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☆ Chiseled gladiators, tight leather pants, and copious amounts of olive oil: Inside Turkey’s ancient oil wrestling festival
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-10 | by ( Scott Mclean | Umut Sevdi Tangor | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

He pours a bottle filled with a mixture of water and olive oil into the pants, and then with a few firm tugs on the waistband and a wiggle of the hips, he’s in. Koca is one of hundreds of wrestlers competing at this year’s Kirkpinar Oil Wrestling Festival in northwestern Turkey. The sport is similar to regular wrestling, except here, the competitors are covered head to toe in olive oil. Record breakerThe annual Kirkpinar Oil Wrestling Festival has been running for more than 600 years. Participants are doused in olive oil before taking part.

Persons: Cem Tekkesinoglu, Orhan Ghazi, ”, Abdullah Basar, ” Basar, –, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, Filiz, Ferda Demir, Koca, They’ve, “, Hakan Mehmet Sahin, Basar, ‘ I’ve, ’ ”, I’ve, ” Akin, ” Guray Ervin, Tanem Zaman Organizations: CNN, Turkey CNN, Oil Wrestling, Anadolu Agency, Oil, Getty, Olympic, 663rd, “ Wrestling Locations: Edirne, Turkey, Koca, Anadolu, Republic of Turkey

☆ ‘Miss AI’ beauty pageant and the complicated quest for the ‘perfect’ woman
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-27 | by ( Issy Ronald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

None of these women are real — everything about them, even the emotion that flickers across their faces, is generated by artificial intelligence (AI), for the world’s first ever AI beauty pageant. Fanvue World AI Creator AwardsEach of the contestants has a unique and distinctive personality, as well as face. But, echoing the reality of most modern Miss USA beauty pageant winners since the competition’s inception in 1921, most are White, thin and have long hair and symmetrical features, detailed Hilary Levey Friedman — a sociologist and author of “Here She Is: The Complicated Reign of the Beauty Pageant in America” — in a phone interview. Fanvue World AI Creator AwardsCreators of these AI models add that the technology itself is not necessarily the problem. Fanvue World AI Creator Awards“Influencers are just behind a screen,” Mohammad Talha Saray, one of Seren Ay’s creators, said.

Persons: ” Dr Kerry McInerney, Lalina, Turkey’s, Kemal Ataturk, Anne Kerdi, Zara Shatavari, Hilary Levey Friedman, Aiyana, McInerney, “ They’re, they’re, they’re compling, ” Aiyla Lou, “ DALL, Furkan Sahin, Seren, ”, Sally, Ann Fawcett, “ there’s, “, ” Fawcett, Asena, Sahin, Sofía, ” Eliza Khan, Levey Friedman, “ There’s, Merriam, Novales, Aitana, Lil Miquela, Calvin Klein, ” Mohammad Talha Saray, there’s, Anne Kerdi’s, Sébastien Keranvran, Anne, ” Anne Kerdi, Anne goodnight, Fanvue, it’s Organizations: CNN, Leverhulme Centre, Intelligence, University of Cambridge, Pageant, America ”, Miss, Prada Locations: French, Kyoto, Japan, Brittany, France, Miss USA, America, Brazil, Morocco

☆ Erdogan turns up the heat on Israel as his party’s popularity wanes
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-05 | by ( Scott Mclean | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Beyond the sputtering Turkish economy – many pundits blamed the electoral setback on his stance on Israel and its war in Gaza. There are no sanctions, no concrete steps taken, trade with Israel still continues,” said New Welfare’s leader Fatih Erbakan in March. For Erdogan, ‘Hamas is Palestine’Experts say the comment made by Erdogan in the presence of the Greek leader may have in fact been intended for an audience closer to home. Chris McGrath/Getty Images“For Erdogan, Hamas is Palestine. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (C) and state officials in Ankara, Turkey on October 29.

Persons: Recep Tayyip Erdogan, –, Hitler, Erdogan, Erdogan’s, ”, Fatih Erbakan, Israel, Seda, “ Erdogan, Ismail Haniyeh, Handout, Murat Cetinmuhurdar, ” Erdogan, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, ” Mitsotakis, misspoke, Gazans, ‘, Evren Balta, Chris McGrath, ” Balta, Ozgur Ozel, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, “, Ekrem Imamoglu, they’ve, Fabrice Pothier, Jens Stoltenberg, Akif Cagatay Kilic, Haniyeh “, hasn’t, Benjamin, Netanyahu –, isn’t, Hakan Fidan, Fidan, Antony Blinken, Adem Altan, Balta, Turkey isn’t, Pothier, it’s Organizations: Turkey CNN, Palestinian, NATO, New Welfare, New, Isik University, CNN, Welfare, Israel, International Court of Justice, of Independence, Anadolu, Getty, TRT, Greek, “, Turkish Ministry of Health, Ozyegin University, West Bank, CHP, Rasmussen Global, German Press Agency, Hamas, Turkish, Qatar, Turkish Foreign Ministry Locations: Istanbul, Turkey, Gaza, Israel, Turkish, of, Ankara, “, ”, Palestine, NATO, Palestinian, Washington, Tehran, AFP, Iran, Qatar

☆ Turkey's inflation accelerates to nearly 70% in April
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Turkey's inflation accelerated to 69.8% annually for the month of April, the Turkish Statistical Institute reported Friday. On a monthly basis, Turkey's inflation increased 3.18%, led by price rises in alcoholic beverages and tobacco, and hotels, cafes and restaurants. April's inflation rate marks the highest annual increase since November 2022, when inflation was around 85%. But any hopes of interest rate cuts are a long way off, economists said. Turkey's central bank has hiked its key interest rate to 50%, citing the continuing need to counter climbing inflation in the country.

Persons: Kemal Ataturk, April's, Liam Peach Organizations: Turkish, Turkish Statistical Institute, Economics Locations: Turkish, Sisli, Istanbul, Turkey, London

☆ Turkey’s main opposition party wins major cities in elections blow to Erdogan
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-01 | by ( Scott Mclean | Mohammed Tawfeeq | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Istanbul CNN —Turkey’s local elections on Sunday marked a major defeat for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party, as the main opposition party claimed victory in key cities including Istanbul and Ankara. After his presidential victory, Erdogan had his sights on reclaiming cities lost to the opposition in 2019. Preliminary official results showed the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) had won 49 out of 81 municipalities including 14 out of 30 urban areas in the country, Turkey’s High Electoral Council said. The AK Party lost 10 Istanbul districts to rivals in the latest election. “Unfortunately, we could not get the result we wanted and hoped for in the local election test,” Erdogan said in a speech delivered Monday at AK Party headquarters in Ankara.

Persons: Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Erdogan, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, Ekrem, Mansur Yavas, Tugay, ” Imamoglu, ”, Beyoglu, ” Erdogan Organizations: Istanbul CNN —, Development, Party, Republican People’s Party, Electoral, CHP, TRT, Nationwide, “, Erdogan, Welfare Party, AK Party –, AK Party Locations: Istanbul, Ankara, Turkey, Izmir, “ Istanbul, Sunday’s

☆ Muslims in shock over anti-Islam party's Dutch poll win
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-23 | by ( Bart H. Meijer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] People walk past shops in Kanaleneiland, an immigrant-dominated area of the central Dutch city of Utrecht, Netherlands November 23, 2023. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw Acquire Licensing RightsTHE HAGUE, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Dutch Muslims expressed shock on Thursday at the election win of far-right populist Geert Wilders, who has previously called for mosques and the Koran to be banned in the Netherlands. "These election results are shocking for Dutch Muslims. Muslims make up around 5% of he Dutch population of almost 18 million people. After his surprise win, Wilders said he wanted to be prime minister for all Dutch people, but that appeared to do little to assuage concerns about what he might do later.

Persons: de Wouw, Geert Wilders, Wilders, Mark Rutte's, Muhsin Koktas, Mehdi Koc, Taheri, Koc, Kemal Yildiz, Yildiz, Stephanie van den Berg, Bart Meijer, Alexander Smith Organizations: REUTERS, HAGUE, Freedom Party, Labour, The Hague, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Kanaleneiland, Dutch, Utrecht, Netherlands, The

☆ Turkey's central bank hikes interest rate by 500 basis points to 40%, well above expectations
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-23 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Turkey's Taksim Square, with the figure of Kemal Ataturk, the first president, and the Turkish flag in the background. Turkey's central bank on Thursday hiked its key interest rate, the benchmark one-week repo rate, by another 500 basis points to 40%. The move was seen as a continuation of the bank's attempt to combat high inflation and a falling lira , the Turkish currency. Timothy Ash, emerging markets strategist at BlueBay Asset Management, was one of the few experts who expected a 500-basis-point hike. "Really impressive move by the CBRT [Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey] - probing their orthodoxy and getting well ahead of expectations," he said in a note.

Persons: Turkey's, Kemal Ataturk, Timothy Ash Organizations: Turkish, BlueBay Asset Management, Central Bank of, greenback Locations: Turkish, Republic of Turkey, Ankara

☆ Erdogan criticises top Turkey court, stoking 'judicial crisis'
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Ece Toksabay | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Murat... Acquire Licensing Rights Read moreANKARA, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan waded into a brewing judicial crisis on Friday, criticising the Constitutional Court for "many mistakes" and backing an unprecedented challenge to it by an appeals court, as opponents marched in Ankara. In a twist - which critics said highlighted the diminished state of Turkey's legal system - the top appeals court said the Constituional Court's ruling was unconstitutional. "The Constitutional Court cannot and should not underestimate the step taken by the Court of Cassation on this matter," he said. They were headed to the appeals court and video showed they were briefly delayed by police. "The Court of Cassation's backlash (...) is an open and combative attack against the Constitutional Court," said Bertil Oder, professor of constitutional law at Koc University.

Persons: Tayyip Erdogan, Ozgur Ozel, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, Murat, Tayyip Erdogan waded, Erdogan, Osman, Bertil Oder, intimidates, Ezgi Erkoyun, Jonathan Spicer, Emelia Sithole Organizations: Republican People's Party, Cassation, Constitutional, AK Party, Union, Koc University, Thomson Locations: Ankara, Turkey, ANKARA, Uzbekistan

Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu attends a swearing-in ceremony as he is accompanied by Ozgur Ozel at the Turkish parliament in Ankara, Turkey, June 2, 2023. REUTERS/Umit Bektas/file photo Acquire Licensing RightsANKARA, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) on Sunday elected Ozgur Ozel as its new leader, ending a 13-year term for incumbent Kemal Kilicdaroglu, as the country gears up for local elections next March. Ozel, 49, has been serving as the CHP's deputy parliamentary group chairman since 2015 and has been a lawmaker since 2011. Ozel, a pharmacist by trade, received 812 of 1,366 possible votes at a tense, hours-long party congress in Ankara that took two rounds. Imamoglu supported Ozel in a push for change at the CHP that has long been bogged down by in-fighting.

Persons: Kemal Kilicdaroglu, Ozgur Ozel, Umit, Tayyip Erdogan, Ozel, Kilicdaroglu, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, Imamoglu, Erdogan, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, Ozer Sencar, pollster Metropoll, Sencar, Daniel Wallis, Hugh Lawson, David Evans Organizations: Republican People's Party, Turkish, REUTERS, Rights, Sunday, Istanbul Mayor, CHP, Thomson Locations: Ankara, Turkey, Rights ANKARA, Ozel, Istanbul, Black Sea, Rize, Turkey's

☆ Video seems to show Hamas fighter running up to an Israeli tank, planting an explosive on it, then shooting it
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Hamas' fighters released footage purporting to show an Israeli tank under attack. AdvertisementAdvertisementHamas released footage that appears to show the guerrilla-style destruction of an Israeli tank in Gaza. In what appears to be helmet-cam footage, the fighter spies a number of tanks from behind bushes. That video did not align with that — there were no visible infantry or other forces who acted to stop the Hamas fighter. Analysts have predicted that Israel's fight in Gaza — which has seen massive civilian destruction — would not be a lightning offensive.

Persons: —, — Levent Kemal, Al, Muhammad A'sar, Hisham Ibrahim, Ibrahim, Israel wouldn't, Israel, Shlomo Brom Organizations: Service, Qassam Brigade, Sky News, CNN, Economist, Analysts, Guardian Locations: Gaza, Al, Yassin, Gaza's, Zaytoun, Russia, Ukraine, Israel

☆ Turkey is celebrating 100 years as a republic. But today’s nation is a long way from 1923’s secular state
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( Zara Khan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Today’s Turkey, however, is starkly different from the secular, Westernized state envisioned by Ataturk 100 years ago. The Turkish republic as imagined by Ataturk was firmly rooted in the West and a quick succession of reforms sought to modernize a population decimated by war. People often express such justification through religion, Murat Somer, a professor of political science at Ozyegin University in Istanbul, told CNN. What Ataturk may have been most proud of in today’s Turkey, however, is its growing influence on the world stage, analysts say. In 1926, after an assassination plot against him was discovered, Ataturk told his new nation: “One day my mortal body will turn to dust, but the Turkish republic will stand forever.”

Persons: Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Erdogan, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, Ataturk, Hagia Sofia, Ataturk’s, weren’t, Ozel, Murat Somer, ”, Somer, “, Ayse, Ismet Inonu, Power, Ataturk “, ” Somer, Adem Altan, “ I’m, ” Zarakol, ” Ozel Organizations: CNN, Turks, Ataturk, Hagia, Ottomans, Hulton, International Relations, Kadir Has University, Ozyegin University, Republican People’s Party, University of Cambridge, Anitkabir, Sunday, Getty, NATO, East, Central Asia Locations: Istanbul, Turkish, Ottoman, Today’s Turkey, Ottoman Empire, Europe, Russia, Anatolia, Ankara, The Turkish, West, fez, Hagia Sofia, Turkey, Hagia, Kasimpasa, “, Ataturk, Turkish Republic, AFP, today’s Turkey, Ukraine, Central

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan addresses members of parliament from his ruling AK Party (AKP) during a meeting at the Turkish parliament in Ankara, Turkey, October 25, 2023. Political analysts said his planned address in Istanbul aimed to reinforce his growing criticism of Israel's bombardment of the Gaza Strip and to overshadow Sunday's celebrations marking Turkey's secular roots. Turkey has condemned Israeli civilian deaths caused by Hamas's Oct. 7 rampage through southern Israel, but Erdogan this week called the militant group Palestinian "freedom fighters". ATATURK LEGACYThis week, Erdogan invited all Turks to attend the rally where he said "only our flag and the Palestine flag will wave". Erdogan, Turkey's longest-serving leader, and his Islamist-rooted AK Party have eroded support for the Western-facing ideals of Ataturk, who is revered by most Turks.

Persons: Tayyip Erdogan, Murat Cetinmuhurdar, Erdogan, Israel, Sinan Ulgen, Ulgen, ATATURK, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, Turkey's, Ataturk, Asli Aydintasbas, Gumrukcu, Jonathan Spicer, Helen Popper Our Organizations: AK Party, Turkish, REUTERS, Hamas, Gaza, Hamas's, Jerusalem, NATO, European Union, Centre for Economic, Foreign Policy Studies, Brookings, Thomson Locations: Ankara, Turkey, Handout, Israel Turkey, ISTANBUL, Israel, Istanbul, Italy, Turkish, Palestine, Washington

☆ Two strangers moved into an apartment in Prague. Then they fell in love
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Francesca Street | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +21 min

Marcus was studying in his bedroom in the Prague apartment when Mandy’s message popped up on his laptop. “It was a super-nice apartment in one of the coolest neighborhoods in Prague,” Marcus tells CNN Travel. Arriving in PragueMandy moved into Marcus' apartment in Prague's vibrant Vinohrady area. Here's one of Marcus and Mandy's first photos together, taken in their Prague apartment in 2020. “The night before he left, I’m crying and I’m like, ‘Oh, gosh, you’re leaving and I’m so sad,’” recalls Mandy.

Persons: Mandy Sanchez, Mandy, She’d, Marcus Wecksten, Marcus, Boris, ”, “, ” Marcus, ” Marcus –, Prague’s Charles University –, they’re, ’, that’s, you’re, ’ ”, Prague Mandy, Mandy Sanchez Mandy, who’d, ” Mandy, Mandy’s Uber, Uber, Mandy “, ’ ” Mandy, decamped, she’d, Mandy's, couldn’t, Marcus “, they’d, Marcus didn’t, Let’s, Mandy’s hesitations, Mandy couldn’t, Kemal Onur Ozman, coronavirus, They’d, ” Mandy wasn’t, ” Boris, Marcus wasn’t, I’ll, Mandy –, I’ve, I’m, Charles, –, phoning, hadn’t, Mandy’s, Here's Mandy, Marcus ’, – Marcus wouldn’t, “ He’d, ” “ We’ve, “ It’s Organizations: CNN, Texas, M University, Facebook, Prague’s Charles University, CNN Travel, Midway, Uber, Google, Pilsner, ”, Prague Locations: Texas, Prague, Prague ”, Europe, Vinohrady, –, Germany, Finland, Czech Republic, Karlovy Vary, Albania, Helsinki

☆ Turkey's central bank hikes interest rate to 30%
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Turkey's Taksim Square, with the figure of Kemal Ataturk, the first president, and the Turkish flag in the background. Turkey's central bank hiked its key interest rate to 30% on Thursday, a 500-basis point jump from 25%, as Ankara continues to battle double-digit inflation. Traditional economic orthodoxy holds that rates must be raised to cool inflation, but Erdogan — a self-declared "enemy" of interest rates who calls the tool "the mother of all evil" — vocally espoused a strategy of lowering rates instead. After starting on its hiking path, the central bank in July stated its aim to get inflation down to 5% in the medium term — an ambitious forecast, as Turkey's annual inflation jumped to near 59% in August. Ankara now expects annual inflation to reach 65% at the end of 2023, up from a forecast of 24.9% a year ago.

Persons: Turkey's, Kemal Ataturk, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Erdogan —, — Organizations: Turkish, greenback Locations: Ankara, Istanbul, Turkey

In remarks ahead of their talks, Putin told Erdogan that Russia is “open to negotiations” on the grain deal. Shifting power balanceErdogan and Putin last met face-to-face in October on the sidelines of an Asia summit in the Kazakh capital Astana. Ahead of his re-election, Erdogan hailed his “special” relationship with Putin as Western states pressured Ankara to join sanctions against Moscow. “(Erdogan) has not really gotten in the direction of trying to please Putin,” Ulgen told CNN. The reconfigured power balance between the two leaders could yet yield positive results with the efforts to revive the Black Sea grain deal, experts say.

Persons: Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Erdogan, Monday’s, ” Putin, ”, Sinan Ulgen, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, “, ” Erdogan, CNN’s Becky Anderson, Asli Aydintasbas, ” Aydintasbas, ” Ulgen, Volodymyr Zelensky, Ulgen, Turkey’s, “ Putin, ” “ Erdogan Organizations: CNN, TASS, Astana, Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO, Brookings Institution, “ Locations: Russia’s, Sochi, Moscow, Black, Russia, Turkey, Qatar, Russian, Turkish, Asia, Kazakh, Ukraine, Ankara, Istanbul, Washington , DC, United States, ”, Finland, Sweden, East

☆ Turkey says UN peacekeepers intervention of Turkish Cypriot roadworks unacceptable
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Scuffles broke out on Friday between U.N. peacekeepers and Turkish Cypriot security personnel when peacekeepers tried to prevent roadworks starting in an area the U.N. says is part of a buffer zone under its jurisdiction. Erdogan also said Turkey will continue to side with the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), a breakaway state recognised only by Ankara. Turkish Cypriot authorities want to build a road that would give residents of Pyla/Pile, a village in the U.N.-administered buffer zone, direct access to territory under Turkish Cypriot control. Turkish Cypriot authorities say the peacekeeping force, known as UNFICYP, overstepped its boundaries. Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar characterised the road project as essential.

Persons: Tayyip Erdogan, Anitkabir, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, Erdogan, Scuffles, Ersin Tatar, Ezgi, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Supreme Military Council, Presidential Press, REUTERS, Rights, United Nations, Peacekeeping Force, Turkish Cypriot, Thomson Locations: YAS, Ankara, Turkey, Rights ISTANBUL, Cyprus, Pyla, U.N, Turkish, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Turkish Cypriot

☆ Make it a cool pickle summer with this easy method
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-05 | by ( Casey Barber | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Sure, you can preserve food with a more advanced water-bath canning method, especially if you’re planning to save your summer pickles for up to a year. Or add pickled vegetables such as green beans or cauliflower to a grain salad or grain bowl as a topping. While pickled vegetables are always welcome in pasta salad (and potato salad, for that matter), they also bring an unexpected zing to hot pasta recipes. Or add pickled shallots, broccoli or peppers to pesto-sauced noodles. And when it’s too hot to think of anything else to do, there’s always “snack dinner” with a variety of pickled vegetables to save the day.

Persons: CNN —, chow, Pickles aren’t, Kadir Kemal Behar, don’t, Dill, tarragon, Deb Lindsey, I’ve, Gregory Rec, there’s, Casey Barber Organizations: CNN, Anadolu Agency, Washington Post, Portland Press Herald

☆ Turkey's central bank raises interest rate less than expected, to 17.5%
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Turkey's Taksim Square, with the figure of Kemal Ataturk, the first president, and the Turkish flag in the background. Turkey's central bank on Thursday hiked its key interest rate by 250 basis points to 17.5%, coming in below analyst forecasts of 500 basis points as the country's monetary policymakers embark on a long and painful mission to tackle double-digit inflation. "Monetary tightening will be further strengthened as much as needed in a timely and gradual manner until a significant improvement in the inflation outlook is achieved," the bank said in a statement, following its interest rate decision. In its statement Thursday, the central bank reiterated its aim to get inflation down to 5% in the medium term — which many economists see as unrealistic at this rate. Traditional economic orthodoxy holds that rates must be raised to cool inflation, but Erdogan — a self-declared "enemy" of interest rates who calls the tool "the mother of all evil" — vocally espoused a strategy of lowering rates instead.

Persons: Turkey's, Kemal Ataturk, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Erdogan —, — Organizations: Turkish Locations: Turkey

☆ Turkish lira sinks to fresh lows following the central bank's interest rate hike
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Lee Ying Shan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Turkey's Taksim Square, with the figure of Kemal Ataturk, the first president, and the Turkish flag in the background. The Turkish lira sank to new record lows after Turkey's central bank raised the country's benchmark interest rate by 650 basis points in a dramatic monetary policy reversal. The central bank lifted its key interest rate by almost double, from 8.5% to 15% Thursday, marking the country's first hike since March 2021. The lira — which has been extending its plunge since President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's reelection — was last trading at 24.97 against the greenback. Newly appointed Governor Hafize Gaye Erkan hinted at more hikes until the inflation situation in the country improves.

Persons: Turkey's, Kemal Ataturk, Recep Tayyip Erdogan's, —, Steve Hanke, Hafize Gaye Erkan, Erkan Organizations: Turkish, Johns Hopkins University

☆ Concrete is a huge source of carbon emissions. These researchers are working to make it greener
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Mark Tutton | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

With pressure on the construction industry to decarbonize, researchers around the world are looking for ways to make concrete greener. CarbonCure injects captured CO2 into concrete as it’s mixed, where it reacts with cement to increase the strength of the concrete. As well as sequestering CO2, the company says this extra strength means the concrete can be made with less cement. From salt water to cementIn the United Arab Emirates (UAE), researchers are working on a process to cut concrete’s carbon footprint while tackling another environmental problem. “The construction industry is one of the oldest industries and we might have some resistance to change the material that (it is) currently using.

Persons: ”, Sam Draper, ” Draper, Barney Shanks, Draper, Shanks, Helene Sandberg “, Seratech’s, we’ve, Carbicrete, Kemal Celik, Kemal, CNN Celik, Celik, ” Adrian Lydon Organizations: CNN, Imperial College London, Imperial College, United Arab Emirates, Civil, Urban Engineering, NYU Abu, Celik Locations: Portland, UAE, NYU Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi

His case on Thursday was adjourned to Nov. 30 and the trial is set to hang over the opposition as it tries to regroup and rally disheartened voters ahead of local elections in March. At the same time, calls have grown louder for the opposition's defeated presidential candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu to resign as chairman of Imamoglu's Republican People's Party (CHP). Tanju Tosun, political science professor at Ege University, said the CHP's internal politics could overshadow its preparations for next year's local elections. "If the internal rifts within the CHP continues until local elections, candidates from the ruling AK Party (AKP) could defeat opposition candidates in many cities," he said. "YSP may field candidates (in Istanbul and Ankara)," Meral Danis Bestas, a senior YSP official, said.

Persons: Imamoglu, Tayyip Erdogan, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, Erdogan, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, Kilicdaroglu, Tanju Tosun, Kemal Polat, Polat, We've, Ali Kucukgocmen, Huseyin Hayatsever, Daren Butler, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Istanbul Mayor, opposition's, Republican People's Party, Ege University, CHP, AK Party, Council of State, IYI Party, IYI, Left, Thomson Locations: Istanbul, ISTANBUL, Beylikduzu, Balikesir, Denizli, Kurdish, Ankara

☆ Erdogan intent on taking back Istanbul after presidential victory
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Nadeen Ebrahim | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has stretched his rule into a third decade after Sunday’s presidential election victory. Are you ready to win both Uskudar (a large district in Istanbul) and Istanbul in the local elections in 2024? Then let’s not stop.”By winning back Istanbul, Erdogan means having it governed by a mayor from his Justice and Development (AK) Party. Before beginning his term as prime minister in 2003, Erdogan was himself mayor of Istanbul between 1994 and 1998. The opposition beat Erdogan by nearly three points in both Istanbul and Ankara in Sunday’s presidential runoff.

Persons: Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Erdogan, ” Erdogan, Ekrem Imamoglu, Imamoglu, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, Berk, “ Imamoglu, ” Esen, you’ve, you’re, ” Imamoglu, ”, MetroPoll, Erdogan “, Soner Cagaptay, ” Cagaptay, Canan Kaftancioglu, Esen, “, Turkey ’ Organizations: CNN, Uskudar, ”, Istanbul, Development, Party, Welfare Party, AK Party –, Republican People’s Party, Sabanci University, “, Analysts, Electoral, Rights Watch, Washington Institute for Near East, Foreign Affairs, Union of Chambers, Commodity Exchanges, Erdogan’s Locations: Istanbul, Ottoman Empire, Turkish, Ankara, Sunday’s, CHP’s Istanbul, Izmir, Erdogan’s Istanbul, Turkey

☆ Opposition Turkish TV probed for 'insulting' election coverage
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Election officials count votes during the second round of the presidential election, in Diyarbakir, Turkey, May 28, 2023. President Tayyip Erdogan extended his two-decade rule in the second round of the election on Sunday. His rival, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, said it was "the most unfair election in years" but did not dispute the outcome. RTUK penalised four television stations in March for their election coverage. International rights groups and Turkish opposition parties have accused the RTUK of attempting to silence opposition media as a tool of the government.

Persons: Tayyip Erdogan, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, RTUK, Gurkan Ozturan, Burcu Karakas, Nick Macfie Organizations: REUTERS, Radio, Television Supreme, Borders, Media, European Centre for Press, Toksabay, Thomson Locations: Diyarbakir, Turkey, Sertac, ANKARA, Turkish, Istanbul, Ankara

☆ Turkish lira continues slide to new record lows following Erdogan's election victory
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Lee Ying Shan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

People walking next to a Turkish national flag at the historical grand bazaar in Istanbul. The Turkish lira slumped to yet another all-time low Tuesday, extending its slide after the re-election of incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The currency was last trading at 20.15 against the greenback at around 5 a.m. Tuesday morning local time, surpassing Monday's lows. Turkey's Election Board on Sunday confirmed that Erdogan won Turkey's 2023 presidential election with 52.14% of the votes, while his opponent Kemal Kilicdaroglu received 47.86%. He subsequently went on to become the country's deputy prime minister from 2015 to 2018.

☆ Opinion | Turkey’s Election Is a Warning About Trump
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Bret Stephens | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

And it should serve as a warning about other places — including the Republican Party — where autocratic leaders, seemingly incompetent in many respects, are returning to power through democratic means. That’s not quite the way Erdogan’s close-but-comfortable victory in Sunday’s runoff over the former civil servant Kemal Kilicdaroglu is being described in many analyses. The president, they say, has spent 20 years in power tilting every conceivable scale in his favor. Erdogan has used regulatory means and abused the criminal-justice system to effectively control the news media. He has exercised his presidential power to deliver subsidies, tax cuts, cheap loans and other handouts to favored constituencies.

Persons: Jean, François Revel, “, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, Erdogan, Ekrem Imamoglu Organizations: Republican Party — Locations: French, Turkey, Sunday’s, Turkish, Istanbul

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