The United Nations launched a $1 billion appeal on Thursday to help more than 5 million survivors of the devastating earthquake last week in Turkey, the largest to hit the country in a century.
Earlier this week, the UN also started a $397 million appeal to assist about 5 million Syrians across the border in the rebel-held north-west.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric was peppered with questions about why the appeal for Turkey is targeted at only 5.2 million people when according to the UN and the government more than 15 million people were affected.
He also was asked why the appeal for Turkey is two and a half times larger than the one for Syria to help almost the same number of people.
Mr Dujarric said the Turkish appeal “was designed in very close co-operation with the government of Turkey, which is leading the relief efforts”.
“This is the number they came up with for the focus on people who need the most humanitarian aid, most quickly, and where the UN can be most effective,” he said.
He said Turkey had “a very efficient search and rescue and humanitarian system".
More appeals to follow
As for the disparity in the amount of the appeals, Mr Dujarric said part of the reason was that “there is already a well-established humanitarian community which has been working in Syria” and that before the quake there was a $4.8 billion humanitarian appeal for Syria for 2023.
“So there’s already a humanitarian pot of money that exists for Syria, which did not exist for Turkey,” he said.
Both appeals are for emergency funds for the next three months, and will be followed by fresh appeals for longer-term help.
While announcing the funding for Turkey, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said this will allow aid groups to rapidly scale up support for government-led relief efforts, including providing food, protection, education, water and shelter to survivors.
“The needs are enormous, people are suffering and there’s no time to lose,” Mr Guterres said.
“I urge the international community to step up and fully fund this critical effort in response to one of the biggest natural disasters of our times.
"Turkey is home to the largest number of refugees in the world and has shown enormous generosity to its Syrian neighbours for years”, so it is time for the world to support the Turkish people, he said.
Exemptions for Turkish banks
Aid and donations by Turkish banks to help earthquake victims will not be subject to limits set by the nation’s banking law, according to a presidential decree.
The decree exempts lenders from the legal donation limit of 0.4 per cent of equity and will be in force until the end of the three-month state of emergency that was declared after the February 6 earthquake.
Turkish lenders, led by state-run banks, announced sizeable donations during a fund-raising marathon broadcast live on February 15. Ziraat Bank, the biggest lender by assets, is donating 20 billion liras ($1.1 billion), while Vakifbank pledged 12 billion liras and Halkbank 7 billion liras.
More than 1.74 million refugees live in the 11 Turkish provinces affected by the earthquake, according to the UN refugee agency.
'Unspeakable heartache'
UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths, who visited both quake-ravaged countries last week, said: “The people of Turkey have experienced unspeakable heartache.”
The earthquake struck at the peak of winter destroyed around 47,000 buildings, leaving hundreds of thousands of people, including small children and the elderly, without access to shelter, food, water, heaters and medical care in freezing temperatures.
“We must stand with them in their darkest hour and ensure they receive the support they need,” Mr Griffiths said.
Slow response
The UN has been criticised for the slow response in getting aid and heavy equipment into Syria’s rebel-held north-west.
On Monday, following a visit to Damascus, Mr Griffiths announced that Syrian leader Bashar Al Assad had agreed to open two additional crossing points from Turkey to the north-west — at Bab Al Salam and Al Raee — for an initial period of three months.
The UN had only been allowed to deliver aid to the north-west Idlib area through a single crossing at Bab Al Hawa, at Syrian ally Russia’s insistence.
Mr Dujarric said 22 lorries with food and other aid crossed through Bab Al Hawa on Monday and two lorries with tents crossed through Bab Al Salam on Thursday.
No convoys had yet entered the north-west from Al Raee.
“As of February 14, according to the latest information we received, 8,900 buildings have been completely or partially destroyed in the north-west of Syria, leaving 11,000 people homeless,” he said.
Mr Al Assad on Thursday thanked his "Arab brothers" for aid supplied in the aftermath of the earthquake.
The Syrian leader received calls from the leaders of several Arab countries, including those that cut off ties with Syria more than a decade ago over bloodshed during its civil war.
Some 120 planes laden with assistance have landed at the country's airports, about half of them from the UAE which restored ties with Syria in late 2018.
The specs
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Power: Combined output 920hp
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Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
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- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Sheikh Zayed's poem
When it is unveiled at Abu Dhabi Art, the Standing Tall exhibition will appear as an interplay of poetry and art. The 100 scarves are 100 fragments surrounding five, figurative, female sculptures, and both sculptures and scarves are hand-embroidered by a group of refugee women artisans, who used the Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery art of tatreez. Fragments of Sheikh Zayed’s poem Your Love is Ruling My Heart, written in Arabic as a love poem to his nation, are embroidered onto both the sculptures and the scarves. Here is the English translation.
Your love is ruling over my heart
Your love is ruling over my heart, even a mountain can’t bear all of it
Woe for my heart of such a love, if it befell it and made it its home
You came on me like a gleaming sun, you are the cure for my soul of its sickness
Be lenient on me, oh tender one, and have mercy on who because of you is in ruins
You are like the Ajeed Al-reem [leader of the gazelle herd] for my country, the source of all of its knowledge
You waddle even when you stand still, with feet white like the blooming of the dates of the palm
Oh, who wishes to deprive me of sleep, the night has ended and I still have not seen you
You are the cure for my sickness and my support, you dried my throat up let me go and damp it
Help me, oh children of mine, for in his love my life will pass me by.
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Why the Tourist Club?
Originally, The Club (which many people chose to call the “British Club”) was the only place where one could use the beach with changing rooms and a shower, and get refreshments.
In the early 1970s, the Government of Abu Dhabi wanted to give more people a place to get together on the beach, with some facilities for children. The place chosen was where the annual boat race was held, which Sheikh Zayed always attended and which brought crowds of locals and expatriates to the stretch of beach to the left of Le Méridien and the Marina.
It started with a round two-storey building, erected in about two weeks by Orient Contracting for Sheikh Zayed to use at one these races. Soon many facilities were planned and built, and members were invited to join.
Why it was called “Nadi Al Siyahi” is beyond me. But it is likely that one wanted to convey the idea that this was open to all comers. Because there was no danger of encountering alcohol on the premises, unlike at The Club, it was a place in particular for the many Arab expatriate civil servants to join. Initially the fees were very low and membership was offered free to many people, too.
Eventually there was a skating rink, bowling and many other amusements.
Frauke Heard-Bey is a historian and has lived in Abu Dhabi since 1968.
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
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4. Shahada
5. Zakat
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The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
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Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
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yallacompare profile
Date of launch: 2014
Founder: Jon Richards, founder and chief executive; Samer Chebab, co-founder and chief operating officer, and Jonathan Rawlings, co-founder and chief financial officer
Based: Media City, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: 120 employees
Investors: 2014: $500,000 in a seed round led by Mulverhill Associates; 2015: $3m in Series A funding led by STC Ventures (managed by Iris Capital), Wamda and Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority; 2019: $8m in Series B funding with the same investors as Series A along with Precinct Partners, Saned and Argo Ventures (the VC arm of multinational insurer Argo Group)
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
Iftar programme at the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding
Established in 1998, the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding was created with a vision to teach residents about the traditions and customs of the UAE. Its motto is ‘open doors, open minds’. All year-round, visitors can sign up for a traditional Emirati breakfast, lunch or dinner meal, as well as a range of walking tours, including ones to sites such as the Jumeirah Mosque or Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood.
Every year during Ramadan, an iftar programme is rolled out. This allows guests to break their fast with the centre’s presenters, visit a nearby mosque and observe their guides while they pray. These events last for about two hours and are open to the public, or can be booked for a private event.
Until the end of Ramadan, the iftar events take place from 7pm until 9pm, from Saturday to Thursday. Advanced booking is required.
For more details, email openminds@cultures.ae or visit www.cultures.ae
The Pope's itinerary
Sunday, February 3, 2019 - Rome to Abu Dhabi
1pm: departure by plane from Rome / Fiumicino to Abu Dhabi
10pm: arrival at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
Monday, February 4
12pm: welcome ceremony at the main entrance of the Presidential Palace
12.20pm: visit Abu Dhabi Crown Prince at Presidential Palace
5pm: private meeting with Muslim Council of Elders at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
6.10pm: Inter-religious in the Founder's Memorial
Tuesday, February 5 - Abu Dhabi to Rome
9.15am: private visit to undisclosed cathedral
10.30am: public mass at Zayed Sports City – with a homily by Pope Francis
12.40pm: farewell at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
1pm: departure by plane to Rome
5pm: arrival at the Rome / Ciampino International Airport
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Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
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Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
Six large-scale objects on show
- Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
- The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
- A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
- A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
- Torrijos Palace dome
Januzaj's club record
Manchester United 50 appearances, 5 goals
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Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
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The five pillars of Islam
