “insurrection” that rights groups say are trumped up.

PHNOM PENH – More than 160 villagers in the northwest have tested positive for HIV in an outbreak blamed on reuse of hypodermic needles.

www.aa.com.tr/en