Erdogan meets leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan at Europe summit

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday held talks with the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan at a European summit.

Mr Erdogan, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met before the 43-nation summit began in Prague.

It comes weeks after dozens of troops were killed in border clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which have fought two wars over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

The leaders were joined by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and French President Emmanuel Macron, who first proposed the pan-European format in May.

Turkey and Azerbaijan are close allies. Turkey, Azerbaijan and Armenia were among dozens of countries invited to join Mr Macron’s European Political Community, in a bid to show a united front to Russia at a time of war in Ukraine.

A Turkish bid to join the European Union has stalled for decades amid disputes over migration and other issues, but the new forum is meant as a less formal way of bringing countries into the fold.

Mr Erdogan was expected to “convey Turkey’s views, contributions and assessments regarding the challenges Europe is currently faced with in terms of peace and security, energy, climate and economic situation”, his office said.

It said he would hold several bilateral meetings. The summit at Prague Castle was arranged so that leaders would have plenty of time for two-way talks and informal discussions, as well as meeting as a group of 43.

Mr Erdogan, who has positioned himself as a mediator in the war in Ukraine overshadowing the summit, was expected to brief journalists later on Thursday.

While Mr Erdogan has pushed for peace talks in Ukraine, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala told leaders in an opening session in Prague that “we all know in our hearts that Ukraine will win”.

Azerbaijan, a gas producer whose energy exports are in demand in Europe, recently signed an agreement with the EU to work together on fuel efficiency and clean power.

European Council President Charles Michel, one of the organisers of the Prague summit, and an EU special representative have been trying to broker a de-escalation between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Turkish leader opposes Sweden's Nato bid and takes aim at Greek 'lies'

Mr Erdogan said that Turkey would continue to oppose Sweden's Nato membership bid until its demands were met for a tougher Swedish stance against "terrorist organisations".

"As long as terrorist organisations demonstrate on Swedish streets and terrorists are present in their Parliament, our approach to the issue will not be positive," he said outside the meeting.

Mr Erdogan also said there was nothing worth discussing with Greece at the moment.

"They are not where they are supposed to be," he said. "Their entire policy is based on lies, they are not honest. We have nothing to discuss with Greece."

Mr Erdogan said Athens understood Ankara's message when Turkish officials have said "we may suddenly arrive one night" — a comment that Greek and some other western officials have condemned as a threat to a neighbouring state.

He said on Thursday that he could meet Syrian President Bashar Al Assad when the time was right and would not rule that out, reinforcing recent steps to thaw ties between combatants in Syria's war.

"As of now such a meeting is not on the agenda but I cannot say it is impossible for me to meet with Assad," Mr Erdogan said.

"When the right time comes, we can also go the way of meeting with the President of Syria."

A normalisation between Ankara and Damascus would reshape the decade-long Syrian war.

Turkish backing has been vital to sustaining Syrian rebels in their last major territorial foothold in the north-west, after Mr Al Assad defeated the insurgency across the rest of the country, aided by Russia and Iran.

On the sidelines of the summit, French President Emmanuel Macron urged Mr Erdogan to push back against attempts to dodge sanctions imposed on Russia over its war in Ukraine.

Mr Macron "underlined the importance of the European sanctions regimes in stopping Russia's escalation, and called to fight any circumvention strategies", the French presidency said.

There has been concern in Europe and the US that Turkey, which has not imposed sanctions on Moscow, is being used as a haven for those looking to avoid the western measures.

Turkish trade with Russia has exploded during the war in Ukraine, to growing irritation from Washington, which worries that Russian oligarchs and big businesses are using Turkish entities to evade sanctions.

Ankara last month bowed to pressure from the US by confirming that the last three banks still processing Russian card payments were pulling the plug.

The decision followed weeks of increasingly blunt warnings from Washington for Nato member Turkey to limit its economic relations with Russia or face the threat of sanctions.

The EU on Friday imposed an eighth wave of sanctions on Russia in the latest battery of its economic punishment of Moscow since the invasion in February.

Europe’s rearming plan

Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital

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Heather, the Totality
Matthew Weiner,
Canongate

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Cultural fiesta

What: The Al Burda Festival
When: November 14 (from 10am)
Where: Warehouse421, Abu Dhabi
The Al Burda Festival is a celebration of Islamic art and culture, featuring talks, performances and exhibitions. Organised by the Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development, this one-day event opens with a session on the future of Islamic art. With this in mind, it is followed by a number of workshops and “masterclass” sessions in everything from calligraphy and typography to geometry and the origins of Islamic design. There will also be discussions on subjects including ‘Who is the Audience for Islamic Art?’ and ‘New Markets for Islamic Design.’ A live performance from Kuwaiti guitarist Yousif Yaseen should be one of the highlights of the day.

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Plastic tipping point

Plastic associations point to recycling and consumer behaviour for pollution

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COMPANY%20PROFILE

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TO A LAND UNKNOWN

Director: Mahdi Fleifel

Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa

Rating: 4.5/5

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.

The specs

Engine: 8.0-litre, quad-turbo 16-cylinder

Transmission: 7-speed auto

0-100kmh 2.3 seconds

0-200kmh 5.5 seconds

0-300kmh 11.6 seconds

Power: 1500hp

Torque: 1600Nm

Price: Dh13,400,000

On sale: now

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In numbers: China in Dubai

The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000

Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000

Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent

The specs: 2018 Mercedes-Benz E 300 Cabriolet

Price, base / as tested: Dh275,250 / Dh328,465

Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder

Power: 245hp @ 5,500rpm

Torque: 370Nm @ 1,300rpm

Transmission: Nine-speed automatic

Fuel consumption, combined: 7.0L / 100km

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UAE squad

Esha Oza (captain), Al Maseera Jahangir, Emily Thomas, Heena Hotchandani, Indhuja Nandakumar, Katie Thompson, Lavanya Keny, Mehak Thakur, Michelle Botha, Rinitha Rajith, Samaira Dharnidharka, Siya Gokhale, Sashikala Silva, Suraksha Kotte, Theertha Satish (wicketkeeper) Udeni Kuruppuarachchige, Vaishnave Mahesh.

UAE tour of Zimbabwe

All matches in Bulawayo
Friday, Sept 26 – First ODI
Sunday, Sept 28 – Second ODI
Tuesday, Sept 30 – Third ODI
Thursday, Oct 2 – Fourth ODI
Sunday, Oct 5 – First T20I
Monday, Oct 6 – Second T20I

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Specs

Engine: 51.5kW electric motor

Range: 400km

Power: 134bhp

Torque: 175Nm

Price: From Dh98,800

Available: Now

Specs

Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)

Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)

Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)

French business

France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.

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The specs

Price, base: Dh228,000 / Dh232,000 (est)
Engine: 5.7-litre Hemi V8
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 395hp @ 5,600rpm
Torque: 552Nm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.5L / 100km

F1 The Movie

Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Rating: 4/5

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Company%20Profile

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The Year Earth Changed

Directed by:Tom Beard

Narrated by: Sir David Attenborough

Stars: 4

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Iran's dirty tricks to dodge sanctions

There’s increased scrutiny on the tricks being used to keep commodities flowing to and from blacklisted countries. Here’s a description of how some work.

1 Going Dark

A common method to transport Iranian oil with stealth is to turn off the Automatic Identification System, an electronic device that pinpoints a ship’s location. Known as going dark, a vessel flicks the switch before berthing and typically reappears days later, masking the location of its load or discharge port.

2. Ship-to-Ship Transfers

A first vessel will take its clandestine cargo away from the country in question before transferring it to a waiting ship, all of this happening out of sight. The vessels will then sail in different directions. For about a third of Iranian exports, more than one tanker typically handles a load before it’s delivered to its final destination, analysts say.

3. Fake Destinations

Signaling the wrong destination to load or unload is another technique. Ships that intend to take cargo from Iran may indicate their loading ports in sanction-free places like Iraq. Ships can keep changing their destinations and end up not berthing at any of them.

4. Rebranded Barrels

Iranian barrels can also be rebranded as oil from a nation free from sanctions such as Iraq. The countries share fields along their border and the crude has similar characteristics. Oil from these deposits can be trucked out to another port and documents forged to hide Iran as the origin.

* Bloomberg

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