There is reason to fear Turkish involvement in northern Syria

Ever since the Syrian president Bashar Al Assad trapped the majority of the Syrian armed opposition groups in the final rebel-held enclave of Idlib, the world has feared a full-scale assault. With three million stranded there, the death toll would be colossal.

But following two months of air and ground assault from Syrian government forces and their Russian allies, the Assad regime is no closer to regaining the province. On average, more than a dozen regime fighters have died every day, while at least 629 civilians have been killed and 330,000 displaced since April, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Idlib is under siege, but it has demonstrated the limits of Syrian and Russian airpower.

The faltering offensive could now draw Turkey into the fray. Ankara, which supports rebels in Idlib, signed a ceasefire with Moscow last year, which collapsed in April after violations on both sides. After repeated setbacks in its regional policies and particularly in Syria, Turkey is now keen to set the agenda. And while Ankara’s policy in Syria is complex – Turkey enjoys close ties with Russia and Iran, has sought the downfall of the Syrian president and sees the Kurds as its main threat – President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has yet to clarify what his overall strategy is in Syria. Ankara will host the leaders of Tehran and Moscow in August, in an effort to influence the next phase of the war.

There is reason to fear Turkey's plans. Having, controversially, taken delivery this week of the Russian S-400 missile defence system, which could attract fresh US sanctions, Ankara is flexing its muscles.

In recent days, the Turkish army has amassed troops and heavy weapons along the Syrian border. While any operation would likely target Syrian Kurdish forces – which Ankara regards as terrorists– the fighting could spill over into Idlib. The US military is keeping a close eye on its Turkish counterparts.

Once again, Idlib is at the centre of a tug of war. Although many extremists dwell there, so too do many millions of innocent Syrians. They urgently need an end to the violence but will not feel safe placing their lives in Mr Erdogan’s hands.

'Panga'

Directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari

Starring Kangana Ranaut, Richa Chadha, Jassie Gill, Yagya Bhasin, Neena Gupta

Rating: 3.5/5

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The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylturbo

Transmission: seven-speed DSG automatic

Power: 242bhp

Torque: 370Nm

Price: Dh136,814

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At a glance

Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.

Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year

Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month

Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30

Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse

Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth

Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances

2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups

Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.

Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.

Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.

Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).

Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.

Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.

Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.

Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.

The specs

Engine: 8.0-litre, quad-turbo 16-cylinder

Transmission: 7-speed auto

0-100kmh 2.3 seconds

0-200kmh 5.5 seconds

0-300kmh 11.6 seconds

Power: 1500hp

Torque: 1600Nm

Price: Dh13,400,000

On sale: now

The smuggler

Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.

Khouli conviction

Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.

For sale

A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.

- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico

- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000

- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950