Saudi Arabia has begun talks with Syria to resume the provision of consular services, Saudi state TV Al Ekhbariya has reported.
“A source in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs revealed to Al Ekhbariya that talks with Syria had begun, commenting on what was reported by some international media,” Al Ekhbariya reported.
“The source indicated that within the framework of the kingdom’s keenness to facilitate the provision of necessary consular services for the two peoples, discussions are under way with officials in Syria about resuming the provision of consular services."
The re-establishment of ties between Riyadh and Damascus would be among the most significant development yet in moves by Arab states to normalise ties with Syrian President Bashar Al Assad.
Mr Al Assad's government was shunned by many western and Arab states after Syria’s civil war began in 2011.
This month, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said increased engagement with Syria might pave the way for its return to the Arab League as ties thaw after more than a decade of isolation.
Prince Faisal said consensus was building in the Arab world that isolating Syria was not working and that dialogue with Damascus was needed, particularly to address its humanitarian situation, although he said it was "too early to discuss" its return just yet.
"An engagement in order to address these concerns is necessary," he told reporters in London at the time.
"And that may well lead eventually to Syria returning to the Arab League … but for now, I think it's too early to discuss."
The Arab League suspended Syria's membership in 2011 and many Arab countries pulled their envoys out of Damascus.
But Mr Al Assad has benefited from an outpouring of support from Arab states after the earthquake on February 6, which killed thousands of Syrians.
The UAE has led the way in normalising contacts with him. President Sheikh Mohamed met Mr Al Assad in Abu Dhabi this week, where the two leaders discussed stability in the Middle East.
Last month, a delegation of senior Arab parliamentarians met Mr Al Assad in Damascus, in another sign of thawing ties after more than a decade of isolation over the conflict in Syria.
The heads of the Iraqi, Jordanian, Palestinian, Libyan, Egyptian and UAE houses of representatives, and delegates from Oman and Lebanon, travelled to Syria as part of a group from the Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union.
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5.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Turf) 1,400m
6.05pm: Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (T) 1,400m
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The currency conundrum
Russ Mould, investment director at online trading platform AJ Bell, says almost every major currency has challenges right now. “The US has a huge budget deficit, the euro faces political friction and poor growth, sterling is bogged down by Brexit, China’s renminbi is hit by debt fears while slowing Chinese growth is hurting commodity exporters like Australia and Canada.”
Most countries now actively want a weak currency to make their exports more competitive. “China seems happy to let the renminbi drift lower, the Swiss are still running quantitative easing at full tilt and central bankers everywhere are actively talking down their currencies or offering only limited support," says Mr Mould.
This is a race to the bottom, and everybody wants to be a winner.
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
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The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
