1. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sealed an election victory, raising the prospect of more friction with Western governments and foreign investors. The country’s longest-serving leader prevailed 52.2% to 47.8% in a runoff vote on Sunday against Kemal Kilicdaroglu to take his 20-year rule well into a third decade, based on results with almost all ballots counted. The lira sank to new low, weakening beyond 20 per dollar, as traders reined in bets that Turkey would soon end some of its unconventional economic policies, which include keeping interest rates well below the level of inflation. Investors’ attention will now turn to who Erdogan picks in his new cabinet, expected to be announced as soon as Friday, according to two Turkish officials familiar with the matter. That may signal whether the president is likely to change tack by reducing heavy state intervention in markets. Late on Sunday, Erdogan, speaking in Ankara, cited inflationary pressures on the economy and said he would put together a new team with “international credibility” to manage the nation’s finances. Many analysts are unconvinced. (Source: bloomberg.com)
2. Imran Khan, the crusading opposition leader whose arrest this month ignited riots across Pakistan, now finds himself increasingly isolated as key aides and supporters defect under pressure from the military and his once-unstoppable party appears in danger of collapsing. The 70-year-old former prime minister, who was ousted by Parliament just over a year ago, remains outwardly defiant. On Friday, he said the powerful Pakistani army was becoming a “fascist” institution that is waging “undeclared martial law.” He has also demanded that the courts intervene to stop its repression. But in less than a week, his Movement for Justice party — the onetime juggernaut that propelled the former cricket star to power in 2018 on an anti-corruption platform, drew boisterous throngs to his comeback rallies, then trounced the ruling party in a key provincial race — has been abruptly forced to a halt. The army, enraged and humiliated when military installations and symbols were vandalized during the protests after Khan’s arrest May 9 on long-standing charges of financial corruption, has branded some rioters as terrorists, while police have detained hundreds of protesters and leaders of Khan’s party. (O)ver the past several days, scores of Khan’s aides, party legislators and longtime supporters have abruptly announced that they are quitting. (Source: washingtonpost.com)
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