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Turkey, along with Hungary, has been a stumbling block to Sweden's bid, which requires unanimous approval by all NATO members. Biden "conveyed his desire to welcome Sweden into NATO as soon as possible," the White House said in a statement. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said he would convene a meeting between Erdogan and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson in Vilnius on Monday. While Finland's NATO membership was green-lighted in April, Turkey and Hungary have yet to clear Sweden's bid. During their call, Biden and Erdogan also discussed the delivery of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey, and Ukraine's aim to join NATO, according to the Turkish presidency's readout.

Persons: Joe Biden, Tayyip Erdogan, Erdogan, Biden, Jens Stoltenberg, Ulf Kristersson, Ezgi Erkoyun, Kanishka Singh, Hugh Lawson, Peter Graff, Leslie Adler Organizations: NATO, Kurdistan Workers Party, White, Monday, Thomson Locations: ISTANBUL, WASHINGTON, Sweden, Turkey, Hungary, Stockholm, Ankara, Turkish, Vilnius, Lithuania, Swedish, Finland, Ukraine

☆ Turkey isn't getting much use out of its Russian-made missile-defense system, but that's not why Erdogan is keeping it around
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-09 | by ( Constantine Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The first parts of a Russian S-400 system are unloaded at an airport near Ankara in July 2019. Turkey's S-400 lacks that integration, as it hasn't been connected to NATO's radar network because alliance members fear that doing so could expose other systems to Russian observation. That made Russia's S-400 seem like not only a valid alternative but a preferable option to the US-made Patriot missile-defense system. (The US withdrew Patriot batteries from Turkey in late 2015, adding to Turkish concerns and desire for another air-defense system.) After the initial signing, the deal went into limbo over reported political disagreements and Turkey never received the system.

Persons: hasn't, Turkey's, Recep Tayyip Erdogan's, Lisel, David E, Banks, Erdogan, UMIT TURHAN COSKUN, Washington, Jens Stoltenberg, Orhan Cicek, MURAT CETINMUHURDAR Organizations: Service, Ankara, Turkish, NATO, Turkish Defence Ministry, Johns Hopkins University, King's College, Getty, ISIS, Kurdish PKK, Patriot, US, NATO NATO, Anadolu Agency Locations: Russian, Turkey, Ankara, Wall, Silicon, Russia, Turkish, King's College London, Hintz, Istanbul, AFP, Erdogan's, Washington, Kurdish, East, Eurasia, Banks, TURKISH, Moscow, France, Italy, Franco, Italian

☆ Turkey aims to ensure fiscal discipline and lower budget deficit, finance minister says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ISTANBUL, July 9 (Reuters) - Turkey is taking measures to re-establish fiscal discipline and control the level of the budget deficit, Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said on Sunday. The budget deficit for the first five months of the year was 263.6 billion lira ($10.12 billion), compared to 124.6 billion lira a year ago due to increased spending ahead of May elections and the impact of February's earthquakes in southern Turkey. "We will not allow permanent deterioration in public finance indicators by reestablishing fiscal discipline and taking budget deficit under control," Simsek said on Twitter. "The package, which is being discussed in the parliament, aims to reduce the impact of the additional costs caused by the earthquake on the budget. These regulations will also indirectly support taking the current account deficit under control."

Persons: Mehmet Simsek, Simsek, Ezgi Erkoyun, Elaine Hardcastle Organizations: Twitter, Thomson Locations: ISTANBUL, Turkey

☆ Ukraine's Zelenskiy brings home Azovstal commanders released to Turkey
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks with commanders of defenders of the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works in Mariupol Denys Prokopenko, Sviatoslav Palamar, Denys Shleha, Serhii Volynskyi and Oleh Homenko inside a plane as they return to Ukraine from Istanbul, Turkey July 8, 2023. Ukrainian... Read moreKYIV, July 8 (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, returning home from a visit to Turkey, brought with him five commanders of Ukraine's former garrison in Mariupol, forced to live in Turkey under the terms of a prisoner exchange last year. The commanders, lionised as heroes in Ukraine, led last year's defence of the port, the biggest city Russia captured in its invasion. "We are returning home from Turkey and bringing our heroes home," said Zelenskiy who met Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan for talks in Istanbul on Friday. Zelenskiy gave no explanation for why the commanders were being allowed to return home now.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Mariupol Denys Prokopenko, Sviatoslav Palamar, Denys Shleha, Serhii, Read, Zelenskiy, Tayyip Erdogan, Denys Prokopenko, Svyatoslav Palamar, Serhiy Volynsky, Oleh Khomenko, Maksym Zhorin, Olena, Peter Graff Organizations: Steel, Turkey's, Communications, Thomson Locations: Mariupol, Ukraine, Istanbul, Turkey, KYIV, Russia, Kyiv, Ankara, Moscow, Czech

☆ NATO makes membership pledge to Ukraine as Zelenskiy drums up support
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Robert Muller | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/3] Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala visit the Velvet Revolution Memorial in Prague, Czech Republic, July 7, 2023. In Prague, he won a pledge of support for Ukraine to join NATO "as soon as the war (with Russia) is over", and in Sofia secured backing for membership "as soon as conditions allow". "There is strength in unity of NATO," he said, adding that undecided questions over Ukraine's future in NATO and Sweden's pending membership were "a threat to the alliance's strength". Zelenskiy has acknowledged that Kyiv is unlikely to be able to join NATO while at war with Russia. TALKS DUE IN TURKEYDespite Russia's anger, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala told a news conference with Zelenskiy in Prague that he expected all NATO allies to support Ukraine in its membership aspirations.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Petr Fiala, Zelenskiy, Jens Stoltenberg, Stoltenberg, Zuzana Caputova, Vladimir Putin, Fiala, Tayyip Erdogan, Jason Hovet, Pavel Polityuk, Timothy Heritage, Gareth Jones, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: Presidential Press Service, NATO, EU Zelenskiy, Zelenskiy, European Union, Thomson Locations: Czech, Prague, Czech Republic, Ukraine, PRAGUE, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Turkey, Russia, Sofia, Bratislava, Vilnius, Lithuanian, Brussels, Russian, Russia's, TURKEY, Europe, Kyiv, United States, Istanbul

The VAT rate charged on goods and services rose to 20% from 18%, while that on basic goods such as toilet paper and detergents increased to 10% from 8%, effective immediately, the Official Gazette said. "Reducing the budget deficit is the aim of the latest increase in taxes and fees, and some other steps to ensure fiscal discipline are on the agenda too. The tax increases could raise Turkey's budget revenues by around 2%, Oyak Investment said in a note. Economists said the increased VAT rate charged on goods and services would boost state revenues by around 30 billion lira. Separately, Turkey on Friday also exempted from witholding tax the dividend payments of own shares purchased by companies listed on the Istanbul bourse.

Persons: Tayyip Erdogan, QNB Finansbank, Erdogan, Economists, Ezgi Erkoyun, Burcu Karakas, Orhan Coskun, Jonathan Spicer, Gareth Jones Organizations: stoke, Official Gazette, Bank Insurance, Oyak Investment, Istanbul bourse, Thomson Locations: ISTANBUL, Turkey, Istanbul

☆ Turkey's Erdogan to host Putin, hopes for Black Sea grain deal extension
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Can Sezer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

ISTANBUL, July 8 (Reuters) - Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday that he was pressing Russia to extend a Black Sea grain deal by at least three months and announced a visit by President Vladimir Putin in August. Erdogan said work was under way on extending the Black Sea grain deal beyond its expiration date of July 17 and for longer periods beyond that. The deal would be one of the most important issues on the agenda for his meeting with Putin in Turkey next month, he said. "Our hope is that it will be extended at least once every three months, not every two months. Russia, angry about aspects of the grain deal's implementation, has threatened not to allow its further extension beyond July 17.

Persons: Tayyip Erdogan, Vladimir Putin, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Zelenskiy's, Erdogan, Putin, Zelenskiy, Petr Fiala, Stringer, Dmitry Peskov, Ezgi Erkoyun, Oleksandr Kozhukhar, Orhan Coskun, Elaine Monaghan, Huseyin Hayatsever, Jonathan Spicer, Gareth Jones, Diane Craft Organizations: Ukraine, United Nations, Zelenskiy, REUTERS, NATO, Western, Thomson Locations: ISTANBUL, Russia, Turkey, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Ukraine, Czech, Prague, Crimean Tatars, Istanbul

☆ UN aid chief to Russia: Don't 'chuck away' Black Sea grain deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

"The world has seen the value of the Black Sea Initiative ... this isn't something you chuck away," the U.N.'s Martin Griffiths told reporters. Zelenskiy said the Black Sea deal was important to help the world fight hunger. Russia has described the Black Sea deal and the agreement to facilitate its own exports as a single package. The Black Sea deal allows for ammonia exports - a key ingredient in nitrate fertilizer - but none has shipped. As the expiration date looms, the Black Sea grain deal is grinding to a halt.

Persons: Martin Griffiths, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Tayyip Erdogan, Erdogan, Zelenskiy, Griffiths, Michelle Nichols, Elaine Monaghan, Oleksandr Kozhukhar, Doina Chiacu, Grant McCool Organizations: UNITED NATIONS, U.N, United Nations, Black Sea Initiative, United, Zelenskiy, Russian Federation, Russian Agricultural Bank, International Energy Agency, Sezer, Thomson Locations: Russia, Moscow, Odesa, United Nations, Turkey, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Istanbul, Russian, United, United States, European Union, Britain, Togliatti, Washington, Kyiv

U.S. President Joe Biden, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will be among the 31 NATO leaders attending the summit in the small Baltic state. The invasion prompted Finland and Sweden to abandon decades of military non-alignment and apply to join NATO. In Vilnius, Finland will attend its first NATO summit as a member. At the summit, the NATO leaders are also expected to agree they should all spend at least 2% of national GDP on defence - an upgrade on a 2014 pledge to move towards that number. The NATO leaders will also meet with counterparts from Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand as Washington presses the alliance to play a greater role in countering China.

Persons: Joe Biden, Tayyip Erdogan, Olaf Scholz, Emmanuel Macron, Rishi Sunak, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Zelenskiy, Jens Stoltenberg, Stoltenberg, Erdogan, Ulf Kristersson, John Irish, Andrius Sytas, Huseyin Hayatsever, William Maclean Organizations: Russia VILNIUS, NATO, Patriot, U.S, British, Ukraine Council, Atlantic Treaty Organization, Soviet Union, Vilnius, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Vilnius, Sweden, Europe, Lithuanian, Germany, Prague, Eastern Europe, Russia, United States, Bucharest, France, Britain, TURKEY, SWEDEN, Soviet, Finland, Turkey, Stockholm, Ankara, Swedish, Greece, Cyprus, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Washington, China, Istanbul

"Given the events, their relationship with the Syrian defence ministry is now over." Mali authorities did not respond to a request for comment on the flights and whether any Wagner fighters had been redeployed from Syria to Mali. Wagner fighters secured Syrian oilfields and Western officials say Wagner is linked to Evro Polis, a company that profits from those assets. Reuters was unable to determine the fate of those commercial interests in the wake of the Russian defence ministry's moves against Wagner in Syria and Russia. In the wake of the Wagner uprising, Syria's leadership quickly restated publicly the importance of its military alliance with Russia.

Persons: Wagner, Nawar Shaban, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Bashar al, Assad, Vladimir Putin, Prigozhin, Russian Wagner, Evro Polis, Asmaa al, Laila Bassam, Tom Perry, Ed McAllister, Joanna Plucinska, Mike Collett, White, Daniel Flynn Organizations: Omran Center, Strategic Studies, Syrian Republican Guard, Republican Guard, Reuters, Russian Reconciliation Center, Moscow State University, Thomson Locations: BEIRUT, Moscow, Syria, Russian, Russia, Istanbul, Damascus, Ukraine, Belarus, Syrian, Syria's, Homs, Hmeimim, Latakia, Bamako, West African, Mali, Evro Polis, Libya, elswhere, Africa, Western, U.S, Deir, Beirut, London

Romanian port operators shipped 8.6 million tonnes last year, and 6.3 million tonnes in the first five months of 2023, the Constanta Port authority told Reuters. The port handled 12.17 million tonnes of grains overall in the first five months, a 21% jump on the year. "There are premises that Constanta Port will see a new traffic record," the authority said. As a result, the port could be overwhelmed, even if Black Sea grain initiative is extended, according to Cezar Gheorghe of Romanian grain market consultancy AGRIColumn. The port has a storage capacity of 2 million tonnes, but flows need to be stringently separated for origin certification.

Persons: Cezar Gheorghe, Gheorghe, Luiza Ilie, Marek Strzelecki, Pavel Polityuk, David Evans Organizations: United, Constanta Port, Reuters, AGRIColumn, European Union, EU, Thomson Locations: BUCHAREST, Constanta, Romania, Ukraine, United Nations, Turkey, Romanian, Constanta Port, Moldova, Odessa, Istanbul, Russian, Suez, Western Ukraine, Bucharest, Europe, Warsaw

☆ Life at Sea's three-year cruise will get a bigger ship
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Julia Buckley | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

Life at Sea Cruises is now owned and operated entirely by Miray Cruises, a company with a 30-year history of operating in the Aegean. Bigger ship, fewer guestsStaterooms on the new ship will have 20 square feet more per cabin, say Miray Cruises. Life at Sea CruisesMeanwhile, Miray says it is launching its first Life at Sea cruise in its new ship as planned in November. MV Lara will be larger than the Gemini, Kendra Holmes, CEO of Miray Cruises, told CNN. And this Miray team is accommodating to everyone – If there are concerns, they fix it, if there are ideas they put them into place.

Persons: Miray, “, Mikael Petterson, Irina Strembitsky, Petterson, Staterooms, Lara, Kendra Holmes, Holmes, ” Holmes, Cruises, Heidi Klum, AIDA Cruises, Sharon Lane, ”, ’ ”, Meredith Shay, Shay, Ingrid Warwick, “ It’ll, “ That’s, Finnbarr Webster Organizations: CNN, Sea Cruises, Cruises, Miray Cruises, Gemini, Carnival, Sea, Petterson, Vie Locations: Europe, German, “, Florida, Germany, Istanbul

☆ Passengers who missed their flight were arrested after they broke onto the boarding bridge and one jumped down onto the runway, video shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A father and two sons were arrested after a wild attempt to get to a plane after missing their flight. The passengers forced their way onto the bridge once boarding closed, according to the Times of Israel. A video shows one of the men then dangling from the bridge, jumping off, and heading for the plane. The newspaper reported that they broke onto the boarding bridge after the plane had already moved away, with one family member leaping down from it and approaching the plane. The footage shows at least one of the men later being surrounded by security staff at the airport.

Persons: Tel Aviv's Organizations: The, Yeni Safak, N12, Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sabiha Locations: of Israel, Turkey, Tel, Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion, Israel, Turkish, Istanbul

☆ Missed Monday Night’s Supermoon? We’ve Got You Covered.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( Derrick Bryson Taylor | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Stargazers and astrophiles from Los Angeles to Istanbul rushed outdoors to see the first supermoon of the year on Monday night. It did not disappoint. The supermoon, which was flush with amber and red tones, was 14,000 miles closer to earth than typical full moons. A supermoon — the term was coined in 1979 by the astrologer Richard Nolle, and it is not an official astronomical term — can be about 17 percent larger and 30 percent brighter than a full moon at apogee, or its farthest point from Earth. Here are some quick facts about supermoons and images from around the world.

Persons: Richard Nolle Locations: Los Angeles, Istanbul

☆ Rize: Turkey’s hidden mountain hideaways
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( Feride Yalav-Heckeroth | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

CNN —Rize province, on the Black Sea coast near Turkey’s northeast border with Georgia, is still largely unknown to many international travelers. Away from Rize itself – the seaside city which lends its name to the province – the area’s valleys and plateaus, surrounded by high-altitude mountain ridges, have remained largely rural. With high rates of rainfall, Rize’s mountain villages (yayla) become a point of escape from summer temperatures. “The state of tourism in Rize is not very pleasant because visitors often arrive without much knowledge about the local culture or the nature. “I think the purpose of coming to Rize shouldn’t be to rush through everything and take a few selfies.

Persons: Orhan Eskiva, café, hamsili, Rize’s, Zeyne, Ahmet Şişman, İbrahim Birben, it’s, Dağ Evi, Trebizond, Emre Corbaci, Taşkın, ”, Elif, Peri, Deniz Demirci Tarakçı, Çinçiva, “, Işık Güner, Feride, Conde Nast Organizations: CNN, Ottomans, Apo, Rize Zua Coffee Locations: Rize, Turkey’s, Georgia, Rize province, Çamlıhemşin, Forestry, Karadeniz, Russia, Senyuva, Çamlıhemşin’s, Mola, Sümela, Trabzon, Zilkale, Armenian, Şenyuva, Istanbul, Pokutsal, Peri, Rize Zua, Yasemin, Barcelona, Fırtına, “, Lake Constance, Kinfolk

☆ Eugene Amo-Dadzie only started sprinting seriously in his mid-20s. Now ‘the world’s fastest accountant’ is taking track and field by storm
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( George Ramsay | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Eugene Amo-Dadzie leads what appears to be an ordinary life: he’s a husband, a father, and works nine-to-five as a chartered accountant in London. The sprinter’s career trajectory is unlike any of his rivals’ on the track and field circuit. He only started training seriously at the age of 26 and still balances athletics with his regular job as an accountant. A promising sprinter throughout school, Amo-Dadzie had lowered his 100m time to 11.3 seconds by the age of 17. “It is a difficult balance – I’m a husband, I’m a father, I’m also a governor of a primary school.

Persons: CNN — Eugene Amo, he’s, Dadzie, ’, ”, Amanda Davies, Dan Mullan, “, I’d, Steve Fudge, Sam Mellish, I’ve, Reece Prescod, Jeremiah Azu, Alex Livesey, I’m, Zharnel Hughes Organizations: CNN, European, British, Getty Locations: London, Istanbul, Turkey, Austria, Budapest, Paris, Amo, Great Britain, New York

☆ The CEO of Malaysia Airlines, Captain Izham Ismail, went from selling snacks as a child to running a fleet of airplanes
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-02 | by ( Chris Johnston | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Captain Izham Ismail started flying for Malaysia Airlines in 1979 and became its CEO in 2017. Yet despite coming from such a modest background, Ismail went on to become a pilot and then run Malaysia Airlines, one of the world's oldest carriers. Ismail started flying for Malaysia Airlines in 1979, became a captain and a decade later was selected for its senior management training scheme. After running one of its regional carriers and becoming group chief operating officer, Ismail was elevated to CEO of Malaysia Airlines in 2017. Malaysia Airlines has 11,000 staff, down from 35,000 two decades ago, and flies to almost 50 destinations, mostly in Asia, with 106 aircraft that are all leased.

Persons: Izham Ismail, Ismail, it's, —, Captain Izham Ismail, –, Mohd Rasfan, Khazanah, Christopher Mueller, He'd, Sabena, Mat Zain Organizations: Malaysia Airlines, Service, Bournemouth University, Philippine Airlines, MIT, Stanford, Boeing, Netflix, Aer Lingus, Germany's Lufthansa, Malaysian, British Airways, American Airlines . Malaysia Airlines, Qatar Airways, Emirates Locations: Malaysia, England, Malaysia's, Istanbul, London, Court, Kuala Lumpur, Beijing, Ukraine, Russian, Malaysian, Asia

☆ Moldova airport shooting suspect in coma, wanted in Tajikstan for abduction
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Alexander Tanas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

CHISINAU, July 1 (Reuters) - The chief suspect in a shootout in Moldova's main international airport remained in a coma on Saturday and was wanted in his native Tajikistan in connection with the abduction of a bank officer, Moldovan authorities said. The 43-year-old man grabbed a gun and shot dead two security officers and wounded a civilian on Friday after being denied entry to ex-Soviet Moldova, they said. Musteata said the suspect would be tried in Moldova and face an aggravated murder charge "if he survives". Moldova, lying between Ukraine and European Union member Romania, has been severely buffeted by the war in Ukraine. President Maia Sandu has denounced Russia's invasion and set EU membership of her country as the top foreign policy priority.

Persons: Ion Musteata, Dragos Galbur, Musteata, Maia Sandu, Ron Popeski, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Moldova, Officials, European Union, Romania, Thomson Locations: CHISINAU, Tajikistan, Soviet Moldova, Istanbul, Moldovan, Moldova, Soviet, Central Asia, Dushanbe, Chisinau, Ukraine

☆ Turkish food delivery startup Getir to leave Spain, union says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MADRID, June 30 (Reuters) - Turkish delivery startup Getir will cease its business in Spain and lay off its entire workforce there of 1,560 after failing to raise enough capital in a recent funding round, Spain's biggest trade union CCOO said on Friday. "We condemn the disastrous business management of Getir, which has not known how to grow or have a market strategy in Spain," the union said in a statement. Spain's food delivery market is dominated by Delivery Hero (DHER.DE)-owned Glovo, the Netherlands' Just Eat Takeaway (TKWY.AS) and Uber Eats (UBER.N), all three of which gained market share after Britain's Deliveroo (ROO.L) exited the country in late 2021. Getir Spain did not immediately reply to a request for comment. However, in an April deal, Getir reportedly only raised about $500 million, cutting its valuation almost in half to $6.5 billion.

Persons: CCOO, Britain's Deliveroo, Getir, Le Monde, Flink, David Latona, Sudip Kar, Gupta, Louise Heavens Organizations: Getir, Financial Times, Thomson Locations: MADRID, Spain, Netherlands, Getir Spain, France, Getir France, Istanbul, Getir, Paris

☆ Tajik man shoots two dead at Moldova's international airport
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Alexander Tanas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

CHISINAU, June 30 (Reuters) - A 43-year-old Tajik man grabbed a gun, shot dead two security officers and wounded a civilian at Moldova's main international airport on Friday after being denied entry to the country, authorities said. The suspected assailant was himself wounded and apprehended, police said, in an incident that briefly grounded flights at Chisinau International Airport. Moldova's acting chief prosecutor, Ion Munteanu, said the shooting was being examined as a terrorist act. The two killed were a border guard and an airport security officer, President Maia Sandu said, offering condolences. It was only after we went far away from the airport that we were told there is someone who is shooting."

Persons: Ion Munteanu, Olena Shevelyova, Dorin Recean, Maia Sandu, Munteanu, Dragos Galbur, Alexander Tanas, Olena Harmash, Tom Balmforth, Cynthia Osterman, Ron Popeski, Grant McCool Organizations: Chisinau International Airport, European Union, Thomson Locations: CHISINAU, Chisinau, Tajikistan, Soviet, Asia, Istanbul, Moldova, Moldovan, Soviet Union, Ukrainian, Milan

[1/5] Police officers intervene after people's reaction as demonstrators burn the Koran (not pictured) outside Stockholm's central mosque in Stockholm, Sweden June 28, 2023. "It's legal but not appropriate," he said, adding that it was up to the police to make decisions on Koran burnings. Representatives of the mosque were disappointed by the police decision to grant permission for the protest on the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, mosque director and Imam Mahmoud Khalfi said on Wednesday. Up to 10,000 visitors attend Stockholm's mosque for the Eid celebrations every year, according to Khalfi. Turkey in late January suspended talks with Sweden on its NATO application after a Danish far-right politician burned a copy of the Koran near the Turkish embassy in Stockholm.

Persons: Stefan Jerrevang, Hakan Fidan, Ulf Kristersson, Momika, Eid, Imam Mahmoud Khalfi, Khalfi, Louise Breusch Rasmussen, Marie Mannes, Johan Ahlander, Burcu Karakas, Terje Solsvik, Peter Graff, Angus MacSwan, William Maclean Organizations: Police, TT News Agency, REUTERS, NATO, Swedish, Islam, Atlantic Treaty Organization, Thomson Locations: Stockholm's, Stockholm, Sweden, REUTERS STOCKHOLM, Turkey, Ankara, Ukraine, Khalfi, Danish, Turkish, Copenhagen, Istanbul

REUTERS/Stringer/File PhotoSummary Fears of civil war rose in world's biggest nuclear powerMercenaries posed biggest threat to Putin in 23-year rule'Anyone with anything to lose was extremely tense' -sourceThe elite wonder: What's next for Russia? One fear was that Yevgeny Prigozhin's Wagner mercenary group, if he entered Moscow, would try to take over the economy, triggering yet another redistribution of ownership in Russia, the world's biggest supplier of natural resources. The source spoke on condition of anonymity due to the danger of speaking publicly in contemporary Russia. Russians started to withdraw significant amounts of roubles and seek foreign currency in 15 regions across Russia. But within the elite, there is now a fear that Putin will seek to assert his position and remove those he felt did not profess their loyalty with enough ardour.

Persons: Wagner, Stringer, Putin, What's, Vladimir Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin's Wagner, Prigozhin's, Mikhail Gorbachev, Andrei Belousov, Dmitry Gusev, Alexander Lukashenko, Prigozhin, Russia's, Sergei Shoigu, Valery Gerasimov, Viktor Zolotov, Guy Faulconbridge, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: Southern Military District, REUTERS, Reuters, Kremlin, KGB, Bolshevik, Air, Jets, General Staff, National Guard, Thomson Locations: Rostov, Don, Russia, MOSCOW, Moscow, Russian, Soviet, Ukraine, Belgrade, Istanbul, Dubai, Sochi, Belarus, Belarusian, Zolotov

A screengrab from the website of U.S. company Extreme Networks shows Russian manager Sergey Gusakov. The IT equipment sold in Russia by Gusakov's company Vektor-T is assembled in China and contains U.S. microprocessors, according to the people familiar with the matter and photographs seen by Reuters. "These violations will lead to a heavy strike to the reputation of the Extreme company against the background of the war in Ukraine," the complaint said. The photographs obtained by Reuters of the insides of switches sold by DCN and Vektor-T clearly show one of each. "The U.S. technology proportion of DCN products is very small," he said.

Persons: Sergey Gusakov, Gusakov, haven't, Sergey Gusakov’s, spokespeople, DCN, Marvell, Lattice, David Gauthier, Aram Roston, Daniel Flynn Organizations: Marvell Technology Inc, Lattice Semiconductor Corp, Reuters, Handout, REUTERS, Extreme Networks Inc, U.S ., Extreme Networks, Extreme, CIS, China Information Technology Ltd, Marvell, Lattice, U.S, Thomson Locations: China, U.S, Russia, Ukraine, Soviet, Moscow, Gusakov, Kazakhstan, Russian, Oryol, Wilmington , DE, Hillsboro, Villars, Istanbul, Washington

☆ Turkish lira briefly touches new record low
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

ISTANBUL, June 27 (Reuters) - Turkey's lira touched a record low of 26.10 against the dollar early on Tuesday during low liquidity hours, after an official and bankers said the central bank had stopped using its reserves to support the currency. The lira had firmed slightly by 0437 GMT, standing at 26.05, unchanged from its closing level on Monday. It has weakened more than 28% so far this year, largely after the re-election in late May of President Tayyip Erdogan, who has since moved to backtrack on his years of unorthodox economic policy. Reporting by Ali Kucukgocmen; Editing by Kim CoghillOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Tayyip Erdogan, Ali Kucukgocmen, Kim Coghill Organizations: Thomson Locations: ISTANBUL, backtrack

☆ 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

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