Live updates: Follow the latest on Syria
A number of Syria's armed factions have agreed to disband their groups and work under the ministry of defence, the country's interim administration said on Tuesday.
The agreement was reached during a meeting between the factions and Syria's de facto leader Ahmad Al Shara, the head of Hayat Tahrir Al Sham which led a lightning rebel offensive that ousted president Bashar Al Assad this month.
The one-line government statement did not say which factions had taken part in the meeting. Numerous armed opposition groups have fought Mr Al Assad's army and allied militias during Syria's 13-year civil war, including those aligned with HTS, others operating collectively as the Syrian National Army, and groups in southern Syria.
A senior commander in the SNA, which is backed by Turkey, told The National that “some factions met with Ahmad Al Shara and confirmed that they are ready to work within the ministry of defence”.
The SNA has not held an official meeting with Mr Al Shara yet, and those groups who met him do not represent everyone, the commander, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said.
He added that “the majority of the factions met with Mr Al Shara and there is fear among the rest because the formation of the ministry of defence and chief of staff has not relied on officers [from Mr Al Assad's army], and not all the defected officers were assigned any mission, but rather [the process] relied on those close to Al Shara.”
The interim government's Prime Minister Mohammed Al Bashir said last week that the defence ministry would be restructured using former rebel factions and officers who defected from Mr Al Assad's army. The government on Saturday appointed Murhaf Abu Qasra, a senior figure in the HTS who played a significant role in the military campaign that toppled Mr Al Assad, as defence minister.
Mr Al Shara, formerly known by the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed Al Jawlani, said on Sunday that all weapons in the country, including those held by Kurdish-led forces, would come under state control. He was speaking alongside Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who was on a visit to Damascus. Ankara-backed rebels played a key role in supporting HTS.
Mr Al Shara said Syria's armed “factions will begin to announce their dissolution and enter” the army. “We will absolutely not allow there to be weapons in the country outside state control, whether from the revolutionary factions or the factions present in the SDF area”, he added, referring to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, who are backed by the US.
He also said “we are working on protecting sects and minorities from any attacks that occur between them” and from “external” actors exploiting the situation “to cause sectarian discord”. He said: “Syria is a country for all and we can coexist together.”
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Getting there
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Tbilisi from Dh1,025 return including taxes
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
Lexus LX700h specs
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What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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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
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Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
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