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Erdogan approved a Cabinet list presented by Davutoglu on Tuesday, hours after Turkey shot down a Russian plane it said violated its airspace and ignored repeated warnings.
The programme highlights the difficulty Davutoglu and his newly appointed economy czar Mehmet Simsek will face in balancing the influence of Erdogan, still Turkey’s most popular politician, and investor hopes for fiscal discipline and meaningful reform.
...
The cabinet appointments coincided with a major European Union fund’s being officially set up to channel aid to Syrian refugees in Turkey days before a summit at which EU officials hoped to secure Ankara’s help in stemming migration.
Turkish media reports had suggested a rift between Erdogan and Davutoglu on who should lead the economy. The government includes Erdogan’s son-in-law and other names close to him – in a strong indication that Erdogan would retain power over government.
Binali Yildirim, another Erdogan ally, was named transport minister, but there was no post in the cabinet for former deputy premier Ali Babacan, who had started an ambitious reform agenda in Turkey.
IS sells the crude to smugglers for discounted prices, sometimes $35 per barrel but as low as $10 a barrel in some cases, compared to just under $50 a barrel on international markets, four Iraqi intelligence officials told the AP in separate interviews. The smugglers in turn sell to middlemen in Turkey, they said. The oil used to be smuggled in fleets of giant tankers but, fearing airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition, smaller tankers are being used now.
www.informationclearinghouse.info...
By Al-Araby al-Jadeed staff
December 01, 2015 "Information Clearing House" - "Al-Araby" - Oil produced from fields under the control of the Islamic State group is at the heart of a new investigation by al-Araby al-Jadeed. The black gold is extracted, transported and sold, providing the armed group with a vital financial lifeline.
But who buys it? Who finances the murderous brutality that has taken over swathes of Iraq and Syria? How does it get from the ground to the petrol tank, and who profits along the way?
The Islamic State group uses millions of dollars in oil revenues to expand and manage vast areas under its control, home to around five million civilians.
IS sells Iraqi and Syrian oil for a very low price to Kurdish and Turkish smuggling networks and mafias, who label it and sell it on as barrels from the Kurdistan Regional Government.
It is then most frequently transported from Turkey to Israel, via knowing or unknowing middlemen, according to al-Araby's investigation.
The Islamic State group has told al-Araby that it did not intentionally sell oil to Israel, blaming agents along the route to international markets.