US Secretary of State Antony Blinken pledged $100 million in additional aid after arriving in Turkey on Sunday for a tour of the damage from this month's earthquake.
Mr Blinken said he was “profoundly saddened” to see the wreckage of the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that has killed at least 46,000 people in southern Turkey and northern Syria.
“The United States remains committed to doing everything we can to help with rescue, relief, and recovery efforts,” he said in a tweet.
Mr Blinken announced on Sunday the authorisation of another $50 million in Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance Funds in response to the earthquake.
Washington is also providing $50 million in humanitarian assistance through the State Department and USAid, bringing the total for Turkey and Syria to $185 million, the department said.
Mr Blinken landed at the Incirlik Air Base in Turkey's southern province of Adana on Sunday afternoon, taking a helicopter tour of the damage with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.
Washington's ambassador to Ankara, Jeff Flake, was among those who greeted Mr Blinken on arrival.
The Secretary of State was later on Sunday due to meet members of the White Helmets rescue group, who have helped to lead rescue and recovery efforts in north-western Syria amid an absence of international support from the UN.
Mr Blinken also met the USAid Disaster Assistance Response Team (Dart) that administrator Samantha Power announced would assist with the recovery efforts shortly after the deadly quakes jolted Turkey and Syria.
The Dart search and rescue team is starting to leave Turkey, USAid announced on Saturday, after 11 days on the ground.
“We are shifting response operations beyond search and rescue to focus on surging the rapid delivery of relief supplies to millions of people,” it said in a statement.
Washington is working through UN agencies and charities to provide emergency assistance.
It included: “hot meals, water, medical care and supplies; non-food items such as blankets, clothes and hygiene kits, temporary shelter, and structural engineers; and essential mental health and psychosocial support. especially to affected children and to other vulnerable individuals,” the State Department said on Sunday.
Mr Blinken is expected to thank Turkey for “its support for cross-border aid to affected areas of Syria”, the department said, an issue that has reignited since the earthquake.
He will hold other talks in Ankara on Monday and is expected to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, AFP reported.
Washington last week committed $85 million in immediate humanitarian aid for Turkey, along with continuing USAid help.
This week's visit to Turkey is the US diplomat's first since becoming Secretary of State two years ago.
Lisel Hintz, an assistant professor of international relations at Johns Hopkins University, said Mr Blinken's visit sought "to signal to Turkey that the US is a committed ally who takes Turkey's concerns seriously … a position Ankara has questioned frequently in recent months".
"The fact that he shows up with an additional $100 million in financial assistance is quite significant," Ms Hintz told The National.
"Turkey's economy was already in crisis prior to the earthquake and the costs of aid provision in the short term and rebuilding and recovery in the longer term are massive."
Mr Blinken landed in Turkey after international security talks in Munich, where the Russian war in Ukraine dominated discussion.
It is expected to also be a subject of his discussions in Ankara, including Sweden and Finland's stalled Nato bids that Turkey has refused to ratify.
Ms Hintz believes Mr Blinken's repeated emphasis that "the United States is here" to help get aid to the people may be an attempt to improve public opinion of the US in Turkey.
"[Turkish] government figures' anti-US rhetoric … had fuelled conspiracies and further hardened societal attitudes," she said.
"The effects of earthquake diplomacy don't seem to prove long-lasting but the US may hope this is an occasion for ameliorating its reputation while providing assistance.
"I would be sceptical of any real warming of relations at either the diplomatic or societal level. The issues of tensions between the US and Turkey are numerous and deeply resonant."
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
Autumn international scores
Saturday, November 24
Italy 3-66 New Zealand
Scotland 14-9 Argentina
England 37-18 Australia
Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge – Rally schedule:
Saturday: Super Special Spectator Stage – Yas Marina Circuit – start 3.30pm.
Sunday: Yas Marina Circuit Stage 1 (276.01km)
Monday: Nissan Stage 2 (287.92km)
Tuesday: Al Ain Water Stage 3 (281.38km)
Wednesday: ADNOC Stage 4 (244.49km)
Thursday: Abu Dhabi Aviation Stage 5 (218.57km) Finish: Yas Marina Circuit – 4.30pm.
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'Worse than a prison sentence'
Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.
“It was worse than a prison sentence, where at least someone can deal with a set amount of time incarcerated," she said.
“They were living in perpetual mystery as to how their futures would pan out, and what that would be.
“Because of coronavirus, the world is very different now to the one they left, that will also have an impact.
“It will not fully register until they are on dry land. Some have not seen their young children grow up while others will have to rebuild relationships.
“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Dirham Stretcher tips for having a baby in the UAE
Selma Abdelhamid, the group's moderator, offers her guide to guide the cost of having a young family:
• Buy second hand stuff
They grow so fast. Don't get a second hand car seat though, unless you 100 per cent know it's not expired and hasn't been in an accident.
• Get a health card and vaccinate your child for free at government health centres
Ms Ma says she discovered this after spending thousands on vaccinations at private clinics.
• Join mum and baby coffee mornings provided by clinics, babysitting companies or nurseries.
Before joining baby classes ask for a free trial session. This way you will know if it's for you or not. You'll be surprised how great some classes are and how bad others are.
• Once baby is ready for solids, cook at home
Take the food with you in reusable pouches or jars. You'll save a fortune and you'll know exactly what you're feeding your child.
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