Syria has stepped up intelligence-sharing with the US in an attempt to boost ties with Washington and relieve pressure from Israel, a security source said after joint raids were carried out against ISIS.
Information provided by Syrian intelligence was behind last week's raids on 15 ISIS weapon caches in the outskirts of Damascus and southern Syria, the source said. The US Central Command said stockpiles were destroyed in the "combined operation".
It was the second joint operation between the US and Syria's new government to be made public, after US special envoy Tom Barrack signalled that the arrest of an ISIS operative near Damascus in October was also carried out co-operatively.
Mr Barrack met Syrian President Ahmad Al Shara in Damascus on Monday to discuss "recent developments in the region", official Syrian media said.
Last month, the US announced Syria had joined the international coalition against ISIS, marking a milestone for a government with a militant past seeking to become a Washington ally. The country was in the orbit of Iran and Russia before rebels led by Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS), a former affiliate of Al Qaeda, ousted the former Assad regime a year ago.
A security source in Jordan whose work is focused on Syria said the ISIS weapons sites that were hit were mainly along an axis stretching east from the Damascus suburbs of Ghouta to the Badia desert region, as well as near the province of Sweida in southern Syria. Government forces, the source said, have been tracking a relocation of ISIS elements from the Badia into more urban areas and provided Washington with the co-ordinates through Syria's General Intelligence Directorate and the Defence Ministry.
The Intelligence Directorate has also started compiling a database on foreign fighters in the country, regardless of their loyalty, the source added. They said the database would include "their names, mobile numbers and everyone they associate with, even their wives and their relatives."
Syria houses thousands of foreign fighters, some of whom had fought on the side of HTS in the 2011 to 2024 civil war and are now in the national army. Others belong to ISIS and other militant groups that were rivals to HTS. The database "doesn't mean" the new authorities will "move against their own" but helps present the new security apparatus as "aware and in control", the source said.
"One way the Syrian side is dealing with a lack of trust from the Americans is to present themselves as an indispensable reservoir for information," the source said.
The operation against ISIS took place a day before Israel killed at least 13 people in the Syrian village of Beit Jinn, during a raid Israel said targeted members of Jamaa al Islamiyya, a militant group supportive of Hamas. A Syrian source said the attack faced more resistance than previous Israeli incursions in the area, resulting in six Israeli soldiers being wounded.
However, the episode may have enhanced the position of President Al Shara, after US moves for a security deal between Israel and Syria faltered. "He can now point out to the Americans that a local resistance will develop if both Washington and Israel don't rely on him to stamp out militancy," the source said.
On Monday, Syria's Interior Ministry said security personnel had killed two ISIS members during operations in Idlib that also resulted in several arrests. The ministry said the operations were part of a "continuous campaign to track terrorist organisations" and dry up their sources of funding.
Waiel Olwan, head of information at Jusoor For Studies, a political research centre in Damascus, expected the counter-terrorism raids, whether carried out solely by the government or jointly with the US, to "spread across Syria", now that co-ordination with the anti-ISIS coalition has become "high-level, public and official".
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The specs: 2018 Mazda CX-5
Price, base / as tested: Dh89,000 / Dh130,000
Engine: 2.5-litre four-cylinder
Power: 188hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 251Nm @ 4,000rpm
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.1L / 100km
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The design
The protective shell is covered in solar panels to make use of light and produce energy. This will drastically reduce energy loss.
More than 80 per cent of the energy consumed by the French pavilion will be produced by the sun.
The architecture will control light sources to provide a highly insulated and airtight building.
The forecourt is protected from the sun and the plants will refresh the inner spaces.
A micro water treatment plant will recycle used water to supply the irrigation for the plants and to flush the toilets. This will reduce the pavilion’s need for fresh water by 30 per cent.
Energy-saving equipment will be used for all lighting and projections.
Beyond its use for the expo, the pavilion will be easy to dismantle and reuse the material.
Some elements of the metal frame can be prefabricated in a factory.
From architects to sound technicians and construction companies, a group of experts from 10 companies have created the pavilion.
Work will begin in May; the first stone will be laid in Dubai in the second quarter of 2019.
Construction of the pavilion will take 17 months from May 2019 to September 2020.
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What it means to be a conservationist
Who is Enric Sala?
Enric Sala is an expert on marine conservation and is currently the National Geographic Society's Explorer-in-Residence. His love of the sea started with his childhood in Spain, inspired by the example of the legendary diver Jacques Cousteau. He has been a university professor of Oceanography in the US, as well as working at the Spanish National Council for Scientific Research and is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Biodiversity and the Bio-Economy. He has dedicated his life to protecting life in the oceans. Enric describes himself as a flexitarian who only eats meat occasionally.
What is biodiversity?
According to the United Nations Environment Programme, all life on earth – including in its forests and oceans – forms a “rich tapestry of interconnecting and interdependent forces”. Biodiversity on earth today is the product of four billion years of evolution and consists of many millions of distinct biological species. The term ‘biodiversity’ is relatively new, popularised since the 1980s and coinciding with an understanding of the growing threats to the natural world including habitat loss, pollution and climate change. The loss of biodiversity itself is dangerous because it contributes to clean, consistent water flows, food security, protection from floods and storms and a stable climate. The natural world can be an ally in combating global climate change but to do so it must be protected. Nations are working to achieve this, including setting targets to be reached by 2020 for the protection of the natural state of 17 per cent of the land and 10 per cent of the oceans. However, these are well short of what is needed, according to experts, with half the land needed to be in a natural state to help avert disaster.
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
The years Ramadan fell in May
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