ANKARA
Here are the main stories that The Anadolu Agency's English News Desk will cover Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2015:
TURKEY
ANKARA - Interior Minister Efkan Ala attends AA Editor's Desk.
ANKARA - Minister for EU Affairs Volkan Bozkir meets the co-chairmen of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership and the Friends of Turkey Group in the U.S. House of Representatives.
ANKARA - Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci meets Finnish Minister for European Affairs and Foreign Trade Lenita Toivakka in Ankara
UNITED STATES
NEW YORK - UN Security Council to receive briefing on UN Assistance Mission in Somalia, followed by consultations.
EUROPE
FRANCE
PARIS – President Francois Hollande to hold talks with new Greek Prime minister Alexis Tsipras.
PARIS – Trial begins of French comedian Dieudonne M'bala M'bala on charges of ‘apologizing for terror.’ The charges are linked to a controversial Facebook post made in the wake of last month’s France shootings.
GERMANY
BERLIN - German cabinet discusses a new legislation that would criminalize travelling abroad to join terror groups such as ISIL. The draft law is expected to pass onto the Parliament today.
UNITED KINGDOM
LONDON – U.K. to host a meeting of the P5 Conference for two days. The five permanent members of the UNSC (France, Russia, China, the U.K. & the U.S.) will discuss the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
BELGIUM
BRUSSELS - Greece’s newly-elected prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, will see President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker and President of the Council of the European Union Donald Tusk in separate meetings.
SE ASIA-PACIFIC
TAIWAN
TAIPEI – At least 12 reported dead after TransAsia plane with 58 people on board crashes into river in Taiwan’s capital Taipei.
THAILAND
BANGKOK – Human Rights Watch and civil society representatives urge Constitution Drafting Committee to scrap proposal to merge the Ombudsman's office with the National Human Rights Commission.
JAPAN
TOKYO – Prime Minister Shinzo Abe voices outrage at ISIL’s "inhumane and despicable" killing of captured Jordanian pilot, says Japan will enhance intelligence gathering as part of antiterrorism measures.
CAMBODIA
PHNOM PENH – Civil society organizations concerned over possible new measures banning staff from giving media interviews or releasing “insulting” statements about political parties during election periods.
PHILIPPINES
ZAMBOANGA CITY – South Korean mining firm executive released in southern Philippines two weeks after capture.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
TANZANIA
Iranian foreign minister expected in Tanzania as part of a regional tour.
GHANA
Ghanaians expected to hit the streets to protest erratic power supply countrywide.
EGYPT
Anticipated release of Al-Jazeera reporter Mohamed Fahmi after relinquishing his Egyptian nationality.
Opposition parties to announce decision on whether or not to participate in upcoming parliamentary polls.
TUNISIA
Parliament to consider vote of confidence in new government.
SPECIAL REPORTS:
Libya conflict about resources, not Islam: Ex-gov’t advisor
By Hassan Islow
PRETORIA (AA) – The conflict in war-torn Libya is more about resources and power than about religion or ethnicity, a former advisor to post-revolution Libyan governments has said.
"It's a conflict which has very little to do with Islam, ethnicity or tribalism," Ashur Shamis, a London-based opposition activist – who served as advisor to both the first and second transitional governments of Libya – told The Anadolu Agency during a visit to South Africa.
Tanzania's funding crunch
By Peter Saramba Ongiri
ARUSHA, Tanzania (AA) – The Tanzanian government is facing financial crises that are hindering a number of development projects due to funding shortfalls. "We have been operating on a shoestring budget for the past six months now," Finance Minister Saada Mkuya told The Anadolu Agency from the capital Dodoma.
