Tillerson in talks with Turkish leaders

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will be in Turkey today to hold talks with senior leaders of the key Nato ally.

Turkey is expected to bring up the Syrian conflict as well as its demand for the arrest of cleric Fethullah Gulen, blamed for a failed coup last July, during the talks. In addition, the arrest in New York of an executive of state lender Halkbank will figure in the discussions.

Testing of new MRT signalling system

Trains on the North-South Line will stop on the tracks for around 10 minutes tonight, towards the end of passenger service, for the testing of a new signalling system.

The new system will allow trains to run at shorter intervals. This is the second test. The first took place on Tuesday night.

Final data on US growth in Q4 last year

The United States will today release the final data on growth in the last quarter of 2016.

Estimates showed that the US economy slowed to an annualised 1.9 per cent quarter on quarter growth in that period last year, from 3.5 per cent in the July to September quarter. Consumer spending rose faster than anticipated, while business investment was revised lower. Gross domestic product grew 1.6 per cent last year, the lowest since 2011.