Diary

ANKARA

Here are the main topics Anadolu Agency’s English Desk plans to cover Thursday Jan. 28, 2016 (coverage may change depending on developing/breaking stories):

TURKEY

ANKARA - President Erdogan will meet PM Davutoglu at presidential palace.

SPECIAL REPORTS:

- ‘Corporate governance has special importance in Turkey,’ says CMB chairman

ANKARA (AA) - Investor interest in companies on Borsa Istanbul is expected to increase substantially, thanks to a joint Project of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Turkey’s Capital Markets Board (CMB) on corporate governance.

- An open secret: Gun ownership in Turkey

By Tuncay Kayaoglu

ISTANBUL (AA) – Barack Obama recently made an emotional appeal for more gun control in the U.S. Now, Anadolu Agency probes Turkey's own issues with firearms.

EUROPE

GERMANY

BERLIN – Chancellor Merkel meets leaders of coalition partners, CSU and SPD, amid growing row over refugee policy.

BERLIN – German parliament to debate extending military mission in northern Iraq to train and equip Kurdish Peshmerga forces fighting Daesh.

FRANCE

PARIS (AA) - French President Hollande hosts UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi for talks.

PARIS (AA) - Iranian President Rouhani pays historic visit to France following lifting of sanctions.

UNITED STATES

NEW YORK - UN Security Council expected to renew mandate of UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus for additional six months.

SPECIAL REPORT:

- Global stocks unsettled after Fed holds rates

By Andrew Jay Rosenbaum

ANKARA (AA) - Global stock markets saw choppy trading after the U.S. Federal Reserve held key interest rates late on Wednesday.

AFRICA

SOUTH AFRICA

JOHANNESBURG (AA) - South Africa’s Reserve Bank governor Lesetja Kganyago will announce the decision of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) Thursday.

SPECIAL REPORTS:

- South Sudan: Businesses struggle to survive amid hyperinflation

By Parach Mach

JUBA, South Sudan (AA) -With prices skyrocketing, since the South Sudanese pound was devalued by 84 percent against the dollar, businesses struggle to survive.

- Zambia: Outlook is grim for copper mining industry

By Francis Maingalia

LUSAKA, Zambia (AA) - Production at Zambian copper mines is down, and, with companies downsizing, the outlook for the future is grim.

- Kenya is to allow Islamic Finance

By Magdalene Mukambi

NAIROBI, Kenya (AA) - Kenya is preparing to allow the use of Islamic finance, and is even preparing to launch its first sukuk.

MIDDLE EAST-NORTH AFRICA

SPECIAL REPORT:

- Israel planning fresh settlements in W. Bank's E1: Expert

By Anees Barghouty

JERUSALEM (AA) – Israeli authorities want to expel some 10,000 Bedouin residents of the E1 Zone in the occupied West Bank in advance of building a bloc of Jewish-only residential units linking Jerusalem to the Ma’ale Adumim settlement, according to a Palestinian expert on Israeli settlement policy.

SOUTH ASIA

SPECIAL REPORT:

- Gas cylinders: Pakistan's ticking time bombs

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) – Hundreds of thousands of Pakistanis are using LPG gas instead of petroleum fuel to run their cars because it is cheaper, but the savings come with a major risk.

SOUTHEAST ASIA-PACIFIC

MYANMAR

YANGON — Outgoing President Thein Sein praises reform process, but says serious problems and challenges remain, including religious tension and peace talks with ethnic rebel groups.

MALAYSIA

KUALA LUMPUR – Upper house expected to approve controversial U.S.-led regional trade pact.

AUSTRALIA

MELBOURNE — According to prosecutors, Daesh sympathizer planned to pack kangaroo with explosives, paint it with Daesh symbol, and set it loose on Anzac Day.