SOCHI, Russia: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hailed “a historic agreement” with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin after hours of talks between the two leaders over the conflict in Syria.
“According to this agreement, Turkey and Russia will not allow any separatist agenda on Syrian territory,” Erdogan said, addressing reporters alongside Putin after the talks in the Russian city of Sochi.
Erdogan also announced a 150-hour deadline beginning on Wednesday for Syrian Kurdish YPG fighters and their weapons to be moved back 30 kilometers from the Turkish border.
“Within 150 hours starting at 1200 noon on October 23, YPG terrorists and their weapons will be removed to the depth of 30 kilometers and their ... positions will be destroyed,” Erdogan said.
He added that after the deadline, Turkish and Russian joint patrols would start in two zones stretching 10 km to the east and west of the area of Turkey’s current Operation Peace Spring.
“All YPG terrorists in Tal Firat and Manbij will be removed outside this region, together with their weaponry,” he said.
Erdogan also said both countries would take necessary measures against “terrorist infiltrations” and create a “joint mechanism” to coordinate the agreement.
Erdogan hails ‘historic agreement’ with Putin over Syria
Erdogan hails ‘historic agreement’ with Putin over Syria
- Recep Tayyip Erdogan: According to this agreement, Turkey and Russia will not allow any separatist agenda on Syrian territory
- Erdogan also announced a 150-hour deadline beginning on Wednesday for Syrian Kurdish YPG fighters and their weapons to be moved back 30 kilometers from the Turkish border
Sindh cabinet approves compensation for Gul Plaza victims after deadly Karachi fire
- Over 70 people were killed in one of Karachi’s worst fires, which took three days to extinguish
- Deadly blazes have become frequent in the city amid weak fire safety, limited response capacity
ISLAMABAD: The Sindh cabinet on Tuesday approved a major relief and rehabilitation package for victims of the Gul Plaza fire, one of Karachi’s deadliest blazes, which killed more than 70 people and took three days to bring under control earlier this month.
The decision comes weeks after the fire ripped through the multi-story commercial building in the city’s Saddar area, trapping workers and traders as flames spread rapidly through the structure, exposing severe gaps in fire safety enforcement and emergency response.
Under the cabinet-approved package, families of those who died will receive Rs10 million ($35,800) each in compensation, while affected shopkeepers will be provided interest-free loans of Rs10 million per unit, with the provincial government bearing the cost of interest.
An additional Rs500,000 ($1,790) per shopkeeper has been approved as immediate subsistence support.
“There can be no compromise on human life,” Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said during the cabinet meeting, adding that the government’s priority was to support affected families while ensuring accountability.
“Relief, justice and prevention must go hand in hand,” he added.
The cabinet also constituted a high-level subcommittee, headed by the chief minister, to review the findings of an inquiry committee tasked with determining responsibility for the incident and recommending further action.
Fires have become an increasingly frequent occurrence in Karachi, a megacity of more than 20 million people, where fire services remain severely overstretched and under-resourced relative to population density and the scale of commercial activity.
Successive deadly incidents have drawn criticism of the Sindh administration over lax enforcement of building codes, inadequate inspections and limited emergency response capacity.
