Turkey’s Erdogan tries to ease surging energy bills

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s president has announced a set of measures aiming to bring relief to households and businesses reeling from high inflation and soaring electricity bills. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday that authorities would readjust the level under which higher electricity tariffs for households using more energy kick in, while some 4 million households in the country of more than 84 million people would receive state subsidies to help with natural gas and electricity bills. Inflation in Turkey has officially soared to nearly 49% in January and experts say the true rate could be much higher.  Households and businesses have additionally been hit with sharp hikes in energy prices.