Diary

ANKARA

Here are the main stories that Anadolu Agency’s English News Desk will cover on Wednesday, June 17, 2015:

 

TURKEY

ANKARA – Turkish President Erdogan to receive ambassadors of Kenya, Palestine and Lithuania.

 

ANKARA – Turkish Prime Minister Davutoglu to meet representatives of Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association (TUSIAD) and Independent Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association (MUSIAD).

 

SPECIAL REPORTS:

Tiny companions: Prayer-bead makers ready for Ramadan

By Nilay Onum Kar

ISTANBUL – One of the everyday sights to strike a first-time visitor to Turkey are the ubiquitous ‘tesbih’ – small strings of prayer beads carried by many Turks. As Ramadan, the Islamic holy month, starts this week sales of these small companions increase and Anadolu Agency has spoken to the craftsmen and women for whom these small items of faith are a passion.

 

Istanbul feels the change of Ramadan

By Humeyra Atilgan Buyukovali

ISTANBUL – Many Istanbulites have been feverishly busy this week ahead of the beginning of Ramadan – a month of prayer, fasting, charity and self-accountability for Muslims. The rhythms of this enormous city change profoundly as people's eating habits, working practices and praying times radically change – creating a different atmosphere in Turkey's largest metropolis.

 

Turkish lira volatility sours consumer sentiment: Experts

By Andrew Jay Rosenbaum

ANKARA - The volatile Turkish lira is weighing on consumer confidence in Turkey, experts have told Anadolu Agency.

 

UNITED STATES

WASHINGTON - U.S. President Obama to speak at the formal investiture ceremony for Attorney-General Loretta Lynch.

 

WASHINGTON - Obama hosts picnic for members of Congress at the White House.

 

WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of Defense Carter and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dempsey to give Congressional testimony on the U.S. strategy in the Middle East. 

 

WASHINGTON - The House Foreign Affairs Committee to hold hearing on “Assad's Abhorrent Chemical Weapons Attacks”.

 

WASHINGTON - First "teravih" prayers to be held at the Turkish mosque in Maryland to mark the beginning of Ramadan.

 

SPECIAL REPORT:

‘Democracy along with Morsi’ sentenced to death in Egypt

By M. Bilal Kenasari

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Analysts criticize the silence of western countries over the Egyptian military-led regime’s handing down of death sentences to the country's first democratically-elected president Mohammed Morsi and other leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood.

 

EUROPE

BELGIUM

BRUSSELS - EU foreign policy chief Mogherini to meet Amnesty International head Shetty.

 

BRUSSELS – Members of European Parliament to discuss situation in Syria and Gaza.

 

SWITZERLAND

GENEVA - Yemen peace talks continue in the Swiss capital.

 

AUSTRIA

VIENNA - The eighth round of talks between Iran and the world powers group, P5+1, expected to begin.

 

SPAIN  

MADRID - Third biggest political party Podemos's Member of European Parliament Torre to announce she will get on board the third Freedom Flotilla headed for Gaza.

 

MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA

SPECIAL REPORTS:

Cameroon imams pray for Boko Haram's demise

By Anne-Mireille Nzouenkeu

YAOUNDE, Cameroon - On the eve of Ramadan, Cameroon's imams are praying for the eradication of the terrorist Boko Haram group, which is spreading strife in the country's far north.

 

Togolese Muslims begin spiritual preparations for Ramadan

By Alphonse Logo

LOME, Togo – Muslims in Togo are busy preparing for the holy month of Ramadan. "Since several months I have been planning to go through this with fasting and prayer to come closer to God," Mohamed Awali, a 35-year-old Togolese Muslim, told Anadolu Agency in front of the Lome Grand Mosque.

 

ASIA-PACIFIC

INDIAN-HELD KASHMIR

SRINAGAR – A complete shutdown is being observed in Indian-held Kashmir to protest the killing of four civilians.

 

HONG KONG

HONG KONG – Protesters opposing and supporting reform package for 2017 chief executive election gather outside the Legislative Council as around 1,200 police patrol the area.

 

SOUTH KOREA

SEOUL –North Korea sends back South Korean pair as agreed with Seoul.

 

JAPAN

TOKYO – Security bills revising Japan’s security posture and defining “collective defense” met with protests, objection by constitutional scholars.