All posts tagged: Turkish

Stakes Are High for Turkish President, Opposition in Local Elections

Stakes Are High for Turkish President, Opposition in Local Elections

washington —  Millions of Turkish citizens will head to the polls Sunday to elect mayors and local administrators for their cities and districts. The elections come less than a year after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan secured his term for another five years last May. “Now we have 2024 ahead of us,” Erdogan said in his victory speech, adding, “Are you ready to win both Uskudar [a district in Istanbul where Erdogan’s personal residence is] and Istanbul in the local elections in 2024?” Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) aims to win back key cities, including Turkey’s largest, Istanbul, and its capital, Ankara, which it lost to the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) in 2019 through its alliance with the nationalist IYI Party. Istanbul race Winning Istanbul and Ankara, two cities that account for a quarter of Turkey’s population, gave the CHP a key position in power for the past five years. Some analysts observe that the Istanbul race will be one of the main contested races. “This election largely revolves around Istanbul. …

Fears of AI disinformation cast shadow over Turkish local elections | Elections News

Fears of AI disinformation cast shadow over Turkish local elections | Elections News

Istanbul, Turkey – As nationwide local elections approach on March 31, there are concerns in Turkey about the growing threat of disinformation and fake media created through artificial intelligence. Earlier this year, a video spread across social media purportedly showing Istanbul’s opposition mayor praising President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party). Ekrem Imamoglu, of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), is seen in the video commending the “great steps” taken in public transport projects when the AK Party controlled Istanbul. While the video was widely discredited due to the substance of Imamoglu’s “comments”, it raised fears about media manipulation in an election where the AK Party is trying to retake cities won by the opposition in 2019. Political scandals over “leaked” recordings are nothing new in Turkey. In 2010, CHP leader Deniz Baykal stood down following the publication of a sex tape online. Four years later, then-Prime Minister Erdogan condemned an audio recording that suggested his involvement in corruption, saying it was fabricated. Deepfake vs cheap fake Fake videos and images present …

Two Moscow attack suspects travelled ‘freely’ as no arrest warrants issued, Turkish official says

Two Moscow attack suspects travelled ‘freely’ as no arrest warrants issued, Turkish official says

A Turkish security official on Tuesday said two of the Moscow concert hall attack suspects travelled “freely” to Russia as no arrest warrants were issued against them.  Issued on: 26/03/2024 – 10:07Modified: 26/03/2024 – 13:48 2 min Russian authorities detained 11 people in connection with Friday’s attack, which saw camouflaged gunmen storm into Crocus City Hall, open fire on concert-goers and set the building ablaze, killing at least 139 people.  Read moreZelensky says Putin seeking to ‘shift the blame’ for Moscow attack onto Kyiv Two of those, Tajik nationals Rachabalizoda Saidakrami and Shamsidin Fariduni, “were able to travel freely between Russia and Turkey since there was no warrant for their arrest”, the official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.  The two had both spent time in Turkey shortly before the attack and entered Russia together on the same flight from Istanbul, the official said. The Islamic State group has said they were responsible for the Moscow attack, and IS-affiliated media channels have published graphic videos of the gunmen inside the venue.  Russian President Vladimir …

Turkish central bank stuns market by hiking interest rates to 50% | Turkey

Turkish central bank stuns market by hiking interest rates to 50% | Turkey

Turkey’s central bank unexpectedly raised interest rates to 50% on Thursday, citing a deteriorating inflation outlook and pledging to tighten further if it looks like inflation is significantly and persistently worsening. The hawkish move came 10 days before local elections and was seen by analysts as a signal that the central bank was independent from any political constraints and determined to tackle price rises. The lira rallied by as much as 1.5% to 31.91 against the dollar in response to the hike from the previous 45% rate, reversing weeks of steady declines in the Turkish currency, and Turkey’s dollar bonds extended a rally. The bank has now raised its key one-week repo rate by 41.5 percentage points from 8.5% since last June, after Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s victory in May presidential elections and U-turn towards greater orthodoxy in economic policy. The “tight monetary stance will be maintained until a significant and sustained decline in the underlying trend of monthly inflation is observed, and inflation expectations converge to the projected forecast range”, the bank said. Policy “will …

‘Our bills have tripled’: UK’s first Turkish mosque fights to survive in London | London

‘Our bills have tripled’: UK’s first Turkish mosque fights to survive in London | London

Nestled among the kebab shops, Caribbean takeaways and flashy new-build flats in Dalston, north-east London, sits the UK’s first Turkish mosque. Like many things built by and for the deep-rooted communities in this heavily gentrified part of London, it is fighting for survival. “Our bills have tripled, costs to maintain the building have soared and we are not collecting enough money,” said Erkin Güney, 59, who runs and owns Masjid Ramadan, also known as the Shacklewell Lane mosque. He said the mosque could be forced to close its doors by next Ramadan. Monthly costs come in at about £4,000. “We get about £200 to £300 a week if we’re lucky,” he said. He recently received an electricity bill for £17,000. When the Guardian visited the mosque last Friday, a funeral service was under way. This is the mosque’s main source of income. The rest is supplemented by donations that have sharply declined. The death of a loved one is not only a hit to the community, it often also means the loss of a regular …

More than 20 killed in Somalia in alleged Turkish drone strike

More than 20 killed in Somalia in alleged Turkish drone strike

A drone strike just outside the Somali capital killed more than 22 people and wounded 21, including many children, a witness and a relative of the victims told The Washington Post. Two security sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media, said the strike was carried out by a Turkish drone. The accounts are likely to fuel concerns that the proliferation of drones is causing a huge spike in civilian casualties with little accountability. Witness Daud Hassan Mohamed said the strike hit a home in an agricultural area in the evening after iftar, the meal when Muslims fasting for the holy month of Ramadan break their day-long fast. “There was one airstrike that targeted the victims. But when people began rushing to the scene to save them, these same people were hit by more airstrikes,” he said. “What happened was a massacre.” About 15 children were among the casualties, he said, and several women. The wounded had sought treatment in Madina Hospital in Mogadishu, he …

the Turkish holiday resort that’s become an emergency dental centre for Britons who can’t get treated at home

the Turkish holiday resort that’s become an emergency dental centre for Britons who can’t get treated at home

It’s a hot summer day in the Turkish city of Antalya, a Mediterranean resort with golden beaches, deep blue sea and vibrant nightlife. The pool area of the all-inclusive resort is crammed with British people on sun loungers – but they aren’t here for a holiday. This hotel is linked to a dental clinic that organises treatment packages, and most of these guests are here to see a dentist. From Norwich, two women talk about gums and injections. A man from Wales holds a tissue close to his mouth and spits blood – he has just had two molars extracted. The dental clinic organises everything for these dental “tourists” throughout their treatment, which typically lasts from three to 15 days. The stories I hear of what has caused them to travel to Turkey are strikingly similar: all have struggled to secure dental treatment at home on the NHS. “The hotel is nice and some days I go to the beach,” says Susan*, a hairdresser in her mid-30s from Norwich. “But really, we aren’t tourists like …

Erdoğan says upcoming Turkish local election will be his last – POLITICO

Erdoğan says upcoming Turkish local election will be his last – POLITICO

The founder and leader of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), Erdoğan has been Turkey’s president since 2014 following a decade as the country’s prime minister. Erdoğan said that the outcome of the local election will have a significant impact on his plans for political succession. “The result that comes out of this election will be a transfer of a legacy to the brothers who will come after me,” Erdoğan said. “That’s why we made the necessary preparations.” Erdogan was re-elected for a second five-year term in a divisive election in May 2023. Source link

Turkish Red Crescent sends its biggest Gaza aid shipment yet

Turkish Red Crescent sends its biggest Gaza aid shipment yet

ANKARA: Türkiye’s Kizilay (Red Crescent) is sending its biggest aid shipment yet to Gaza via Egypt, with a ship carrying some 3,000 tonnes of food, medicine and equipment leaving for the Egyptian port of Al-Arish on Thursday (Mar 7). Türkiye, which has harshly criticised Israel for its military offensive in Gaza and backed measures to have it tried for genocide at the World Court, has repeatedly called for a ceasefire and warned of consequences if calm cannot be achieved by the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, starting on Sunday. “This aid, which will be delivered to Gaza with the support and cooperation of the Egyptian Red Crescent, will keep the hopes of Palestinians alive on the eve of Ramadan,” Türkiye’s ambassador to Cairo, Salih Mutlu Sen, said on social media platform X. Kizilay head Fatma Meric Yilmaz told broadcaster CNN Turk that the ship would make two trips to Egypt to deliver the aid, largely collected through donations. It will then be transported in around 200 trucks to the border town of Rafah in Gaza, …

Turkish drones kill 3 in an attack on a local Christian militia in northeastern Syria, officials say

Turkish drones kill 3 in an attack on a local Christian militia in northeastern Syria, officials say

BEIRUT (AP) — Turkish drone strikes in northeastern Syria on Wednesday killed at least three members of a local Christian force and wounded others, including civilians, a Kurdish official and a Syrian opposition war monitor said. Also on Wednesday, reported Israeli airstrikes hit Damascus, and in the southern Syrian city of Sweida, security forces opened fire at protesters angry over the country’s worsening economy as they tried to break into the offices of President Bashar Assad’s ruling Baath Party. A 52-year-old man was shot in the chest and later died of his wounds. There was no immediate comment from Ankara on Wednesday’s airstrikes. Turkey has been attacking Kurdish fighters in Syria for years but attacks on the fighters from the country’s Christian minority have been rare. The force that was targeted, the local Christian Syriac police known as Sutoro, works under the U.S.-backed and Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria. Siamand Ali of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces told The Associated Press that the Turkish drones initially hit three Suturo vehicles near the …