DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

Ten years ago, Emine Kilic, was focused on raising her two children at home in Istanbul when she decided to set up her own clothing company to help support her family. Her business, started with an interest-free government-backed loan for female entrepreneurs, now employs 60 people and exports to 15 countries, said Ms. Kilic, who has an elementary-school education. She credited a powerful motivator who inspired her to transform her life — President Recep Tayyip Erdogan — calling him a champion for women. “Thanks to my president, I became the boss of my own company,” said Ms. Kilic, 38. To beat back the most serious political threat to his two-decade tenure as Turkey’s dominant politician, Mr. Erdogan counted on the fervent support of an often underappreciated constituency: conservative religious women.

☆ Five Takeaways From Turkey’s Presidential Election
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Ben Hubbard | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s re-election grants him five more years to deepen his conservative imprint on Turkish society and to realize his ambition of increasing the country’s economic and geopolitical power. Turkey’s Supreme Election Council named Mr. Erdogan the victor after a runoff election on Sunday. He won 52.1 percent of the vote against the opposition candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who had 47.9 percent with almost all votes counted, the council said. The election was closely followed by Turkey’s NATO allies, including the United States, who have often seen Mr. Erdogan as a frustrating partner because of his anti-Western rhetoric and close ties with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, which have grown since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Mr. Erdogan has given no indication that he plans to change his policies abroad, where he has sought to use Turkey’s place at the juncture of Europe, Asia and the Middle East to expand its influence, or at home, where has consolidated power in his hands and responded to an inflation crisis with unconventional measures that economists said exacerbated the problem.

☆ Despite Inflation, Earthquakes and Tough Race, Erdogan Is Re-elected
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( Ben Hubbard | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan beat back the greatest political challenge of his career on Sunday, securing victory in a presidential runoff that granted five more years to a mercurial leader who has vexed his Western allies while tightening his grip on the Turkish state. His victory means Mr. Erdogan could remain in power for at least a quarter-century, deepening his conservative imprint on Turkish society while pursuing his vision of a country with increasing economic and geopolitical might. Turkey’s Supreme Election Council declared Mr. Erdogan the victor late Sunday. He won 52.1 percent of the vote; the opposition candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu got 47.9 percent with almost all votes counted, the council said. Mr. Erdogan’s supporters shrugged off Turkey’s challenges, including a looming economic crisis, and lauded him for developing the country and supporting conservative Islamic values.

She had also survived a smaller earthquake in the southeastern province of Elazig in 2020, she said, and expected Mr. Erdogan to help now as he had helped then. “Otherwise, the people wouldn’t have voted for him.”Interviews with quake survivors indicated many reasons that the disaster had not changed their political outlook. Some whose homes were destroyed said they had more faith in Mr. Erdogan to rebuild the affected areas than they had in his challenger, the opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu. There are empty lots where buildings that collapsed once stood and blue and white tents sheltering quake survivors are scattered around town. Instead of voting based on the government’s quake response, residents said they focused on other issues.

☆ Erdogan Secures Endorsement of Former Rival for President
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Ben Hubbard | Gulsin Harman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The candidate who came in third in Turkey’s presidential election last week announced on Monday that he was endorsing President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the runoff vote on Sunday, granting Mr. Erdogan an additional boost against his remaining challenger. Mr. Erdogan, the dominant figure in Turkish politics for 20 years, appears to have an edge in the runoff, whose victor will shape Turkey’s domestic and foreign policies for the next five years. Throughout the campaign, Mr. Erdogan aimed to link himself in voters’ minds with the image of a strong Turkey, with expanding military might and geopolitical clout. Although most polls in the run-up to the initial vote on May 14 showed Mr. Erdogan trailing his main challenger, the opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the president overcame voter anger at high inflation and frustration with the government’s initially slow response to catastrophic earthquakes in February to win 49.5 percent of the vote. Mr. Kilicdaroglu, the joint candidate of a coalition of six opposition parties that came together to try to unseat Mr. Erdogan, won 44.9 percent.

☆ He Lost Turkey’s Presidential Election, but Could Swing the Runoff
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Ben Hubbard | Safak Timur | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

ANKARA — As Sinan Ogan tells it, he has suddenly become the most sought-after man in Turkey. They all want the same thing — help wooing his critical swing voters one way or the other in the May 28 runoff between the two front-runners. “Very busy,” Mr. Ogan said at his office in the capital, Ankara, on Tuesday afternoon. Since the vote, Mr. Ogan’s has been called everything from a spoiler, who blocked the top presidential contenders from an outright victory, to a kingmaker whose supporters may play a role in deciding the runoff. That has given him a sudden clout, evidenced by the flood of calls he says he has received this week.

For two decades, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has loomed large over Turkish politics. But skyrocketing inflation and a devastating earthquake have eroded his power and, in a presidential election over the weekend, he was forced into a runoff. Ben Hubbard, The Times’s Istanbul bureau chief, discusses how Turkey’s troubles have made Mr. Erdogan politically vulnerable.

☆ Turkey’s Opposition Struggles to Make Up Ground as Runoff Nears
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Ben Hubbard | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

After heading into elections with high hopes, Turkey’s political opposition is struggling to fight off despair and plot a course to give their candidate a fighting chance against the incumbent, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in a runoff later this month. While Mr. Erdogan, bidding for a third five-year presidential term, failed to win a simple majority in Sunday’s election, he still led the opposition by a margin of about five percentage points. That, and a number of other indications, point to a win for the president in the second round on May 28. For one, Mr. Erdogan looks likely to be the primary beneficiary of votes from supporters of an ultranationalist third candidate, Sinan Ogan, who has been eliminated despite a surprisingly strong showing over the weekend. The first-round results, over all, pointed to growing nationalist sentiment across the electorate that will probably boost the president.

☆ What’s Next for Turkey?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Justin Porter | Jonathan Wolfe | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Although he fell just short of an outright majority, with 49.5 percent of the vote, signs point strongly to yet another Erdogan victory in two weeks. A third candidate, Sinan Ogan, received 5.2 percent, and his right-wing supporters are likely to vote for Erdogan in the runoff, analysts say. Erdogan’s party and its allies also maintained a commanding majority in the parliamentary vote after stepping up nationalist rhetoric. However, my colleague Ben Hubbard reported that Erdogan’s failure to secure an outright majority this weekend indicated that some voters had grown tired of his financial management and drastic consolidation of power. Turkey has been struggling with a sinking currency and painful inflation that exceeded 80 percent last year.

☆ Erdogan’s Grip on Power Is Dented but Not Broken, Vote Shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Ben Hubbard | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

His government was accused of botching its response to catastrophic earthquakes that killed more than 50,000 people just three months ago. Despite all of that, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan came out with a lead over his main challenger in Turkish elections, according to official results released on Monday. With nearly all of the ballots counted on Monday, official preliminary results gave Mr. Erdogan 49.5 percent of the vote versus 44.9 percent for his main challenger, opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu. A third candidate, Sinan Ogan, received 5.2 percent, and his right-wing supporters are more likely to vote for Mr. Erdogan in the runoff, analysts say. Finally, Mr. Erdogan’s party and its allies maintained a commanding majority in the parliamentary vote, likely further increasing his ability to be re-elected.

☆ Four Takeaways from Turkey’s Nail-Biting Presidential Election
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Gulsin Harman | Ben Hubbard | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Turkey’s nail-biter election on Sunday made clear that the people’s faith in the country’s electoral system remains strong and that the incumbent, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is still a formidable political force, despite his failure to secure a first-round victory. A runoff is likely to be held on May 28 after preliminary results showed Mr. Erdogan with 49.4 percent of votes and his main challenger, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, with 45 percent, according to the state-run Anadolu news agency. Mr. Erdogan, who has led Turkey for 20 years, appeared to be in a strong position to emerge with another five-year term. Before the vote, most polls suggested a slight lead for Mr. Kilicdaroglu, the joint candidate of a newly formed alliance of six opposition parties. But the preliminary results showed the enduring appeal and influence of Mr. Erdogan.

He represents a coalition of six opposition parties that have come together to challenge Mr. Erdogan. Recent polls showed Mr. Kilicdaroglu holding a slight lead, despite Mr. Erdogan’s tapping of state resources in an effort to tilt the contest. Mr. Erdogan, 69, is viewed as a problematic and often unpredictable partner of the West. Mr. Erdogan has also vexed fellow NATO leaders by hampering the alliance’s efforts to expand, stalling Finland’s membership and still refusing to endorse Sweden’s inclusion. Mr. Kilicdaroglu, 74, has vowed to improve relations with the West if he is elected and make policy more institutional and less personal.

☆ Nail-Biter Turkish Election Goes to Round 2 as Majority Eludes Erdogan
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( Ben Hubbard | Gulsin Harman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

After he became prime minister in 2003, he presided over a period of tremendous economic growth that transformed Turkish cities and lifted millions of Turks out of poverty. Internationally, he was hailed as a new model of a democratic Islamist, one who was pro-business and wanted strong ties with the West. But over the past decade, Mr. Erdogan’s critics grew both at home and abroad. Mr. Erdogan’s inability to clinch a victory in the first round of voting on Sunday confirmed a decline in his standing among voters angry with his stewardship of the economy and his consolidation of power. In his last election, in 2018, he won outright against three other candidates with 53 percent of the vote.

He said he came back to Antakya, the hardest hit city in the earthquake zone, with eight of his family members. They drove by car for about four hours from another southern province to vote. They cited not only the government’s response to the earthquake, but its handling of the economy in recent years, when inflation has surged. They said it was depressing to return to the earthquake zone and see that the government had only removed rubble, but taken no other discernible actions to pave the way for residents to return. That is a substantial share of the nearly nine million eligible voters in the 11 quake-affected provinces of southern Turkey.

☆ Turkey’s President Amassed Power. He Could Still Lose This Election.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Ben Hubbard | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

ISTANBUL, Turkey — As President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey approaches the toughest election of his career on Sunday, he has marshaled many of the resources of the state to tilt the playing field to his advantage. His challenger barely appears on the state broadcaster while Mr. Erdogan’s speeches are aired in full. And this weekend’s vote will be overseen by an election board that, during recent votes, has made questionable calls that benefited the president. And yet, Mr. Erdogan could still lose. But Mr. Erdogan’s grip on the country could also contribute to his undoing, if voters drop him because of his strongman ways and persistently high inflation that has left Turks feeling poorer.

ApartmentComplex Before dawn on Feb. 6, a powerful earthquake in southern Turkey destroyed an upscale apartment complex, killing hundreds. The main building in the Renaissance complex toppled over, evidence that the building had major vulnerabilities on the lower level and the south side. Tall column Recreational space on ground floor Antis Yapi via Facebook The most vulnerable part of Renaissance was the ground floor, which had an open layout. 3-D model highlights the ground floor columns and recreational spaces. The horizontal forces could have weakened the ground floor columns and possibly torn them apart.

☆ As Turkish Vote Looms, Erdogan Loyalists Can’t Imagine Anyone Else in Charge
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Ben Hubbard | Safak Timur | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

And thanks to a regulation that Mr. Erdogan pushed in the months leading up to the vote, Mr. Akbulut will soon receive an early pension from the government — at age 46. “I will vote for the president,” he added. “Is there anyone else?”The presidential and parliamentary elections are shaping up to be Mr. Erdogan’s toughest electoral fight during his two decades as Turkey’s predominate politician. A cost-of-living crisis has angered many voters, and his government stands accused of mismanaging the initial response to catastrophic earthquakes in February. Recent polls suggest a tight race — and, perhaps, even a defeat — for Mr. Erdogan.

Last decade 2100 scenarios LOW EMISSIONS By 2100, Basra would see almost six months of dangerous heat under the most likely scenario. MEDIUM EMISSIONS HIGH EMISSIONS Jan. July Jan. July Dec. Dec. Heat Index 80°F Caution 90°F Extreme Caution 103°F Danger 125°F Extreme Danger Basra Kuwait City Last decade 2100 scenarios Lower emissions Medium emissions Higher emissions Jan. July Jan. July Dec. Dec. Heat Index 80°F Caution 90°F Extreme Caution 103°F Danger 125°F Extreme Danger Basra Last decade 2100 emissions scenario LOW Medium HIGH Jan. July Dec. Kuwait City Last decade 2100 emissions scenario LOW Medium HIGH Jan. July Dec. Heat Index 80°F Caution 90°F Extreme Caution 103°F Danger 125°F Extreme Danger Basra Last decade 2100 emission scenarios Low Medium High Jan. July Dec. Kuwait City Last decade 2100 emission scenarios Low Medium High Jan. July Dec. Heat Index 80°F Caution 90°F Extreme Caution 103°F Danger 125°F Extreme Danger Kuwait City Basra Today, Basra experiences about 60 dangerously hot days per year. MEDIUM EMISSIONS HIGH EMISSIONS Jan. July Jan. July Dec. Dec. Heat Index 27°C Caution 32°C Extreme Caution 39°C Danger 52°C Extreme Danger Basra Kuwait City Last decade 2100 scenarios Lower emissions Medium emissions Higher emissions Jan. July Jan. July Dec. Dec. Heat Index 27°C Caution 32°C Extreme Caution 39°C Danger 52°C Extreme Danger Basra Last decade 2100 emissions scenario LOW Medium HIGH Jan. July Dec. Kuwait City Last decade 2100 emissions scenario LOW Medium HIGH Jan. July Dec. Heat Index 27°C Caution 32°C Extreme Caution 39°C Danger 52°C Extreme Danger Basra Last decade 2100 emissions scenario Low Medium High Jan. July Dec. Kuwait City Last decade 2100 emissions scenario Low Medium High Jan. July Dec. Heat Index 27°C Caution 32°C Extreme Caution 39°C Danger 52°C Extreme Danger Kuwait City Basra Today, Basra experiences about 60 dangerously hot days per year. Last decade 2100 scenarios LOW EMISSIONS By 2100, Basra would see almost six months of dangerous heat under the most likely scenario. MEDIUM EMISSIONS HIGH EMISSIONS Jan. July Jan. July Dec. Dec.

Search resuls for: "Ben Hubbard"

18 mentions found