Relief operations in Syria's Idlib overwhelmed, says UN official

Relief operations to meet the needs of nearly 1 million people who fled recent fighting in northwest Syria’s Idlib have been overwhelmed, the UN aid chief said on Tuesday as the United States and Britain pledged to step up aid efforts.

While Syrian government forces fought Turkey-backed rebels in Idlib, US and UN officials visited Turkey’s Hatay border province to view efforts to cope with one of the biggest humanitarian crises of Syria’s nine-year civil war.

The heads of the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN Children’s Fund UNICEF also both posted photos on Twitter of them visiting families in an area of rural Idlib on Tuesday, described as being 30 kilometres from conflict front lines.

The United Nations is scaling up assistance after agreeing with Turkish authorities to double the number of trucks it sends across the border to 100 each day, said Mark Lowcock, UN Under-secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs.

“This relief operation has been overwhelmed. There needs to be more of everything. The first thing is money,” Mr Lowcock told reporters at a trans-shipment point for UN supplies in Turkey’s Reyhanli district.

The number of displaced people has surged to 980,000, more than half of them children, who are now coping with inadequate shelter and a lack of sanitation facilities in areas near the Turkish border, he said.

Mr Lowcock said $1 billion was needed annually to sustain relief operations for a couple of million people in the Idlib region, noting there were not enough tents.

Kelly Craft, US Ambassador to the United Nations who was also inspecting the relief efforts, announced $108 million additional funding for the operations.

“Humanitarian aid is only a response but the solution is an immediate ceasefire,” Ms Craft told reporters. “We are asking for other countries to step up and contribute.”

Britain’s Foreign Minister Dominic Raab said during a visit to Ankara that his country was giving an additional £89m ($114m) in aid to Syria, part of it to Idlib.

Fighting in Idlib has escalated in recent days as Turkey steps up military operations to counter advances by Syrian government forces, backed by Russia, in the last remaining bastion held by rebels in the country’s northwest.

“This is not something that just happened. This is planned by the Assad regime,” Ms Craft said. “It is cruel and brutal.”

Turkey, which has sent thousands of troops and military hardware into Idlib to confront Syrian President Bashar Al Assad’s forces, hosts 3.6 million Syrians and has closed its border saying it cannot take in more migrants.

Ankara said last week it would no longer uphold a 2016 accord with the European Union to keep refugees on its territory in return for aid, leading to thousands of migrants seeking to breach the border into Greece.

The Baghdad Clock

Shahad Al Rawi, Oneworld

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The British in India: Three Centuries of Ambition and Experience

by David Gilmour

Allen Lane

Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026

1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years

If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.

2. E-invoicing in the UAE

Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.

3. More tax audits

Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.

4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime

Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.

5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit

There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.

6. Further transfer pricing enforcement

Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.

7. Limited time periods for audits

Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.

8. Pillar 2 implementation

Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.

9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services

Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.

10. Substance and CbC reporting focus

Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.

Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer