A young woman leaves flowers outside the Reina nightclub in Istanbul which was attacked by a gunman during new year celbrations on January 1, 2017. Emrah Gurel / AP Photo
A young woman leaves flowers outside the Reina nightclub in Istanbul which was attacked by a gunman during new year celbrations on January 1, 2017. Emrah Gurel / AP Photo

World

Saudis, Jordanians, Lebanese and Indians among victims of Istanbul attack

Arabs account for most of the 24 confirmed foreign victims of Istanbul attack, according to counts from embassies and media reports.

Istanbul // Nearly half of the 39 people killed in the New Year shooting rampage in Istanbul were from Arab countries, according to officials and local media.

Turkey’s state-run Dogan news agency said 35 of the victims had been identified – 24 foreigners and 11 Turks.

The Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul said that Saudis were among the victims, but gave no figures. The Asharq Al Awsat newspaper however quoted a consulate source as saying that five Saudis including two women had died and 11 others were injured. Al Arabiya television also spoke of five dead, but put the number of injured Saudi at nine.

The foreign ministry in Amman said three Jordanians were killed and four injured, the official Petra news agency reported.

The Lebanese foreign ministry announced the death of three Lebanese and said another four were wounded.

“I was saved by my passport which I was carrying right near my heart,” one of the injured, Francois Al Asmar, told Lebanese television from his hospital bed.

A spokeman for Iraq’s foreign ministry said that three Iraqis died in the attack.

The Tunisian foreign ministry said on its Facebook page that two Tunisians had been killed, with media reports saying the victims were a businessman and his wife.

India’s external affairs minister said two nationals were among the dead, naming them as Abis Rizvi, the son of a former MP, and a woman, Khushi Shah, from Gujarat state.

Turkey is a top tourist destination for Israelis, with tens of thousands visiting each year.

Belgium’s foreign ministry confirmed a Belgian-Turkish dual national was killed.

Paris said a French-Tunisian dual national woman had died along with her Tunisian husband. It was not immediately known if they were among the dead listed by Tunis. Another three French people were injured, the foreign ministry said.

Three Moroccans were wounded, the state news agency MAP reported, citing the Moroccan embassy in Ankara.

The Israeli foreign ministry said a young Israeli woman, identified in the media as 19-year-old Leann Zaher Nasser, had died, and one of her friends was injured.

* Agence France-Presse and Reuters

The most expensive investment mistake you will ever make

When is the best time to start saving in a pension? The answer is simple – at the earliest possible moment. The first pound, euro, dollar or dirham you invest is the most valuable, as it has so much longer to grow in value. If you start in your twenties, it could be invested for 40 years or more, which means you have decades for compound interest to work its magic.

“You get growth upon growth upon growth, followed by more growth. The earlier you start the process, the more it will all roll up,” says Chris Davies, chartered financial planner at The Fry Group in Dubai.

This table shows how much you would have in your pension at age 65, depending on when you start and how much you pay in (it assumes your investments grow 7 per cent a year after charges and you have no other savings).

Age

$250 a month

$500 a month

$1,000 a month

25

$640,829

$1,281,657

$2,563,315

35

$303,219

$606,439

$1,212,877

45

$131,596

$263,191

$526,382

55

$44,351

$88,702

$177,403