Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has hinted at the possibility of meeting Syrian counterpart Bashar Al Assad in the future, reinforcing recent tentative steps to restore ties after Ankara's support of rebel groups in Syria's civil war.
"As of now such a meeting is not on the agenda. But I cannot say it is impossible for me to meet with Al Assad," Mr Erdogan told reporters on Thursday in Prague, where he was attending the first meeting of the newly established European Political Community.
"When the right time comes, we can also go to the way of meeting with the president of Syria," he said.
Turkey’s backing has been vital to sustaining Syrian rebels in their last major stronghold in the north-west, after Mr Al Assad defeated the insurgency across the rest of the country with help from Russia and Iran.
Turkey has been hosting nearly four million Syrian refugees since the start of the civil war in Syria in 2011.
Mr Erdogan said on Saturday that more than half a million Syrians had returned home since 2016.
"Since the start of our cross-border operations in Syria, about 526,000 volunteers have returned to the safety zones that we established," he told the Turkish Parliament.
Mr Erdogan has in recent months said he is preparing to send back a million Syrian refugees on a “voluntary basis”.
He has said that Ankara aimed to encourage them to return to "safe zones" on the Turkey-Syria border by building them housing and local infrastructure.
Less than nine months from presidential elections, their presence in Turkey has become a thorny political issue, especially as the country battles an economic and monetary crisis.
Opposition parties regularly call on authorities to send Syrian refugees home.
Syria's civil war, which began with a brutal crackdown on peaceful anti-government protests in 2011, has killed nearly half a million people and forced around half of the country's pre-war population from their homes.
Syria was suspended from the Arab League in November 2011, eight months after the protests erupted to punish Mr Al Assad’s regime for failing to end the bloodshed caused by its clampdown.
However, there have been calls from several Arab nations for Syria to be readmitted into the Arab League as the government has regained control over most of the country. The Al Assad regime has been mainly backed by Russia, Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah.
Turkey regularly carries out cross-border air strikes, often with armed drones, in neighbouring Iraq and Syria as part of its offensive against Kurdish militants based there.
The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) launched an insurgency against the Turkish state in 1984 that has claimed more than 40,000 lives. The PKK is regarded as a terrorist group by Turkey, the US and the EU.
Turkey said on Sunday it had "neutralised", the term its defence ministry usually employs for killed, about 30 PKK members in cross-border operations in Iraq and Syria.
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Who has been sanctioned?
Daniella Weiss and Nachala
Described as 'the grandmother of the settler movement', she has encouraged the expansion of settlements for decades. The 79 year old leads radical settler movement Nachala, whose aim is for Israel to annex Gaza and the occupied West Bank, where it helps settlers built outposts.
Harel Libi & Libi Construction and Infrastructure
Libi has been involved in threatening and perpetuating acts of aggression and violence against Palestinians. His firm has provided logistical and financial support for the establishment of illegal outposts.
Zohar Sabah
Runs a settler outpost named Zohar’s Farm and has previously faced charges of violence against Palestinians. He was indicted by Israel’s State Attorney’s Office in September for allegedly participating in a violent attack against Palestinians and activists in the West Bank village of Muarrajat.
Coco’s Farm and Neria’s Farm
These are illegal outposts in the West Bank, which are at the vanguard of the settler movement. According to the UK, they are associated with people who have been involved in enabling, inciting, promoting or providing support for activities that amount to “serious abuse”.
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
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PROFILE BOX:
Company/date started: 2015
Founder/CEO: Rami Salman, Rishav Jalan, Ayush Chordia
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Technology, Sales, Voice, Artificial Intelligence
Size: (employees/revenue) 10/ 100,000 downloads
Stage: 1 ($800,000)
Investors: Eight first-round investors including, Beco Capital, 500 Startups, Dubai Silicon Oasis, Hala Fadel, Odin Financial Services, Dubai Angel Investors, Womena, Arzan VC
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Other acts on the Jazz Garden bill
Sharrie Williams
The American singer is hugely respected in blues circles due to her passionate vocals and songwriting. Born and raised in Michigan, Williams began recording and touring as a teenage gospel singer. Her career took off with the blues band The Wiseguys. Such was the acclaim of their live shows that they toured throughout Europe and in Africa. As a solo artist, Williams has also collaborated with the likes of the late Dizzy Gillespie, Van Morrison and Mavis Staples.
Lin Rountree
An accomplished smooth jazz artist who blends his chilled approach with R‘n’B. Trained at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, Rountree formed his own band in 2004. He has also recorded with the likes of Kem, Dwele and Conya Doss. He comes to Dubai on the back of his new single Pass The Groove, from his forthcoming 2018 album Stronger Still, which may follow his five previous solo albums in cracking the top 10 of the US jazz charts.
Anita Williams
Dubai-based singer Anita Williams will open the night with a set of covers and swing, jazz and blues standards that made her an in-demand singer across the emirate. The Irish singer has been performing in Dubai since 2008 at venues such as MusicHall and Voda Bar. Her Jazz Garden appearance is career highlight as she will use the event to perform the original song Big Blue Eyes, the single from her debut solo album, due for release soon.
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
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How will Gen Alpha invest?
Mark Chahwan, co-founder and chief executive of robo-advisory firm Sarwa, forecasts that Generation Alpha (born between 2010 and 2024) will start investing in their teenage years and therefore benefit from compound interest.
“Technology and education should be the main drivers to make this happen, whether it’s investing in a few clicks or their schools/parents stepping up their personal finance education skills,” he adds.
Mr Chahwan says younger generations have a higher capacity to take on risk, but for some their appetite can be more cautious because they are investing for the first time. “Schools still do not teach personal finance and stock market investing, so a lot of the learning journey can feel daunting and intimidating,” he says.
He advises millennials to not always start with an aggressive portfolio even if they can afford to take risks. “We always advise to work your way up to your risk capacity, that way you experience volatility and get used to it. Given the higher risk capacity for the younger generations, stocks are a favourite,” says Mr Chahwan.
Highlighting the role technology has played in encouraging millennials and Gen Z to invest, he says: “They were often excluded, but with lower account minimums ... a customer with $1,000 [Dh3,672] in their account has their money working for them just as hard as the portfolio of a high get-worth individual.”
Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
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Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now