Britain, Germany and the United States have welcomed a decision by Lebanon and Syria to open diplomatic relations, but Washington urged Damascus to end its "destabilising tactics" in the region.
"We continue to support the establishment of good relations between Lebanon and Syria on the basis of mutual respect [and] we join with France in reiterating the commitment to a sovereign and independent Lebanon," Rob McInturff, a State Department spokesman, said.
But he added that Washington would "continue to limit our diplomatic engagement unless Syria takes concrete actions to end its destabilising tactics in the region".
Lebanon and Syria said earlier yesterday that they had agreed to establish diplomatic relations, opening embassies in each others' capitals for the first time since their independence from colonial rule.
The State Department said Syria was "showing it is eager to engage with the international community".
Mr McInturff said the United States and other Lebanon watchers "were waiting for a signal that the Syrians are ready to renounce their sponsorship of terrorism, to do more to end the flow of foreign fighters into Iraq, to expel the leadership of Palestinian terrorist groups, and to end human rights violations".
Washington continues to blacklist Syria as a state sponsor of terrorism.
The French president Nicolas Sarkozy announced the landmark decision in Paris following talks with Syrian and Lebanese counterparts Bashar al Assad and Michel Sleiman.
Mr Sleiman's election in May ended a drawn-out political crisis in Lebanon.
The two Middle East leaders confirmed the news at a joint press conference later in the day.
Lebanon announced a 30-member national unity government on Friday, tasked with resolving the country's worst political crisis since a 1975-1990 civil war.
Syria, the former power broker in Lebanon, withdrew its troops in 2005 in the aftermath of the assassination of the former Lebanese premier Rafiq Hariri, ending a military presence of nearly three decades.
Syria was widely blamed for the killing but denies involvement.
In London a Foreign Office spokesman said: "If it means that Syria is going to play a more constructive role in the region, that can only be a good thing."
Britain broke off diplomatic ties with Syria in 1986, but restored them in 1990. However, London remains concerned about Damascus' role in Lebanon, particularly its connection with Hizbollah.
The German European affairs minister Guenter Gloser welcomed the two countries' decision to establish ties as "considerable progress", the foreign ministry in Berlin quoted him as saying in Paris where he was to attend the launch today of a union between Europe and its Mediterranean neighbours.
"It shows Syria's change of perspective and contributes to stability in the region," he added.
A minister in Lebanon's rump anti-Syrian cabinet, overtaken by a May power-sharing agreement with the pro-Syrian opposition, on Saturday hailed the opening of diplomatic relations as a victory.
Ahmed Fatfat, youth and sports minister in the former government, said the agreement reached in Paris ahead of the European-Mediterranean summit was a victory for the pro-Western forces which secured the pullout of Syrian troops following the 2005 assassination of former premier Rafiq Hariri.
It's a "coup for the forces of March 14 (2005)," he said in reference to the date of a huge anti-Syrian rally that preceded the Syrian pullout.
"We've been demanding the opening of embassies for a long time and it's something that should have happened years ago," Mr Fatfat said.
"Syria needs to start conducting its relations with Lebanon on a state-to-state basis and can no longer treat us as a fiefdom."
Despite the three-decade military presence in its smaller neighbour, Syria has never had diplomatic relations with Lebanon, which it has long regarded as part of its own territory wrongly separated by France, the ex-colonial power.
*AFP
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
Unresolved crisis
Russia and Ukraine have been locked in a bitter conflict since 2014, when Ukraine’s Kremlin-friendly president was ousted, Moscow annexed Crimea and then backed a separatist insurgency in the east.
Fighting between the Russia-backed rebels and Ukrainian forces has killed more than 14,000 people. In 2015, France and Germany helped broker a peace deal, known as the Minsk agreements, that ended large-scale hostilities but failed to bring a political settlement of the conflict.
The Kremlin has repeatedly accused Kiev of sabotaging the deal, and Ukrainian officials in recent weeks said that implementing it in full would hurt Ukraine.
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
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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."
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Five ways to get fit like Craig David (we tried for seven but ran out of time)
Start the week as you mean to go on. So get your training on strong on a Monday.
Train hard, but don’t take it all so seriously that it gets to the point where you’re not having fun and enjoying your friends and your family and going out for nice meals and doing that stuff.
Think about what you’re training or eating a certain way for — don’t, for example, get a six-pack to impress somebody else or lose weight to conform to society’s norms. It’s all nonsense.
Get your priorities right.
And last but not least, you should always, always chill on Sundays.
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
In numbers
1,000 tonnes of waste collected daily:
- 800 tonnes converted into alternative fuel
- 150 tonnes to landfill
- 50 tonnes sold as scrap metal
800 tonnes of RDF replaces 500 tonnes of coal
Two conveyor lines treat more than 350,000 tonnes of waste per year
25 staff on site
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Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months