Eastern Mediterranean

Handcrafts made up the lion's share of Turkish cultural good exports in 2015, according to official data released on Dec. 21.

Handcraft exports made up 70 percent of the country's cultural good exports, totaling 12.48 billion liras ($3.57 billion) last year, followed by audio and visual media with a 26.4 percent share, said the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK).        

The fall of Aleppo will not mean the end of the war in Syria and the fundamental aspect of this war has not changed, U.K. Special Representative for Syria, Gareth Bayley, has told a group of Turkish journalists in Istanbul. 

Children who have fled war-torn Syria will be integrated into Turkey's official education system and the government is focusing on Turkish language learning for Syrian students. 

Around 133,400 Syrian students are currently enrolled in public schools run by the Education Ministry, but there are nearly 832,000 school age children between 6 and 18 years old in Turkey. 

A Jordanian-Turkish business forum kicked off in the Jordanian capital Amman on Dec. 10.

Organized by the Jordanian Businessmen Association (JBA), the event is attended by 20 Turkish businessmen from different sectors.

 "Historic relations between Jordan and Turkey are based on friendship and mutual interests," JBA chairman Hamdi al-Tabaa said.

Some 50,000 civilians have fled eastern Aleppo over the past two days in a "constant stream," Russia said on Dec. 10, as Syrian government forces close in on the last pocket of opposition control in the northern city.

Almost 79,000 Syrian children are being educated in Turkey's temporary refugee centers, Deputy Prime Minister Veysi Kaynak told state-run Anadolu Agency on Dec. 7.  

Turkey is hosting the largest number of Syrian refugees worldwide, and so far has spent more than $20 billion to $25 billion on their care, according to Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım.        

Without Turkey's help, Europe will be flooded by the migrant wave, while the freezing of negotiations with the EU will harm Europe more than it would Ankara, stated to Turkish media Turkish PM Binali Yıldırım.

Ankara has stressed the non-binding nature of the vote due to be held at the European Parliament on the future of Turkey's accession talks with the European Union, citing EU Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini's urging that a negative result would have serious consequences in ties with Ankara. 

Turkey does not belong in the European Union, the two leading conservative candidates for France's 2017 presidential election, Nicolas Sarkozy and Alain Juppe, said on Nov. 17, restating their opposition to continuing accession talks with Ankara. 

The Constitutional Court has given temporary injunction decisions to suspend the potential deportations of two foreign nationals whose cases are currently pending, stating that these individuals would face persecution if deported, daily Habertürk reported on Nov. 18.