Insight and opinion from The National’s editorial leadership
December 25, 2024
Mere weeks ago, the leader of Syrian militant group Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS), Abu Mohammed Al Jawlani, was rumoured to have been killed in a Russian airstrike in Aleppo. Today, he holds court in the presidential palace in Damascus, very much alive. He has swapped his nom de guerre for his legal name (Ahmad Al Shara), his fatigues for a suit and tie and his rifle for an in-tray.
Few public figures’ transformations have been so remarkable. And few in-trays have been so full. Mr Al Shara has assumed responsibility for a country largely in ruins – the destruction equally apparent on its streets, in its institutions and on its balance sheets. The World Bank says Syria’s GDP today may be only 15 per cent of its prewar level. The cost of rebuilding will be in the hundreds of billions of dollars.
Mr Al Shara has used this dire state of affairs as justification to divert HTS’s attention in a more conciliatory, diplomatic direction. On Tuesday, the group was formally dissolved and merged into Syria’s Ministry of Defence. Syria, Mr Al Shara says, needs unity at home and friends – or at least, fewer enemies – abroad if it is to rebuild.
These are the right signals to send, though the obstacles ahead are numerous. Many of them lie within HTS’s own ranks. The group consisted of thousands of militants, including foreign fighters who were drawn to the country in recent years by HTS’s violent zealotry. On Tuesday, a group of them set a Christmas tree alight in a Christian-majority town.
The cost of rebuilding will be in the hundreds of billions of dollars
But other obstacles emanate from beyond Syria’s borders. Israel has used the fall of Syria’s previous government as an opportunity to grab land in the Golan Heights – a situation it says is temporary, though there is plenty of evidence to suggest otherwise.
It helps that lines of communication between Damascus and the rest of the world are more open now than they have been for decades. In the past week, Mr Al Shara has welcomed a steady stream of foreign dignitaries to the Syrian capital. They include several foreign ministers, UN Syria envoy Geir Pedersen and US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf. On Monday, UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed had a phone call with the Syrian transitional government’s Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan Al Shibani, in which he stressed the importance of preserving Syrian sovereignty and “restoring optimism among the Syrian population”.
To ensure its outreach is productive, the international community will need to unite around a clear vision of what it expects from Syria going forward. This will require carrots as well as sticks. The US has already lifted a $10 million bounty on Mr Al Shara’s head (Ms Leaf admitted it would have been “incoherent” for her to meet him otherwise). Lifting Assad-era sanctions on the country could be the next step. It may depend on how quickly Mr Al Shara can assuage fears over Syria’s new leadership.
One way he can do this is to stick to the principles espoused in UN Security Council Resolution 2254, passed in 2015, which calls for Syria to transition to “credible, inclusive and non-sectarian governance”, “a schedule and process for drafting a new constitution” and “free and fair elections”. Mr Al Shara has thus far demurred on constitutional questions, but there is no question that Syria’s success will depend on a future framework that is representative, pluralistic and respectful of human rights.
These will be novel features in a country that spent half a century under the iron rule of the Assads. But if Syria can become the kind of country most of its people want, even Mr Al Shara’s apparent transformation will seem truly mundane by comparison.
UK’s AI plan
AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
£10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
£100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
Favourite things
Luxury: Enjoys window shopping for high-end bags and jewellery
Discount: She works in luxury retail, but is careful about spending, waits for sales, festivals and only buys on discount
University: The only person in her family to go to college, Jiang secured a bachelor’s degree in business management in China
Masters: Studying part-time for a master’s degree in international business marketing in Dubai
Vacation: Heads back home to see family in China
Community work: Member of the Chinese Business Women’s Association of the UAE to encourage other women entrepreneurs
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah 5.10pm: Continous 5.45pm: Raging Torrent 6.20pm: West Acre 7pm: Flood Zone 7.40pm: Straight No Chaser 8.15pm: Romantic Warrior 8.50pm: Calandogan 9.30pm: Forever Young
THE DETAILS
Deadpool 2
Dir: David Leitch
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Josh Brolin, Justin Dennison, Zazie Beetz
