Egypt

My column neighbor (and ex-sparring partner) Mustafa Akyol was perfectly right when he praised "Canadian liberalism" after a cute children's choir in Canada welcomed Syrian refugees by singing "Tala al-Badru Alayna" (The Full Moon Rose Over Us), the tune that was sung to welcome the Prophet Muhammad upon his arrival in Medina from Mecca in 620 ("Canada: A bright hope for liberalism," Hürriyet D

Rama said during his visit to Jerusalem on Monday that Albania is ready to collaborate with its ally Israel in order to contribute to the country's security.

The agreement also expressed the willingness to cooperate in the fields of energy, agriculture, water management, tourism and culture.

Bulgaria is expecting an increase in the number of Russian tourists to Bulgaria in 2016, the country's Tourism Minister Nikolina Angelkova has said.

Speaking during a visit to Plovdiv, the second-largest Bulgarian city, Angelkova has added the upward trend is mostly due to the complications for Russians who previously used to spend their summer holidays in Egypt or Turkey.

Five years after the Gaza flotilla raid, Israel and Turkey have finally reached an understanding on a reconciliation agreement.

For those who have been following Turkish-Israeli relations closely, it was not a surprise. Even before the elections, there were signals of a possible thaw between the two countries.

Turkish officials have strictly ruled out reports suggesting that the country would start imposing visa requirements on Syrians trying to enter the country, underlining that Turkey "open-door policy" for Syrians is still valid.

Five years ago, in 2010, Turkey started to experience some issues with its "zero problems with neighbors" policy - specifically the flotilla problem when Israeli commandos killed nine Turkish citizens aboard the Gaza-bound humanitarian aid ship the Mavi Marmara.

The number of journalists jailed in Turkey has dramatically risen in 2015, according to a special report by the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). 

The report noted that 199 journalists were imprisoned worldwide in 2015, with China and Egypt ranking as the world's first and second worst jailers of journalists.

Turkey ranks the world's first for the number of hair transplant operations carried out, amid rapidly rising demand from Arab citizens from Gulf countries.

A senior official from the Health Ministry, Ömer Tontu?, said over 200 hair transplant operations were carried out daily in Turkey, mainly on foreign patients. 

Turkey has joined a 34-state Islamic military alliance against terrorism whose formation was announced by Saudi Arabia on Dec. 14, according to a joint statement published by state news agency SPA.

Global powers on Dec. 13 backed the formation of a national unity government in Libya, pledging economic and security support to help stabilise the chaotic North African country where Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants have a foothold.