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The Mexico City International Airport (AICM) currently sits under the transportation ministry, though the navy has already taken over security operations, including customs. "There's more security, more certainty, the rules are followed better, there's more discipline," with the navy in charge of the airport, Velazquez told reporters on Tuesday. The money currently goes to a fund to pay off bondholders who financed the construction of an airport canceled by Lopez Obrador in favor of building the Felipe Angeles airport on the outskirts of the capital. The little-used, one-year-old Felipe Angeles airport, one of the president's largest public works projects, is also on an active military base. In May, the AICM moved nearly 4 million passengers, according to data from the national aviation authority, while Felipe Angeles airport's passenger numbers were almost 95% lower.

Persons: Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Carlos Velazquez, Velazquez, Benito Juarez, Lopez Obrador, Felipe, Kylie Madry, Jamie Freed Organizations: MEXICO CITY, Mexico City International, Thomson Locations: MEXICO, Mexico, Felipe Angeles

☆ Turkey central bank takes fresh measures for increasing functionality of market mechanisms
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ANKARA, June 25 (Reuters) - Turkey's central bank took fresh steps on Sunday in line with its goals to increase functionality of market mechanisms, after it hiked rates to 15% from 8.5% this week. Turkey's securities maintenance regulation has been simplified to increase the functionality of market mechanisms and strengthen macro financial stability, the Turkish central bank said on Sunday. In a statement after the committee meeting, the bank said it would simplify and improve the existing micro- and macroprudential framework to increase the functionality of market mechanisms and strengthen macro financial stability. With the new regulation, securities that banks must maintain ranged between 3% and 12% of their lira deposits. Previously the requirement of seven additional points applied to banks which held less than 60% lira deposits.

Persons: Nevzat Devranoglu, Huseyin Hayatsever, Daniel Wallis Organizations: Gazette, Thomson Locations: ANKARA, Turkish

"It is clear that to ensure economic confidence, legal consistency is a must," one of the senior officials said. Deniz Ozen, lawyer for the Turkish Workers' Party MP, said authorities are violating Turkish law by keeping him in jail. Emma Sinclair-Webb, Turkey director of Human Rights Watch, said a discredited justice system is a matter of concern especially for European investors. Reinforcing the apparent U-turn, Erdogan on Friday named Hafize Gaye Erkan as central bank governor, paving the way for interest rate hikes. "No matter the economic reforms, the investment will not significantly ramp up," he said.

Persons: Erdogan, Tayyip Erdogan, Mehmet Simsek, Simsek, Mehmet Gun, Orhan Turan, Turkey's, Osman, Deniz Ozen, Emma Sinclair, Hafize Gaye Erkan, Howard Eissenstat, Burcu Karakas, Jonathan Spicer, Catherine Evans Organizations: Better Justice Association, Istanbul Convention, Gazette, Bank, AK Party, of Human, Human Rights, Turkish Workers ' Party, Finance, St, Lawrence University, Thomson Locations: ISTANBUL, Turkey, Istanbul, Osman Kavala, Kavala, Webb

The central bank's first female governor, Erkan is also its fifth chief in four years, underlining the challenge she may face delivering a lasting policy turnaround after Erdogan has all but stamped out the bank's independence in recent years. Analysts now expect Turkey's central bank to hike interest rates to between 20% and 25% from 8.5% as soon as this month. ORTHODOX FINANCE MINISTERErdogan, a self-proclaimed "enemy" of interest rates, has pressed the central bank to deliver stimulus in recent years and has been quick to replace its governor. The central bank slashed its policy rate to 8.5% from 19% in 2021, leaving real rates deeply negative and the lira largely managed by dozens of regulations covering credit and foreign exchange. But the last central bank governor to raise rates, Naci Agbal, was fired in 2021 after less than five months on the job.

Persons: Tayyip Erdogan, Hafize Gaye Erkan, Goldman Sachs, Erdogan's, Erdogan, Kavcioglu, Selva Demiralp, Mehmet Simsek, Simsek, Erkan, Naci Agbal, Marsh, Kathryn Wylde, Wylde, Ali Kucukgocment, Jonathan Spicer, Daren Butler, Cynthia Osterman, Hugh Lawson Organizations: Lira, First Republic Bank, Official Gazette, Koc University, U.S . Federal Reserve, Princeton University, First, JPMorgan, Analysts, FINANCE, Greystone, Partnership, New, Thomson Locations: ISTANBUL, United States, unorthodoxy, Erkan, U.S, New York City

☆ Return of Benin Bronzes delayed after Nigerian president's decree
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Macdonald Dzirutwe | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

But an official gazette signed by President Muhammadu Buhari on March 28 said the Oba of Benin was the rightful owner of all returned Benin Bronzes and was responsible for the management of all places where the artefacts were kept. The commission has in the past signed agreements to return looted artefacts, including from Cambridge college and Germany. The University of Cambridge's Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. There have been questions on whether Nigeria has capacity to safely keep artefacts returned from abroad. The palace has previously said it planned to build a museum to house returned artefacts.

☆ Brazil government to tax income from financial investments obtained abroad
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRASILIA, May 1 (Reuters) - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's government published an executive order aimed at increasing revenue by taxing the capital income from financial investments obtained abroad by individuals who reside in Brazil. Income earned from Jan. 1, 2024, will be considered for that purpose, said the text of the measure published on Sunday night that takes effect immediately. According to the text, income obtained abroad from financial investments will be taxed upon the sale or maturity of assets, while profits and dividends from controlled entities will be taxed on Dec. 31 of each year. Income up to 6,000 reais ($1,203) will be tax exempt, while income above that but below 50,000 reais will be taxed at 15%. The Finance Ministry said the measure had the potential to collect around 3.2 billion reais ($641 million) in 2023, close to 3.6 billion reais in 2024 and 6.7 billion reais in 2025.

☆ Venezuela arrests nine CVG officials over corruption probe
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

CARACAS, April 2 (Reuters) - Venezuelan authorities have taken nine officials from state-owned metals conglomerate Corporacion Venezolana de Guayana (CVG) - including from steel-maker subsidiary Sidor - into custody during corruption investigations, attorney general Tarek Saab said on Sunday. Prosecutors began investigating irregularities at CVG and Sidor on Friday, adding to investigations into alleged corruption at state oil company PDVSA and a government agency overseeing cryptocurrency transactions, both led by Tareck El Aissami who subsequently resigned as oil minister. Nestor Astudillo and Pedro Maldonado, the presidents of Sidor and CVG respectively, are under arrest, as well as four company vice presidents and three managers, Saab said on Twitter. Some 42 people have been arrested as part of investigations into corruption, Saab tweeted on Saturday night, without giving more details. Reporting by Mayela Armas Additional reporting by Deisy Buitrago Writing by Oliver Griffin Editing by Josie KaoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Turkish parliament ratifies Finland's NATO accession as Sweden kept waiting
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The Turkish parliament was the last among the 30 members of the alliance to ratify Finland's membership after Hungary's legislature approved a similar bill earlier this week. Finland and Sweden asked to join NATO last year in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "NATO membership will strengthen Finland's security and improve stability and security in the Baltic Sea region and Northern Europe," the Finnish government said in a statement following the Turkish parliament vote. Twe Turkish parliament's ratification of Finland's NATO membership is set to be approved by President Tayyip Erdogan and then published in the country's Official Gazette. When Finland's instrument of accession document reaches the U.S. State Department, the Nordic country will formally become a NATO member.

☆ Factbox: Steps in Finnish, Swedish path to NATO membership
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Hungary's parliament approved a bill this week to allow Finland to join NATO after Erdogan declared Turkey was ready to approve that bid. Turkey's parliament is expected to follow through on Erdogan's commitment with a vote this week, clearing the way for Finland to join NATO within weeks. Here are the key steps in Finland's and Sweden's path towards NATO membership so far:FINLAND AND SWEDEN SUBMIT MEMBERSHIP REQUESTThe applications, letters signed by the countries' foreign ministers, were formally handed in by Finland's and Sweden's NATO ambassadors on May 18, 2022. FINLAND FORGES AHEADAll NATO countries must ratify a would-be member's application before it can join the alliance. But NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said getting Sweden's application over the line is a top priority.

☆ Venezuela's Maduro suspends PDVSA restructuring committee after minister quits
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Deisy Buitrago | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

CARACAS, March 27 (Reuters) - Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro suspended a committee he had appointed to restructure state oil firm PDVSA under the supervision of Tareck El Aissami, the oil minister who resigned last week amid an expanding anti-corruption probe into the company and the judiciary. The probe has led to 10 officials and 11 businessmen being arrested and 11 more wanted. PDVSA President Pedro Tellechea was appointed as the new oil minister last week, giving him wide control of the industry. Maduro said last week a new restructuring process must begin in PDVSA, formally known as Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A., to audit its accounts and uncover corruption. PDVSA's restructuring commission was created to adopt urgent measures to "protect the industry from imperialist aggression."

☆ Brazil's monetary policy director leaves office amid government uncertainty over replacement
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The central bank stated in a note that Serra's departure follows the end of his term on Feb. 28. The day after Serra's departure, the director of Economic Policy, Diogo Guillen, began temporarily accumulating his function, a common practice at the central bank until substitutions are made. Supervision director Paulo Souza, whose term also expired at the end of February, remains in his current position. Under a 2021 law granting formal autonomy to the central bank, Governor Roberto Campos Neto will remain in office until December 2024. Lula, who has criticized Campos Neto and the central bank for keeping interest rates high to combat inflation, will eventually replace all nine members of the bank's board, which decides monetary policy.

☆ Argentina orders public sector to give up dollar bonds in debt shake-up
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Eliana Raszewski | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Agustin Marcarian/File PhotoBUENOS AIRES, March 23 (Reuters) - Argentina ordered public sector bodies on Thursday to sell or exchange their holdings of 11 sovereign dollar bonds in a bid to reorganize its debt as inflation soared above 100% and its foreign reserves dropped. A presidential decree in Argentina's official gazette said public sector bodies would have to sell or auction five local law dollar bonds maturing between 2029 and 2041, and to swap six foreign law dollar bonds for peso debt. The order makes official plans announced earlier in the week, which had dragged down the value of Argentina's sovereign bonds. These are already in distressed debt territory after a ninth sovereign default and a major debt restructuring in 2020. Public sector bodies will have to sell the local law dollar bonds and exchange foreign law dollar bonds maturing between 2029 and 2046 for debt payable in pesos issued by the Treasury.

[1/5] A Venezuelan flag next to some flags of Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA is pictured near the company's headquarters, in Caracas, Venezuela March 20, 2023. REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez ViloriaCARACAS, March 20 (Reuters) - Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro on Monday accepted the resignation of the country's powerful oil minister following the detention of at least six high level officials amid a corruption probe focused on state-run company PDVSA and the judiciary. Arresting government officials for corruption is rare in Venezuela, a country that rights groups such as Transparency International have described as opaque. The sources also said that at least 20 lower level officials at PDVSA have been arrested in recent days. The arrests are the largest recent crackdown on alleged PDVSA corruption.

Egypt desperately needs the proceeds from privatisation after a series of economic shocks. STAKE SALE DRIVEEgypt set a target in 2022 of raising $10 billion annually over four years through private investment in state assets. Egypt has established its own sovereign fund to bring in private investors to develop state assets, but the move appears designed to attract capital without relinquishing control, said Sayigh. "They want others to help the state with its financial burden, but it's still the state that determines priorities and investments," he said. MILITARY TAX BREAKSFuture asset sales will be complicated by an expansion under Sisi of the military's often opaque economic role, analysts say.

[1/2] Iranian military ship Iris Makran navigates on the coast of Rio de Janeiro as a Brazilian flag flutters in Copacabana Beach, Brazil, February 27, 2023. REUTERS/Ricardo MoraesRIO DE JANEIRO, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Two Iranian warships docked in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday after Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's government granted permission despite pressure from the United States to bar them. "In the past, those ships facilitated illegal trade and terrorist activities, and have also been sanctioned by the United States. Brazil is a sovereign nation, but we firmly believe those ships should not dock anywhere," she said. He traveled to Tehran to meet then-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2010 as he sought to broker a nuclear deal between Iran and the United States.

☆ Turkey introduces regulations for earthquake rebuild -Official Gazette
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] A man walks by a collapsed building and rubble, in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake, in Antakya, Hatay province, Turkey, February 21, 2023. REUTERS/Clodagh KilcoyneISTANBUL, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Turkey has imposed regulations for earthquake rebuilding work in its region hit by this month's devastating tremors, according to a presidential decree published in the country's Official Gazette on Friday. More than 160,000 buildings, containing 520,000 apartments, collapsed or were severely damaged as a result of earthquakes that killed more than 43,000 people in Turkey and left millions homeless in cold winter weather. According to the decree, individuals, institutions and organisations will be able to build residences and workplaces to be donated to the urbanisation ministry and later to be distributed to people impacted by the earthquake. Reporting by Mehmet Dinar; Writing by Ezgi Erkoyun; Editing by Daren Butler and Kim CoghillOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/3] A man carries a sofa out of a destroyed apartment building in the aftermath of the deadly earthquake in Antakya, Hatay province, Turkey, February 20, 2023. More than 160,000 buildings, containing 520,000 apartments, collapsed or were severely damaged in Turkey in the earthquakes. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has pledged to rebuild homes within a year, although experts have said the authorities should put safety before speed. Many survivors have left the region of southern Turkey that was hit or have been settled in tents, container homes and other government-sponsored accommodation. Additional reporting by Mehmet Dinar; Editing by Michael Georgy and Edmund BlairOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

A 7.8 magnitude earthquake on Feb. 6 killed more than 47,000 people, damaged or destroyed hundreds of thousands of buildings in Turkey and Syria and left millions homeless. In Turkey, 865,000 people are living in tents and 23,500 in containers, while 376,000 are in student dormitories and public guesthouses outside the earthquake zone, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday. Six people were killed in the latest earthquake to strike the border region of Turkey and Syria, authorities said on Tuesday. Turkey's internet authority blocked access to a popular online forum, Eksi Sozluk, on Tuesday, two weeks after it briefly blocked access to Twitter, citing the spread of disinformation. Information Technologies and Communications Authority (BTK) website shows the website was blocked late on Tuesday, without citing any explicit reason.

☆ Brazilian ex-senator takes over as Petrobras CEO; shares fall
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Marta Nogueira | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Prates was unanimously approved by the board, on which he will also hold a seat, Petrobras said in a securities filing. He has said the Lula government would not take an aggressively interventionist approach to Petrobras. Petrobras made bumper payouts in recent quarters, but Prates has said the company cannot "just keep tapping sub-salt oil and paying dividends". Prates, who was a senator for the past four years, is the first politician in several years to hold a high-ranking office at Petrobras. Earlier in the day, the Brazilian Senate's official gazette published the resignation of Prates as a lawmaker.

☆ Brazil's Lula removes soldiers from guarding presidential residence
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRASILIA, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has removed 40 troops guarding the presidential residence after expressing distrust in the military for failing to act against demonstrators that ransacked government buildings on Jan. 8. Most of the troops guarding the Alvorada palace, as the presidential residence is called, are from the army, but some are also members of the Navy, Air Force and a militarized police force. The president's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on who would replace the troops guarding the residence. Several thousand Bolsonaro supporters stormed the Congress, the Planalto presidential palace and the Supreme Court seeking to overturn the result of the October election narrowly won by Lula. There were many people from the armed forces who were complicit," Lula told journalists.

PANAMA CITY, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Panama's government on Tuesday doubled down on an order that Canada-based miner First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO) halt operations at its local copper mine, saying the miner had been operating without a contract since 2017. Earlier, First Quantum said it would submit an appeal against Panama's order by the end of the day. On Tuesday, Panama's commerce and industry ministry said First Quantum had been operating without a contract after the previous one was annulled by the Supreme Court in 2017. That court ruling was published in the government's official gazette in December 2021, but First Quantum continued operating as a new deal was negotiated. First Quantum's Chief Executive Tristan Pascall said in a call with investors on Tuesday morning that following the Supreme Court decision, the government of Panama issued public statements "reaffirming that the contract remained valid."

☆ Brazil markets fall after Lula takes office vowing to end poverty
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( Anthony Boadle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, his wife Rosangela "Janja" da Silva and Chief Raoni walk through the ramp of the Planalto Palace after Lula's swearing-in ceremony, in Brasilia, Brazil, January 1, 2023. Lula narrowly defeated far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro in October, swinging South America's largest nation back on a left-wing track. Lula spent his first day in office meeting with more than a dozen heads of state who attended his inauguration. In his swearing-in speech to Congress, Lula said he was not seeking revenge, but any crimes committed under Bolsonaro would be held accountable with due legal process. ($1 = 5.3458 reais)Reporting by Anthony Boadle and Gabriel Araujo in Brasilia Editing by Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Brazil markets tumble on Lula's first full day in office
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( Anthony Boadle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Haddad, who is seeking to dispel market fears that he might not maintain fiscal discipline, took office on Monday, pledging to control spending. "The policies remind us of Dilma Rousseff's government rather than Lula's," Gracia said, referring to Lula's handpicked successor, who was impeached while in office. Allies said Lula's newfound social conscience was the result of his 580 days in prison, Reuters reported on Sunday. Lula kicks off his third presidential term after persuading Congress to pass a one-year, 170 billion-reais increased social spending package, in line with his campaign promises. Lula spent his first day in office meeting with more than a dozen heads of state who attended his inauguration.

☆ Turkish central bank includes other financial firms in securities regulation
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

ANKARA, Dec 31 (Reuters) - The Turkish central bank has included non-bank financial companies in securities maintenance regulations as part of its "liraization strategy" which will be introduced in the New Year. In addition to banks, other financial institutions - such as factoring companies which help firms manage their cash flow - were included in the regulations, according to the Official Gazette published on Saturday. "The securities maintenance practice ... will ensure a balanced course in FX loans in line with the decline in foreign currency funding items," the central bank said in a statement. Reporting by Nevzat Devranoglu; Writing by Huseyin Hayatsever; Editing by David HolmesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Turkey extends FX-protected lira deposit scheme for a year
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

ISTANBUL, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Turkey extended by a year a scheme that had it adopted in the throes of a 2021 currency crisis which protects lira deposits from depreciation versus hard currencies. A presidential decree published in Saturday's official gazette amended the deadline for opening new so-called KKM accounts to Dec. 31, 2023. President Tayyip Erdogan's government introduced the state-backed scheme in December 2021 to stem a historic lira collapse triggered by interest rate cuts that Erdogan had sought. The lira has still lost 29% versus the dollar this year but has held mostly stable since August. Turkish budget payments into KKM stood at 9.3 billion lira ($500 million) in September.

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