US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Paris on Wednesday to discuss Syria with French President Emmanuel Macron as European officials prepare to follow the US lead in partially lifting sanctions on the war-torn country.
Western leaders are stepping up meetings as several regional powers vie to strengthen their diplomatic foothold in Syria, one month after the fall of the Assad regime and the takeover by rebel groups led by Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS). At the French foreign ministry, Mr Blinken warned of the “acute danger” posed by the possible escape of “more than 10,000 terrorist fighters detained under the vigilance of our Kurdish friends”.
“We have been working very closely with our ally, our partner, in Turkey, which has very legitimate concerns, of course, about the PKK and terrorism, to navigate this transition, in a way that leads to a resolution of many of these concerns,” Mr Blinken said. He added that this includes “the integration of the Syrian Democratic Forces into Syrian national forces … and the resolution of questions around oil and borders”. Kurdish groups control about 70 per cent of Syria's oil.
As the US eases transactions with governing institutions in Syria to help the flow of humanitarian assistance, EU officials are looking at a partial lifting of sanctions ahead of a meeting of the bloc's 27 foreign ministers at the end of the month.
Unlike US sanctions, which are extraterritorial, EU sanctions do not apply outside Europe but any move on punitive measures from Brussels would give a strong signal about the continent's willingness to engage with the new rulers in Damascus. “Sanctions have adversely affected food security, agriculture and access to health care, medicine and water, among other areas,” said Mohammad Kanfash, a Syria expert at the University of St Andrews in Scotland. “Sanctions also obstructed humanitarian operations in the country.”
Conditional lifting of sanctions
A major issue is relations with HTS, which is under UN, EU and US sanctions for its former links to Al Qaeda. Publicly, European diplomats have said they are set to maintain restrictions on members of the Assad regime and chemical weapons. They have suggested they could lift sanctions on the economy and other sectors but only if the new leaders in Damascus respect their demands on political inclusivity and human rights.
Speaking before his meeting with Mr Blinken, and about a week after a trip to Damascus with his German counterpart, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said some sanctions could be “quickly” lifted, especially those that delay the delivery of aid, in a similar way to the US Treasury's general licence issued on Monday.
“There are the sanctions that targeted Bashar Al Assad and the executioners of his regime, these sanctions obviously have no vocation to be lifted,” Mr Barrot told radio France Inter. “Then there are others that today hinder access to humanitarian aid, which prevent the recovery of the country and these could be lifted quickly.”
Before meeting the French President, Mr Blinken, who will be leaving office this month when Donald Trump takes over as US president, will hold talks with Mr Barrot, on the wars in Ukraine, Syria, Lebanon and Gaza, the French Foreign Ministry said. His meetings in Paris take place one day before another gathering in Rome of foreign ministers of Britain, Germany, Italy and France, alongside the EU's foreign affairs and security policy chief Kaja Kallas when Syria will again be in the spotlight.
The office of Ms Kallas said the “EU remains ready to support a Syrian-led and Syrian-owned process, with the support of the United Nations”. The former prime minister of Estonia will also meet Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who was last year pushing to re-establish diplomatic ties with the Assad regime.
Europe has strong incentives to engage with Syria. The continent has been heavily impacted by the Middle Eastern country's 13 years of civil war, which featured the rise of radical groups that fomented terrorist attacks on European soil and caused mass migration to the continent, fuelling the far right.
Elsewhere, other countries are moving faster. Qatar and Turkey have already positioned themselves in Syria and sent floating power plants that have grown the country's output by 50 per cent. Infrastructure systems, particularly health, education, housing and sanitation, are absent from most parts of the country, the UN says. Western sanctions prohibit reconstruction or sending money to Syria.
Another topic of importance to western countries is linked to the threat posed by former ISIS members, currently held in prisons guarded by US-backed Kurdish groups in north-east Syria. But the HTS takeover emboldened Turkish-backed forces to push Kurdish militias out of certain areas and fighting is continuing.
Months of talks ahead
Some work on sanctions appears to be taking place behind the scenes in European capitals. Germany has put forward a proposal on the pathway to lifting measures on Syria, which it has shared with Ms Kallas' office and diplomats in Paris, The National understands.
Echoing Mr Barrot's statements, the proposal suggests maintaining sanctions on the Assad regime and chemical weapons. It also suggests a gradual lifting of restrictions on the Syrian state, but while keeping in place the possibility of reinstating them if the rulers in Damascus do not respect ethnic and religious minorities.
Included in the proposal is the possibility of lifting sanctions on Syrian Air, in addition to allowing the export of commercial assets to allow the economy to rebuild. The document also suggests opening financial channels between the EU and Syria to allow Syrians to access their personal finances.
On HTS, discussions at the UN level are recommended and would depend on a joint assessment of the group and its leader Ahmad Al Shara.
Harmonie Toros, professor in politics and international relations at the University of Reading in England, said due to Syria being subjected to so many overlapping sanctions, even if the EU were to ease measures on its own, members of the UN Security Council would all need to agree to lift theirs, which she believes could take months.
A significant stumbling block will be reassurances from HTS that it will break ties with extremist groups and distance itself from the use of extreme violence, she told The National.
“Some sanctions, such as ones relating to humanitarian aid, can be lifted easier but others could take months of negotiations,” she said. “It is going to take time. There will have to be leaps of faith on all sides that other parties will do what they say they are going to do.
“The UN is complex and it could take weeks and months depending on whether it is opposed or not. There is a technical side to it but if there is a will of the international community to move in that direction it will happen eventually.”
Marathon results
Men:
1. Titus Ekiru(KEN) 2:06:13
2. Alphonce Simbu(TAN) 2:07:50
3. Reuben Kipyego(KEN) 2:08:25
4. Abel Kirui(KEN) 2:08:46
5. Felix Kemutai(KEN) 2:10:48
Women:
1. Judith Korir(KEN) 2:22:30
2. Eunice Chumba(BHR) 2:26:01
3. Immaculate Chemutai(UGA) 2:28:30
4. Abebech Bekele(ETH) 2:29:43
5. Aleksandra Morozova(RUS) 2:33:01
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
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Draw
Quarter-finals
Real Madrid (ESP) or Manchester City (ENG) v Juventus (ITA) or Lyon (FRA)
RB Leipzig (GER) v Atletico Madrid (ESP)
Barcelona (ESP) or Napoli (ITA) v Bayern Munich (GER) or Chelsea (ENG)
Atalanta (ITA) v Paris Saint-Germain (FRA)
Ties to be played August 12-15 in Lisbon
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
RESULT
Bayern Munich 3 Chelsea 2
Bayern: Rafinha (6'), Muller (12', 27')
Chelsea: Alonso (45' 3), Batshuayi (85')
The%20specs
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
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Emirates Cricket Board Women’s T10
ECB Hawks v ECB Falcons
Monday, April 6, 7.30pm, Sharjah Cricket Stadium
The match will be broadcast live on the My Sports Eye Facebook page
Hawks
Coach: Chaitrali Kalgutkar
Squad: Chaya Mughal (captain), Archara Supriya, Chamani Senevirathne, Chathurika Anand, Geethika Jyothis, Indhuja Nandakumar, Kashish Loungani, Khushi Sharma, Khushi Tanwar, Rinitha Rajith, Siddhi Pagarani, Siya Gokhale, Subha Srinivasan, Suraksha Kotte, Theertha Satish
Falcons
Coach: Najeeb Amar
Squad: Kavisha Kumari (captain), Almaseera Jahangir, Annika Shivpuri, Archisha Mukherjee, Judit Cleetus, Ishani Senavirathne, Lavanya Keny, Mahika Gaur, Malavika Unnithan, Rishitha Rajith, Rithika Rajith, Samaira Dharnidharka, Shashini Kaluarachchi, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi, Vaishnave Mahesh
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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World Cricket League Division 2
In Windhoek, Namibia - Top two teams qualify for the World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe, which starts on March 4.
UAE fixtures
Thursday February 8, v Kenya; Friday February 9, v Canada; Sunday February 11, v Nepal; Monday February 12, v Oman; Wednesday February 14, v Namibia; Thursday February 15, final
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Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Origin
Dan Brown
Doubleday
WORLD RECORD FEES FOR GOALKEEPERS
1) Kepa Arrizabalaga, Athletic Bilbao to Chelsea (£72m)
2) Alisson, Roma to Liverpool (£67m)
3) Ederson, Benfica to Manchester City (£35m)
4) Gianluigi Buffon, Parma to Juventus (£33m)
5) Angelo Peruzzi, Inter Milan to Lazio (£15.7m
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Name: The Concept
Founders: Yadhushan Mahendran, Maria Sobh and Muhammad Rijal
Based: Abu Dhabi
Founded: 2017
Number of employees: 7
Sector: Aviation and space industry
Funding: $250,000
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FIXTURES
Nov 04-05: v Western Australia XI, Perth
Nov 08-11: v Cricket Australia XI, Adelaide
Nov 15-18 v Cricket Australia XI, Townsville (d/n)
Nov 23-27: 1ST TEST v AUSTRALIA, Brisbane
Dec 02-06: 2ND TEST v AUSTRALIA, Adelaide (d/n)
Dec 09-10: v Cricket Australia XI, Perth
Dec 14-18: 3RD TEST v AUSTRALIA, Perth
Dec 26-30 4TH TEST v AUSTRALIA, Melbourne
Jan 04-08: 5TH TEST v AUSTRALIA, Sydney
Note: d/n = day/night
WHEN TO GO:
September to November or March to May; this is when visitors are most likely to see what they’ve come for.
WHERE TO STAY:
Meghauli Serai, A Taj Safari - Chitwan National Park resort (tajhotels.com) is a one-hour drive from Bharatpur Airport with stays costing from Dh1,396 per night, including taxes and breakfast. Return airport transfers cost from Dh661.
HOW TO GET THERE:
Etihad Airways regularly flies from Abu Dhabi to Kathmandu from around Dh1,500 per person return, including taxes. Buddha Air (buddhaair.com) and Yeti Airlines (yetiairlines.com) fly from Kathmandu to Bharatpur several times a day from about Dh660 return and the flight takes just 20 minutes. Driving is possible but the roads are hilly which means it will take you five or six hours to travel 148 kilometres.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
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History's medical milestones
1799 - First small pox vaccine administered
1846 - First public demonstration of anaesthesia in surgery
1861 - Louis Pasteur published his germ theory which proved that bacteria caused diseases
1895 - Discovery of x-rays
1923 - Heart valve surgery performed successfully for first time
1928 - Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin
1953 - Structure of DNA discovered
1952 - First organ transplant - a kidney - takes place
1954 - Clinical trials of birth control pill
1979 - MRI, or magnetic resonance imaging, scanned used to diagnose illness and injury.
1998 - The first adult live-donor liver transplant is carried out
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Graduated from the American University of Sharjah
She is the eldest of three brothers and two sisters
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The biog
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Favourite film: Childhood favourite would be Disney’s Jungle Book and classic favourite Gone With The Wind.
Favourite book: To Kill A Mockingbird for a timeless story on justice and courage and Harry Potters for my love of all things magical.
Favourite quote: “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” — Winston Churchill
Favourite food: Dim sum
Favourite place to travel to: Anywhere with natural beauty, wildlife and awe-inspiring sunsets.
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EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
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