Despite ban, Turks rally against detention of Istanbul mayor

Despite a ban on demonstrations in Istanbul, hundreds took to the streets on Thursday to protest the detention of Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu.

Imamoglu and dozens of senior municipal officials were detained on Wednesday as part of an investigation involving wide-ranging charges initiated by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office.

He is considered Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's biggest rival, and critics accuse the move of being politically motivated.

Following the detention, the Istanbul Governor's Office banned all types of meetings, demonstrations, and press statements for four days and closed several roads across Istanbul.

However, protesters rallied in Istanbul, with scuffles breaking out between students and police, leading to tense confrontations.

Separately, many Istanbul residents have also voiced concern over the detention of the two-term mayor.

"I'm very worried. There is nothing -- no justice, no rule of law, absolutely nothing. They have taken everything from us. Anyone who raises their voice is thrown in jail," said Fatma, a local resident.

"I find this completely wrong. There is no evidence, no proof -- just small lies they are presenting. But I have no worries because the future of Türkiye is in the hands of young people like us, so I'm not too afraid," said Ahmet, another local resident.

"We have countless concerns -- economic, legal, moral -- every kind of problem. We hope for a resolution soon, but at this point, we just don't know anymore," said Cem, another Turkish citizen.

"As long as they don't release Imamoglu, we are not leaving this place. I'm 70 years old, but I will not go anywhere. For Imamoglu, for justice, for the rule of law!" said an elderly woman who joined the protest.

Meanwhile, Istanbul University annulled Imamoglu's diploma on Tuesday -- a decision that could potentially block him from running for president -- sparking strong reactions from students.

Authorities have also detained dozens of people, accusing them of posting "provocative" content on social media that allegedly incited crime and hatred following Imamoglu's detention.

As part of the ongoing investigation into Imamoglu, authorities have seized a construction company he co-owns.

On Wednesday evening, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office announced that control of Imamoglu Construction, Trade, and Industry had been transferred to the courts following a financial crimes investigation.

The Republican People's Party has labelled the detention as a "coup against the country's next president" -- a statement that drew a warning from Turkish Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç, who said: "pulling the investigations being carried out by the impartial and unbiased judiciary in different directions, and describing it with expressions such as ‘coup,’ is extremely dangerous and wrong."

Imamoglu is expected to be formally selected as the Republican People's Party presidential candidate during the primary elections on March 23. Whether he will be released in the coming days will be critical for his presidential bid.

Despite ban, Turks rally against detention of Istanbul mayor

The total assets of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) have amounted to 2.9 trillion yuan (around 394.64 billion U.S. dollars), according to the latest data from the Shanghai bourse.

Since the start of this year, the net inflow into ETFs across the market has exceeded 130 billion yuan, and the number of ETF products available on the market has exceeded 670, the SSE reported.

Specifically, stock ETFs account for the largest portion with total assets of 2.1 trillion yuan (about 285.77 billion U.S. dollars), while broad-based ETFs have assets totaling 1.6 trillion yuan. Bond ETFs account for over 200 billion yuan, and the scale of dividend ETFs is around 100 billion yuan.

Notably, five ETFs on the Shanghai market boast assets exceeding 100 billion yuan each, representing 83 percent of all such large-scale ETFs across both the Shanghai and Shenzhen bourses. Additionally, 52 ETFs traded on the SSE have assets surpassing 10 billion yuan, representing 71 percent of the total ETFs in two major exchanges.

Meanwhile, there is a notable growing appeal of Chinese ETFs to international investors. Overseas funds tracking indices such as the SSE and CSI (China Securities Index) have reached a combined amount of 150 billion yuan, reflecting heightened global confidence in index-based investments targeting China's markets.

ETFs are investment funds that hold multiple underlying assets and can be traded on an exchange, similar to individual stocks. They can be structured to track a wide range of investments, from the price of a single commodity to a large and diversified portfolio of stocks.

ETF scale on Shanghai Stock Exchange surges to 2.9 trln yuan