Headlines:
• Turkey’s President Moves into World’s Biggest Palace Costing £384 million
• Obama to Deploy 1,500 More Troops to Iraq
• UN Imposes Sanctions on Former Yemen President
Turkey’s President Moves into World’s Biggest Palace Costing £384 million
Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s new residence is four times the size of Versailles, comfortably exceeding the grandeur of Louis XIV of France. Turkey’s new president has been accused of behaving like a “sultan” after he installed himself in the biggest residential palace in the world, built for a price tag of £384 million. Recep Tayyip Erdogan now resides in the White Palace, which was constructed in breach of court orders in protected forestland in the capital, Ankara. Boasting 1,000 rooms covering a total floor area of 3.1 million square feet, the palace is four times the size of Versailles, allowing Mr Erdogan to exceed the residential grandeur of Louis XIV, the “Sun King” of France. Inside the palace, a majestic hallway leads up to a sweeping staircase. The quixotic architectural style seems to cross the Ottoman and Seljuk traditions with that of a modern Chinese railway station. The bathrooms have silk wallpaper and the whole edifice is surrounded by a forested park. Hundreds of trees were felled to make way for the president’s new home. Mr Erdogan, who designed much of the White Palace himself, has also taken the precaution of installing an underground bunker. Mehmet Simsek, the Turkish finance minister, said the total cost of the complex amounted to £384 million – twice the earlier estimate. Critics of Mr Erdogan, who won the presidency in August, denounced the project as a folie de grandeur. “The so-called sultan has built this for himself in a country where three million people are without work,” said Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the leader of the opposition Republican People’s party. “You cut down hundreds of trees to build yourself this palace.” Mr Erdogan served as prime minister for 11 years before ascending to the presidency. Although his AK party does not hold the two thirds majority in parliament required to amend the constitution, his ambition is to turn this traditionally ceremonial post into the new centre of power in Turkey. Unlike all previous presidents, Mr Erdogan routinely chairs cabinet meetings. He has also spent £115 million on a new presidential jet, designed and supplied by Airbus to his own specification. As for critics of his new palace, Mr Erdogan said, “No one can prevent the completion of this building. If they are powerful enough, let them come and demolish it.” [Source: Daily Telegraph]
Allah سبحانه وتعالى says:
إِنَّ قَارُونَ كَانَ مِن قَوْمِ مُوسَى فَبَغَى عَلَيْهِمْ وَآتَيْنَاهُ مِنَ الْكُنُوزِ مَا إِنَّ مَفَاتِحَهُ لَتَنُوءُ بِالْعُصْبَةِ أُولِي الْقُوَّةِ إِذْ قَالَ لَهُ قَوْمُهُ لَا تَفْرَحْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ الْفَرِحِينَ
“Qarun was one of the people of Musa but he lorded it over them. We gave him treasures, the keys alone to which were a heavy weight for a party of strong men. When his people said to him, ‘Do not gloat. Allah does not love people who gloat.”
(Al Qasas: 76)
Obama to Deploy 1,500 More Troops to Iraq
President Barack Obama is authorizing the US military to deploy up to 1,500 more troops to Iraq as part of the mission to combat ISIL. Obama is also asking Congress for more than $5 billion to help fund the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) armed group. The White House says the additional troops won’t serve in combat, but will train, advise and assist Iraqi military and Kurdish forces fighting ISIL. Of the funding requested from Congress, $1.6 billion would go to the “Iraq Train and Equip” fund. White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Obama has also authorized the additional personnel to operate at Iraqi military facilities outside Baghdad and Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan region. Until now, US troops have been operating a joint operation center together with Iraqi forces in Baghdad. Earnest’s announcement came just after Obama met with congressional leaders Friday. While US-led airstrikes against ISIL in Syria and Iraq have taken a toll on ISIL fighters, they have not yet significantly deterred the armed group’s armed offensive across the region. Obama continues to take heat for his plans to train and equip Syria’s “moderate” rebels, who are the weakest faction on the ground in the country’s civil war. The Syrian opposition says the fight against ISIL has distracted the US from what they say was already been a half-hearted effort to unseat the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad. Compared with Syria, the US has more viable partners on the ground in Iraq – the Iraqi military and Kurdish forces – but there is growing concern that some hardline Shia militias loyal to Iran are gaining in influence by taking to the frontlines against the Sunni ISIL fighters. [Source: Al Jazeera]
After spending billions and losing thousands of soldiers, America is once again poised to send more troops. Allah سبحانه وتعالى says:
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ يُنفِقُونَ أَمْوَالَهُمْ لِيَصُدُّواْ عَن سَبِيلِ اللّهِ فَسَيُنفِقُونَهَا ثُمَّ تَكُونُ عَلَيْهِمْ حَسْرَةً ثُمَّ يُغْلَبُونَ وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ إِلَى جَهَنَّمَ يُحْشَرُونَ
“Those who disbelieve spend their wealth barring access to the Way of Allah. They will spend it; then they will regret it; then they will be overthrown. Those who are disbelievers will be gathered into Hell.”
(Al-Anfaal, 8:36)
UN Imposes Sanctions on Former Yemen President
The UN Security Council has imposed sanctions on Yemen’s former president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, and two Shiite Muslim leaders for threatening Yemeni peace and stability. The US-sponsored sanctions include a worldwide travel ban and a freezing of foreign assets. The council agreed that Saleh had worked with the Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, in undermining efforts by the new president, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, to establish stability and democracy. A US official who asked not to be named said the sanctions made it clear that the international community will not tolerate efforts to use violence to thwart the aspirations of the Yemeni people. Yemen has been in political upheaval since the former president was forced to step down in 2011. Earlier Friday, Yemen announced the formation of a new Cabinet, a key demand of the Houthis, who threatened a revolution if no government was named. Yemen’s political factions signed a deal last week asking Hadi and Prime Minister Khaled Bahah to put together a politically neutral government committed to human rights. Houthis had given Hadi an ultimatum to form a new government by next week or face what they called “all revolutionary options.” The new Cabinet includes General Mahmoud al-Subaihi, who is known for fighting al-Qaida, as defense minister, and veteran diplomat Abdullah al-Saaidi as foreign minister. [Source: Voice of America]
The sanctions will make little difference, as Saleh a loyal stalwart to Britain remains intractably involved with the Houthis and will try to arrange a political outcome that is in the favor of Britain – his political master.