ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan has probably never held more global sway: he will host the first direct Russia-Ukraine peace talks in three years on Thursday, days after his country's militant nemesis, the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), dissolved.

Turkey's finance minister said the country's economic transformation was on track and that the country was prepared to deal with slower growth.

The Kurdish insurgent group PKK in Turkey says it will lay down its arms and disband after a decades-long fight that killed tens of thousands.

A top official says Turkey is closely monitoring any attempts to undermine its peace initiative with the PKK following the militant Kurdish group’s announcement that it is ending its decades-long armed conflict with the Turkish state.

The Kurdistan Workers’ Party said it will disarm and disband as part of a peace initiative with Turkey, the PKK-affiliated Firat News Agency reported.

A Turkey-based copper wire manufacturer will invest $34 million in a 91,000-square-foot facility in South Carolina. It is expected to create 135 new jobs.

New weather maps show Europe bright red as the mercury is predicted to soar to a sweltering 36C - just in time for schools half term.