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☆ How to sign up for Threads, Meta's new Twitter competitor
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Ashley Capoot | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The logo of Threads is displayed on a mobile phone screen in front of a computer screen displaying the logo of Instagram in Ankara, Turkiye on July 04, 2023. Meta will officially release Threads, its text-based Twitter competitor, on Thursday, but for those who want to get ahead of the launch, there's a way to access your invitation now. The rate limits drove users to competing apps like Bluesky, the app backed by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, which experienced "record-high traffic" on Saturday. Although the app is set to launch in the U.S. on Thursday, users based in the EU will reportedly have to wait. Open the Instagram app, search "Threads"Open the Instagram app and open the Explore page by clicking the magnifying glass icon in the bottom left.

Persons: Elon Musk, Jack Dorsey Organizations: Meta, Facebook, Twitter, EU Locations: Ankara, Turkiye, U.S

☆ This Clever Crossbody Bag Is My Secret to Stress-Free Travel Days
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Hannah Selinger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

Until, that is, a friend familiar with my travel-purse struggles surprised me with the gift of my new travel savior: the July “Carry Me” Bag. My small, handy purse helped me navigate a new-to-me place with ease, thanks to its clever construction. The Carry Me bag, available in seven different colors—I prefer the Clay hue—is no ordinary travel bag; I’ve had plenty of those. On hot days on my trips to both Turks & Caicos and Türkiye, being able to quickly open my bag and reach for my sunnies was essential. The Carry Me Bag also comes with a detachable, adjustable strap—an essential for my traveling purposes.

Persons: Hannah Selinger, fanny, it’s, I’m Locations: Caicos , New York, Türkiye, Istanbul, Australian

☆ U.S. still expects Sweden's NATO ascension by July despite Turkey tensions, U.S. ambassador says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Lee Ying Shan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Ambassador to Turkiye Jeffry Flake speaking in Washington D.C., United States on May 3, 2023. The U.S. is still holding out hope that Sweden will join NATO by July in spite of Turkey's apprehensions, Ambassador to Ankara Jeffry Flake said. "We hope Sweden can become a member of NATO soon," Flake told CNBC's Dan Murphy Friday, adding that Sweden has taken a number of measures to address Turkey's security concerns. Officials from Sweden, Turkey, Finland and NATO had convened in Ankara with hopes of easing Turkey's objections. Turkey, Finland and Sweden had last year inked an agreement to on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Madrid, committing to address Turkey's security demands.

Persons: Turkey's apprehensions, Ankara Jeffry Flake, Flake, CNBC's Dan Murphy, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Erdogan Organizations: Washington D.C, NATO Locations: Washington, United States, U.S, Sweden, Ankara, Vilnius, Turkey, Finland, Turkish, Anadolu, Madrid

☆ Turkey's Erdogan appoints a former Goldman executive as its new central bank chief
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Lee Ying Shan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Exterior of the Turkish Central Bank, known as Turkiye Cumhuriyet Merkez Bankasi in Ankara. Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has appointed a former Wall Street banker Hafize Gaye Erkan as the country's new central bank governor — another move that could potentially mark a policy pivot away from economic unorthodoxy. Erkan, Turkey's first female central bank chief, was a former managing director at Goldman Sachs and co-CEO at First Republic Bank. She is also Turkey's fifth central bank governor in four years. The caveat would lie in how much autonomy the central bank could exercise, and to what extent —something that Demiralp says investors will have to wait and see.

Persons: Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Hafize Gaye Erkan, —, Turkey's, Goldman Sachs, Mehmet Simsek's, Selva Demiralp, Demiralp Organizations: Turkish Central Bank, Wall Street, First Republic Bank, Princeton, Koç University, CNBC Locations: Ankara, U.S, Istanbul

☆ US sanctions Iranian officials accused of plotting assassinations abroad including against Bolton and Pompeo
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Washington CNN —The Biden administration on Thursday imposed sanctions on Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officials accused of plotting assassinations abroad, including against former national security adviser John Bolton and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. “Ansari, with the support of Shahram Poursafi (Poursafi), an Iranian national, planned and attempted to assassinate two former U.S. government officials,” the Treasury Department said. Pompeo was also a target of the Iranian assassination plot, according to a federal law enforcement source familiar with the investigation and a source close to Pompeo. Seraj “has been involved in failed IRGC-IO operations in Asia and in intelligence operations targeting U.S. citizens,” it said. “Seraj previously led the IRGC-IO Special Operations Division, which is focused on special activity against Israel, where he was responsible for a series of failed operations targeting Israeli nationals,” it added.

Persons: Washington CNN —, Biden, John Bolton, Mike Pompeo, Mohammad Reza Ansari, “ Ansari, Shahram, Poursafi, Bolton, Bush, Qasem Soleimani, Pompeo, Hossein Hafez Amini, “, Rey Havacilik, Sirketi, – Rouhallah Bazghandi, Reza Seraj, Bazghandi “, ” “ Bazghandi, Seraj “, “ Seraj, Brian Nelson, ” Organizations: Washington CNN, Islamic Revolutionary Guard, Force, US Treasury Department, Treasury Department, US Justice Department, Trump, Turkish, Rey, Rey Airlines, IRGC Intelligence Organization, Division, Treasury, Terrorism, Financial Locations: United States, East, Europe, Africa, Iranian, Rey, Türkiye, Iraq, Syria, Istanbul, ”, Asia, Israel

☆ Turkey's market rout deepens after Erdogan's strong election showing
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Libgeorge Canan Sevgili | Canan Sevgili | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Ahead of the elections, opinion polls had showed Kilicdaroglu in the lead, and investors expected him to scrap some of Erdogan's economic policies, including costly efforts to prop up the lira currency. Longer-dated, dollar-denominated government bonds saw the biggest falls in fixed income markets, although key corporate and banking sector bonds also edged lower. Credit ratings agency Fitch said the political and economic uncertainty would continue at least until after the runoff. Banking stocks, which had surged in the week ahead of the election on hopes of a policy change, tumbled another 8% (.XBANK) to take their losses since the election to nearly 20%. The overall Istanbul bourse index (.XU100), which had notched a 6.1% fall on Monday, its largest daily percentage drop since early February, was mostly flat.

☆ President Erdogan is in a 'comfortable position,' Turkiye Raporu says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailPresident Erdogan is in a 'comfortable position,' Turkiye Raporu saysCan Selcuki, director at Turkiye Raporu, discusses Turkey's elections and explains why President Recep Tayyip Erdogan "doesn't need to change any of his rhetoric."

☆ 'Free speech opportunist' Elon Musk caved to government pressure to censor tweets ahead of the Turkish election. Critics argue SpaceX dealings with the country's right-wing leader may have caused the
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Elon Musk's reputation as a free speech absolutist took another hit on Saturday after Twitter sided with the Turkish government and censored the accounts of political opponents ahead of a contentious election. Targeted Turkish dissidentsThe details of the legal request and which specific accounts were targeted were not made public. Yakut had previously shared information about Erdogan's governmental dealings and alleged the Turkish leader had been involved in the disappearance of his son-in-law, Turkish Minute reported last week. "I'm sure this is just a coincidence," users on Twitter posted, some sarcastically, circulating news of Musk's business dealings with Turkey. Musk and representatives for Twitter, SpaceX, and the Republic of Turkey did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.

☆ Turkey's Erdogan faces toughest test yet in landmark election — with high stakes for the world
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

He came to prominence as mayor of Istanbul in the 1990s, and was celebrated in the first decade of the new millennium for transforming Turkey's economy into an emerging market powerhouse. But recent years have been far less rosy for the religiously conservative leader, whose own economic policies have triggered a cost-of-living crisis. Now, given a recent downturn in support for Erdogan, some fear he may play dirty to ensure his hold on power. The stakes are high for the entire country and, more broadly, global geopolitics – and the mood on the ground is tense. Mustafa Kamaci | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images"I'm very concerned that [Erdogan] may deploy underhanded tactics, cheating and even violence," Ibish said.

☆ As Turkey heads to the polls, currency traders are bracing for absolute chaos
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Lee Ying Shan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Turkey is expected to head to the polls on Sunday. In the event of a victory by Erdogan, it's "highly likely the Turkish lira collapses within months," the founder of advisory firm Cribstone Strategic Macro Mike Harris told CNBC. "Ultimately the lack of confidence in investment will mean that the Turkish Lira will probably be among the worst performing currencies in the world for some time," he said. Turkey's monetary policy prioritizes the pursuit of growth and export competition rather than assuaging inflation. Erdogan endorses the unconventional view that raising interest rates increases inflation, rather than taming it.

☆ Ukraine’s corn and wheat exports are set to plummet. Here’s what that means for the world's food supply
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Lucy Handley | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Both Ukraine and Russia were among the world's top producers of commodities such as wheat and barley before the war broke out in February 2022. But the conflict saw the price of U.S. wheat and corn futures hit decade highs (with one benchmark wheat contract hitting an all-time high) and sparked volatility in global wheat prices throughout the year. 2023/24 Ukraine grains exports (corn + wheat) might be 27-30mmt, down 15-18mmt from 2021/22," he added. Global food tradeThe war in Ukraine has contributed to rising food prices, with inflation above 5% in more than 80% of low-income countries, according to World Bank figures. Climate change causing extreme weather is already damaging the food system, according to Alexander, a senior lecturer at Edinburgh University's Global Academy of Agriculture and Food Systems.

☆ Ukraine live war updates: 'U.S. can cheat at any moment,' Russian foreign minister says, claiming NATO's expansion proves this
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

He wrote on Facebook that "ship inspections are being resumed, despite the RF's (Russian Federation's) attempts to disrupt the agreement." Kyiv says Russian inspectors stopped letting through vessels supposed to ship grain from Ukraine. "Obviously, the Russians could not fail to take advantage of these nuances on the western (Ukrainian) border," Solsky told reporters. RIA quoted the Russian foreign ministry as on Wednesday as saying Ukraine and the United Nations were causing difficulties with the ship inspections. Ukraine and Poland reached an agreement on Tuesday to unblock transit of Ukrainian grain from Friday, but the import bans remain in place in Poland, Slovakia and Hungary.

☆ US to advance small F-16 equipment sale to Turkey -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Humeyra Pamuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The U.S. State Department could send the formal notification for the smaller sale, which includes radars and avionics, as early as Monday, the sources said. If it is cleared by Congress during the formal approval process, the package would be the first major military sale to Turkey that Congress has approved for years. The Democratic and Republican leaders of the Senate Foreign Relations and House Foreign Affairs committees, who have cleared the modernization package during the informal review, declined comment. The package is separate from the proposed $20 billion sale of new Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) F-16 fighters and nearly 80 modernization kits that Turkey requested in October 2021. Such conditions are likely to anger Turkey, which has said the United States had "endless" demands relating to the sale of F-16s and that Washington's behavior wasn't fair.

☆ Killer drones and multi-billion dollar deals: Turkey's rapidly-growing defense industry is boosting its global clout
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Drones aren't the only thing elevating Turkey's status as a growing player in the global defense industry. Turnover for the country's defense industry as a whole last year was $10 billion, according to Turkey's Presidency of Defense Industries. And the investment shows in the numbers: research and development in Turkey's defense sector "recently increased by 30 percent," the Atlantic Council's report wrote. Turkish defense manufacturers say they are booked for the next several years with orders to help replenish NATO stockpiles. Those firms also have high demand from Turkey's military alone — it is, after all, the second-largest military in NATO after the United States.

Separately, in a televised interview on Wednesday, Erdogan downplayed the significance of the meeting with Simsek, saying such meetings were ordinary. A senior government official told Reuters the AKP was somewhat divided with some members opposed to Simsek's return, and described the outcome of the Erdogan meeting as "undesirable". The party may now need to revise its economic platform ahead of the election campaign, he added. The AKP declined to comment on whether it was revising its economic strategy ahead of the vote. Two recent polls by MAK and Turkiye Raporu show the opposition presidential challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu between 4 and 9 percentage points ahead of Erdogan.

☆ Cyprus leaders meet as peace talks remain deadlocked
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Iakovos Hatzistavrou/Pool via REUTERSNICOSIA, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Leaders of Cyprus's estranged Greek and Turkish communities met on Thursday as a deadlock persisted in peace talks on the ethnically divided island. The meeting was the first for newly elected Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, the new Greek Cypriot leader, and Ersin Tatar, the Turkish Cypriot leader. Cyprus was split in a Turkish invasion in 1974 after a brief Greek-inspired coup, with Greek Cypriots living in its south and Turkish Cypriots in an unrecognised breakaway north. "The present state of affairs cannot be the solution to the Cyprus problem, not for Greek Cypriots, or Turkish Cypriots," Christodoulides said after the two-hour meeting with Tatar. "I didn't hear anything I didn't expect from Mr Tatar," Christodoulides said.

☆ Death toll rises after fresh earthquake hits Turkey-Syria border
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

View of damaged buildings after an earthquake on February 20, 2023 in Hatay, Türkiye, two weeks after a larger quake in the area killed more than 47,000 people. Six people were killed in an earthquake which struck the border region of Turkey and Syria, CNN Turk reported on Tuesday, two weeks after a larger quake killed more than 47,000 people and damaged or destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes. It said the quake struck while people were in the already damaged building to retrieve possessions before it was demolished. Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said 294 people were injured in Monday evening's earthquake, with 18 seriously hurt and transported to hospitals in Adana and Dortyol. Muna Al Omar said she was in a tent in a park in central Antakya when the ground started heaving again.

☆ Turkey and Syria rocked again by magnitude 6.3 earthquake
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The death toll from a catastrophic earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria has topped 46,000, with search and rescue teams starting to wind down their work. (Photo by Umut Unver / dia images via Getty Images)A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck the Turkey-Syria border region late on Monday, setting off panic and damaging buildings in Turkey's Antakya city two weeks after the country's worst earthquake in modern history left tens of thousands dead. Other witnesses said Turkish rescue teams were running around after the latest quake, checking people were unharmed. Muna Al Omar, a resident, said she was in a tent in a park in central Antakya when the earthquake hit. The two larger earthquakes that hit on Feb. 6, which also rocked neighboring Syria, left more than a million homeless and killed far more than the latest official tally of 46,000 people in both countries.

☆ Death toll rises to more than 21,000, rescues dwindle in earthquake aftermath
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Ahmet Izgi | Anadolu Agency | Getty ImagesEmergency crews made a series of dramatic rescues in Turkey on Friday, pulling several people, some almost unscathed, from the rubble, four days after a catastrophic earthquake killed more than 21,000. The 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit the border region between Turkey and Syria, an area home to more than 13.5 million people, early Monday morning. Mustafa Turan rushed to his hometown of Adiyaman from Istanbul hours after the quake struck to check on his relatives. Aerial footage from over the earthquake zone in Turkey revealed entire neighborhoods of high-rises reduced to twisted metal, pulverized concrete and exposed wires. A woman sits next to the body of her nephew in Kahramanmaras, on February 9, 2023, three days after a 7,8-magnitude earthquake struck southeast Turkey.

☆ Taiwan president to donate a month's salary for Turkey relief efforts
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TAIPEI, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and Vice President William Lai will each donate a month's salary for Turkish earthquake relief efforts, the presidential office said on Thursday, adding to existing aid already sent by the island. Turkey, like most countries, has no diplomatic relations with Chinese-claimed Taiwan, but the two maintain de facto embassies in each other's capitals and there are direct flights between Istanbul and Taipei. Last year, Tsai and Lai also both donated one month's salary to aid humanitarian relief efforts for war-torn Ukraine. Taiwan, which frequently suffers earthquakes itself, has already announced $2 million in disaster relief and has sent two rescue teams to Turkey to help in search efforts for survivors. Turkey joined international efforts and sent rescuers to Taiwan in 1999 after a massive earthquake killed more than 2,000 people.

☆ Turkey's state of emergency is about the prioritization of resources, Turkiye Raporu says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailTurkey's state of emergency is about the prioritization of resources, Turkiye Raporu saysCan Selcuki, director at Turkiye Raporu, discusses the earthquake that hit Turkey and the country's state of emergency.

☆ Taliban administration to send earthquake aid to Turkey, Syria
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] People look on as the search for survivors continues in the aftermath of an earthquake in Kahramanmaras, Turkey, February 8, 2023. REUTERS/Suhaib SalemKABUL, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Afghanistan's Taliban administration will send around $165,000 in aid to Turkey and Syria to help the response to a devastating magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck this week, according to a foreign ministry statement. The Taliban took over in 2021 as foreign forces withdrew, sparking enforcement of sanctions on its banking sector, and no capital has formally recognised its government. Many aid groups have partially suspended operations due to a Taliban administration ruling that most female NGO workers could not work, leaving agencies unable to operate many programmes in the conservative country. Western diplomats have said they will not consider formally recognising the administration unless it changes course on women's rights.

☆ Fears grow for untold numbers buried by Turkey earthquake
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

But there was also widespread despair and growing anger at the slow pace of rescue efforts in some areas. People sitting on the rubble react in the aftermath of an earthquake, in rebel-held town of Jandaris, Syria February 7, 2023. Muhammet Ruzgar, 5, is carried out by rescuers from the site of a damaged building, following an earthquake in Hatay, Turkey, February 7, 2023. Vice President Fuat Oktoy said at least 5,894 people have died from the earthquake in Turkey, with another 34,810 injured. An aerial view shows damaged and collapsed buildings following an earthquake, in Hatay, Turkey February 7, 2023.

☆ U.S. Congress says F-16 sale to Turkey depends on NATO approval
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Humeyra Pamuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 2 (Reuters) - The U.S. Congress cannot support the $20 billion sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey until Ankara ratifies the NATO memberships of Sweden and Finland, a bipartisan group of senators said on Thursday. "Once the NATO accession protocols are ratified by Türkiye, Congress can consider the sale of F-16 fighter jets. A failure to do so, however, would call into question this pending sale," the senators wrote. It was the first time Congress explicitly and directly linked the F-16 sale to Turkey with the NATO accession bids of the two Nordic countries. Turkey requested in October 2021 to buy 40 Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) F-16 fighters and nearly 80 modernization kits for its existing warplanes.

☆ Supreme Court Hears Bid by Turkey’s Halkbank to Avoid Charges
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Jan Wolfe | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Halkbank says it has sovereign immunity because it is majority-owned by the Turkish government. WASHINGTON—The Supreme Court on Tuesday weighed whether to shield Turkey’s Halkbank from charges that it helped Iran evade sanctions by laundering billions of dollars, a high-profile case that stoked tensions between the U.S. and Turkey. The case, Turkiye Halk Bankasi A.S. v. United States, is expected to clarify whether U.S. prosecutors can criminally charge corporations owned by foreign states. Halkbank says it has sovereign immunity because it is majority-owned by the Turkish government.

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