The Syrian opposition is split over whether a Joe Biden presidency will help to counter President Bashar Al Assad after four years of US policy under Donald Trump that oscillated between engagement and disengagement.
Mr Biden has signalled that he would resume an understanding with Iran, Mr Al Assad’s main backer.
He said he would take a tougher stance against Turkey, which hosts Syrian opposition members and has used Syrian proxies against US-backed Kurdish militias in Syria.
Veteran opposition figure Fawaz Tello said the expected reversal of Mr Trump’s policies towards Iran under a Biden administration would “constitute a lifeline to Iran and the Assad regime that depends financially on Tehran”.
“Congratulations should go to Iran’s clerical rulers," Mr Tello said. "Their candidate won."
But two well-connected Syrian opposition figures said a different approach towards Turkey and Iran might not necessarily translate into a major advantage for Mr Al Assad.
Maan Abdul Salam, who heads Etana, an independent organisation that pushes for a democratic Syria, said Mr Biden’s regard for internal American institutions should bring more coherence to US policy on Syria.
Mr Abdul Salam told The National that a more streamlined foreign policy in Washington expected under a Biden administration could boost US-led efforts to counter pro-Iranian militias in Syria and elsewhere in the region.
He said “ad hoc and unpredictable decisions taken by Mr Trump regarding Syria gave Russia greater geopolitical leverage in the region".
“We hope that the new administration will have a consistent policy that stands up to Russia in order to achieve a political solution to the Syrian conflict,” Mr Abdul Salam said.
The US government does not have relations with the Syrian government and Congress toughened sanctions on the regime last year by passing the Caesar Act against people and businesses that provide funding or assistance to Mr Al Assad.
But the Trump administration has reportedly been toying with the idea of offering concessions to the regime in return for releasing US citizens believed to be detained in Syria.
The Wall Street Journal reported last month that Kash Patel, a senior US counter-terrorism official, secretly met regime operatives in Damascus to discuss releasing those held.
It was the first time such a high-ranking US official has met the regime in more than a decade, the paper said.
Between 2012 and 2014, the rise of anti-Assad militant groups and lack of control by the political opposition over the rebels, as well as differences between Washington and Ankara, contributed to the US choosing the Kurdish People Protection Units (YPG) as its main instrument against ISIS in Syria.
But in the past two years Washington has partly turned its back on its Kurdish allies, giving tacit permission for Ankara to take territory under the control of the YPG in Syria along the border with Turkey.
Syria as a standalone issue barely featured in the US elections, although American troops have remained in Syria in reduced numbers after Mr Trump backed down from a decision to withdraw completely in late 2019.
His aides issued a warning that the vacuum would be filled by Turkey and Russia.
The several hundred US soldiers in Syria are mostly in areas controlled by the YPG in the east – the centre of the country’s oil production.
Syrian political commentator Ayman Abdel Nour said the YPG was poised to benefit most from a Biden presidency, considering the militia was the linchpin of the Obama administration strategy in Syria.
“The second beneficiary would be Iran,” Mr Abdel Nour said from Los Angeles. "The economic pressure on Tehran would ease, freeing up resources to support Assad.”
Mr Biden rarely addressed Syria during his campaign but has made it clear he would re-enter the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran, if Iran committed to the deal from which the Trump administration withdrew in 2018.
Ahmad Tumeh, head of the Syrian opposition delegation to the Russian-led Astana peace talks, cautioned against rushing judgment about Mr Biden.
“Let us wait and see," Mr Tumeh said. "At the end the US wants a political solution and the regime does not want anything except to restore its repression on every part of Syria.”
What is a calorie?
A food calorie, or kilocalorie, is a measure of nutritional energy generated from what is consumed.
One calorie, is the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram of water by 1°C.
A kilocalorie represents a 1,000 true calories of energy.
Energy density figures are often quoted as calories per serving, with one gram of fat in food containing nine calories, and a gram of protein or carbohydrate providing about four.
Alcohol contains about seven calories a gram.
Correspondents
By Tim Murphy
(Grove Press)
Our legal advisor
Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation.
Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.
Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Cinco in numbers
Dh3.7 million
The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown
46
The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.
1,000
The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]
50
How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday
3,000
The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
1.1 million
The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.
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What is the definition of an SME?
SMEs in the UAE are defined by the number of employees, annual turnover and sector. For example, a “small company” in the services industry has six to 50 employees with a turnover of more than Dh2 million up to Dh20m, while in the manufacturing industry the requirements are 10 to 100 employees with a turnover of more than Dh3m up to Dh50m, according to Dubai SME, an agency of the Department of Economic Development.
A “medium-sized company” can either have staff of 51 to 200 employees or 101 to 250 employees, and a turnover less than or equal to Dh200m or Dh250m, again depending on whether the business is in the trading, manufacturing or services sectors.
About Okadoc
Date started: Okadoc, 2018
Founder/CEO: Fodhil Benturquia
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Healthcare
Size: (employees/revenue) 40 staff; undisclosed revenues recording “double-digit” monthly growth
Funding stage: Series B fundraising round to conclude in February
Investors: Undisclosed
Gender equality in the workplace still 200 years away
It will take centuries to achieve gender parity in workplaces around the globe, according to a December report from the World Economic Forum.
The WEF study said there had been some improvements in wage equality in 2018 compared to 2017, when the global gender gap widened for the first time in a decade.
But it warned that these were offset by declining representation of women in politics, coupled with greater inequality in their access to health and education.
At current rates, the global gender gap across a range of areas will not close for another 108 years, while it is expected to take 202 years to close the workplace gap, WEF found.
The Geneva-based organisation's annual report tracked disparities between the sexes in 149 countries across four areas: education, health, economic opportunity and political empowerment.
After years of advances in education, health and political representation, women registered setbacks in all three areas this year, WEF said.
Only in the area of economic opportunity did the gender gap narrow somewhat, although there is not much to celebrate, with the global wage gap narrowing to nearly 51 per cent.
And the number of women in leadership roles has risen to 34 per cent globally, WEF said.
At the same time, the report showed there are now proportionately fewer women than men participating in the workforce, suggesting that automation is having a disproportionate impact on jobs traditionally performed by women.
And women are significantly under-represented in growing areas of employment that require science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills, WEF said.
* Agence France Presse
bundesliga results
Mainz 0 Augsburg 1 (Niederlechner 1')
Schalke 1 (Caligiuri pen 51') Bayer Leverkusen 1 (Miranda og 81')
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
RESULTS
Tottenham 1
Jan Vertonghen 13'
Norwich 1
Josip Drmic 78'
2-3 on penalties
More coverage from the Future Forum
The bio
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite travel destination: Maldives and south of France
Favourite pastime: Family and friends, meditation, discovering new cuisines
Favourite Movie: Joker (2019). I didn’t like it while I was watching it but then afterwards I loved it. I loved the psychology behind it.
Favourite Author: My father for sure
Favourite Artist: Damien Hurst
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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
COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
Wydad 2 Urawa 3
Wydad Nahiri 21’, Hajhouj 90'
Urawa Antonio 18’, 60’, Kashiwagi 26’
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
