Two decades ago, Syrian President Ahmad Al Shara was imprisoned in an American-run detention centre in Iraq and later had a $10 million US bounty on his head. On Monday, he shook hands with US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office, the symbolic heart of American political power. Beyond the visit’s significance for Mr Al Shara personally, it was an historic moment for the Syrian people – the first time ever that a Syrian head of state has visited the White House.
In addition to the symbolism, there was plenty of substance. As well as cementing personal relationships with Mr Trump and his Cabinet, the White House confirmed that Mr Al Shara signed an agreement to join the International Coalition to Defeat ISIS. The Trump administration also intends to freeze Ceasar Act economic sanctions on Syria for 180 days.
Both moves will help the interim government in Damascus fight extremism at home and empower it to help rejuvenate Syria’s economy. On both fronts, there are difficult issues to resolve; at the weekend, Syrian security forces killed an ISIS member and arrested 71 others in in a major operation. Meanwhile, the cost of rebuilding the nation is formidable; last week a senior official told The National that Syria is seeking more than $30 billion to fully rehabilitate the country’s oil, mineral, electricity and water sectors.
After his closed-door meeting with Mr Trump, Mr Al Shara went outside the White House to Lafayette Square, where a crowd of Syrian Americans had gathered to greet him, waving the country’s new flag. Many of these people belong to the two generations of Syrians who grew up with their country largely isolated from the West, their country languishing in the Soviet sphere or, more recently, estranged from much of the Arab world during the Bashar Al Assad era and the civil war.
It is important to recognise that this White House engagement was the culmination of Syria’s almost year-long reset with western countries. Whatever the complexities or imbalances that often characterise relationships, there is little doubt that positive relations with Washington, Arab, regional and European capitals are critical for Syria to find its feet in a fast-changing, increasingly complex global economy. Such relationships also build on the momentum of warming ties between Damascus and many of its regional neighbours.
By internationalising Syria’s security relationships and ending the era of sanctions, the country's leadership is laying the foundations for a stronger, more prosperous state
Mr Al Shara has proved adept and persuasive in managing his country’s transition. Importantly, he has also reset relations with Russia, something many believed would be a much more sensitive and challenging process. By internationalising Syria’s security relationships and ending the era of sanctions, the country's leadership is laying the foundations for a stronger, more prosperous state.
This reset will also help to underpin the peace at a societal level. Syrians can say their country is back on the world stage, stabilising and will have a new relationship with more than one power bloc, largely ending the isolation of the past. Their desire not to go back is what could prove decisive as Syria confronts remaining challenges in the months and years ahead.
The specs: 2019 Mini Cooper
Price, base: Dh141,740 (three-door) / Dh165,900 (five-door)
Engine: 1.5-litre four-cylinder (Cooper) / 2.0-litre four-cylinder (Cooper S)
Power: 136hp @ 4,500rpm (Cooper) / 192hp @ 5,000rpm (Cooper S)
Torque: 220Nm @ 1,480rpm (Cooper) / 280Nm @ 1,350rpm (Cooper S)
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 4.8L to 5.4L / 100km
In%20the%20Land%20of%20Saints%20and%20Sinners
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Brief scores:
Day 1
Toss: South Africa, field first
Pakistan (1st innings) 177: Sarfraz 56, Masood 44; Olivier 4-48
South Africa (1st innings) 123-2: Markram 78; Masood 1-4
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
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.
Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
Roger Federer's record at Wimbledon
Roger Federer's record at Wimbledon
1999 - 1st round
2000 - 1st round
2001 - Quarter-finalist
2002 - 1st round
2003 - Winner
2004 - Winner
2005 - Winner
2006 - Winner
2007 - Winner
2008 - Finalist
2009 - Winner
2010 - Quarter-finalist
2011 - Quarter-finalist
2012 - Winner
2013 - 2nd round
2014 - Finalist
2015 - Finalist
2016 - Semi-finalist
The%20specs
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more from Janine di Giovanni
SM Town Live is on Friday, April 6 at Autism Rocks Arena, Dubai. Tickets are Dh375 at www.platinumlist.net
Company profile
Date started: January, 2014
Founders: Mike Dawson, Varuna Singh, and Benita Rowe
Based: Dubai
Sector: Education technology
Size: Five employees
Investment: $100,000 from the ExpoLive Innovation Grant programme in 2018 and an initial $30,000 pre-seed investment from the Turn8 Accelerator in 2014. Most of the projects are government funded.
Partners/incubators: Turn8 Accelerator; In5 Innovation Centre; Expo Live Innovation Impact Grant Programme; Dubai Future Accelerators; FHI 360; VSO and Consult and Coach for a Cause (C3)
World%20Cup%202023%20ticket%20sales
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
