UNITED NATIONS // France's foreign minister said yesterday that the UN Security Council should consider allowing military action in Syria if an international peace plan fails to stop the violence under Bashar Al Assad's regime.
Alain Juppe, who met with Syrian opposition members in Paris yesterday, also asked that the 300 UN observers authorised to go to Syria be deployed within 15 days and said that the plan negotiated by the special UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan for Syria was "seriously compromised".
"Things are not going well, the Annan plan is strongly compromised but there is still a chance for this mediation, on the condition of the rapid deployment of the 300 monitors," Mr Juppe said.
The UN's May 5 report on the state of a ceasefire called for under Mr Annan's six-point peace plan will be "a moment of truth: Either this mediation is working, or it isn't," he said.
The UN is pressing ahead with the deployment of the additional monitors to Syria for three months although logistical problems mean only 130 will arrive by the end of May, UN officials said yesterday in New York, "Nobody is really happy with the situation. No one really wants to send them in, but what are the choices?" a Security Council diplomat speaking on condition of anonymity said.
Mr Annan told the Security Council yesterday morning that the deployment of the unarmed observers to Syria is "crucial" to "strengthen" a ceasefire and "change the political dynamics" on the ground.
In essence, Mr Annan said that rather than merely observe a faltering ceasefire, the monitors' presence would help to establish an end to the fighting.
"Observers not only see what is going on, but their presence has the potential to change the political dynamics," Mr Annan told the Security Council. "In this respect, you have mandated the mission not only to monitor a cessation of armed violence but to monitor and support full implementation of the six-point plan."
A handful of UN observers toured Syria yesterday as another 17 people died in fighting, bringing to nearly 300 the number of people who have died since a tenuous ceasefire went into effect on April 12, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Among those killed yesterday were four people whose bus was raked with gunfire by security forces at a checkpoint near Khan Sheikhun, a town in the restive north-western province of Idlib.
Three Syrian soldiers died in clashes with armed rebel groups in the southern province of Deraa where two civilians also died. At the UN, Mr Annan has said his plan was "designed to help put an end to violence, but not to freeze the situation and conditions on the ground."
Instead it must lead to a political dialogue between the government and the opposition leading to free and fair elections, he said.
The special envoy said in areas already visited by an advanced team of 11 monitors, such in Homs, "there has largely been calm and quiet alongside their presence on the ground".
But he said he was "concerned" by media reports that, "before and after observers visit, government troops have been active in civilian areas and launched attacks".
He said if confirmed, reports that "government troops entered Hama [on Monday] after observers departed, firing automatic weapons and killing a significant number of people" are "totally unacceptable and reprehensible",
Also yesterday the Syrian Journalists Union said in a statement that detained Syrian human-rights activist and journalist Mazen Darwish was suffering from a "worsening health condition".
Mr Darwish, who heads the Syrian Centre for Media Freedom and Expression, has been held in solitary confinement by Air Force intelligence since his detention on February 16, the group's statement added.
foreign.desk@thenational.ae
* With additional reporting by Reuters and the Associated Press
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
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Profile
Company name: Marefa Digital
Based: Dubai Multi Commodities Centre
Number of employees: seven
Sector: e-learning
Funding stage: Pre-seed funding of Dh1.5m in 2017 and an initial seed round of Dh2m in 2019
Investors: Friends and family
Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
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Transmission: Continuously variable tranmission
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.6L / 100km
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
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
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Portugal 1
Ronaldo (4')
Morocco 0
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How tumultuous protests grew
- A fuel tax protest by French drivers appealed to wider anti-government sentiment
- Unlike previous French demonstrations there was no trade union or organised movement involved
- Demonstrators responded to online petitions and flooded squares to block traffic
- At its height there were almost 300,000 on the streets in support
- Named after the high visibility jackets that drivers must keep in cars
- Clashes soon turned violent as thousands fought with police at cordons
- An estimated two dozen people lost eyes and many others were admitted to hospital
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Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Fuel economy, combined: 9.7L / 100km
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
