Libya

Members of Libya's rival parliaments have signed Dec. 17 a U.N.-sponsored deal on forming a unity government, aiming to bring peace to the war-ravaged country.

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.

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. 

Between January and November this year, Frontex detected 1.55 million illegal border crossings at the external borders of the EU.

In November alone, 276 000 illegal border crossings were detected, which represented a decrease of 7000 compared to the same month last year.

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.

A Russian patrol ship has fired warning shots at a Turkish fishing vessel to avert a collision in the northern Aegean Sea, the Defence Ministry in Moscow said on Sunday.   

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Konstantinos Koutras responded to journalists’ questions on the latest developments on the European level in the refugee/migration crisis:

Only days after the adoption of a new Aviation Strategy for Europe,  the European Commission updated the EU Air Safety List, the list of airlines that are subject to an operating ban or operational restrictions within the European Union. This list is essential to guarantee the highest level of air safety for European citizens.

In the Mediterranean to the south, Turkey does not have diplomatic relations with European Union member Cyprus. In its east, Turkey does not have diplomatic relations with Armenia, now a reinforced Russian military base.  

Russia has asked the United Nations Security Council to hold closed-door discussions on Turkish military action in Syria and Iraq, diplomats said on Dec. 7, in the latest sign of increasing tensions between Moscow and Ankara.