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Turkish police detained Istanbul’s powerful mayor Ekrem Imamoglu early Wednesday as part of a corruption probe, a move his opposition CHP party slammed as a “coup”.A key figure within the CHP, Imamoglu is President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s main political rival, and his detention comes just days before he was to be named the party’s candidate for the 2028 presidential election.Widely seen as the strongest challenger to Erdogan, Imamoglu has faced a string of what critics say are politically motivated legal cases.As reports of his detention emerged, Turkey briefly shut down access to social networks and hundreds of police surrounded City Hall and closed off Taksim Square, with the authorities banning all demonstrations for the next four days. Even so, several hundred people gathered near the Istanbul police headquarters where Imamoglu was taken, angrily chanting “Government resign!” an AFP correspondent said. The move also sparked chaos on financial markets, with the Turkish lira plunging to a historic low of 39 liras against the dollar and the benchmark BIST 100 stock exchange reportedly shedding 6.9 percent. With the exchange website offline, it was not possible for AFP to immediately verify the figures. – ‘Nothing short of a coup’ -“Using force to usurp the will of the people or to obstruct it is a coup,” CHP leader Ozgur Ozel said on X, his words echoed by many other observers. “What happened this morning was nothing short of a coup against the main opposition party, with far-reaching consequences for Turkey’s political trajectory,” political scientist Berk Esen at Istanbul’s Sabanci University told AFP. The raid occurred just hours after Istanbul University revoked Imamoglu’s degree, amid claims it was falsely obtained. In Turkey, presidential candidates must have a higher education qualification.Imamoglu’s wife Dilek said police officers turned up around 3:00 am (0000 GMT) and took him away several hours later. “Police officers came right after the sahur and he started to get ready,” she said in a video released by the municipality, referring to the meal before the Ramadan fast resumes at dawn.”They left the house around 7:30 am,” she said. A statement from the Istanbul public prosecutor’s office cited charges including bribery and extortion, alleging that Imamoglu was the leader of a “criminal organisation” and that 100 suspects had been rounded up. The move appeared to be in connection with a probe into alleged “tender rigging” by Imamoglu that was opened in 2023. But local reports, including from state news agency Anadolu, said it was also linked to a separate probe for allegedly aiding the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), saying he was one of seven people detained.- ‘They panic’ -On the streets of Istanbul, few were willing to comment and those that did refused to give their names. “Whenever this guy and his dirty team see someone strong, they panic and do something illegal to him,” said an Istanbul shopkeeper, referring to Erdogan and his governing AKP party.”They are evil, but amateurs,” he added.Shortly after the police raid, access to social media platforms was restricted, the London-based Internet watchdog NetBlocks said. “Live metrics show #Turkey has restricted access to multiple social media platforms including X, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok; the incident comes as Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu and dozens of others are detained in events described by the opposition as a ‘coup’,” it said. The governor’s office immediately issued a ban on all protests until March 23. The CHP had planned several protests including one for Wednesday afternoon over the revocation of Imamoglu’s degree, which the mayor vowed to contest in court. The party was also due to hold a primary on Sunday at which Imamoglu was to have been formally named its candidate for the 2028 elections. The 53-year-old, who was resoundingly re-elected as mayor of Turkey’s largest city last year, has been named in several legal probes, with three new cases opened this year alone. In 2022, he was handed two years and seven months in jail and banned from political activities for “insulting” election officials in Istanbul, a sentence that he has appealed. 

Distraught Myanmar relief camp dwellers received final handouts from the World Food Programme on Wednesday as the UN agency begins halting aid to a million people in the country because funding has dried up.President Donald Trump’s slashing of the US aid budget has contributed to “critical funding shortfalls” for WFP, forcing it to make sweeping …

Myanmar relief camps receive last WFP aid as cuts begin Read More »

The Bank of Japan left its key interest rate unchanged Wednesday and warned about the economic outlook amid global uncertainty fuelled by Donald Trump’s trade war.Officials began lifting borrowing costs last year after nearly two decades of ultra-loose monetary policies aimed at kickstarting torpid growth in the world’s number four economy.But since coming to office …

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Istanbul’s powerful mayor Ekrem Imamoglu is President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s biggest political rival who has faced a growing barrage of legal challenges aimed at stopping his bid to win Turkey’s top job.After a sensational entry into politics in 2019 when he was elected mayor of Turkey’s economic powerhouse, Imamoglu quickly became a key figure within the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).But his career has been overshadowed by a string of what critics say are politically-motivated legal cases designed to cripple his plans to contest Turkey’s 2028 presidential election.In the latest blow, police raided his house early Wednesday, detaining him on alleged corruption charges in a move swiftly denounced by the CHP leader Ozgur Ozel as “a coup attempt against our next president”.Media reports also spoke of a second probe into allegedly aiding the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The move came a day after Istanbul University revoked his degree — a high-stakes move as Turkish presidential candidates must have a higher education diploma.Berk Esen, a political scientist at Istanbul’s Sabanci University, said Imamoglu’s detention was “nothing short of a coup against the main opposition party, with far-reaching consequences for Turkey’s political trajectory.”Widely seen as best placed to challenge Erdogan in 2023, Imamoglu didn’t run after being hamstrung by an unresolved defamation conviction. Since then, his legal woes have multiplied with three new probes targeting him this year alone. He decried them as “the highest level of judicial harassment”.His re-election as mayor last year despite Erdogan’s best efforts to unseat him has cemented the popularity of the football-loving 53-year-old, who had been due to be formally named as CHP’s presidential candidate on Sunday.- From businessman to mayor -Born in Akcaabat, a seaside town on Turkey’s Black Sea coast, Imamoglu moved to Istanbul as a teenager.He studied business, then went to work in the construction industry. He was a political unknown until he managed to oust Erdogan’s AKP and its allies in 2019 from their 25-year dominance of the city of 16 million where the president was once himself mayor.As Erdogan’s own career path has shown, running the megalopolis is a tried-and-tested route to national power.Initially stripped of victory when the vote was annulled, he won by an even bigger margin in a re-run three months later.”You have opened the door to a new future. From now, Turkey will be a different country,” he told his ecstatic followers at the time.His emergence in 2019 came as a wave of anti-Erdogan sentiment ushered in a fresh generation of leaders from the staunchly secular CHP, including a new mayor of the capital Ankara.- Legal cases stack up -In 2022, Imamoglu was convicted of defamation for calling Istanbul election officials “idiots” and sentenced to two years and seven months in jail. He appealed, but the outcome remains pending, with the ever-present jail threat prompting the CHP not to field him as a candidate for the 2023 presidential poll. Another investigation opened in 2023 named him in another corruption case allegedly linked to rigging tenders while mayor of Beylikduzu, an Istanbul district.  In November, Erdogan sued Imamoglu for slander, raising the prospect he could be prosecuted for insulting the president — an offence carrying up to four years in jail which has been widely used to silence rivals, journalists, human rights defenders and members of the public. In January, prosecutors opened two new probes over his remarks about Istanbul’s chief prosecutor and a court-appointed expert used in cases against CHP-run municipalities. – Widespread appeal -“Imamoglu is an effective political operator… (who) represents one of the very few glimmers of hope for constituents who oppose Erdogan and the AKP,” said Anthony Skinner, director of research at geopolitical advisory firm Marlow Global.A practising Muslim in a secular party, the smooth-talking politician has won support from a wide spectrum of voters.”He can attract all segments of the opposition electorate, whether it’s Turkish or Kurdish, Sunni or Alevi, young or old,” said political scientist Esen.And he has trodden a careful line on sensitive issues, such as same-sex marriage which is illegal in Turkey.”I’m a person who respects freedoms… But our society is not yet ready to allow same-sex marriage,” he said in a 2020 TV interview. “Imamoglu communicates well with the public — he gives sincere answers and can easily connect with people,” Sukru Kucuksahin, who worked with him on the 2019 election campaign, told AFP. But like Erdogan, Imamoglu also has something of a “Black Sea temperament”, he said, referring to people known for being blunt and often very stubborn.Imamoglu has not been embraced by all of the opposition, with some saying he’s a careerist.

Turkish police raided the home of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu on Wednesday, detaining him over a corruption probe in a move denounced by the main opposition CHP party as a “coup”.A popular and powerful figure within the CHP, Imamoglu is President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s main political rival, and his detention came days before he was to be named the party’s candidate for the 2028 presidential election. Widely seen as the strongest candidate to challenge Erdogan, Imamoglu’s career has been overshadowed by a string of what critics say are politically motivated legal cases.The police raid occurred just hours after Istanbul University revoked his degree, amid claims it was falsely obtained.The revocation is a high-stakes move as presidential candidates in Turkey need to have a higher education qualification. Imamoglu “was detained and is now at police headquarters”, said a press aide, who asked not to be named as he was not authorised to speak to the press and was unable to say why he had been detained. “Hundreds of police officers have arrived at my door. I entrust myself to the people,” the mayor said in a video posted on X. A statement from the Istanbul public prosecutor’s office cited charges including bribery and extortion, saying that Imamoglu was the leader of a “criminal organisation” and that 100 suspects had been rounded up. The move appeared to be in connection with a probe into alleged “tender rigging” by Imamoglu that was opened in 2023. But local media reports, including from state news agency Anadolu, said his detention was also linked to a separate probe for allegedly aiding the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), saying he was one of seven people who had been detained. – Social media blocked, protests banned -CHP leader Ozgur Ozel condemned what he called a “coup attempt against our next president”. “Making decisions on behalf of the people, using force to replace the will of the people or to obstruct it is a coup,” Ozel said on X. “We will not give in. In the end, the people’s will shall prevail and Turkey will win,” he added.Shortly after the police raid, access to social media platforms was restricted, the Netblocks internet access monitor said. “Live metrics show #Turkey has restricted access to multiple social media platforms including X, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok; the incident comes as Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu and dozens of others are detained in events described by the opposition as a ‘coup’,” it said. And the Istanbul governor’s office immediately issued a ban on all protests until March 23 — several demonstrations had been announced by the CHP late Tuesday over the revocation of Imamoglu’s degree, which the mayor vowed to contest in court. “We will fight this illegitimate decision in court,” said the 53-year-old mayor, who was resoundingly re-elected as mayor of Turkey’s largest city last year.”We will build a system that will erase injustice from this country’s memory.”Erdogan has repeatedly rejected claims that he himself never graduated from university and was not constitutionally able to hold the office of president.In a statement on X, Istanbul University said the degrees of 28 people, including Imamoglu, would be “withdrawn and cancelled on the grounds of… obvious error”. It did not elaborate further. The mayor’s office had previously published a copy of the business management diploma Imamoglu received from Istanbul University in 1995 after a journalist claimed he did not have one.In recent years, Imamoglu has been named in multiple legal probes, with three new cases opened this year alone. In 2022, he was handed two years and seven months in jail and banned from political activities for “insulting” election officials in Istanbul, in a sentence that he has appealed, the outcome of which is still pending. 

Malaysia is making great strides in its effort to become a major player in the global semiconductor industry as it looks to capitalise on a surge in demand driven by the AI explosion but analysts warn it faces headwinds.Malaysia’s signing of a major deal with British chip giant Arm this month was the latest step …

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Tuesday that massive overnight strikes on Gaza were “only the beginning” and that future negotiations with Hamas “will take place only under fire”.The strikes, by far the largest since a truce took effect in January, killed more than 400 people across the Gaza Strip, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.Netanyahu said in a video statement on Tuesday evening “Hamas has already felt the strength of our arm in the past 24 hours. And I want to promise you –- and them –- this is only the beginning”.Negotiations have stalled over how to proceed with a ceasefire whose first phase has expired, with Israel and Hamas disagreeing on whether to move to a new phase intended to bring the war to an end.The Israeli premier said in his address that “from now on, negotiations will take place only under fire,” before adding: “Military pressure is essential for the release of additional hostages”.Israel has vowed to keep fighting until the return of all the hostages seized by Palestinian militants during the October 2023 attack that sparked the war.By Tuesday afternoon, witnesses in Gaza said the attacks had largely stopped, though sporadic bombing continued.”Today I felt that Gaza is a real hell,” said Jihan Nahhal, a 43-year-old woman from Gaza City, adding that some of her relatives were wounded or killed in the strikes.”Suddenly there were huge explosions, as if it were the first day of the war.”Hamas has not responded militarily so far, and in a statement urged friendly countries to “pressure” the United States to bring to an end the strikes by its ally Israel.Hugh Lovatt, senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, told AFP that “Hamas does not want to be dragged into another war”.The White House said Israel consulted US President Donald Trump’s administration before launching the strikes, while Israel said the return to fighting was “fully coordinated” with Washington.A State Department spokesperson said that “Hamas bears total responsibility… for the resumption of hostilities”.The United Nations and countries around the world condemned the strikes, while the families of Israeli hostages pleaded with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to halt the violence, fearing for the fate of their loved ones.- ‘Complete destruction’ -Netanyahu’s office said Tuesday’s operation was ordered after “Hamas’s repeated refusal to release our hostages”.Hamas said Israel had “decided to overturn the ceasefire agreement” brokered by US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators, and warned that the resumption of violence would “impose a death sentence” on the remaining living hostages.The group’s leader, Sami Abu Zuhri, told AFP the aim of the strikes was “to impose a surrender agreement, writing it in the blood of Gaza”.Defence Minister Israel Katz said that “Hamas must understand that the rules of the game have changed”, threatening to unleash the Israeli military until the group’s “complete destruction” if it did not immediately free the hostages.Hamas said the head of its government in Gaza, Essam al-Dalis, was among several officials killed.In the southern Gaza Strip, AFP footage showed people rushing wounded people on stretchers, including young children, to hospital. Bodies covered with white shrouds were also taken to the hospital’s mortuary.- ‘Shocking’ -The Gaza health ministry said the bodies of 413 people had been received by hospitals, adding “a number of victims are still under the rubble”.UNICEF spokeswoman Rosalia Bollen, speaking to AFP in southern Gaza, said the deaths include “dozens and dozens of children, with many more children wounded”.Medical facilities that “have already been decimated” by the war were now “overwhelmed”, she added.Families of Israeli hostages rallied in front of Netanyahu’s office in Jerusalem, and a campaign group accused the government of causing “the explosion of the ceasefire, which could sacrifice their family members”.Governments in the Middle East, Europe and elsewhere called for the renewed hostilities to end.”The images of burning tents in refugee camps are shocking. Fleeing children and internally displaced persons must never be used as leverage in negotiations,” said Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.Hamas backer Iran denounced the wave of attacks as a “continuation of the genocide” in the Palestinian territories, while Russia and China warned against escalation.Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said the strikes were part of “deliberate efforts to make the Gaza Strip uninhabitable and force the Palestinians into displacement”.Trump has floated a proposal to move Palestinians out of Gaza, an idea that was rejected by Palestinians and governments in the region and beyond, but embraced by some Israeli politicians.Hours after the wave of strikes began, Netanyahu’s Likud movement said that a far-right party that had quit the government in January in protest at the Gaza truce would rejoin.- Attack from Yemen -The ceasefire in Gaza took effect on January 19, largely halting the war triggered by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.That first phase of the deal ended in early March after numerous exchanges of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners.But the two sides have been unable to agree on the next steps, with Hamas demanding negotiations for a second phase, which should lead to a lasting ceasefire.Israel had sought to extend the first phase, cutting off aid and electricity to Gaza over the deadlock.Hamas’s 2023 attack resulted in 1,218 deaths, mostly civilians, while Israel’s retaliation in Gaza has killed at least 48,577 people, also mostly civilians, according to figures from the two sides.Of the 251 hostages seized during the attack, 58 are still in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.On Tuesday evening, Yemen’s Iran-backed Huthi rebels — have pursued a campaign of attacks in what they say is solidarity with the Palestinians — launched a missile at Israel, which the military said was intercepted.