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☆ Turkey's stock market soars as government steps in after earthquake
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

London (CNN) Turkey's stock market soared Wednesday on the first day of trading after a suspension triggered by a devastating earthquake. authorities intervened to boost stock buying: The government announced measures to encourage companies to buy back their shares and ordered pension funds to increase their allocation of stocks, according to a Reuters Shares on Istanbul's stock exchange rose 9.8% by mid-afternoon. Pension funds have also been instructed to increase the mandatory allocation of stocks from 10% to 30% in the government-sponsored part of their plans, according to Reuters. On Monday last week, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake rocked parts of southern Turkey and northern Syria, claiming more than 41,200 lives so far. Two days later, trading on Istanbul's stock exchange was halted after the main index dropped 7% in early dealing, according to Turkey's Central Securities Depository.

☆ Resurfaced videos from 2019 shows Turkish president bragging about builders skirting earthquake construction codes in areas now turned to rubble
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Footage emerged of Turkey's president promoting a policy that weakened building standards, per local media. At least 70,000 buildings in areas where last week's earthquake struck used the policy, experts say. The videos of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan are circulating widely in Turkey as the death toll from this month's devastating 7.8-magnitude earthquake surpassed 33,000 people. Ihlas News Agency via ReutersZoning peace is another name for the Turkish amnesty policy which, on payment of a fine, gives retroactive permits to structures built without planning permission, or not up to code. Estimates vary as to how many buildings in the earthquake zone had taken advantage of the amnesty policy.

☆ Analysis: Investors see Erdogan's earthquake response as pivotal
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Kopf was referring to Turkey's 2002 election which came three years after a 7.6 magnitude earthquake in Izmit near Istanbul that killed nearly 18,000 people. The southeast region hit by Monday's disaster accounts for a much smaller 9.3% of national GDP and a modest 8.5% of exports. Erik Meyersson, a senior economist at Handelsbanken, said it was that power that voters would now need to see working. "But if he bungles the response, perhaps this is the straw that breaks the camel's back." Magnitude 7.9 earthquake hit southern Turkey on Feb. 6Reporting by Marc Jones; Editing by Susan FentonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/4] Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Central Bank Governor Sahap Kavcioglu are pictured during a signing ceremony in Ankara, Turkey, June 8, 2022. But his drastic transformation of the economy and financial markets means such a change would bring its own uncertainties. The election will also determine what role regional military power and NATO member Turkey plays in conflicts in Ukraine, where Erdogan has helped broker talks, and in neighbour Syria. In the short-term it seems to have worked however, halting a years-long rise in Turks converting lira into dollars. Last week, Turkey had no problem borrowing $2.75 billion from international capital markets.

[1/4] A supporter of Turkey's main pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) holds a mask of their jailed former leader and presidential candidate Selahattin Demirtas during a rally in Ankara, Turkey, June 19, 2018. Turkey's constitutional court opened the case against the HDP in 2021, drawing strong criticism from Ankara's Western allies. "Even if Erdogan puts pressure on voters, even if he tries to use tricks, he cannot avoid defeat," Demirtas said. 'WE ARE THE PEOPLE'Ahead of the elections, Demirtas' Twitter account has issued daily political messages to its more than 2 million followers. The party currently plans to propose its own presidential candidate, but Demirtas did not rule out backing a joint opposition candidate against Erdogan.

☆ Cargo ship from Ukraine grounded in Bosphorus strait, traffic halted
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] Turkish Navy's rescue ship TCG Isin sails in the Bosphorus as the Palau-flagged bulk carrier MKK1, carrying grain under UN’s Black Sea grain initiative, is seen drifted aground in Istanbul, Turkey January 16, 2023. REUTERS/Yoruk IsikISTANBUL, Jan 16 (Reuters) - The cargo ship MKK 1, travelling from Ukraine to Turkey, was grounded in Istanbul's Bosphorus Strait on Monday and traffic in the strait was suspended but no damage was reported, shipping agents Tribeca said. Several tugs were among vessels sent to provide assistance to the ship, the coastguard authority said. Television footage showed the bow of the ship, carrying 13,000 tonnes of peas, grounded close to the coastline on the Asian side of the Bosphorus. Tribeca said the Palau-flagged general cargo ship was grounded at Acarburnu at the northern end of the strait early on Monday as it headed southbound.

☆ An architect shares interior-design upgrades for 4 rooms in your home for an extra-cozy winter
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Zoe Rosenberg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

NYC architect and designer Michael Gabellini recommended four upgrades to make a home extra cozy. His clients may demand luxury, but that doesn't mean that some upgrades can't be affordable. Install heated walls in the bathroomGabellini Sheppard designed the interiors for 611 West 56th Street in New York, with bathrooms that include heated floors. He's seeing a growing demand for heated walls, which are already popular in Germany. Gabellini SheppardYou've heard of heated floors — and now, heated walls — but what about heated countertops?

☆ Former Pope Benedict was first pontiff to resign in 600 years
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( Philip Pullella | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +14 min

[1/3] Pope Benedict XVI blesses a baby as he rides around St Peter's Square to hold his last general audience at the Vatican February 27, 2013. REUTERS/Max Rossi/File PhotoVATICAN CITY, Dec 31 - Former Pope Benedict, who died on Saturday aged 95, was the first pontiff in 600 years to resign, leaving behind a Catholic Church battered by sexual abuse scandals, mired in mismanagement and polarised between conservatives and progressives. Benedict, the first German pope in 1,000 years, had good relations with his successor, Pope Francis, but his continued presence inside the Vatican after he stepped down in 2013 further polarised the Church ideologically. Although he said he would remain "hidden from the world", Benedict did not live up to that promise and in retirement sometimes caused controversy and confusion through his writings. Ganswein's role as a middleman between Benedict and the cardinal was unclear, with many believing he had misled Benedict, the cardinal, or both.

☆ The tunnels and bridges linking Asia to Europe
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( Lisa Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Sometimes called FSM Köprüsü, it’s another gravity-anchored steel suspension bridge similar in length to the First Bridge and costing a similar toll fee to use. Yavuz Sultan Selim BridgeThe Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge opened in 2016. irina lepnyova/Adobe StockIn 2016, a third suspension bridge opened up across the Bosphorus, near the Black Sea. With a 58.8-meter-wide single deck slab, it is the world’s widest suspension bridge, able to carry eight lanes of traffic and a double-track railway line. Çannakale 1915 BridgeThe 1915 Canakkale Bridge has the world's longest suspension bridge span. Measuring just short of 2.3 miles, it now claims the world record for the longest suspension bridge span.

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☆ Erdogan says courts will fix any mistakes after Istanbul mayor's sentencing
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ISTANBUL, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday that the courts would correct any mistakes in an appeal process after the jailing of Istanbul's opposition mayor, and in the meantime Turks had no right to ignore legal rulings. "There's still no final court decision yet. The case will go to the Court of Appeals and the Court of Cassation," Erdogan said. "There have been many court rulings that we have harshly criticised ourselves, but that doesn't give anyone the right to insult judges or to ignore court rulings," Erdogan told a rally at Mardin in Turkey's southeast. Reporting by Azra Ceylan; Writing by Jonathan Spicer; Editing by John Stonestreet and David HolmesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Thousands protest in Turkey over Istanbul mayor's conviction
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Ezgi Erkoyun | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/15] Supporters of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu gather in front of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality during a rally to oppose the conviction and political ban of Imamoglu, in Istanbul, Turkey December 15, 2022. Alp Eren Kaya/CHP via REUTERSISTANBUL, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Thousands of people rallied in Turkey on Thursday to oppose the conviction and political ban of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, chanting slogans criticising President Tayyip Erdogan and his ruling AK Party before elections next year. A Turkish court on Wednesday sentenced Imamoglu, a popular rival to Erdogan, to two years and seven months in prison, which like the ban must be confirmed by an appeals court. "We are here today to protect our rights and the votes of millions of people from Istanbul. His comfortable win in the re-run vote ended the 25-year rule in Istanbul of the AKP and its Islamist predecessors.

☆ Turkish court sentences Erdogan rival to jail with political ban
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Ali Kucukgocmen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

A six-party opposition alliance has yet to agree their presidential candidate, and Imamoglu has been mooted as a possible leading challenger to run against Erdogan. 'VERY SAD DAY'[1/5] Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu and his wife Dilek sit at his office as a Turkish court sentenced Imamoglu, a popular rival of President Tayyip Erdogan, to more than two years in prison and imposed a political ban for insulting public officials, in Istanbul, Turkey, December 14, 2022. A jail sentence or political ban on Imamoglu would need to be upheld in appeals courts, potentially extending an outcome to the case beyond the elections date. "The ruling will be final only after the higher court decides whether to uphold the ruling or not. Under these circumstances, it would be wrong to say that the political ban is in place," Timucin Koprulu, professor of criminal law at Atilim University in Ankara, told Reuters after the ruling.

☆ Oil steadies after falls as weak economy offsets supply risks
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Dmitry Zhdannikov | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

China, the world's biggest crude oil importer, continued to loosen its strict zero-COVID policy, though streets in the capital Beijing remained quiet and many businesses stayed shut over the weekend. UBS said it believed Brent should recover to above $100 per barrel in the coming months amid supply constraints and rising demand while OPEC+ would keep supply tight. On Sunday, Canada's TC Energy (TRP.TO) said it had not yet determined the cause of the Keystone oil pipeline leak last week in the United States. "The emergent EU embargo on Russian crude... may add moderate upside energy price risks in the next few months. But supply uncertainty should ease by spring 2023, after the embargo on oil products (on Feb.5) plays out," Deutsche Bank said in a note.

☆ Oil up $2 a barrel on supply risks amid ongoing Keystone outage
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude settled at $73.17 a barrel, rising $2.15, or 3%. The potential of a prolonged outage of TC Energy Corp's Canada-to-U.S. Keystone crude oil pipeline helped turn prices around. Traders worried about how long it would take to clean up and restart the Keystone oil pipeline after more than 14,000 barrels of oil leaked last week, the largest U.S. crude oil spill in nearly a decade. The outage is expected to shrink supplies at the Cushing, Oklahoma storage hub, and delivery point for benchmark U.S. crude oil futures. "The emergent EU embargo on Russian crude... may add moderate upside energy price risks in the next few months.

☆ G7 oil price cap not to blame for Turkey tanker queues, EU says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Kate Abnett | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The queues have coincided with the introduction of a plan this week by G7 countries and the European Union to stop insurers from helping to export Russian oil by ship unless it is sold at a capped price, in an attempt to reduce Moscow's oil revenues. "This situation is not due to the G7 oil price cap, since there is, in any case a 45-day wind-down period for seaborne Russian crude oil purchased before 5 December," a European Commission spokesperson told Reuters in emailed comments. The Commission spokesperson said that after this transition period, Turkish authorities can continue to verify the insurance policies of tankers in "exactly the same way as before". "We are therefore in contact with the Turkish authorities to seek clarifications and are working to unblock the situation," the spokesperson said. On Thursday, dismissing pressure from abroad over the lengthening queue, Turkey's maritime authority said it would continue to keep out of its waters oil tankers that lacked the appropriate insurance letters, and it needed time for checks.

☆ Twenty oil tankers wait to cross Istanbul's Bosphorus Strait -shipping agency
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ISTANBUL, Dec 9 (Reuters) - One more tanker took to 20 on Friday the number of vessels waiting in the Black Sea to pass through Istanbul's Bosphorus Strait on the way to the Mediterranean, the Tribeca shipping agency said, amid talks to disperse the build-up. On Thursday, dismissing pressure from abroad over the lengthening queue, Turkey's maritime authority said it would continue to keep out of its waters oil tankers that lacked the appropriate insurance letters, and it needed time for checks. Eight tankers were also waiting for passage through the Dardanelles strait into the Mediterranean, down from nine a day earlier, Tribeca said, making a total of 28 tankers waiting for southbound passage. It requires vessels to provide proof of insurance covering the duration of their transit through the Bosphorus strait, or when calling at Turkish ports. Reporting by Daren Butler and Can Sezer; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Clarence FernandezOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Number of oil tankers waiting at Bosphorus rises by five - Turkish agency
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ISTANBUL, Dec 8 (Reuters) - The number of oil tankers waiting in the Black Sea to cross Istanbul's Bosphorus strait on the way to the Mediterranean rose by five to 16 on Thursday, a shipping agency said, amid talks between Western and Turkish officials on steps to resolve the tanker queues there. A British Treasury official has said those talks were happening after the G7 and European Union rolled out new restrictions on Dec. 5 aimed at Russian oil exports. But a separate Turkish measure in force since the start of the month has caused a logjam, requiring vessels to provide proof they have insurance covering the duration of their transit through the Bosphorus strait or when calling at Turkish ports. The Tribeca shipping agency named five new tankers longer than 200 metres waiting north of the Bosphorus strait to cross southbound towards the Mediterranean Sea, in addition to the 11 named a day earlier. At the Dardanelles strait further south, nine tankers were waiting to cross southbound, down from 12 a day earlier, the agency said.

☆ Factbox: Why are oil tankers stuck in Turkish waters?
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Jonathan Saul | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

LONDON, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Turkey's maritime authority said on Thursday it would continue to block the passage of oil tankers that don't carry appropriate insurance letters, adding that insurance checks on ships in its waters were a "routine procedure". The logjam is creating growing unease in oil and tanker markets and comes as the G7 and European Union introduce a price cap on Russian oil. Millions of barrels of oil per day move south from Russian ports through Turkey's Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits into the Mediterranean. Ships typically have protection & indemnity (P&I) insurance, which covers third party liability claims including environmental damage and injury. Turkish authorities introduced new requirements, which came into effect at the beginning of December, in which every ship must have P&I insurance cover in place for all circumstances when sailing through Turkish waters or when calling at ports.

☆ Turkish air strikes hit villages in northern Syria, SDF says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 20 (Reuters) - Turkish aircraft shelled two villages populated with internally displaced people in northern Syria, a spokesman for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said on Twitter late on Saturday. Turkey said on Tuesday it plans to pursue targets in northern Syria after it completes a cross-border operation against outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants in Iraq, following a deadly bomb last weekend in Istanbul. "In addition to the Dahir al-Arab village, which is populated with Ras al-Ain IDPs who were also forcibly displaced by the Turkish occupation in 2019," he added. No group has claimed responsibility for the blast on the busy pedestrian avenue, and the PKK and SDF have denied involvement. Turkey has conducted three incursions so far into northern Syria against the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, which it says is a wing of the PKK.

☆ Turkish air strikes target Kurdish militants in Syria and Iraq
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ISTANBUL, Nov 20 (Reuters) - The Turkish defence ministry said early on Sunday it carried out air strikes on outlawed Kurdish militant bases in northern Syria and northern Iraq, which it said were used to carry out attacks on Turkey. The strikes targeted bases of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, which Turkey says is a wing of the PKK, the ministry added in a statement. Turkey said on Tuesday it plans to pursue targets in northern Syria after it completes a cross-border operation against the PKK militants in Iraq, following a deadly bomb last weekend in Istanbul. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said late Saturday that Turkish aircraft shelled two villages populated with internally displaced people in northern Syria. Turkey has conducted three incursions so far into northern Syria against the YPG militia.

☆ Turkey to pursue targets in Syria, official says after Istanbul blast
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Orhan Coskun | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

ANKARA, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Turkey plans to pursue targets in northern Syria after it completes a cross-border operation against outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants in Iraq, a senior official said on Tuesday, after a deadly weekend bomb in Istanbul. The government has blamed Kurdish militants for the blast on Istanbul's Istiklal Avenue on Sunday that killed six people and injured more than 80. Threats posed by Kurdish militants or Islamic State on Turkey are unacceptable, the official told Reuters, adding that Ankara will clear threats along its southern border "one way or another." "Syria is a national security problem for Turkey. Turkey has conducted three incursions so far into northern Syria against the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, which it says is a wing of the PKK.

☆ Factbox: Deadly Istanbul blast echoes past attacks in Turkey
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Dec 31, 2016 - Islamic State claimed responsibility for a New Year's Day mass shooting in which 39 people were killed after a lone gunman opened fire in a packed Istanbul nightclub. View of ambulances and police at the scene after an explosion on busy pedestrian Istiklal street in Istanbul, Turkey, November 13, 2022. March 19, 2016 - A suicide bomber killed four people in a busy shopping district of Istiklal Street in the heart of Istanbul. Jan 12, 2016 - A suicide bomber killed at least 10 people, most of them German tourists, in Istanbul's historic heart in an attack then authorities blamed on Islamic State. Sept 8, 2015 - Kurdish militants killed 15 police officers in two bombings in eastern Turkish provinces of Mardin and Igdir.

☆ Turkey blames Istanbul blast on Kurdish militants, arrests 22, including bomber
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] Police members transport the body of an unidentified person after an explosion on busy pedestrian Istiklal street in Istanbul, Turkey, November 13, 2022. "We have evaluated that the instruction for the attack came from Kobani," Soylu said, adding that bomber had passed through Afrin, another region in northern Syria. Hundreds of people fled the historic Istiklal Avenue after the blast on Sunday, as ambulances and police raced in. Turkey has carried out three incursions in northern Syria against the YPG, with the latest in 2019, seizing hundreds of kilometres of land. Condemnations of the attack and condolences for the victims poured in from several countries including Azerbaijan, Britain, Egypt, Greece, Italy, Pakistan and Ukraine.

☆ Person who left bomb causing Istanbul explosion arrested - Anadolu citing minister
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Nov 14 (Reuters) - The person who left the bomb that caused Istanbul's explosion was arrested by the police, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said on Monday according to state-run Anadolu agency's English-language Twitter account. Six people were killed and 81 others wounded on Sunday when an explosion rocked a busy pedestrian street in Istiklal Avenue in central Istanbul in what Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan called a bomb attack that "smells like terrorism". read moreReporting by Nayera Abdallah; Editing by Jacqueline WongOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ At least one dead in blast in central Istanbul, cause unknown, reports say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] Ambulances and security is seen after an explosion on busy pedestrian Istiklal street in Istanbul, Turkey, November 13, 2022. REUTERS/Kemal AslanISTANBUL, Nov 13 (Reuters) - An explosion in the centre of a busy pedestrian street in central Istanbul left at least one dead and other people wounded and running from the scene of the fiery blast, according to the local governor, published videos and Turkish media. State broadcaster TRT and other media showed ambulances and police heading to the scene on Istanbul's popular Istiklal Street in the Beyoglu district. State-owned Anadolu agency said the cause of the blast was not yet known. Reporting by Azra Ceylan and Jonathan Spicer; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle and Gareth JonesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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