Turkey Adds Crypto Firms to Money Laundering, Terror Financing Rules

World

May 1st, 7:34am

Asharq Al-Awsat

A bitcoin logo is seen next to Turkish flag at a cryptocurrency exchange shop in Istanbul, Turkey April 27, 2021. Picture taken April 27, 2021. REUTERS/Murad Sezer

Turkey added cryptocurrency trading platforms to the list of firms covered by anti-money laundering and terrorism financing regulation, it said in a presidential decree published early on Saturday. The Official Gazette said the country's latest expansion of rules governing cryptocurrency transactions would take immediate effect and cover "crypto asset service providers", which would be liable to the existing regulations. Last month Turkey's central bank banned the use of crypto assets for payments on the grounds such transactions were risky. In the days that followed two Turkey-based cryptocurrency trading platforms were halted under separate investigations. The probe into one of them, Thodex, led to the jailing on Thursday of six suspects including the siblings of its chief executive, Faruk Fatih Ozer, who Turkish authorities are seeking after he traveled to Albania The six people formally arrested included Ozer's brother and sister, as well as senior company employees, the spokeswoman for Istanbul's Anadolu prosecutor's office said, Reuters reported. Most of those detained over the past week have been released. Others, including seven on Thursday, were let go with judicial control measures. The Thodex platform, which had been handling daily crypto trade worth hundreds of millions of dollars, said on its website last week it would be closed for four to five days due to a sale process. Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said this week Turkey sent units to four countries to search for Ozer, including Albania. "When he is caught with the red notice, we have extradition agreements with a large part of these countries. God willing he will be caught and he will be returned," he said in a televised interview with broadcaster NTV. Users and media reports had claimed Ozer could have run off with $2 billion but Soylu said the company's portfolio totalled $108 million. Separately on Monday, authorities jailed four people pending trial as part of an investigation into Vebitcoin, another cryptocurrency trading platform.

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Turkish Tourism Sector Suffers Huge Losses

Business

May 1st, 7:28am

Istanbul - Asharq Al-Awsat

The most renowned Istiklal Street in Istanbul is almost deserted due to the low number of visitors and lockdown measures amid COVID-19 pandemic. AP

Turkey’s tourism sector has incurred huge losses during Q1 2021, in light of the remarkable decline in foreign tourist arrivals and revenues, data showed on Friday. Turkey’s tourism revenues fell 40.2 percent and foreign visitor arrivals dropped 53.9 percent during the period between January and March, Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) said. In the first quarter, revenues dropped to $2.45 billion, TurkStat noted. In 2020, tourism revenues fell by 65 percent to $12.059 billion, which highlights the impact of the coronavirus-driven travel restrictions on the sector. Meanwhile, the number of Turkish people who travelled abroad during the past tourism season also dropped during Q1 2021 by 84 percent. The measures aimed at containing the pandemic in Turkey proved to have negative implications on tourism, which is crucial to foreign currency flows. According to data published by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), tourism directly accounted for 7.7 percent of total employment in 2018. “Total tourism income represented 3.8 percent of GDP,” it added. Earlier this week, Turkey announced “full lockdown” to curb the COVID-19 spread. “Turks will be required to stay mostly at home under a nationwide full lockdown starting on April 29 and lasting until May 17,” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Monday. Under the restrictions, which span the holy Muslim month of Ramadan and the three-day Eid holiday, residents are banned from leaving their homes except to shop for groceries or to meet other essential needs. Intercity travel requires special permits. However, millions of people were exempted from the stay-at-home order. In addition to health sector workers and law enforcement officers, they include factory and agriculture workers as well as supply chain and logistics company employees. Tourists were also exempted, while restaurants are allowed to deliver food. The Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey estimated that some 16 million workers in the country of 84 million would continue to be on the move during the lockdown. The streets of Ankara and Istanbul were quieter than usual. Nevertheless, workers exempted from the bans filled subways and buses in Istanbul, broadcaster Halk TV reported. Police patrolled the streets and set up checkpoints at main intersections to ensure that residents who were out and about had documents proving they are exempted from the stay-home order. Gendarmerie police were, meanwhile, stopping vehicles to ensure passengers had the necessary permits for intercity travel, causing long lines of vehicles. The lockdown is the first to be implemented nationwide and lasting nearly three weeks. Erdogan’s government had previously imposed partial, shorter-term lockdowns or weekend curfews in a bid to reduce the closures’ impact on the economy.

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Tunisia Tourist Charter Flights Return

Business

May 1st, 7:12am

Asharq Al-Awsat

A general view shows a empty promenade at Lake Tunis, as the country extended the lockdown by two weeks to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Tunis, Tunisia April 1, 2020. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi

Tourism-reliant Tunisia said Friday the first holiday charter planes since last summer had begun to return to the country, despite stiff restrictions imposed to stem surging coronavirus cases. "We wanted to send a positive message, to show that we are ready to receive tourists," Tunisian national tourist office director Moez Belhassine told AFP. Belhassine said tourists must follow strict health rules, including providing a negative test on arrival and only leaving their hotels in groups. Travelers arriving from Monday will have to quarantine in hotels for five to seven days, the government announced Wednesday. The Mediterranean country, with a population of around 11 million, has recorded more than 307,000 coronavirus cases and over 10,600 deaths. Hospitals are struggling to cope with a recent surge in infections, schools have been closed since mid-April, and a curfew is in effect from 10:00 pm to 5:00 am, with a ban on the circulation of vehicles starting at 7:00 pm. Tourism in Tunisia rebounded to over 9.5 million visitors in 2019. But last year, the number of arrivals dropped by 80 percent and tourism revenues by 64 percent, Belhassine said. Tourism made up around 14 percent of Tunisia's GDP before the Covid-19 pandemic.

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No Pandemic End in Sight Amid Raging Outbreaks

World

May 1st, 6:58am

Asharq Al-Awsat

A patient is wheeled inside a COVID-19 hospital for treatment, amidst the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Ahmedabad, India, April 19, 2021. REUTERS/Amit Dave

Fresh coronavirus waves showed no sign of abating Saturday as devastating surges in India and Brazil pushed daily infections and deaths to record levels. Despite the rollout of vaccines in many countries, Covid-19 is still wreaking destruction around the world, with close to 3.2 million lives lost and known infections soaring past 150 million. Asia has recorded the bulk of new cases, driven largely by the surge in India. The crushing outbreak, which now accounts for more than 40 percent of the world's new infections, has overwhelmed the South Asian nation's healthcare system and depleted critical oxygen supplies. Authorities on Saturday opened India's massive vaccination program to all adults, but many states do not have enough doses to meet demand despite a freeze on exports of shots produced locally. "There are so many people that are getting sick... we just wanted to be here as soon as possible," said Aadya Mehta, 25, who joined a queue of around 100 people outside a hospital in the capital New Delhi. India reported more than 400,000 cases in 24 hours on Saturday, a global record, but experts say the official infection and death figures fall far short of the true picture. More than 40 countries have committed to sending medical aid. A US military aircraft carrying more than 400 oxygen cylinders, other hospital equipment and nearly one million rapid coronavirus tests arrived in New Delhi on Friday. But the crisis has also prompted travel warnings and flight bans with governments fearful of the outbreak spreading to their shores. Australia on Saturday warned those breaking its India travel ban could face five years in jail. Another vast nation struggling to inoculate as many people as possible in the face of a destructive spike is Brazil, which has one of the world's highest mortality rates at 189 deaths per 100,000 people. It reported nearly 2,600 new coronavirus deaths on Friday, bringing the total for April to 82,266 -- the second consecutive monthly record and a sharp rise from March. The surge has pushed Brazil's hospitals to the brink of collapse in many areas as the country's overall death toll crossed 400,000 this week. Demonstrators from the human rights group Rio de Paz lowered Brazilian flags and mock body bags into symbolic graves at Rio de Janeiro's famous Copacabana beach on Friday, protesting the government's handling of the crisis. "Those body bags represent the Brazilians who had to be buried in shallow graves," said Antonio Carlos Costa, the NGO's president. "They died without the slightest dignity." Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was widely criticized for downplaying the threat of the virus, and for fighting stay-at-home measures. The far-right president has defended his pandemic policies, telling supporters: "I was wrong about nothing." The outbreak in neighboring Argentina also continued to worry the government, which on Friday extended by three weeks a nightly coronavirus curfew for the capital Buenos Aires. In terms of total Covid-19 deaths, Brazil is behind only the United States, where the situation has taken a turn for the better in recent months with a successful vaccine rollout. The White House said Friday that 100 million people in the country had been fully vaccinated, and more than 55 percent of American adults had received at least one dose. The huge effort has meant coronavirus restrictions in many parts of the United States can be eased, AFP reported. Fans wearing Mickey Mouse ears lined up at Disneyland in California as it finally reopened Friday, more than 400 days after the pandemic forced its closure. Thanks to vaccinations, some European governments have also eased or are considering relaxing coronavirus restrictions, including France and Belgium. But the hugely uneven distribution of vaccines around the world has led to calls for greater access in poor nations and waivers for patent protections to help boost access. A US trade official said Friday that Washington was working with World Trade Organization members to ensure "equitable" access to vaccines but stopped short of signaling a commitment to waiving patent protections.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2949051/no-pandemic-end-sight-amid-raging-outbreaks

TikTok Taps New CEO From Chinese Parent Firm

Technology

May 1st, 6:47am

Asharq Al-Awsat

FILE PHOTO: A TikTok logo is displayed on a smartphone in this illustration taken January 6, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

The fast-growing video-sharing app TikTok named a new top executive Friday who will keep his responsibilities at Chinese parent firm ByteDance. A statement said Shouzi Chew, ByteDance's chief financial officer, will now also become CEO of TikTok. Vanessa Pappas, who has served as interim head, will formally take the role of TikTok chief operating officer, the company said, continuing with her current responsibilities. The announcement was described as a "strategic reorganization to optimize TikTok's global teams and support the company’s unprecedented growth." "The leadership team of Shou and Vanessa sets the stage for sustained growth," said Yiming Zhang, founder and CEO of ByteDance. "Shou brings deep knowledge of the company and industry, having led a team that was among our earliest investors, and having worked in the technology sector for a decade. He will add depth to the team, focusing on areas including corporate governance and long-term business initiatives." The move comes after an effort by the administration of former president Donald Trump to ban TikTok in the United States or force a sale to an American-owned entity, over claims that the app could pose national security risks. At least one report said the Biden administration had abandoned the Trump effort, which aimed to sell TikTok to US tech giant Oracle and retail power WalMart. TikTok is believed to have some one billion users worldwide including more than 100 million in the United States, and is especially popular with young smartphone users.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2949041/tiktok-taps-new-ceo-chinese-parent-firm

Turkish Police Seek to Prevent Being Filmed at Protests

World

May 1st, 6:36am

Asharq Al-Awsat

Policeman in a road in Turkey, whose police officers have been instructed to prevent citizens from filming them during demonstrations, said a prominent lawyers group on Friday. (AP)

Turkish police have been instructed to prevent citizens from filming them while policing demonstrations, a prominent lawyers group has said, sparking criticism and fears the move could lead to increased human rights’ violations. The Progressive Lawyers Association posted on its Twitter account a document purporting to be a security department circular. The document, dated April 27 and signed by national police chief Mehmet Aktas, argues that the filming of police officials amounts to a violation of their right to privacy and prevents them from carrying out their duties. It then instructs officers to prevent people from using their cellphones to record or film police during demonstrations, and calls on them to “take legal action” if needed, The Associated Press reported. There was no official confirmation of the instruction to police, which was also reported by several media outlets. The main opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP, said Friday that the move could lead to increased police brutality and amounted to “authoritarianism at its finest.” “They will do whatever they want, bully as they please,” said CHP spokesman Faik Oztrak. “They will step on the people with their knees placed on their heads, but people will not be able to shoot this with their cellphones.” He was referring to an image showing a Turkish police officer placing his knee on the back of a protester who was lying face down on the ground during an early May Day protest in the city of Izmir. The image was compared to those showing the arrest of George Floyd, whose death in the United States last year caused widespread protests and international condemnation.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2949021/turkish-police-seek-prevent-being-filmed-protests

Expert Panel: Maradona Was Left to 'Fate' Ahead of Death

Sports

May 1st, 6:26am

Asharq Al-Awsat

Soccer Football - Superliga - Boca Juniors v Gimnasia y Esgrima - Alberto J. Armando Stadium, Buenos Aires, Argentina - March 7, 2020 Gimnasia y Esgrima coach Diego Maradona before the match REUTERS/Agustin Marcarian

Argentine football icon Diego Maradona received inadequate medical care and was left to his fate for a "prolonged, agonizing period" before he died last year, an expert medical panel concluded Friday. In a 70-page document, the panel stated that Maradona, who succumbed to a heart attack on November 25 at the age of 60, "started to die at least 12 hours before" the moment he was found dead in his bed. Maradona died just weeks after undergoing brain surgery on a blood clot. A panel of 20 experts was convened by Argentina's public prosecutor to examine the cause of death and to determine if there had been any negligence. Maradona's neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque, psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov and psychologist Carlos Diaz are under investigation as well as two nurses, a nursing coordinator and a medical coordinator. The finding could result in a case of wrongful death, and a prison sentence of up to 15 years if convicted. The legal proceedings were prompted by a complaint filed by two of Maradona's five daughters against Luque, whom they blamed for their father's deteriorating condition after the brain operation. Maradona underwent surgery on November 3, just four days after he celebrated his 60th birthday at the club he coached, Gimnasia y Esgrima. However, he appeared in poor health then, and had trouble speaking. Maradona had battled cocaine and alcohol addictions during his life. He was suffering from liver, kidney and cardiovascular disorders when he died. Two of the football great's daughters have accused Luque of responsibility in Maradona's deteriorating health. The panel concluded that Maradona "would have had a better chance of survival" with adequate treatment in an appropriate medical facility. He died in his bed in a rented house in an exclusive Buenos Aires neighborhood, where he was receiving home care. Maradona did not have "full use of his mental faculties" and should not have been left to decide where he would be treated, the experts said. They also found that his treatment was rife with "deficiencies and irregularities" and the medical team had left his survival "to fate.” Sebastian Sanchi, a former spokesman for Maradona, told AFP, "it is clear that the panel says that things were not done right." Maradona is an idol to millions of Argentines after he inspired the South American country to only its second World Cup triumph in 1986. An attacking midfielder who spent two years with Spanish giants Barcelona, he is also loved in Naples where he helped Napoli win the only two Serie A titles in the club's history.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2949011/expert-panel-maradona-was-left-fate-ahead-death