US National Security Advisor John Bolton is set to depart Turkey without having met with President Erdogan. US expects Turkey to guarantee the safety of the Kurds, which is condemned as unacceptable.

Inflation in Turkey has fallen for a second straight month, helped by the central bank's interest rate hikes and a stronger lira. But economic growth is slowing and as Mobin Nasir reports, the government's hoping investments in high-tech industries will boost jobs and exports.

The UN human rights office questions the fairness of the Saudi trial into Khashoggi's killing, reiterating its call for an independent investigation with international involvement.

The president of Iraq is set to visit Ankara on Thursday to meet his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The two countries want to coordinate more closely, especially as the region anticipates change in the coming years following the US withdrawal from Syria.

Pakistan's prime minister has told the president of Turkey he wants to strengthen the relationship between the two countries. Before his two-day visit to Ankara, Imran Khan had already agreed to transfer schools in Pakistan established by Fethullah Gulen to a Turkish charity.

A US-backed Kurdish militia has begun to withdraw from Manbij in northern Syria, inviting the Syrian army to move in as Turkey masses troops on the border. Kurdish presence in the city was a major irritant for Turkey. For more on this, Rob Prince – former lecturer at the Josef Korbel School of international studies at the University of Denver joins Steve Malzberg to discuss. Find RT America in your area: http://rt.com/where-to-watch/ Or watch us online: http://rt.com/on-air/rt-america-air/ Like us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/RTAmerica Follow us on Twitter http://twitter.com/RT_America

22-31 December 2018