Chery’s Export Sales Exceed 200,000, Breaking Record for Chinese Brands

BAGHDAD, Nov. 29, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Recently, Chery Group released its latest sales data. Against the complicated environments such as the changes in the pandemic situation and global chip shortages in the car industry, Chery continued to maintain the fastest growth rate in China’s automotive industry, achieving cumulative sales of 739,730 vehicles from January to October, up 44.3% year over year.

Tiggo 7 Pro has become the most popular Chinese SUV in Russia

As for exports, in October, Chery exported more than 20,000 vehicles for the sixth time this year with total sales of 25,049 vehicles, an increase of 92.7% year-over-year. From January to October, the cumulative sales volume was 212,959 vehicles, up 145.7% year-over-year. While setting a new historical record, Chery firmly maintained its leading position in export among all Chinese passenger vehicles.

In the Russian market, which Chery has been cultivating for 16 years, Chery has always been the “people’s vehicle” in the eyes of local people. According to the data released by AEB (Association of European Business), Chery’s cumulative sales from January to October increased by 266% year-over-year, ranking first among all automobile brands, and Tiggo 7 became the most popular Chinese SUV model in Russia in October.

In Chile, according to the data released by ANAC (Asociación Nacional Automotive Riz de Chile A.G.), Chery ranked fourth among all automobile brands in October, surpassing brands such as Toyota, Kia, and Volkswagen, with a year-over-year growth of 101.4% and a market share of 6.3%. In the SUV market segment, the sales market share reached 15.3% in October, ranking first for ten consecutive months, and Tiggo 2 series became the best-selling SUV model.

Chery User Event in Chile

According to the data released by Fenabrave (National Federation of Automotive Vehicles Distribution) of Brazil, Chery’s sales in October increased by 127% year-over-year, surpassing Nissan to take ninth place in passenger vehicle sales, ranking among the top ten in sales for six consecutive months and reaching a record-breaking market share of 3.97%. In the SUV market segment, Tiggo 8, Tiggo 3X (Tiggo 2 Pro in other markets) and other models continued to sell well.

The cumulative sales exceeding 200,000 in the first ten months not only meant that Chery completed the annual export target of 200,000 vehicles ahead of schedule, but also made Chery the first Chinese passenger vehicle manufacturer to export more than 200,000 vehicles annually. Chery, which has been “sailing abroad” for 20 years, has become a business card for Chinese automobile brands to go global. Up to now, Chery has accumulated 9.8 million global users, including 1.9 million overseas users. Chery is about to turn over a new leaf.

Arrizo 6 Pro sells well in Brazil

About Chery

Chery is a Chinese automobile brand with global influence. Chery has established a research and development team of more than 5,500 people through five global research and development bases, and has the most powerful research and development strength of engine, transmission, chassis, and other core technologies among Chinese automobile brands. Chery is also the first Chinese automobile company to export vehicles, CKD parts, engines and vehicle manufacturing technology and equipment to the world. Up to now, Chery has exported its vehicles to more than 80 countries and regions, and has set up 10 overseas factories, more than 1,500 overseas dealerships and service outlets, with nearly 9.8 million users worldwide, ranking first in the number of passenger cars exported from China for 18 consecutive years.

For more information, please send an email to cheryiraq@mychery.com

FACEBOOK: CHERY IQ
INSTAGRAM: chery_iq

Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1697698/Tiggo_7_Pro_popular_Chinese_SUV_Russia.jpg
Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1697699/Chery_User_Event_Chile.jpg
Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1697697/Arrizo_6_Pro_sells_Brazil.jpg

imo Ads Highlights 5 Mobile Marketing Trends for 2022 Ahead of Brainscape 2021

DUBAI, UAE, Nov. 29, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — imo Ads, a global mobile marketing platform that provides comprehensive branding and performance solutions for businesses located in the MENA region, will participate in the 11th annual BrainScape, one of the largest marketing conferences in the region. imo Ads will have its own virtual booth where it will welcome business, marketing and communications professionals from all over the world to showcase the value of its platform and demonstrate how they can prepare to attract customers on current and emerging digital platforms.

“BrainScape is a conference designed to explore how new thinking and a fresh approach can help companies and brands reach higher levels of success”, said Joanna Zhao, Head of Ad Sales, imo Ads. “The marketing and communications landscape is constantly evolving with relatively new and emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning, Livestreaming, the Metaverse and more. In order for companies to stay both competitive and relevant they need to become more agile not only with the technology they use, but how they plan to incorporate marketing strategies and tactics across every customer touch-point both online and offline.”

imo Ads leverages its premium resources to provide highly targeted and customized marketing solutions to help brands achieve stronger exposure, and reach users more effectively. With significant data resources and powerful algorithm capabilities, imo Ads could assist brands in maximizing their own potential and ROI through precise reach and efficient conversion.

A recent report states that people in the MENA region spend a lot of time on social media, averaging about 3.5 hours a day, across platforms. If we take a closer look at UAE, mobile phones remains the preferred device of choice as it accounts for 60.5 percent of web traffic across devices, according to Global Media Insight

With mobile and social platforms visibly being the future of marketing and communicating with potential customers, ahead of the conference, imo Ads shares a few trends that will be relevant to marketers in 2022.

Video will continue to be important

Video content is quite engaging and attention grabbing. In fact, people pay more attention to video than to any other types of content, which is why watching short videos or live posts or stories as well as sharing videos on instant messaging apps are amongst the top 3 most regular uses of the phone across the Middle East region, according to Deloitte Global Mobile Consumer Survey, Middle East Edition 2019.

As a result, mobile markets will need to utilize video advertising utilizing some best practices to ensure that their messages and promotions stay relevant. These best practices include: starting strong, keeping it short and staying relevant to your target audience.

In order to deliver successful video ads, the right platform is required. Social media plays a vital role in terms of both boosting video content and enhancing reach and a good mix of cross-platform advertising is essential.

Businesses, regardless of their size, should all focus their efforts to invest in creative production to maximize the impact they will have in the near future.

Personalization is key

In just one day, mobile users are exposed to hundreds of mobile ads through their smart phones, which is why brands need to go beyond creativity to create messages that really speak to the users. In fact, personalization can reduce acquisition costs by as much as 50 percent, lift revenues by 5 percent to 15 percent, and increase the efficiency of marketing spend by up to 30 percent.

To create ads that are more personalized, marketers would need to leverage data. This is because through user data and behavior, marketers can learn a lot about what their customers prefer such as what kind of visuals, messages or CTAs they would want to see.

In addition to data analytics, marketers can utilize user feedback to create more personalized experience. Regardless of the source, be it from reviews, customer service issues, discussions at various touch points and more, marketers should listen to drive better user engagement and mobile user experience.

AI rises to prominence

Gathering intelligence from a variety of sources will prove to be quite a challenge for marketing professionals. However new technologies are continuing to emerge and evolve to generate more insights to help marketers create more content that is both meaningful and impactful.

One of these technologies is Artificial Intelligence (AI), which will become essential as brands dive deeper into mobile marketing in the forthcoming years. Businesses have been using AI such as image recognition, dynamic pricing, sales forecasting and more to create offerings that are personalized to potential customer segments.

Therefore, in 2022, we can expect to see an increase in marketing spend on AI technologies to create a more holistic customer experience across a variety of platforms both online and offline.

Mobile-First & Commerce Marketing

People are and will continue to spend more time on their smartphones as mobile applications become more versatile. imo for example, used to be an instant messaging application between single users has evolved over the years to include more features such as: Big Group Chats; short ‘Story’ updates; share files of up to 10GB and even participate in Chatrooms where users can match people from different places in the same country expanding their own reach and giving them the opportunity to make friends with similar interests.

As a result, it is imperative for businesses to create mobile-friendly content that users will not only appreciate but will also rank higher across search engines. A simple strategy could be as simple as adapting the design of a website to fit screens of smartphones or tablets.

We are living in the age of the “Everything Customer”. These people are individuals who are not brand loyal but are sensitive to both the price and the overall experience. A responsive design for a website or mobile application is just one necessity to provide ease of access and convenience when browsing or shopping.

Furthermore, mobile commerce will continue to witness exponential growth going into 2022 as more consumers are using their smartphones to shop online. In fact, many marketing experts believe that mobile commerce will play a pivotal role in marketing in 2022.

Any brand that seeks to capture the mobile-first customer should have an app that is not only simple and easy to navigate, but provides exceptional customer experience. What will accelerate the growth of mobile commerce is social commerce through various social media platforms and even livestreaming applications. Mobile commerce is still at an early stage, however as potential customers get comfortable with exploring social commerce, brands will be motivated to focus their strategies and tactics accordingly to tap into their ever evolving and growing customer base.

Optimizing for Voice

Many prominent organizations from around the world such as Google, Amazon and Apple continue to invest in audio development with voice search playing a key role. Voice Assistants are improving almost every day and making our lives easier as we are now able to control a plethora of smart gadgets and appliances in our homes simply with our voice.

The potential of voice commands for marketers is simply infinite due to its level of convenience as it relates to searching for and purchasing items. As a result, for the coming year and the foreseeable future, businesses will need to rethink their online marketing approach due to the increase in popularity of voice search.

The 11th edition of BrainScape is set to take place on 29 November 2022 at La Perle, Al Habtoor City, Dubai, UAE. For more information please visit: phdbrainscape.com.

To learn more about imo ads, please contact: imoads@imo.im.

Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1696909/image_849502_26156503.jpg
Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1696908/imo_Ads.jpg

‫تتويج شركة جي في جي “شركة التكنولوجيا للعام” في أسبوع التكنولوجيا الأفريقي

كيب تاون، جنوب أفريقيا, 29 نوفمبر / تشرين ثاني 2021 /PRNewswire/ — تم تتويج شركة غلوبال فويس غروب (جي في جي)، ، وهي شركة مزودة رائدة لتقنيات قوانين وأنظمة الامتثال وحلول البيانات للحكومات والوكالات الولائية، “شركة التقنية للعام” من قبل أسبوع التقنية الأفريقي، وذلك في حفل توزيع جوائز أقيم في جنوب أفريقيا يوم 24 تشرين الثاني/نوفمبر. وقد تنافست المئات من الشركات الأخرى في فئات مختلفة، بما في ذلك ثمانية لاعبين رئيسيين في الصناعة تم ترشيحهم إلى جانب جي في جي للحصول على نفس الجائزة المرموقة.

GVG Logo

 كانت هذه هي النسخة السنوية الثالثة من هذا الحدث الأفريقي الذي يركز على توعية البلدان الأفريقية بالتحديات والفرص التي يمكن اكتسابها من خلال صياغة الخطط والسياسات المناسبة لدفعها إلى الثورة الرقمية والتكنولوجية. في كل عام، تقوم لجنة التحكيم المستقلة في أسبوع التقنية الأفريقي بتقييم مئات المرشحين لمكافأة أولئك الذين تميزوا أكثر في هذا المجال.

 ولدى قبوله الجائزة بفخر نيابة عن الشركة، انتهز مدير التكنولوجيا في جي في جي، لوران سار، الفرصة للتأكيد على الأهمية القصوى لتكنولوجيا المعلومات والاتصالات للبلدان الأفريقية، “في غلوبال فويس غروب،“كما قال ““نحن نؤمن حقًا بتنمية إفريقيا من خلال تكنولوجيا المعلومات والاتصالات. وهذا هو سبب ابتكارنا دائمًا لتقديم حلول رقمية للحكومات و (…) المؤسسات لمساعدتها [في رقمنة] عملياتها و [تعزيز] التنمية من خلال تكنولوجيا المعلومات والاتصالات.”

قبل فترة طويلة من انتشار الوباء الذي سلط الضوء على ضرورة تسريع التحول الرقمي في البلدان الناشئة، من بين الاحتياجات الملحة الأخرى، اعتمدت معظم الحكومات الأفريقية بالفعل أجنداتها الرقمية الخاصة. يسمح لنا حدث مثل أسبوع التكنولوجيا الأفريقي بتقدير التقدم المحرز في هذا الصدد وتسليط الضوء على مساهمة المنظمات العامة والخاصة مثل جي في جي في تطوير مجتمعات رقمية ديناميكية وشاملة ومرنة في إفريقيا.

 نبذة عن مجموعة غلوبال فويس غروب (جي في جي) تأسست المجموعة عام 1998، وتنتشر أفرعها في 11 دولة، وتُعد جلوبال فويس إحدى الشركات العالمية المهتمة بتقديم حلول تكنولوجيا المعلومات والاتصالات والتكنولوجيا التنظيمية للهيئات الحكومية والجهات التنظيمية. تدعم مجموعة غلوبال فويس جهود الجهات الحكومية والهيئات الأخرى نحو التحول الرقمي، وذلك من خلال تحليلات البيانات الضخمة، كما تساعد المجموعة هذه الهيئات في الترويج الفعال لبيئات الأنظمة الرقمية المبسطة والتي تتسم بشمول مالي حقيقي. تعمل الشركة على رصد بيانات القطاعات الاقتصادية المحورية وجمعها وتحليلها بهدف تحويلها إلى معلومات ذات قيمة عملية. ندعم عمليات اتخاذ القرار القائمة على البيانات.

يمكنكم زيارة موقع الشركة الإلكتروني عبر هذا الرابط : www.globalvoicegroup.com

الشعار – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/996162/GVG_Logo.jpg

‫شراكة شؤون الجمارك البحرينية مع كريمسون لوجيك لتنفيذ مشروع نظام النافذة الواحدة “أفق 2”

سنغافورة / البحرين، المنامة – Media OutReach – 29 نوفمبر 2021 – حظيت شركة كريمسون لوجيك (CrimsonLogic)، المزود العالمي الرائد للحلول والمنتجات والخدمات التجارية، ومقرها سنغافورة، بعقد شراكة مع شؤون الجمارك البحرينية لتنفيذ مشروع نظام النافذة الواحدة “أفق 2” والذي يعد الجيل القادم من نظام النافذة الواحدة على مستوى المملكة.

ويأتي هذا المشروع تماشيًا مع استراتيجية مملكة البحرين للتركيز على قطاع الخدمات اللوجستية باعتباره جزءًا من أولويات وبرامج خطة التعافي الاقتصادي. وستدعم هذه الخطوة رؤى جلالة الملك حمد بن عيسى آل خليفة، بعد موافقة مجلس الوزراء على المشروع برئاسة صاحب السمو الملكي الأمير سلمان بن حمد آل خليفة، ولي العهد ورئيس مجلس الوزراء، وذلك بهدف تطوير الاقتصاد وتوفير فرص واعدة للمواطنين لتحسين القدرة التنافسية لمملكة البحرين وجذب المزيد من الاستثمارات.199705-CL.jpg

ترأس مراسم توقيع العقد معالي الشيخ أحمد بن حمد آل خليفة رئيس جمارك البحرين الذي وقع مؤخرًا العقد مع شركة كريمسون لوجيك التي تتخذ من سنغافورة مقرًا لها.

يعد نظام “أفق 2” بوابة إلكترونية متقدمة تدمج التبادل الرقمي للبيانات بين الأنظمة الإلكترونية المختلفة داخل المجتمع التجاري (الذي يضم السفن، ووكلاء التخليص الجمركي والبضائع، وأصحاب المنتجات) وتبسط هذه البوابة الإجراءات الحكومية المختلفة، وتشمل وحدات متخصصة مثل القيمة الجمركية، ونظام الإعفاء الجمركي، ونظام القيود الجمركية، ونظام المخاطر، وذلك لتلبية أحدث المعايير الدولية. كما يستفيد نظام “أفق 2” من الحلول الذكية وتطبيقات الذكاء الاصطناعي لتنظيم إجراءات التعيين وتقليل الأعمال الورقية بين شؤون الجمارك البحرينية والشركات العاملة.

يدمج نظام “أفق 2” تقنيات سلسلة السجلات المغلقة (blockchain) لزيادة تعزيز دقة المعاملات الرقمية وحماية سرية المعلومات باستخدام الحد الأدنى من التدخل البشري، مع إمكانية الوصول إلى خدمات البوابة الإلكترونية أيضًا من خلال الهواتف المحمولة والأكشاك.

ومن جانبه قال السيد/ سو كين واي، الرئيس التنفيذي لشركة كريمسون لوجيك: “يشرفنا أن نشارك شؤون الجمارك البحرينية في رحلتها إلى الرقمنة لإعادة تصور التجارة بالنسبة للمملكة، وذلك بزيادة التركيز على الكفاءات والاتصال، حيث سيشارك النظام الجديد البيانات بسلاسة بين مجتمعات التجارة واللوجستيات بالإضافة إلى شؤون الجمارك البحرينية، وسيضمن هذا الهيكل المفتوح والتصميم المعياري أن تتمتع شؤون الجمارك البحرينية بنظام مرن يمكنه التكيف بسهولة مع التغيرات السريعة في هذا الوضع الجديد”

تم الإعلان عن مناقصة المشروع في الربع الأول من عام 2020 بالتعاون مع هيئة المعلومات والحكومة الإلكترونية وتماشيًا مع استراتيجية الحكومة ومتطلبات رؤية مملكة البحرين الاقتصادية 2030 لتحقيق التكامل الإلكتروني من خلال تبادل البيانات بين الأنظمة الإلكترونية المتعلقة بالجمارك والخدمات الإلكترونية.

عن كريمسون لوجيك

كريمسون لوجيك شريك للحكومات والشركات على مستوى العالم حيث تعاونت لأكثر من 30 عامًا مع العملاء لابتكار حلول ومنتجات وخدمات عالمية مستدامة في مجالات التجارة والقانون والحكومة الرقمية، مما شارك في إجراء تحولات مهمة أثرت بشكل إيجابي على الحكومات والشركات والمجتمعات.

#CrimsonLogic

للاستفسارات الإعلامية، يرجى الاتصال بـ:

فرانسيس هوان

كريمسون لوجيك بي تي إي ليمتد

هاتف: 7173 6887 65+

جوال: 5994 9820 65+

البريد الإلكتروني: francishuan@crimsonlogic.com

Bahrain Customs Affairs Partners CrimsonLogic To Implement OFOQ2 Single Window System

SINGAPORE / BAHRAIN, MANAMA – Media OutReach – 29 November 2021 -CrimsonLogic, a leading global provider of Trade solutions, products and services headquartered in Singapore, has won a contract with Bahrain Customs Affairs (BCA) to implement OFOQ2 – the Kingdom’s next-generation national Single Window.

This implementation is a move in line with the Kingdom of Bahrain’s strategy to focus on the logistic services sector, as part of the priorities and programmes of the Economic Recovery Plan.  The move will further support the visions of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, following the project’s approval by the Cabinet chaired by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, with the aim to develop the economy and create promising opportunities for citizens to improve the competitiveness of the Kingdom of Bahrain and attract further investments. 199705-CL.jpg

The contract signing ceremony was presided by the President of Bahrain Customs, His Excellency Shaikh Ahmed bin Hamad Al Khalifa who signed the contract with the Singapore-based company (CrimsonLogic) recently.

The OFOQ2 system is an advance e-portal that integrates the digital exchange of data between different e-systems within the trade community (ships, cargo and customs clearance agents, and product owners) and streamlines the various government procedures.  This includes specialised modules such as the Customs value, Customs Exemption System, Customs Restrictions System and Risks System to meet the latest international standards.  It also capitalizes on smart solutions and AI (Artificial Intelligence) apps to regulate appointment procedures and reduce paperwork between Bahrain Customs Affairs and operating companies.

OFOQ2 incorporates blockchain technologies to further enhance the accuracy of the digital transactions and protects information confidentiality with minimum human interference, with the e-portal’s services also accessible through mobile phones and kiosks.

Mr Saw Ken Wye, Chief Executive Officer of CrimsonLogic said: “We are honoured to be partnering BCA in their digitalisation journey to reimagine how trade will look like for the Kingdom.  With the increased focus on efficiencies and connectivity, the new system will seamlessly share data between the trade and logistics communities and BCA.  The open architecture and modular design would ensure that BCA has an agile system that can readily adapt to the rapid changes in the new normal.”

The project’s tender was announced in the first quarter of 2020 in cooperation with the Information and eGovernment Authority, and in line with the government’s strategy and the requirements of Bahrain Economic Vision 2030 to achieve electronic integration through data exchange between customs-related e-systems and e-services.

About CrimsonLogic

CrimsonLogic is a partner to governments and businesses globally. For over 30 years, CrimsonLogic has partnered customers to innovate sustainable world-class solutions, products and services in Trade, Legal and Digital Government, enabling significant transformations that have positively impacted governments, businesses and communities.

#CrimsonLogic

For media enquiries, please contact:

Francis Huan
CrimsonLogic Pte Ltd
Tel: +65 6887 7173
Mobile: +65 9820 5994
Email: francishuan@crimsonlogic.com

Plant closures in Thailand spark fried chicken shortage in Japan

Published by
The Bangkok Post

TOKYO: As Americans celebrated Thanksgiving with turkey prices at record highs, another poultry dish that’s a beloved holiday tradition could be in short supply: fried chicken in Japan. Convenience stores in Japan like 7-Eleven and FamilyMart are running low on fried chicken for their holiday platters due to plant closures in Thailand, one of the world’s major chicken producers, following a spike in coronavirus cases there in previous months. 7-Eleven has suspended fried chicken sales since the end of September in some parts of Japan due to supply disruptions in Thailand, said a spokeswoman fo… Continue reading “Plant closures in Thailand spark fried chicken shortage in Japan”

Turkey’s Borsa Istanbul ends Monday up

Turkey’s benchmark stock index closed Monday at 1,808.79 points, up 1.82% from the previous close.

Starting the day at 1,788.40 points, Borsa Istanbul’s BIST 100 index gained 32.38 points from the previous close of 1,776.41 points.

The index’s lowest value during the day was 1,776.77 points, while its daily high was 1,811.87 points.

The total market value of the BIST 100 was around 1.46 trillion Turkish liras (some $121 billion) by market close, with a daily trading volume of 28.8 billion Turkish liras ($2.3 billion).

During the day, 77 stocks on the index rose, 18 fell, and five were flat compared to Friday’s close.

The highest trading volumes were posted by flag carrier Turkish Airlines, polyester producer Sasa, and private lender Garanti BBVA.

Defense company Aselsan was the best performer, with its shares up 9.96%, while stocks of participation lender Albaraka saw the sharpest drop, 3.59%.

The price of one ounce of gold was $1,789.50 by market close, down from $1,805.80 at Friday’s close.

The price of Brent crude oil was around $73.65 per barrel as of 13.00 p.m. local time (1000GMT) on Monday.

Exchange Rates Friday Monday

USD/TRY 12.4450 12.7070

EUR/TRY 14.0650 14.3210

GBP/TRY 16.6650 16.9560

Source: Anadolu Agency

4th Int’l Red Crescent Amity Short Film Festival set to begin in Istanbul

The 4th International Red Crescent Amity Short Film Festival will kick off in the Turkish metropolis of Istanbul on Thursday.

The event, which will run Dec. 2-5, is being organized in collaboration with Turkey’s Culture and Tourism Ministry, and the country’s top news source Anadolu Agency is its global communication partner.

This year’s edition is dedicated to prominent Turkish-Muslim mystic and philosopher Haci Bektas Veli.

Headed by Turkish director Atalay Tasdiken, the festival’s jury consists of Georgian filmmaker Giorge Ovashvili, Kosovar director Isa Qosja, Turkish actor Serdar Orcin and Turkish academic Nazli Eda Noyan.

About 448 films from 50 countries applied for the competition and non-competition sections, and 19 nominees are competing for the best film award.

As many as 11 selected films will vie for the Humanitarian Eye Section, whose winner will receive 20,000 Turkish liras (nearly $1,600).

In the Panorama Selection, awarded short films that made their premieres at important festivals around the world, will be screened.

During the masterclass, Iranian director Majid Majidi will share his experiences with movie lovers at the city’s Atlas Cinema on Dec. 4.

This year, the festival’s Amity Honorary Award will be presented to Turkish actress Selda Alkor and director Engin Ayca.

Source: Anadolu Agency

4 killed, 19 wounded when powerful storm hits Istanbul

At least four people died Monday when the Turkish metropolis of Istanbul was hit by a fierce storm with gale-force winds, according to the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD).

Another 38 people were injured, AFAD said in a statement.

As of 8.30 pm (1730GMT), 1,517 calls were made to the 112 Emergency Call Center in Istanbul due to the storm, AFAD said.

Emergency services are working hard to get help to people in need, the governor’s office said.

Since Monday morning, the city – home to over 15 million people – has faced powerful winds which uprooted trees, ripped off rooftops and even toppled a clock tower.

State weather officials said the wind blew as fast as 129 kilometers per hour (80 miles per hour) in the district of Beylikduzu, which also was pummeled by a short mud rain during the storm.

Some boats docked in Maltepe and Pendik suffered severe damage due to the storm, which also caused a cargo ship to collide with a pier at the Port of Ambarli.

Amid the storm, authorities took precautionary measures, cancelling sea transport and closing the Bosphorus Strait – which connects the Marmara and Black seas – to ship traffic in both directions.

Facing adverse aerial conditions, flag carrier Turkish Airlines sent at least six planes that were unable to land to airports outside Istanbul.

In a subsequent statement, the governor’s office said that education was suspended for one day due to the storm’s continued impact on the city.

Strong winds and storms will continue to batter the city tonight, with wind speeds of up to 90 kph (60 mph) until 6 p.m. (1500GMT) tomorrow, according to weather officials.

The governor’s office added that motorcycles and electric scooters will not be allowed in traffic from 11 p.m. (2000GMT) Monday to 6 p.m. (1500GMT) Tuesday due to the powerful storm.

Officials said in a statement that most of Turkey would be affected by strong winds and storms until Tuesday and urged people to take measures to avoid harm during the bad weather.

Meanwhile, a total of 116 incidents including the uprooting of trees and blowing off of roofs occurred in Bursa, Bolu, Tekirdag and Yalova provinces, the AFAD statement said.

Classes were suspended for one day due to the storm’s continued impact on Duzce and Sinop provinces, according to the governor’s offices in the respective cities.

Education was also suspended for one day at Bursa Technical, Balikesir, Canakkale Onsekiz Mart and Yalova universities due to the fierce storm, according to the university administrations.

Source: Anadolu Agency