Turkey

Four migrants, including three children, were killed in the Aegean Sea after they sailed from the northwestern town of Ayvac?k on Jan. 15.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu and his deputy and economics chief Mehmet ?im?ek will be in London from Jan. 17 to 19 on a charm offensive aimed at convincing investors that Ankara will push through reforms including privatizations and labor market liberalization.

The unemployment rate in Turkey rose to 10.5 percent in October 2015 from 10.3 percent in September 2015, according to data from the Turkish Statistics Agency (TÜ?K). 

The latest unemployment rate was the highest since March 2015, when it hit 10.6 percent.

Chancellor Angela Merkel will host Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu for talks on Jan. 22, her spokesman said, with discussions to centre on the suicide attack in Istanbul that claimed 10 German lives. The Jan. 12 "attack in Istanbul will play a central role" in the talks, said Steffen Seibert, spokesman for Merkel.

Turkey's government ran a 22.6 billion Turkish Liras ($7.4 billion) budget deficit last year, Turkey's finance minister announced in a press conference Jan. 15. 

The amount was 1.2 percent of the country's GDP, and less than 2 billion liras ($656 million) than was forecast for 2015, Naci A?bal said.

Bulgarian Interior Minister Rumyana Bachvarova expressed hope that the main facilities of the fence at the border with Turkey will be completed by the end of March.

Bachvarova said this during a parliamentary question and answer session on Friday, daily Dnevnik informs.

A police officer was killed on Jan. 15 in the southeastern province of Siirt during a counter-terrorism operation against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

According to security sources, police squads extended their operation to an address in Ulus.

Turkey is to grant work permits to Syrian refugees, an official statement said Jan. 15, in a key move which could allow Syrians to build more prosperous and stable lives in the country.

An announcement in Turkey's official gazette said that work permits would be granted to refugees who have fled to the country to escape the conflicts in their homeland.

Energy-rich Qatar has decided to raise the cost of petrol by a third or more from Jan. 15, according to the state fuel company, amid a slump in global oil prices.

The surprise hike comes into force from midnight and has immediately led to queues at some petrol stations in Qatar, according to social media.

Russia's Economic Development Ministry has drawn up a draft of sanction exemption rules for Turkish companies, following requests from large Russian companies.