US President Donald Trump’s administration has been in touch with Syria’s new leadership, the country’s Foreign Minister Asaad Al Shibani has said.
Mr Al Shibani confirmed at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday that Mr Trump’s team had made contact, but refused to say what had been discussed.
“[Syria is] an important actor in the region, and who want to perceive the stability and security in the region, they should talk with Damascus,” he said, giving Syria’s chances for peace the rating of “10 out of 10”.
The Hayat Tahrir Al Sham rebel group, which ousted the Bashar Al Assad government in December, remains on US and international terrorist lists and under sanctions. Mr Al Shibani appealed for the lifting of those sanctions, which he said were imposed on the Assad regime for the torture of prisoners and other crimes but were now harming Syrians while they try to rebuild their country following 14 years of civil war.
“Removing the sanctions is key to our vision for development and the new path for Syria,” said Mr Al Shibani.
The session, on the future of peace in the Middle East, also heard from Varsen Aghabekian, Palestinian Authority’s State Minister for Foreign Affairs, who said the situation in Gaza remained “unpredictable”.
“It can go either way, but we hope, as Palestinians and for saving lives, that this ceasefire becomes a permanent position that would lead us to something bigger,” Ms Aghabekian said.
The hope is that the ceasefire becomes permanent and leads “to something bigger”, she said. Mr Trump is a “key player” she added.
“The USA can do a lot, and we've seen it in the last week. But President Trump and the team in the United States need to again understand what it means to have Palestinians have a palatable peace process. A palatable peace process means understanding the rights of the Palestinians.”
Addressing Israeli raids in the Jenin refugee camp in occupied West Bank in an operation that began on Tuesday and included air strikes, she said it was “very unfortunate”.
“It's a deliberate attempt by Israel to undermine the Palestinians in general. And we're hearing it. They don't shy away from voicing it,” she said.
“They're telling us very clearly we're done with Gaza for the time being. We don't know for how long, because they are also voicing that they are going back into Gaza, but now it's a time on the West Bank, and we will do on the West Bank what we have done on the Gaza Strip.”
Speaking to The National following the session, she said the situation in the West Bank was “extremely dangerous”.
“Today we have unleashed settlers creating havoc all over the West Bank and I think people need to look at this very seriously because if we transfer what is happening in Gaza to the West Bank I think this leads to total chaos and not only total chaos for the Palestinians, but total chaos for the whole area.”
Asked what she wanted Mr Trump to say to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the West Bank, she said he should put his foot down and say “enough is enough”.
“We need to cater to the needs of humanity and morality and if you want to live in peace and security in the area, you need to respect international law and respect the rights of your neighbours. And you cannot wage war on your neighbours whenever you want,” she said.
The situation is different following the Israel-Gaza war and the world cannot return to Jared Kushner’s peace plan Mr Trump has returned to the White House, she told Davos.
“What was there on the table in 2017 and 2018 will not bring us peace, not for the Palestinians, not for the Israelis, not for the region.”
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Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
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UAE and Russia in numbers
UAE-Russia ties stretch back 48 years
Trade between the UAE and Russia reached Dh12.5 bn in 2018
More than 3,000 Russian companies are registered in the UAE
Around 40,000 Russians live in the UAE
The number of Russian tourists travelling to the UAE will increase to 12 percent to reach 1.6 million in 2023
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AT4 Ultimate, as tested
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Sinan Antoon
(Yale University Press)
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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 biog
Name: Salvador Toriano Jr
Age: 59
From: Laguna, The Philippines
Favourite dish: Seabass or Fish and Chips
Hobbies: When he’s not in the restaurant, he still likes to cook, along with walking and meeting up with friends.
Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters
The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.
Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.
A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.
The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.
The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.
Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.
Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment
But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Recent winners
2002 Giselle Khoury (Colombia)
2004 Nathalie Nasralla (France)
2005 Catherine Abboud (Oceania)
2007 Grace Bijjani (Mexico)
2008 Carina El-Keddissi (Brazil)
2009 Sara Mansour (Brazil)
2010 Daniella Rahme (Australia)
2011 Maria Farah (Canada)
2012 Cynthia Moukarzel (Kuwait)
2013 Layla Yarak (Australia)
2014 Lia Saad (UAE)
2015 Cynthia Farah (Australia)
2016 Yosmely Massaad (Venezuela)
2017 Dima Safi (Ivory Coast)
2018 Rachel Younan (Australia)
