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"It is not clear whether some citizens are alive or dead in the earthquake zone. Erdogan's AK Party has said it is committed to a free and fair election that respects the will of the people. BALLOT BOX SECURITYOpposition parties and non-governmental organisations say the exodus of more than 3 million people from the disaster zone poses extra concerns. While some 300,000 to 500,000 of them were thought to have changed addresses, many of those who had left the disaster zone had not, added Tiryaki. For Yigit, the earthquake and what he sees as the government's slow response to the disaster weighs on him as he decides how to vote.

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.

☆ In vote setback for Erdogan, Turkey's HDP will not field candidate
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ANKARA, March 22 (Reuters) - Turkey's pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) and its allies will not field a presidential candidate in May, its co-leader said on Wednesday, raising the prospect of the opposition uniting against President Tayyip Erdogan's re-election bid. Speaking at a news conference, Pervin Buldan did not openly say whether her alliance would support opposition candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu, after they had met on Monday. "For these reasons, we are sharing with the public that we will not field a candidate in presidential elections." Erdogan is facing the biggest challenge to his rule in his more than two decades of leading Turkey. Recent polls show him trailing Kilicdaroglu, the candidate of the opposition alliance of six parties.

☆ Mistakes by the US's top spies allowed China to turn a deadly mid-air collision into an intelligence coup
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( James Bamford | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +36 min

On April 1, 2001, a US EP-3 spy plane collided with a Chinese fighter jet over the South China Sea. One of eleven left in the fleet, the tired 1960s-era spy plane bristled with porcupine-like antennas. Within minutes, however, the fighters had reached the lumbering spy plane, and while Zhao Yu hung back about a half-mile, Wang Wei rapidly closed in. In severe trouble, he immediately radioed the base, telling them he was unable to maneuver and being sucked in by the spy plane. "You are not allowed aboard the aircraft," Osborn said.

The HDP, parliament's third-biggest party, wants the opposition to back demands for Kurdish rights and other issues. The Kurdish party held talks with Kilicdaroglu on Monday and is expected to announce this week whether it will back him. HDP lawmaker Imam Tascier said Kilicdaroglu had acknowledged the "Kurdish problem", terms reminiscent of language used by Erdogan in earlier years when he was seeking Kurdish support. Now, he said, Erdogan "pushed freedoms, democracy, human rights and the Kurdish problem away with the back of his hand". Yet, legal challenges could derail the role of HDP, which also won almost 12% of the national vote in 2018.

At a joint news conference with his Turkish counterpart, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said talks with Turkey on the possibility of restoring ties to ambassadorial level would happen at "the appropriate time". Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Turkey would upgrade its diplomatic relations with Egypt to ambassador level "as soon as possible". "There is a political will and directives from the presidents of both countries when they met in Doha ... to launch the path towards a full normalisation of relations," Shoukry said. Consultations between senior foreign ministry officials in Ankara and Cairo began in 2021, amid a push by Turkey to ease tensions with Egypt, the UAE, Israel and Saudi Arabia. As part of that tentative reconciliation, Ankara asked Egyptian opposition TV channels operating in Turkey to moderate their criticism of Egypt.

☆ Erdogan's AKP party signals return to more orthodox economic policies in draft election manifesto -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Orhan Coskun | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

ANKARA, March 16 (Reuters) - The draft election manifesto of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's AK Party marks a return to more orthodox, free market economic policies, four sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. According to the sources familiar with the draft, the AK's manifesto for the upcoming election will make no reference to Ankara's more recent economic policies but instead to return to his party's prior, more orthodox approach. "The approach to the economy is very similar to that of the 2002 AK Party election manifesto. He said Erdogan's final approval of the manifesto would be required and so far he had not conveyed any dissenting opinion. If he takes office, a radical change is inevitable in economic policies, the bureaucracy and cabinet members to work in harmony with him," the AKP official said.

☆ Erdogan's party pivots back to orthodox economic policies in draft manifesto -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Orhan Coskun | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

☆ Iraqi ambush of Americans made a mockery of 'Mission Accomplished'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Michael Georgy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

[1/5] FILE PHOTO: A U.S. soldier walks past Iraqi detainees standing behind a wired fence, at Abu Ghraib prison outside Baghdad, Iraq May 17, 2004. Arriving in the city an hour or so after the ambush on March 31, 2004, I was confronted by a crowd kicking the head of an incinerated body. I was taking notes, trying to make sense of the furore, when a boy, who was probably aged about nine, approached. HOTSPOTIn the two decades of turmoil since the invasion, Falluja repeatedly emerged as a hotspot. I saw an Iraqi douse one of the corpses with petrol, sending flames soaring into the air.

The polls also show the opposition bloc, called the Nation Alliance, leading the parliamentary race, at least six points ahead of Erdogan's AK Party (AKP) and its allies. The pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) remains comfortably above 10%. A poll conducted on March 6-7 by Alf Research showed Kilicdaroglu at 55.1% and Erdogan on 44.9%. Piar Research showed Kilicdaroglu winning with 57.1%, with Erdogan lagging on 42.9%. ORC Research showed Kilicdaroglu ahead with 56.8% and Erdogan on 43.2%, according to a poll conducted on March 4-6, before Kilicdaroglu was officially announced as the opposition candidate.

Like the original movie, "Avatar: The Way of Water" is directed by James Cameron ("Titanic"). How to watch 'Avatar: The Way of Water'"Avatar: The Way of Water" is currently only available to watch in theaters, so you can't purchase or stream the movie at home just yet. When will 'Avatar: The Way of Water' be available to watch at home? You can watch "Avatar: The Way of Water" at home starting March 28. The sequel repeats one of the biggest draws of the first "Avatar" movie in terms of being a groundbreaking visual spectacle.

[1/5] Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan meets with people in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake in Kahramanmaras, Turkey February 8, 2023. "The earthquake definitely changes our opinion because the first responders and tents were very late to arrive," he said. How big a challenge Erdogan faces is difficult to determine, given the lack of polling in the region. One party official said they would "re-direct" residents' focus to efforts to rebuild and stress no one but Erdogan could do this quickly. The region voted 65% or more for the AKP and its nationalist ally the MHP in the last election in 2018.

☆ Explainer: What's at stake in Turkey's upcoming elections?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The opposition promises to reverse many of the policies of Erdogan, who has championed religious piety, military-backed diplomacy and low interest rates. WHAT'S AT STAKE IN THIS ELECTION FOR TURKEY ... Erdogan has also centralised power around an executive presidency, based in a 1,000-room palace on the edge of Ankara, which sets policy on Turkey's economic, security, domestic and international affairs. Economists say Erdogan's calls for low interest rates sent inflation soaring to a 24-year high of 85% last year, and the lira slumping to one tenth of its value against the dollar over the last decade. How the opposition will garner support among the Kurdish voters, accounting for 15% of the electorate, remains key.

[1/4] Ibrahim Kurt helps salvage belongings from a collapsed home in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake in Nurdagi, Turkey, March 5, 2023. This 20-year-long rapid construction came crashing down in just two minutes," said Hasan Bal, 52, a retired teacher who lost 10 immediate relatives in the magnitude 7.8 quake. The initial quake on Feb. 6 tremor sliced directly through Nurdagi, leaving it among the worst hit communities in Turkey's deadliest modern disaster. Residents say cheap credit had helped the town expand, reflecting a nationwide building boom that has defined Erdogan's two decades in power. Aslan said her family is thankful for a furnished container home where they live for now on the outskirts of town.

[1/2] Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, accompanied by IYI Party leader Meral Aksener and Felicity Party leader Temel Karamollaoglu, talks to media following a meeting of the opposition alliance in Ankara, Turkey March 6, 2023. A cost-of-living crisis amid rampant inflation and years of economic turmoil have eroded Erdogan's support, giving Kilicdaroglu another advantage. Recent polling showed Erdogan's support had edged up since last summer thanks to measures including a raise in the minimum wage. The following year, he was elected unopposed as CHP leader after his predecessor's resignation in the wake of scandal. His election fuelled party hopes of a new start, but support for CHP has since failed to surpass about 25%.

Under a new proposal following a weekend of political intrigue, two popular mayors would serve as vice presidents should the opposition win in the presidential and parliamentary elections on May 14. With polls showing a close race, the vote is the biggest challenge Erdogan has faced in two decades in power. Instead, Aksener proposed that either Ekrem Imamoglu or Mansur Yavas, mayors of Istanbul and Ankara, be the candidate. "She has conveyed the proposal that the two mayors serve as executive vice presidents," Zorlu said. The opposition has failed in previous national votes to pose a serious challenge to Erdogan, whose AKP came to power in 2002.

☆ Turkey's pro-Kurdish party calls for opposition unity after split
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ISTANBUL, March 4 (Reuters) - A leader of Turkey's pro-Kurdish party called on the opposition to unite on Saturday, a day after a separate six-party alliance aiming to defeat President Tayyip Erdogan splintered over who should run for president in May elections. "We call on all social and political opposition to unite around the goals of democracy, justice and freedom in order to raise hope," co-leader Mithat Sancar said after an extraordinary meeting of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) senior ranks. The third-biggest party with 12% support nationally, the HDP is not part of the alliance. But in 2019 its mainly Kurdish supporters helped the alliance win upset mayoral elections in Istanbul, Ankara and other cities. For years, HDP has faced a government crackdown and possible ban over alleged ties to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group, which it denies.

☆ Turkey's opposition alliance to meet after split over election candidate
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ISTANBUL, March 4 (Reuters) - Leaders of Turkey's opposition alliance were expected to meet on Saturday after one of the group's main parties quit the bloc amid disagreement over who should run for president in a national election scheduled for May. The public split on Friday followed months of simmering discord in the alliance and was seen by analysts as a blow to opposition hopes of unseating President Tayyip Erdogan. She said that at a presidential candidate selection meeting this week, five parties in the alliance proposed Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of the Republican People's Party (CHP), as their candidate. According to Kilicdaroglu's daily schedule, the leaders of opposition alliance will meet at 1400 GMT. However, analysts said the opposition disagreement benefited the ruling alliance of Erdogan and his nationalist ally MHP.

MALATYA, Turkey, March 4 (Reuters) - The Trend Garden Residence, an upscale serviced apartment building in the Turkish city of Malatya, boasted a gym, freshly-furnished rooms and a roof-top cafeteria. Erdogan, who has led Turkey since 2003, said following the disaster that building standards have improved under his watch. Among those arrested as part of the Trend Garden probe is Engin Aslan, according to the government officials. Corporate records show he is the majority owner of a Turkish company that, according to land registration documents, owns the building. A spokesperson for the Yesilyurt district municipality, where Trend Garden was located, declined to comment about the building’s registration history.

Speaking at party headquarters in Ankara, the leader of Turkey's right-wing IYI Party, Meral Aksener, said the other five parties in the alliance had put forward Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of the Republican People's Party (CHP), as their presidential candidate. But Aksener said her party, the second biggest in the alliance, would not "bow down" to pressure to accept him. "It is no longer a platform through which potential candidates can be discussed but a table that works to rubber-stamp a single candidate," she said. "Just like over the past 20 years, the opposition turned out to be President Tayyip Erdogan’s greatest asset," Piccoli wrote. "With the main opposition bloc in disarray, Erdogan is now much better positioned to prevail on 14 May."

☆ Bangladesh urges G-20 to force companies making profit from Ukraine war to compensate poor nations
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Sumathi Bala | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Bangladesh's foreign minister said companies making "runaway profit" from the war in Ukraine should compensate affected, less developed nations. "In this war, some companies are making runaway profit... energy companies and the defense companies," AK Abdul Momen told CNBC's Tanvir Gill on the sidelines of the G-20 foreign ministers summit in New Delhi. "Therefore, we will argue that those companies that are making runaway profit, they should dedicate at least 20% of the profit to those countries that are most affected like us," he added, without naming specific companies. The war has also had major global economic ramifications, especially for countries like Bangladesh which imports most of its energy. The foreign minister said about 95% of the country's energy is imported.

☆ Providing energy subsidies is 'costing the government,' says Bangladesh minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | 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 EmailProviding energy subsidies is 'costing the government,' says Bangladesh ministerAK Abdul Momen, Bangladesh's foreign minister, says it's an energy-dependent country trying to grapple with inflation.

☆ UK navy seizes anti-tank missiles being smuggled out of Iran, adding to a mountain of weapons intercepted by the US and its partners at sea
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

UK forces recently intercepted a small boat illegally smuggling missiles from Iran to Yemen. It's the latest incident to see the US and partner forces seize weapons in Middle East waters. U.S. naval forces seized 2,116 AK-47 assault rifles from a fishing vessel transiting along a maritime route from Iran to Yemen. Once these weapons are seized, there are a handful of places they can end up — depending on what, exactly, was obtained during the raid. In some past cases, explosives have been detonated at sea while the rifles and ammunition were sent ashore to be destroyed.

☆ Erdogan indicates Turkey elections to be held on May 14
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ANKARA, March 1 (Reuters) - President Tayyip Erdogan indicated on Wednesday that elections will be held on May 14, sticking to his previous plan for the vote with a date just over three months after a devastating earthquake killed more than 45,000 people in Turkey. "This nation will do what is necessary on May 14, God willing," Erdogan said in a speech to lawmakers from his ruling AK Party in parliament. Erdogan, aiming to extend his rule into a third decade, previously said he was bringing the votes forward to May to avoid holidays in June. Doubts had been expressed about the ability of election authorities to prepare and make logistical arrangements for the voting of those affected in the quake zone, home to some 14 million people. Reporting by Nevzat Devranoglu, Ali Kucukgocmen; Writing by Daren Butler; Editing by Humeyra Pamuk, Alexandra HudsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Earthquake death toll in Turkey rises above 45,000 - AFAD
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ISTANBUL, March 1 (Reuters) - The death toll in Turkey from last month's devastating earthquake has risen to 45,089, the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said on Wednesday, bringing the total toll including Syria to about 51,000. The earthquake and subsequent powerful tremors injured more than 108,000 in Turkey and left millions sheltering in tents or seeking to move to other cities. It said it had put up more than 350,000 tents, with tent cities established at 332 places across the region. On Tuesday, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that it would support Ankara in its response to the quake. Turkey is "doing its best" but still needed international support to help victims, Tedros said.

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