Turkey

Russia's Gazprom, Italy's Edison and Greece's DEPA will make a cost efficiency assessment of potential supplies of Russian gas under the Black Sea to Italy and Greece by the end of the year, the Chief Executive Officer of the Russian gas giant, Alexey Miller, has said. 

Recent hikes in electricity costs have produced anger even among ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) parliamentarians, prompting a defense from the Energy Ministry.

More than 150,000 Syrian babies have been born in Turkey since Syria's crisis began, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Lütfi Elvan said on Feb. 29, underscoring the humanitarian burden incurred by Ankara during the conflict.  

The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) has welcomed the acquittal of its members in several cases, proving the "righteousness" in its "faith in the fair completion" of the trials, according to a statement.

Y?ld?z Holding Chairman Murat Ülker was again named Turkey's wealthiest person in 2016 with a fortune of $2.9 billion, Forbes magazine revealed on Feb. 29.        

Genel Energy Plc said it expected to book about $1 billion in impairment to the 2015 value of its Taq Taq oilfield in the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq, citing a reduced estimate for recoverable reserves there and falling oil prices, as reported by Reuters on Feb. 29. 

Shares in the company lost nearly a fourth of their value in early morning trade in London.

The Islamic lending arm of Turkey's state-run Ziraat Bank has applied to sell 1.5 billion lira ($501.9 million) worth of Islamic bonds, or sukuk, according to Turkey's Capital Markets Board (SPK).

Bulgarian authorities detained 27 foreigners after stopping a cargo transit train for inspection at the railway station in the town of Kaspichan on Sunday evening.

Prior to stopping the train, workers at the railway station in the town of Provadia submitted a signal after noticing people in one of the wagons of the cargo train.

An intercity ferry carrying passengers from Istanbul to the northwestern province of Bursa was searched late Feb. 28 due to a bomb hoax, Do?an News Agency has reported. Two suspects were detained over the incident.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel criticized eastern European countries for acting independently and unilaterally in their response to the refugee crisis.

In particular, Merkel criticised the border controls imposed by Austria and several Balkan countries, which have left migrants stranded in Greece as they continue to arrive from Turkey.