Erdogan admits losing local elections to opposition

PoliticsBreakingIstanbulAkrem ImamogluErdoganThe Turkish Elections

Celebration of opposition supporters in the streets of Istanbul

2024-03-31 at 17:15Font

Shafaq News / The Turkish opposition announced on Sunday a “big victory” in municipal elections across the country, preserving Istanbul and Ankara, at the expense of the ruling Justice and Development Party led by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

“The local elections are not the end for us, but it is a turning point,” Erdogan said in a speech, “we will hold ourselves accountable after the results of the local elections, and we will study the messages issued by the people,” referring to “the end of the elections that drained the economy.”

Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency published official results on Sunday after sorting some ballot boxes, showing the progress of the opposition Republican People’s Party in major cities such as Izmir, Bursa, Antalya and Adana.

Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, who belongs to the Republican People’s Party, has announced that he has retained his position since 2019.

“His party ranked first in Istanbul by more than a million votes,” Imamoglu told the press, Sunday evening, continuing: “We won the election.”

In Ankara, the mayor, who also belongs to the Republican People’s Party, Mansour Yavash, announced that he would retain his position while the counting of votes was still ongoing.

Besides Izmir, the country’s third city and the stronghold of the Republican People’s Party, and Antalya where opposition supporters began celebrating victory on the streets, the results suggest the CHP is on track for a victory in Anatolia.

The party leads the results of the partial counting in regional capitals long held by the AKP.

In contrast, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) candidates are advancing in several in the cities of Greater Anatolia (Konya, Kayseriya, Land of Rum) and the Black Sea (Riza, Trabzon), while pro-Kurdish HDP candidates are expected to win in major Kurdish-majority southeastern cities, most notably Diyarbakir.

Uzgor Ozil, head of the Republican People’s Party, Turkey’s largest opposition formation, also said that “voters chose to change Turkey’s face” after 22 years of dominance of the ruling Justice and Development Party, adding that voters “wanted to open the door to a new political climate in our country.”

https://www.shafaq.com/ar/سیاسة/ردوغان-يقر-بخسارة-الانتخابات-المحلية-لصالح-المعارضة

Iraq signs memorandum of understanding with two international companies to stop the burning of natural gas

EconomyBreakingNatural Gas

2024-03-31 at 07:23Font

Shafaq News / The Iraqi Oil Ministry signed, on Sunday, a memorandum of understanding with Siemens Energy and Schlumberger to invest, process and stop the burning of gas in the fields.

Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Affairs and Oil Minister Hayan Abdul Ghani confirmed, in a press conference, that the signing of the memorandum of understanding with the two companies comes within the ministry’s accelerated plan to convert gas into productive and useful energy to supply electric power plants and the national network.

The conference followed the signing ceremony of a memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Oil and Siemens Energy and Schlumberger to invest and process associated gas and transfer it to electric power plants.

Abdul Ghani said during the conference that the ministry aims through this memorandum and the contracts attached to it to implement the accelerated plan to invest and process the quantities of gas from the oil fields, thanks to the technology possessed by these companies, pointing to the signing of another memorandum by Siemens with the Ministry of Electricity, in support of the energy sector.

For his part, the Chargé d’affaires at the German embassy, Maximilian Rush, praised the joint cooperation between the two countries, stressing his country’s support for Iraq to improve the energy reality and reduce emissions, expressing his hope to sign more contracts in other fields.

While the director of Siemens Energy Iraq, Mohannad Al-Saffar, said that this memorandum is the beginning of joint cooperation with the ministry to stop the burning and processing of gas, and employ it for the electric power generation sector, which contributes to achieving energy security in addition to reducing imports and maintaining the cleanliness of the environment.

The Undersecretary of the Ministry for Gas Affairs, Ezzat Saber, stressed that the memorandum comes as part of the ministry’s efforts to conclude more contracts to accelerate the investment and treatment of all quantities of gas associated with oil fields in cooperation with specialized international companies, to contribute to supporting the electric power sector, saving financial expenses and preserving the environment.

The General Manager of Schlmanger Iraq, Wissam Al-Azm, said that Siemens and Shalmanger will work to develop appropriate solutions and studies to improve the reality of sustainable energy using the latest technologies.

For his part, the spokesman for the Ministry of Oil, Asim Jihad, stressed that the memorandum comes in line with the government program and the Ministry of Oil in accelerating gas investment and increasing national production, within a pivotal plan towards enhancing energy security, reducing operational expenses and utilizing gas resources, to supply electric power plants and all industries associated with it, pointing out that these projects constitute decisive progress in Iraq’s journey towards sustainable energy.

https://www.shafaq.com/ar/اقتصـاد/االعراق-يوقع-مذكرة-تفاهم-مع-شركتين-عالميتين-ل-يقاف-حرق-الغاز-الطبيعي