The US accused Syrian President Bashar Al Assad's government on Monday of manipulating his country's parliamentary elections and condemned the vote as a “sham”.
During a monthly Security Council briefing on the political and humanitarian situation in Syria, deputy US ambassador to the UN, Robert Wood, criticised the elections, asserting they lacked freedom and fairness.
“These so-called elections were merely a rubber stamp on [President] Bashar Al Assad's continued dictatorship,” Mr Wood stated.
“We will not legitimise electoral manipulation designed to create a facade of legitimacy and normality.”
Syria held the elections on July 15, for the fourth time since the civil war began in 2011.
The poll excluded areas in the north-west and north-east, which are controlled by the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.
Despite the continuing conflict, widespread displacement and economic deterioration, Mr Al Assad has rejected any change to the political status quo.
Mr Wood said lifting sanctions or other assistance from the US would not take place without a viable political process.
Last week, Syria announced that all 185 candidates from Bashar Al Assad’s Baath party won parliamentary seats in the country’s elections, a seven-seat increase to the party’s majority.
The UN’s special envoy to Syria, Geir Pederson, told council members the elections are not a “substitute” for the political process established by the Security Council, which “envisages the holding of credible and inclusive elections pursuant to a new constitution and administered under UN supervision”.
Mr Pederson warned that the country remains in a “state of profound conflict, complexity and division”.
He said the threat of terrorism is “resurging” with attacks by Islamic State extremists set to double this year, endangering civilians already subjected to “extensive human rights abuses, a protracted state of displacement and dire humanitarian conditions.”
“Syria is riddled with armed actors listed terrorist groups, foreign armies and front lines,” Mr Pederson added.
Nearly a half million people have died in the conflict and half the country’s prewar population of 23 million has been displaced.
The special envoy who warned the Council of Syria’s delicate security situation, noted that the threat of regional conflict spilling over Syria has “not abated”, particularly with a rise in Israeli strikes on the country.
Israel has attacked targets in Syria linked to Iran for years, but the strikes have escalated over the past five months as the war in Gaza and conflict between Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israeli forces on the Lebanon-Israel border continue.
Iranian ambassador Amir Saeed Iravani condemned Israeli "continued aggressions" against Syria and said they “flagrantly violate international humanitarian law” and are a “serious threat to regional peace and security.”
"This regime with its nature and essence based on terror and aggression is a main source of insecurity and instability in the region and beyond," he said.
Ramesh Rajasingham, head of the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, reminded the council that Syria continues to suffer its worst humanitarian crisis since the start of the conflict more than 13 years ago.
He warned that “severely reduced humanitarian funding” exacerbated Syrians’ suffering during months of extreme heat, when rainwater dries up and a lack of basic sanitation infrastructure increases the risk of water-borne diseases.
More than 16 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance in the country, the UN estimates.
Mr Rajasingham welcomed the Syrian government’s decision to extend permission for the UN to use the Bab Al Hawa border crossing to deliver humanitarian assistance for an additional six months, until January 2025.
This is the second such extension for Bab Al Hawa since February 2023, when Damascus first permitted the UN to conduct cross-border operations into north-west Syria.
The specs: 2019 GMC Yukon Denali
Price, base: Dh306,500
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Power: 420hp @ 5,600rpm
Torque: 621Nm @ 4,100rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.9L / 100km
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
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RESULTS
6.30pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-2 – Group 1 (PA) $49,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
Winner RB Frynchh Dude, Pat Cosgrave (jockey), Helal Al Alawi (trainer)
7.05pm Al Bastakiya Trial – Conditions (TB) $50,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner El Patriota, Vagner Leal, Antonio Cintra
7.40pm Zabeel Turf – Listed (TB) $88,000 (Turf) 2,000m
Winner Ya Hayati, Mickael Barzalona, Charlie Appleby
8.15pm Cape Verdi – Group 2 (TB) $163,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner Althiqa, James Doyle, Charlie Appleby
8.50pm UAE 1000 Guineas – Listed (TB) $125,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner Soft Whisper, Frankie Dettori, Saeed bin Suroor
9.25pm Handicap (TB) $68,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner Bedouin’s Story, Frankie Dettori, Saeed bin Suroor
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
Company info
Company name: Entrupy
Co-founders: Vidyuth Srinivasan, co-founder/chief executive, Ashlesh Sharma, co-founder/chief technology officer, Lakshmi Subramanian, co-founder/chief scientist
Based: New York, New York
Sector/About: Entrupy is a hardware-enabled SaaS company whose mission is to protect businesses, borders and consumers from transactions involving counterfeit goods.
Initial investment/Investors: Entrupy secured a $2.6m Series A funding round in 2017. The round was led by Tokyo-based Digital Garage and Daiwa Securities Group's jointly established venture arm, DG Lab Fund I Investment Limited Partnership, along with Zach Coelius.
Total customers: Entrupy’s customers include hundreds of secondary resellers, marketplaces and other retail organisations around the world. They are also testing with shipping companies as well as customs agencies to stop fake items from reaching the market in the first place.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Spec%20sheet
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDisplay%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204.7%22%20Retina%20HD%2C%201334%20x%20750%2C%20625%20nits%2C%201400%3A1%2C%20True%20Tone%2C%20P3%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EChip%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Apple%20A15%20Bionic%2C%206-core%20CPU%2C%204-core%20GPU%2C%2016-core%20Neural%20Engine%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECamera%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2012MP%2C%20f%2F1.8%2C%205x%20digital%20zoom%2C%20Smart%20HDR%2C%20Deep%20Fusion%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EVideo%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204K%2B%40%2024%2F30%2F60fps%2C%20full%20HD%2B%40%2030%2F60fps%2C%20HD%2B%40%2030%20fps%3Cstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EFront%20camera%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E7MP%2C%20f%2F2.2%2C%20Smart%20HDR%2C%20Deep%20Fusion%3B%20HD%20video%2B%40%2030fps%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBattery%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Up%20to%2015%20hours%20video%2C%2050%20hours%20audio%3B%2050%25%20fast%20charge%20in%2030%20minutes%20with%2020W%20charger%3B%20wireless%20charging%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBiometrics%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Touch%20ID%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EDurability%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20IP67%2C%20dust%2C%20water%20resistant%20up%20to%201m%20for%2030%20minutes%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20From%20Dh1%2C849%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
