France

Two Bulgarian energy projects will be allocated financing under the EU's Connecting Europe Facility funding programme for infrastructure.

Last week, the EU countries agreed on a proposal of the European Commission to invest EUR 217 M in fifteen key trans-European energy infrastructure projects mainly in Central and Eastern Europe.

Turkey is the 36th most innovative country in the world, according to the recently released Bloomberg Innovation Index.

With a score of 60.92, Turkey ranked 36 out of 84 countries in the 2016 index, retaining its position from 2015 after it had moved up a spot in 2014.  

Iran will probably sign contracts with automakers Peugeot and Renault, President Hassan Rouhani said on Jan. 25 as he headed to Europe seeking to capitalise on Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavu?o?lu has spoken with counterparts from France and the United States ahead of U.N.-led peace talks between the Syrian government and opposition that are slated for the near future in Geneva.

A video published on Jan. 24 by the media centre of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) purported to show images and last statements of nine of the people who took part in the Paris attacks that killed 130 people on Nov. 13.

Iran will sign a contract this week to buy 114 Airbus planes from France, during a visit to Paris by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Tehran's transport minister said on Jan. 24.  
   
Abbas Akhoundi, quoted by Iranian media, said the deal "will be signed between Iran Air and Airbus" when Rouhani is in Paris on Jan. 27 as part of his first official European visit.

The travel magazine Travel&Leisure presented postcard-perfect villages which still remain hidden preserving their beauty.

The first requirement of a beautiful village is a scenic location, whether among the Norwegian fjords or the sun-splashed Greek isles, the magazine says.

Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) President Masoud Barzani has called on global leaders to acknowledge that the Sykes-Picot pact that led to the boundaries of the modern Middle East has failed, urging them to broker a new deal paving the way for a Kurdish state in an interview with the Guardian.

Tunisia imposed a nationwide overnight curfew on Jan. 22 in response to growing unrest over unemployment as protests across the country descended into vandalism in several cities.

The International Monetary Fund said it plans an open selection process for its top job and will begin accepting nominations on Jan. 21, even though Christine Lagarde has said she is open to another term leading the crisis lender.