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Looking to snitch on your neighbors? Turkey will pay you for the info

The Turkish government has hiked the pay of some elected leaders for providing intelligence about people in their neighborhoods.

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan makes a speech during his meeting with mukhtars at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Nov. 26, 2015. — REUTERS/Umit Bektas

Mukhtars are moving up in the world. Since President Recep Tayyip Erdogan moved to his controversial palace outside Ankara in November 2014, the mukhtars — elected heads of villages and towns — have become his prominent guests. They were the first group to be invited to the fancy palace, and Erdogan continues to receive groups of 300-400 mukhtars at a time.

There are about 53,000 mukhtars in Turkey. Erdogan plans to meet with all of them.

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