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Syria is gearing up for a critical national conference this week, bringing together representatives from its diverse social and political landscape to shape its future under the new rebel-led administration.
The conference's announcement followed statements by Syria's de facto leader, Ahmad Al Shara. He said elections in Syria could take up to four years and the process of drafting a new constitution may take three. Mohammad Khaled, a political affairs representative of the new administration led by Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS), told The National that the conference will be held in Damascus on January 4 and 5.
Israel's ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, on Monday issued what he called a final warning to Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi militants to stop their missile attacks on Israel.
Mr Danon said that if they continued, they were at risk of suffering the same “miserable fate” as Hamas, Hezbollah and Syria's ousted dictator Bashar Al Assad. He also warned Iran that Israel can strike any target in the Middle East, including Iran, adding that Israel would not tolerate attacks by its proxies.
Russia and Ukraine exchanged 300 captives in a UAE-mediated swap confirmed by the UAE government on Monday. The UAE mediation resulted in the release of 150 Russian captives and 150 Ukrainian captives, Wam reported.
Russia's Defence Ministry said that each side had agreed to swap 150 prisoners of war. On X, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that captured Ukrainians were being returned from Russia to Ukraine ahead of the new year. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the successful new mediation effort, the 10th since the beginning of 2024, took the total number of released captives to 2,484.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
MATCH STATS
Wolves 0
Aston Villa 1 (El Ghazi 90 4' pen)
Red cards: Joao Moutinho (Wolves); Douglas Luiz (Aston Villa)
Man of the match: Emi Martinez (Aston Villa)
Results:
Men's 100m T34: 1. Walid Ktila (TUN) 15 sec; 2. Rheed McCracken (AUS) 15.40; 3. Mohammed Al Hammadi (UAE) 15.75. Men's 400m T34: 1. Walid Ktila (TUN) 50.56; 2. Mohammed Al Hammadi (UAE) 50.94; 3. Henry Manni (FIN) 52.24.
The biog
Date of birth: 27 May, 1995
Place of birth: Dubai, UAE
Status: Single
School: Al Ittihad private school in Al Mamzar
University: University of Sharjah
Degree: Renewable and Sustainable Energy
Hobby: I enjoy travelling a lot, not just for fun, but I like to cross things off my bucket list and the map and do something there like a 'green project'.
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
