The attack by Kurdish insurgents on one of Turkey’s largest aerospace firms came a day after the Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacir visited a major defence exhibition in Istanbul, and praised the country’s military manufacturing capabilities.
Turkey’s defence industry is one of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's favourite topics: he often sings the praises of domestically-produced military technology to demonstrate that the country is increasingly less reliant on western partners for defence imports.
The attack took place while the President was out of the country, as he attended a meeting of the Brics alliance of countries in Kazan, Russia.
With the growth of Turkey’s defence industry comes an increasing risk of attacks by groups opposed to the government. Defence Minister Yasar Guler said the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) was responsible for the assault, which involved detonation of a bomb and a gun attack, killing at least six people and injuring 14 others.
Members of the PKK “do not get wiser,” the minister said in a statement carried by Turkish news agency Anka.
Mr Kacir said that the attack “will not make us give up our goal of a 'fully independent Turkey”.
Turkey has recently enjoyed a period of relative calm, following a wave of attacks involving car bombs and suicide belts in 2015 and 2016. Record numbers of tourists have visited Turkey this year and improved security has meant that the once off-limit parts of the country’s south and east have become hotspots.
Those previous attacks, mostly targeting crowded civilian areas or the security forces, were either claimed by ISIS or Kurdish militias, including the PKK.
The group has waged a 40-year insurgency against the Turkish state, which lists it as a terrorist organisation. Wednesday’s attack came days after a key partner in Mr Erdogan’s parliamentary alliance suggested that PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, currently serving a prison sentence on a remote island in the Sea of Marmara south of Istanbul, could be released if he agreed to dissolve the insurgent group.
The attack on a defence and aerospace company’s premises represents an apparent shift for the PKK, which has previously focused its attacks on Turkish security forces. Their intent may have been to disrupt what officials are lauding as a key element in the growth of the country's economy.
Keen to show a tough stance over the fatal attack, officials were quick to respond. Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc announced that Ankara’s chief prosecutor had opened an inquiry and Mr Erdogan held a telephone call with Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte, who said the alliance “stands with Turkey”.
There is criticism of Turkey’s Nato membership. Some Turks object to what they see as western influence over their country. But with its position between Russia, Ukraine, Syria, Iraq and Europe, Turkey is widely viewed as a key part of the alliance, and destabilising attacks on its territory are not something that the coalition wants to see.
Turkish security services frequently carry out raids across the country against alleged PKK cells and continues to bomb the group's positions across the border in northern Iraq. Even if diminished, Wednesdays’ events show that the risk of attacks on home soil is still alive.
Pari
Produced by: Clean Slate Films (Anushka Sharma, Karnesh Sharma) & KriArj Entertainment
Director: Prosit Roy
Starring: Anushka Sharma, Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Ritabhari Chakraborty, Rajat Kapoor, Mansi Multani
Three stars
The stats
Ship name: MSC Bellissima
Ship class: Meraviglia Class
Delivery date: February 27, 2019
Gross tonnage: 171,598 GT
Passenger capacity: 5,686
Crew members: 1,536
Number of cabins: 2,217
Length: 315.3 metres
Maximum speed: 22.7 knots (42kph)
Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar
Director: Neeraj Pandey
Rating: 2.5/5
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
Ruwais timeline
1971 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company established
1980 Ruwais Housing Complex built, located 10 kilometres away from industrial plants
1982 120,000 bpd capacity Ruwais refinery complex officially inaugurated by the founder of the UAE Sheikh Zayed
1984 Second phase of Ruwais Housing Complex built. Today the 7,000-unit complex houses some 24,000 people.
1985 The refinery is expanded with the commissioning of a 27,000 b/d hydro cracker complex
2009 Plans announced to build $1.2 billion fertilizer plant in Ruwais, producing urea
2010 Adnoc awards $10bn contracts for expansion of Ruwais refinery, to double capacity from 415,000 bpd
2014 Ruwais 261-outlet shopping mall opens
2014 Production starts at newly expanded Ruwais refinery, providing jet fuel and diesel and allowing the UAE to be self-sufficient for petrol supplies
2014 Etihad Rail begins transportation of sulphur from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais for export
2017 Aldar Academies to operate Adnoc’s schools including in Ruwais from September. Eight schools operate in total within the housing complex.
2018 Adnoc announces plans to invest $3.1 billion on upgrading its Ruwais refinery
2018 NMC Healthcare selected to manage operations of Ruwais Hospital
2018 Adnoc announces new downstream strategy at event in Abu Dhabi on May 13
Source: The National
Asia Cup Qualifier
Venue: Kuala Lumpur
Result: Winners play at Asia Cup in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in September
Fixtures:
Wed Aug 29: Malaysia v Hong Kong, Nepal v Oman, UAE v Singapore
Thu Aug 30: UAE v Nepal, Hong Kong v Singapore, Malaysia v Oman
Sat Sep 1: UAE v Hong Kong, Oman v Singapore, Malaysia v Nepal
Sun Sep 2: Hong Kong v Oman, Malaysia v UAE, Nepal v Singapore
Tue Sep 4: Malaysia v Singapore, UAE v Oman, Nepal v Hong Kong
Thu Sep 6: Final
Asia Cup
Venue: Dubai and Abu Dhabi
Schedule: Sep 15-28
Teams: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, plus the winner of the Qualifier
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EGuillermo%20del%20Toro%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Tim%20Blake%20Nelson%2C%20Sebastian%20Roche%2C%20Elpidia%20Carrillo%3Cbr%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
About Housecall
Date started: July 2020
Founders: Omar and Humaid Alzaabi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: HealthTech
# of staff: 10
Funding to date: Self-funded
Opening weekend Premier League fixtures
Weekend of August 10-13
Arsenal v Manchester City
Bournemouth v Cardiff City
Fulham v Crystal Palace
Huddersfield Town v Chelsea
Liverpool v West Ham United
Manchester United v Leicester City
Newcastle United v Tottenham Hotspur
Southampton v Burnley
Watford v Brighton & Hove Albion
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Everton
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
Indoor cricket World Cup:
Insportz, Dubai, September 16-23
UAE fixtures:
Men
Saturday, September 16 – 1.45pm, v New Zealand
Sunday, September 17 – 10.30am, v Australia; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Monday, September 18 – 2pm, v England; 7.15pm, v India
Tuesday, September 19 – 12.15pm, v Singapore; 5.30pm, v Sri Lanka
Thursday, September 21 – 2pm v Malaysia
Friday, September 22 – 3.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 3pm, grand final
Women
Saturday, September 16 – 5.15pm, v Australia
Sunday, September 17 – 2pm, v South Africa; 7.15pm, v New Zealand
Monday, September 18 – 5.30pm, v England
Tuesday, September 19 – 10.30am, v New Zealand; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Thursday, September 21 – 12.15pm, v Australia
Friday, September 22 – 1.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 1pm, grand final
