Live updates: Follow the latest on Syria
The ancient wheat fields of southern Syria transform into a rugged basalt rock landscape on the approach to Suweida, home to many of the country’s Druze minority. The harsh landscape is a good metaphor for the group's struggle for preservation as a sect; the hallmark of its existence in the country since arriving from Lebanon two centuries ago.
The Druze have survived persecution by the French and the Ottomans, and retribution for a failed coup by a Druze officer against the country’s Alawite rulers in the 1960s, as well as the 13 years of civil war that preceded the downfall of Bashar Al Assad on December 8. Now the Druze are watching and waiting to find out if their struggle is over, or if it will be renewed under a new government.
“We have all spearheaded this liberation from tyranny,” Syria’s Druze spiritual leader Hikmat Al Hijiri told visitors on Sunday. Syria must transform into a “democratic and civil state, not one that mimics [the ousted regime]", he said.
Mr Al Assad was brought down by Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS), an Al Qaeda offshoot, as they swept from areas in northern Syria they had run according to their strict interpretation of Islamic jurisprudence. Many of the militants view the Druze – whose religion contains elements of Hinduism, Islam, Christianity and Judaism – as heretics, although HTS leader Ahmad Al Shara has repeatedly signalled that no harm will come to members of the country’s many minorities unless they were complicit in the crimes of the former regime.
But a previous iteration of HTS, called Jabhat Al Nusra, beheaded at least two dozen Druze civilians as they encroached on Suweida at various stages in the civil war.
Syria is majority Sunni, with the Druze accounting for around 800,000 of the country’s 20 million pre-civil war population. There are no fresh demographic estimates as yet. Their nature as a transnational minority across Syria, Lebanon and Israel could also tie their future to any geopolitical changes following the downfall of the Assad regime.
Already Jordan and other Arab countries, as well as the United States and Europe, have said there will be no international support for any new order in Syria if it supports terrorism. Previously Jordan was wary of the spread of pro-Iranian militias on its border with southern Syria. HTS’s militants have replaced them. Few Druze in Suweida are willing to talk about the issue publicly, preferring to defer to the line shaped by Sheikh Al Hijri.
“We have full confidence in those who have the reigns now,” Sheikh Al Hijri said, adding that the Druze militia in Suweida, called Rijal Al Karamah, have set up “co-ordination rooms” with HTS to maintain stability in the area. HTS has already deployed its own men to oversee the water authority and agriculture department in the province.
He tinged his words with a reminder that the Druze, he said, will continue to defend “our land and our honour”. Sheikh Al Hijri steered the community away from joining in the suppression of the 2011 peaceful revolt against Mr Al Assad as most young Druze dodged conscription. In August 2022, he supported a civil disobedience movement in Suweida that demanded the dictator's removal, which lasted until he was ousted last week.
In Suweida, life has continued as normal, with no signs of militarisation. People who demonstrated against the regime, and others who stayed on the sidelines, have been celebrating his downfall with rallies and street song and dance.
Businesses remained open well into the night in Suweida city, and the Druze militia had vacated roadblocks at the entrance to avoid any conflict with HTS. One night this week, a bearded HTS fighter stopped at a pharmacy to buy paracetamol. Raghida Samih, a Druze pharmacist, handed it to him while exchanging pleasantries. “Suweida is safer now than before,” Ms Samih said, pointing out that the pro-regime militia, called shabiha, had disappeared.
A Druze cleric who gave his name as Sheikh Jamal said he had met twice with an HTS delegation headed by an official assigned to liaise with minorities. “He assured us that we will keep our own civil affairs courts,” Sheikh Jamal said. “When I asked him what about the criminal and other legal codes and how much Sharia will be applied, he fudged the question.”
A member of the inner circle of Sheikh Al Hijri said that despite the mutual overtures between HTS and the Druze leadership, Sheikh Al Hijri knows an iron fist could be hiding under the velvet glove of HTS. “Throughout history, we have done whatever it takes to survive,” he said, adding that the coalescing of the community to deal with the HTS takeover extends beyond Syria.
He pointed out intensified contacts between Sheikh Al Hijri and Mowafaq Tarif, the spiritual head of the Israeli Druze, and separately, with Walid Jumblatt, the veteran Lebanese Druze leader, regarded as being among the most astute politicians in the region. The source declined to reveal the content of these discussions and other conversations he said Sheikh Al Hijri is having with governments in the region.
“We are on the cusp of a new Syria, or a new civil war,” he said. “We have to be ready for both.”
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
Company Profile
Company name: Fine Diner
Started: March, 2020
Co-founders: Sami Elayan, Saed Elayan and Zaid Azzouka
Based: Dubai
Industry: Technology and food delivery
Initial investment: Dh75,000
Investor: Dtec Startupbootcamp
Future plan: Looking to raise $400,000
Total sales: Over 1,000 deliveries in three months
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
THE SPECS
Engine: 3.5-litre supercharged V6
Power: 416hp at 7,000rpm
Torque: 410Nm at 3,500rpm
Transmission: 6-speed manual
Fuel consumption: 10.2 l/100km
Price: Dh375,000
On sale: now
German intelligence warnings
- 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 268hp at 5,600rpm
Torque: 380Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: CVT auto
Fuel consumption: 9.5L/100km
On sale: now
Price: from Dh195,000
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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How to get exposure to gold
Although you can buy gold easily on the Dubai markets, the problem with buying physical bars, coins or jewellery is that you then have storage, security and insurance issues.
A far easier option is to invest in a low-cost exchange traded fund (ETF) that invests in the precious metal instead, for example, ETFS Physical Gold (PHAU) and iShares Physical Gold (SGLN) both track physical gold. The VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF invests directly in mining companies.
Alternatively, BlackRock Gold & General seeks to achieve long-term capital growth primarily through an actively managed portfolio of gold mining, commodity and precious-metal related shares. Its largest portfolio holdings include gold miners Newcrest Mining, Barrick Gold Corp, Agnico Eagle Mines and the NewMont Goldcorp.
Brave investors could take on the added risk of buying individual gold mining stocks, many of which have performed wonderfully well lately.
London-listed Centamin is up more than 70 per cent in just three months, although in a sign of its volatility, it is down 5 per cent on two years ago. Trans-Siberian Gold, listed on London's alternative investment market (AIM) for small stocks, has seen its share price almost quadruple from 34p to 124p over the same period, but do not assume this kind of runaway growth can continue for long
However, buying individual equities like these is highly risky, as their share prices can crash just as quickly, which isn't what what you want from a supposedly safe haven.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
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What is graphene?
Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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More from Neighbourhood Watch
THE SPECS
Engine: 4.0L twin-turbo V8
Gearbox: eight-speed automatic
Power: 571hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 800Nm from 2,000-4,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 11.4L/100km
Price, base: from Dh571,000
On sale: this week
Need to know
Unlike other mobile wallets and payment apps, a unique feature of eWallet is that there is no need to have a bank account, credit or debit card to do digital payments.
Customers only need a valid Emirates ID and a working UAE mobile number to register for eWallet account.
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
The Vile
Starring: Bdoor Mohammad, Jasem Alkharraz, Iman Tarik, Sarah Taibah
Director: Majid Al Ansari
Rating: 4/5
