Geography of Asia

Air traffic to Yemen's main southern city of Aden was suspended early on March 19 after fighting broke out between supporters and opponents of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, an airport source told AFP.        

Turkey has given the European Commission a revised position paper for European Union accession chapter 17, economic and monetary policies, and expects the bloc to open the chapter in eight weeks' time, EU Minister Volkan Bozkir has told Hürriyet Daily News.

The recent tug of war between President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an and Central Bank Governor Erdem Ba?ç? over Turkey's monetary policy has inflamed debate on the independence of the Bank.

A new set of circumstances is developing in the Middle East. This has always been the nature of international relations. Yesterday?s enemies can find common ground while former friends can fall out. Intentions are all very well but it is always reality that drives successful foreign policies.

French energy giant Total will press ahead with its search for oil and gas off the coast of Cyprus, officials announced on Wednesday, weeks after the company indicated it might withdraw.

The announcement came following the signing of a deal by Energy Minister Giorgos Lakkotrypis and Total?s Cyprus operations chief Jean-Luc Porcheron, Cypriot officials said.

The proportion of elderly people in Turkey increased to 8 percent of the overall population in 2014, and is expected to surpass 10 percent by 2023, according to data released by the Turkish Statistics Institute (TÜ?K) on March 18.

The government has decided to establish a monitoring committee of five to six persons to oversee the implementation of the Kurdish peace process, a senior government official has said, noting that the final decision on its composition and mandate will be given next week by the prime minister.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an has revealed that he once advised Barack Obama to undertake healthcare reforms in the United States following a request by American tourists in Turkey, but his U.S. counterpart ?could only solve the issue partly? due to ?a negative reflex.?

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Wednesday played down the chances of reaching a nuclear agreement during talks under way this week in the Swiss city of Lausanne.
     

Since the Syrian civil war erupted four years ago, tens of thousands of refugees have poured into the southern Turkish port town of Mersin, fearing they may never return home and yearning for a better life.
     
Between 200,000-350,000 Syrian refugees are now estimated to live in the workaday Mediterranean city, swelling its population of around one million by about a quarter.