Qatar's Minister of Defense Khalid bin Mohammad Al-Attiyah (L) is welcomed by his Turkish counterpart Fikri Isik as he arrives for a meeting in Ankara, Turkey, June 30, 2017. Prime Minister's Press Office/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES
Qatar's Minister of Defense Khalid bin Mohammad Al-Attiyah (L) is welcomed by his Turkish counterpart Fikri Isik as he arrives for a meeting in Ankara, Turkey, June 30, 2017. Prime Minister's Press OfShow more

Qatari defence minister visits Turkey as Trump and Erdogan discuss crisis



ABU DHABI // Donald Trump spoke to Turkey’s president on Friday to discuss the dispute between Qatar and four fellow Arab states which accuse it of supporting terrorism.

The White House said the US president and Recep Tayyip Erdogan talked about ways to resolve the dispute "while ensuring that all countries work together to stop terrorist funding and to combat extremist ideology".

Turkey has backed Doha in its rift with Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt, which cut all ties with Qatar last month.

The four countries last week presented Qatar with a list of 13 conditions for ending their boycott, and set a 10-day deadline.

Mr Trump, who has also accused Qatar of funding terrorism "at a very high level", has tasked his secretary of state with helping to resolve the biggest crisis among Washington’s Gulf Arab allies. The US state and defence departments have taken a more neutral stance, and secretary of state Rex Tillerson cautioned that it would be "very difficult" for Doha to meet all of the demands.

Qatar’s defence minister visited Ankara on Friday, just days before the deadline for the demands, which include the closure of a permanent Turkish military base near Doha.

Khalid Al Attiyah met his Turkish counterpart, Fikri Isik, at the Turkish defence ministry, Turkey’s state news agency reported.

Mr Erdogan accelerated planned troop deployment to the Turkish base, which was set up last year, three days after Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt cut ties with Qatar on June 5.

On Friday Al Jazeera reported the arrival of more Turkish troops at the base, citing the Qatari defence ministry. Both countries say the troops are there to conduct training and joint exercises with Qatari forces.

Turkish officials have said the base could house up to several thousand troops. The deployment of more Turkish forces has been widely perceived to be intended as a deterrent against any military moves or attempts at regime change in Qatar, which is Ankara’s closest Gulf ally.

Turkish officials have said they will not close the base in Qatar and Mr Erdogan last week said the demand to shutter the base was "disrespect to Turkey".

Turkey has also stepped up exports of food and other goods to Qatar, along with Iran, to make up for the severing of trade links with Saudi and the UAE.

Saudi and UAE officials have said Turkey’s troop deployment amounts to a military escalation of the crisis. Riyadh’s ambassador to Ankara, Walid Al Khuraiji, told Turkey’s Daily Sabah newspaper on Friday that "any regional forces are mistaken if they think that their intervention will solve the issue, and we expect these forces to respect the existing regional order", in a reference to the Turkish base.

"We hoped that Ankara would stay impartial for the sake of keeping good relations with all the Gulf countries," Mr Al Khuraiji said, adding that Ankara had "lost its neutrality as an unbiased party seeking mediation".

Also on Friday, the office of the UN human rights commissioner said Qatari media had presented "inaccurate accounts" of a meeting on Thursday between Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein and the Qatari permanent representative to the UN in Geneva. It said the reports "significantly distort" Mr Al Hussein’s remarks.

foreign.desk@thenational.ae

Set-jetting on the Emerald Isle

Other shows filmed in Ireland include: Vikings (County Wicklow), The Fall (Belfast), Line of Duty (Belfast), Penny Dreadful (Dublin), Ripper Street (Dublin), Krypton (Belfast)

Details

Through Her Lens: The stories behind the photography of Eva Sereny

Forewords by Jacqueline Bisset and Charlotte Rampling, ACC Art Books

The%20pillars%20of%20the%20Dubai%20Metaverse%20Strategy
%3Cp%3EEncourage%20innovation%20in%20the%20metaverse%20field%20and%20boost%20economic%20contribution%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EDevelop%20outstanding%20talents%20through%20education%20and%20training%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EDevelop%20applications%20and%20the%20way%20they%20are%20used%20in%20Dubai's%20government%20institutions%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAdopt%2C%20expand%20and%20promote%20secure%20platforms%20globally%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EDevelop%20the%20infrastructure%20and%20regulations%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Revibe%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hamza%20Iraqui%20and%20Abdessamad%20Ben%20Zakour%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Refurbished%20electronics%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%20so%20far%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410m%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFlat6Labs%2C%20Resonance%20and%20various%20others%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Everton%20Fixtures
%3Cp%3EApril%2015%20-%20Chelsea%20(A)%3Cbr%3EApril%2021%20-%20N.%20Forest%20(H)%3Cbr%3EApril%2024%20-%20Liverpool%20(H)%3Cbr%3EApril%2027%20-%20Brentford%20(H)%3Cbr%3EMay%203%20-%20Luton%20Town%20(A)%3Cbr%3EMay%2011%20-%20Sheff%20Utd%20(H)%3Cbr%3EMay%2019%20-%20Arsenal%20(A)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
MATCH INFO

Liverpool 0

Stoke City 0

Man of the Match: Erik Pieters (Stoke)

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Airev
Started: September 2023
Founder: Muhammad Khalid
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: Generative AI
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
 
Heavily-sugared soft drinks slip through the tax net

Some popular drinks with high levels of sugar and caffeine have slipped through the fizz drink tax loophole, as they are not carbonated or classed as an energy drink.

Arizona Iced Tea with lemon is one of those beverages, with one 240 millilitre serving offering up 23 grams of sugar - about six teaspoons.

A 680ml can of Arizona Iced Tea costs just Dh6.

Most sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, five teaspoons of sugar in a 500ml bottle.

VEZEETA PROFILE

Date started: 2012

Founder: Amir Barsoum

Based: Dubai, UAE

Sector: HealthTech / MedTech

Size: 300 employees

Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)

Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC

Points about the fast fashion industry Celine Hajjar wants everyone to know
  • Fast fashion is responsible for up to 10 per cent of global carbon emissions
  • Fast fashion is responsible for 24 per cent of the world's insecticides
  • Synthetic fibres that make up the average garment can take hundreds of years to biodegrade
  • Fast fashion labour workers make 80 per cent less than the required salary to live
  • 27 million fast fashion workers worldwide suffer from work-related illnesses and diseases
  • Hundreds of thousands of fast fashion labourers work without rights or protection and 80 per cent of them are women
Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

Bombshell

Director: Jay Roach

Stars: Nicole Kidman, Charlize Theron, Margot Robbie 

Four out of five stars 

COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EQureos%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EUAE%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ELaunch%20year%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2021%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E33%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESoftware%20and%20technology%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%243%20million%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Emergency

Director: Kangana Ranaut

Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry 

Rating: 2/5

The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Power: 510hp at 9,000rpm
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Price: From Dh801,800