Syrian President Ahmad Al Shara will reveal his “real colours” with his responses to several security challenges facing Syria and his efforts to ensure inclusivity in the political system, a former US official for the Middle East said on Wednesday.
Former US assistant secretary for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf was among the first western officials to meet the new Syrian leader after he came to power following a rebel-led offensive that toppled the former regime in December last year.
On Wednesday at the Sulaimani Forum in the Iraqi city of Sulaimaniyah, Ms Leaf warned of the mounting tests that Mr Al Shara’s cabinet will have to pass in rebuilding Syria after 13 years of civil war.
“In the end, he’s going to be judged, I think, by how he responds to the many accumulating tests that lie out there,” Ms Leaf told a panel at the Sulaimani Forum in Iraq's Sulaymaniyah.
“What are those tests? You saw them in March – the terrible atrocities on the coast,” Ms Leaf added, referring to sectarian violence that killed more than 1,300 people in strongholds of former president Bashar Al Assad, according to figures from the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Most of the dead were from the Alawite community to which Mr Al Assad belongs. It was the worst violence in Syria since the suppression in 2011 of protests against the Assad regime that led to the Syrian civil war.
Mr Al Shara has appointed a committee to investigate the recent bloodshed on the coast but he blamed remnants of the Assad regime for the violence. The coastal areas had largely been spared of fighting during Syria's civil war.
“He promised accountability. We’ll see,” said Ms Leaf. “But that is one of the lurking, dangerous threats to a successful transition – whether it's led by Al Shara or anybody else – which is 50 years, especially 14 years, of pent-up desire for prevention or reprisals.
“How he deals with the security dimension of the challenges is going to show his real colours. So, keeping a lid on that is one thing. Being accountable and transparent is another,” Ms Leaf said.
Syria officially formed a new government last month, comprising technocrats and confidants of Mr Al Shara, aiming to steer the country through a five-year transitional period and rebuild the damage inflicted by the civil war, while dealing with military incursions by Israel as well as a broken economy and limited resources.
The new government features ministers from the Alawite, Druze and Kurdish communities. The cabinet also includes technocrats who have studied abroad.
The final test for Mr Al Shara, said Ms Leaf, would be inclusivity for all components of Syrian society. But the new president may be viewing this issue from a different perspective to the Syrian people, she added.
“He is saying the right things, and he is doing some of the right things – many right things. He is making a very good impression on regional leaders,” she said.
Mr Al Shara has sought to rebuild and repair Syria’s relations with regional powers and western countries as he seeks to rid Syria of economic sanctions imposed under the Assad regime.
Du Plessis plans his retirement
South Africa captain Faf du Plessis said on Friday the Twenty20 World Cup in Australia in two years' time will be his last.
Du Plessis, 34, who has led his country in two World T20 campaigns, in 2014 and 2016, is keen to play a third but will then step aside.
"The T20 World Cup in 2020 is something I'm really looking forward to. I think right now that will probably be the last tournament for me," he said in Brisbane ahead of a one-off T20 against Australia on Saturday.
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Company profile
Company name: Suraasa
Started: 2018
Founders: Rishabh Khanna, Ankit Khanna and Sahil Makker
Based: India, UAE and the UK
Industry: EdTech
Initial investment: More than $200,000 in seed funding
Women & Power: A Manifesto
Mary Beard
Profile Books and London Review of Books
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
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The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The squad traveling to Brazil:
Faisal Al Ketbi, Ibrahim Al Hosani, Khalfan Humaid Balhol, Khalifa Saeed Al Suwaidi, Mubarak Basharhil, Obaid Salem Al Nuaimi, Saeed Juma Al Mazrouei, Saoud Abdulla Al Hammadi, Taleb Al Kirbi, Yahia Mansour Al Hammadi, Zayed Al Kaabi, Zayed Saif Al Mansoori, Saaid Haj Hamdou, Hamad Saeed Al Nuaimi. Coaches Roberto Lima and Alex Paz.
THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
England squad
Joe Root (captain), Alastair Cook, Keaton Jennings, Gary Ballance, Jonny Bairstow (wicketkeeper), Ben Stokes (vice-captain), Moeen Ali, Liam Dawson, Toby Roland-Jones, Stuart Broad, Mark Wood, James Anderson.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MORE ON TURKEY'S SYRIA OFFENCE
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What is Folia?
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal's new plant-based menu will launch at Four Seasons hotels in Dubai this November. A desire to cater to people looking for clean, healthy meals beyond green salad is what inspired Prince Khaled and American celebrity chef Matthew Kenney to create Folia. The word means "from the leaves" in Latin, and the exclusive menu offers fine plant-based cuisine across Four Seasons properties in Los Angeles, Bahrain and, soon, Dubai.
Kenney specialises in vegan cuisine and is the founder of Plant Food Wine and 20 other restaurants worldwide. "I’ve always appreciated Matthew’s work," says the Saudi royal. "He has a singular culinary talent and his approach to plant-based dining is prescient and unrivalled. I was a fan of his long before we established our professional relationship."
Folia first launched at The Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills in July 2018. It is available at the poolside Cabana Restaurant and for in-room dining across the property, as well as in its private event space. The food is vibrant and colourful, full of fresh dishes such as the hearts of palm ceviche with California fruit, vegetables and edible flowers; green hearb tacos filled with roasted squash and king oyster barbacoa; and a savoury coconut cream pie with macadamia crust.
In March 2019, the Folia menu reached Gulf shores, as it was introduced at the Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay, where it is served at the Bay View Lounge. Next, on Tuesday, November 1 – also known as World Vegan Day – it will come to the UAE, to the Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach and the Four Seasons DIFC, both properties Prince Khaled has spent "considerable time at and love".
There are also plans to take Folia to several more locations throughout the Middle East and Europe.
While health-conscious diners will be attracted to the concept, Prince Khaled is careful to stress Folia is "not meant for a specific subset of customers. It is meant for everyone who wants a culinary experience without the negative impact that eating out so often comes with."
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
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Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
Brief scores:
Toss: Australia, chose to bat
Australia: 272-9 (50 ov)
Khawaja 100, Handscomb 52; Bhuvneshwar 3-48
India: 237 (50 ov)
Rohit 56, Bhuvneshwar 46; Zampa 3-46
Player of the Match: Usman Khawaja (Australia)
Player of the Series: Usman Khawaja (Australia)
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Naga
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LILO & STITCH
Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
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
