Immediately after a deadly explosion rocked a popular tourist spot in Istanbul this month, use of the word "Suriyeli" — the Turkish word for Syrians — surged on social media.
“Perhaps this explosion would not have happened if we had not brought unknown people into the country,” a Twitter user calling himself Mehmet Guzel wrote hours after the attack. "Syrians should be expelled from this country immediately."
Another user posted the hashtag #suriyeli with a video of people fleeing the scene of the November 13 attack, which killed at least eight people.
This and thousands more posts contained anti-Syrian sentiment — even after the Turkish government blamed armed Kurdish groups for the attack.
Both the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, a mainly Kurdish militia in Syria, denied involvement and called for an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the attack.
The chief suspect, Ankara said, was trained in Syrian towns near the border with Turkey. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has since launched an offensive into northern Syria targeting the groups.
Orwa Ajjoub, a senior analyst at Coar Global, said such incidents did little to defuse the tension felt by the almost four million Syrian refugees living in Turkey, especially with presidential and parliamentary elections coming next year.
“These events will all feed into the anti-Syrian sentiments pre-election,” he said. "It's going to definitely be used by the opposition and the AKP [ruling party] as well to justify military operations into Syria."
Days after the incident, Mr Erdogan’s chief adviser acknowledged that racism and xenophobic rhetoric against Syrians exists even among government ranks.
“The opposition in Turkey uses a racist line and provokes people by saying that [Syrians] are taking their jobs and are a menace to Turkey,” Ilnur Cevik told The National.
“Some people inside and close to the administration also get carried away with this kind of propaganda because it’s very tempting and attractive.”
Statements by public officials have also had an effect on the ground.
A Syrian activist, who declined to be named for security reasons, said he had faced difficulty when trying to rent a house in Istanbul.
“Racism is very prevalent in Turkey,” he told The National. "Every time I called someone to inquire about an advertised home, I’d get asked where I’m from. When I say I’m Syrian, the owner refuses my business."
Mr Cevik said officials have been “politicising” the issue of refugees in Turkey, months before June’s presidential and parliamentary elections.
In September, head of Turkey's far-right Victory party, Umit Ozdag, made unverified claims that the Turkish government gave “over-the-phone” citizenship to 1.5 million Syrians — five times the official figure.
In another statement, he said Turkey had been “invaded” by Syrians and he promised to “send all refugees back” if his party wins at the polls.
"We want them to go back home,” Mr Cevik said, referring to the Syrian refugee population as Turkey’s “guests”.
“If they were there for a year, that’s no problem, but they’ve overextended their stay by a decade or more. That creates internal problems.”
He conceded that it would be “against international law” to forcibly deport refugees back to Syria. Last month, Human Rights Watch said Turkey had “arbitrarily arrested, detained and deported hundreds” of Syrian refugees between February and July.
Mr Cevik said Turkish security forces had tried to “contain” the refugee population by enforcing laws that ensure Syrians make up no more than 25 per cent of the demographic in Turkish districts.
"Some of the laws issued in the past weeks, and the dire economic situation, have caused the refugees to actually flee the country — even those who are freshly in from Syria are trying to go to Greece via Turkey because it's safe," said Suhail Al Ghazi, who lived in Turkey for six years before deciding to leave for better work opportunities.
When the war broke out in Syria 11 years ago, Turkey stood firmly against the Syrian government and President Bashar Al Assad.
Mr Ajjoub says Mr Erdogan's position on Syria softened after a trip to Sochi in early August where he held a one-to-one meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who backs the Assad government.
A few weeks after the Sochi encounter, Mr Erdogan alluded to the possibility of restoring ties with Syria, saying: "Political dialogue or diplomacy cannot be cut off between states."
Turkish officials have also said they had been exchanging intelligence and meeting their Syrian counterparts.
Mr Cevik called this a logistical “practicality”.
“It’s a necessary security co-operation, a necessary practicality because they’re our neighbours whether we like it or not.”
Turkey’s public admission of continuing dealings with the Assad regime caused outrage among the Syrian opposition.
"Those who thought that Turkey was standing with them for their opposition of the Syrian government were wrong," Mr Ajjoub said. "It upset the Syrian opposition when Mr Erdogan made his latest comments on rapprochement.
"It was like a bomb dropped."
Company profile
Name: Steppi
Founders: Joe Franklin and Milos Savic
Launched: February 2020
Size: 10,000 users by the end of July and a goal of 200,000 users by the end of the year
Employees: Five
Based: Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai
Financing stage: Two seed rounds – the first sourced from angel investors and the founders' personal savings
Second round raised Dh720,000 from silent investors in June this year
I Care A Lot
Directed by: J Blakeson
Starring: Rosamund Pike, Peter Dinklage
3/5 stars
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
WORLD RECORD FEES FOR GOALKEEPERS
1) Kepa Arrizabalaga, Athletic Bilbao to Chelsea (£72m)
2) Alisson, Roma to Liverpool (£67m)
3) Ederson, Benfica to Manchester City (£35m)
4) Gianluigi Buffon, Parma to Juventus (£33m)
5) Angelo Peruzzi, Inter Milan to Lazio (£15.7m
RESULT
Bayer Leverkusen 2 Bayern Munich 4
Leverkusen: Alario (9'), Wirtz (89')
Bayern: Coman (27'), Goretzka (42'), Gnabry (45'), Lewandowski (66')
What went into the film
25 visual effects (VFX) studios
2,150 VFX shots in a film with 2,500 shots
1,000 VFX artists
3,000 technicians
10 Concept artists, 25 3D designers
New sound technology, named 4D SRL
Changing visa rules
For decades the UAE has granted two and three year visas to foreign workers, tied to their current employer. Now that's changing.
Last year, the UAE cabinet also approved providing 10-year visas to foreigners with investments in the UAE of at least Dh10 million, if non-real estate assets account for at least 60 per cent of the total. Investors can bring their spouses and children into the country.
It also approved five-year residency to owners of UAE real estate worth at least 5 million dirhams.
The government also said that leading academics, medical doctors, scientists, engineers and star students would be eligible for similar long-term visas, without the need for financial investments in the country.
The first batch - 20 finalists for the Mohammed bin Rashid Medal for Scientific Distinction.- were awarded in January and more are expected to follow.
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Veil (Object Lessons)
Rafia Zakaria
Bloomsbury Academic
Premier League results
Saturday
Crystal Palace 1 Brighton & Hove Albion 2
Cardiff City 2 West Ham United 0
Huddersfield Town 0 Bournemouth 2
Leicester City 3 Fulham 1
Newcastle United 3 Everton 2
Southampton 2 Tottenham Hotspur 1
Manchester City 3 Watford 1
Sunday
Liverpool 4 Burnley 2
Chelsea 1 Wolverhampton Wanderers 1
Arsenal 2 Manchester United 0
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The advice provided in our columns does not constitute legal advice and is provided for information only. Readers are encouraged to seek independent legal advice.
The%20specs
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Result
UAE (S. Tagliabue 90 1') 1-2 Uzbekistan (Shokhruz Norkhonov 48', 86')
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
SCORES IN BRIEF
New Zealand 153 and 56 for 1 in 22.4 overs at close
Pakistan 227
(Babar 62, Asad 43, Boult 4-54, De Grandhomme 2-30, Patel 2-64)
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
Global Fungi Facts
• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil
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FORSPOKEN
%3Cp%3EDeveloper%3A%20Luminous%20Productions%0D%3Cbr%3EPublisher%3A%20Square%20Enix%0D%3Cbr%3EConsole%3A%20PC%2C%20PS5%0D%3Cbr%3ERelease%20date%3A%20January%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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Star%20Wars%20Jedi%3A%20Survivor
%3Cp%3EDeveloper%3A%20Respawn%20Entertainment%0D%3Cbr%3EPublisher%3A%20Electronic%20Arts%0D%3Cbr%3EConsole%3A%20PC%2C%20PS5%2C%20XSX%0D%3Cbr%3ERelease%20date%3A%20March%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Suicide%20Squad%3A%20Kill%20the%20Justice%20League
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Final%20Fantasy%20XVI
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Street%20Fighter%206
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Diablo%20IV
%3Cp%3EDeveloper%3A%20Blizzard%20Entertainment%0D%3Cbr%3EPublisher%3A%20Blizzard%20Entertainment%0D%3Cbr%3EConsole%3A%20PC%2C%20PS5%2C%20XSX%0D%3Cbr%3ERelease%20date%3A%20June%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Baldur's%20Gate%203
%3Cp%3EDeveloper%3A%20Larian%20Studios%0D%3Cbr%3EPublisher%3A%20Larian%20Studios%0D%3Cbr%3EConsole%3A%20PC%0D%3Cbr%3ERelease%20date%3A%20August%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The%20Legend%20of%20Zelda%3A%20Tears%20of%20The%20Kingdom
%3Cp%3EDeveloper%3A%20Nintendo%0D%3Cbr%3EPublisher%3A%20Nintendo%0D%3Cbr%3EConsole%3A%20Nintendo%20Switch%0D%3Cbr%3ERelease%20date%3A%20September%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Marvel's%20Spider-Man%202
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Assassin's%20Creed%20Mirage
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Starfield
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
The specs: 2019 Subaru Forester
Price, base: Dh105,900 (Premium); Dh115,900 (Sport)
Engine: 2.5-litre four-cylinder
Transmission: Continuously variable transmission
Power: 182hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 239Nm @ 4,400rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 8.1L / 100km (estimated)
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
