Syria and Lebanon were holding talks on developing a security relationship on Sunday in their latest move to put past tension aside.
Lebanon's Interior Minister Ahmed Al Hajjar met Syria's Foreign Minister Asaad Al Shibani in Bahrain, where both men had been attending the IISS Manama Dialogue.
Few details were given but the Syrian ministry said Mr Al Hajjar and Mr Al Shibani “discussed ways to enhance bilateral co-operation between the two countries in the security and political fields”.
The meeting was the latest sign of improving relations after years of difficulties. The former Bashar Al Assad regime in Syria occupied Lebanon until 2005, while fighters from Lebanon's Hezbollah later joined the civil war in Syria. There are also unresolved issues relating to drug smuggling and the fate of Syrian prisoners in Lebanese jails.
But both countries have relatively new governments – President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam took power in Lebanon early this year, while Syrian President Ahmad Al Shara led a rebel offensive that ended the Assad rule in December last year. Both have pledged reform and have a degree of US backing.
At a meeting in September, Lebanon expressed a “sincere desire for co-operation” during talks on smuggling and border control. That paved the way for Mr Al Shibani to visit Beirut last month, when a deal was announced on returning some Syrian prisoners in Lebanon.
The Syrian minister said at that meeting that his country wants to “overcome past obstacles” with Lebanon, conceding that “both sides had been “victims of political mismanagement at certain times”. Lebanon said Mr Al Shibani had pledged not to interfere in its affairs.
Talks are also taking place on tackling drug smuggling, which both the Assad government and Hezbollah have allegedly used to raise funds. Last week, Syria seized about 11 million of Captagon pills on the border with Lebanon. The raid involved an “exchange of fire” between Syrian forces and drugs smugglers who fled back into Lebanon, Syrian authorities said.
The Lebanese government estimates about 1.5 million Syrians are in the country in total, though the figures are hard to verify.
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US households add $601bn of debt in 2019
American households borrowed another $601 billion (Dh2.2bn) in 2019, the largest yearly gain since 2007, just before the global financial crisis, according to February data from the New York Federal Reserve Bank.
Fuelled by rising mortgage debt as homebuyers continued to take advantage of low interest rates, the increase last year brought total household debt to a record high, surpassing the previous peak reached in 2008 just before the market crash, according to the report.
Following the 22nd straight quarter of growth, American household debt swelled to $14.15 trillion by the end of 2019, the New York Fed said in its quarterly report.
In the final three months of the year, new home loans jumped to their highest volume since the fourth quarter of 2005, while credit cards and auto loans also added to the increase.
The bad debt load is taking its toll on some households, and the New York Fed warned that more and more credit card borrowers — particularly young people — were falling behind on their payments.
"Younger borrowers, who are disproportionately likely to have credit cards and student loans as their primary form of debt, struggle more than others with on-time repayment," New York Fed researchers said.
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GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
Company%20Profile
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