DAMASCUS // Supporters of the Syrian president hailed it as a masterful display, outlining a clear vision of the future for a crisis-hit land. But Bashar Al Assad's critics, and even the few remaining moderates, saw his fourth national address as a final nail in the coffin of hopes for a peaceful settlement.
In a speech on Tuesday, followed by a rare personal appearance alongside his wife and children at a mass rally of adoring loyalists in Damascus the next day, Mr Al Assad pledged to use an "iron fist" against his "terrorist" enemies and proclaimed victory was at hand.
Political reforms were under way, he said, but would not be hurried, and he made it clear there would be no "new" Syria.
No mention was made of a possible presidential election or any commitment to limits being placed on the absolute power with which his family has ruled for four decades.
"It has now been 10 months of this crisis and it seems they have learnt nothing, we've moved backwards, not forwards," said a veteran political dissident who has mediated between security forces and protesters to try to prevent bloodshed.
Until Mr Al Assad's latest speech he had been continuing - if forlornly - to try to broker a political compromise that would bring about peaceful reforms to Syria's autocratic system of governance.
"It's the same rhetoric - even harder than before - it is the same 'solutions' that have already failed," the dissident said. "We can be under no illusions now, there will be no change, we are stuck on this course."
The Arab League plan designed to halt the violence has instead only heightened that sense of despair. The league's observer mission is unravelling. Two monitors have already quit and more may follow suit.
Previous addresses by Mr Al Assad - in March, April and June - had all been accompanied by some degree of anticipation that a grand gesture of reform or step towards reconciliation might be about to take place and save the situation.
Although there had been some half-hearted media speculation that the Syrian president would use this latest speech to announce a national unity government, including opposition figures, when news broke late on Monday that Mr Al Assad would address the nation the following morning, it was greeted largely with indifference.
"With the previous speeches there was some lingering hope, despite all the facts, that real political decisions were going to be made," said one Syrian analyst. "But with this one, I had no hope, no expectation. It wasn't important, I knew there would be nothing new in it."
In a middle-class suburb on the southern edge of Damascus, a 35-year-old father of two who keeps a careful eye on domestic and international politics - and who had gone out of his way to watch previous speeches and interviews with Mr Al Assad - missed the address.
"There was a power cut so I couldn't watch," he said. "I saw some highlights afterwards and what can I say, it's nice to know the regime thinks the crisis is almost over but no one else seems to."
He cited a growing sense of insecurity amid spreading violence, the declining value of his fixed state salary and the experience of watching his extended family slide closer to poverty.
"If this is almost over, why is there no electricity, why can't I get gas to cook with, why is petrol so expensive, why are schools closed, why is it now too dangerous for me to travel around my own country?" he said. "The situation is bad and it will get worse, I'm afraid that's the truth."
Underlining the deep divisions in Syria between those with and those against the regime, a staunch supporter of Mr Al Assad living in the same middle-class Damascus neighbourhood professed his delight with the speech. "It was great," he said, sitting in his office, darkened and cold because of power cuts and fuel shortages. "The president is a good man and a clever man, the army is strong, there is nothing for us to fear."
Sana, the official news agency, carried stories in which ordinary Syrians and political analysts praised the address as historic, calm, accurate and self-confidence. "Citizens stressed that President Al Assad's speech was transparent and clear, reflected the will of the Syrian people and shaped the next phase of the future vision on Syria," one story said.
In central Damascus, a Syrian Kurd who wants to see real reforms but without violence or foreign military intervention, quietly and sadly said his country was sliding towards war.
"We wanted the regime to move from the security arena to the political arena and I had expected the president to have led that. He's young and could have made that change but he has decided on the security line and had not moved from it," he said. "This speech will push the opposition to be more radical and the loyalists to be more radical. We now have hard-line loyalists and hard-line opposition and there is no voice of reason any more."
psands@thenational.ae
CHATGPT%20ENTERPRISE%20FEATURES
%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Enterprise-grade%20security%20and%20privacy%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Unlimited%20higher-speed%20GPT-4%20access%20with%20no%20caps%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Longer%20context%20windows%20for%20processing%20longer%20inputs%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Advanced%20data%20analysis%20capabilities%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Customisation%20options%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Shareable%20chat%20templates%20that%20companies%20can%20use%20to%20collaborate%20and%20build%20common%20workflows%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Analytics%20dashboard%20for%20usage%20insights%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Free%20credits%20to%20use%20OpenAI%20APIs%20to%20extend%20OpenAI%20into%20a%20fully-custom%20solution%20for%20enterprises%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
RESULT
Esperance de Tunis 1 Guadalajara 1
(Esperance won 6-5 on penalties)
Esperance: Belaili 38’
Guadalajara: Sandoval 5’
In Search of Mary Shelley: The Girl Who Wrote Frankenstein
By Fiona Sampson
Profile
If you go...
Fly from Dubai or Abu Dhabi to Chiang Mai in Thailand, via Bangkok, before taking a five-hour bus ride across the Laos border to Huay Xai. The land border crossing at Huay Xai is a well-trodden route, meaning entry is swift, though travellers should be aware of visa requirements for both countries.
Flights from Dubai start at Dh4,000 return with Emirates, while Etihad flights from Abu Dhabi start at Dh2,000. Local buses can be booked in Chiang Mai from around Dh50
Zayed Sustainability Prize
EPL's youngest
- Ethan Nwaneri (Arsenal)
15 years, 181 days old
- Max Dowman (Arsenal)
15 years, 235 days old
- Jeremy Monga (Leicester)
15 years, 271 days old
- Harvey Elliott (Fulham)
16 years, 30 days old
- Matthew Briggs (Fulham)
16 years, 68 days old
Quick facts on cancer
- Cancer is the second-leading cause of death worldwide, after cardiovascular diseases
- About one in five men and one in six women will develop cancer in their lifetime
- By 2040, global cancer cases are on track to reach 30 million
- 70 per cent of cancer deaths occur in low and middle-income countries
- This rate is expected to increase to 75 per cent by 2030
- At least one third of common cancers are preventable
- Genetic mutations play a role in 5 per cent to 10 per cent of cancers
- Up to 3.7 million lives could be saved annually by implementing the right health
strategies
- The total annual economic cost of cancer is $1.16 trillion
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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More on Quran memorisation:
The biog
Name: Younis Al Balooshi
Nationality: Emirati
Education: Doctorate degree in forensic medicine at the University of Bonn
Hobbies: Drawing and reading books about graphic design
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EQureos%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EUAE%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ELaunch%20year%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2021%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E33%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESoftware%20and%20technology%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%243%20million%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Ticket prices
General admission Dh295 (under-three free)
Buy a four-person Family & Friends ticket and pay for only three tickets, so the fourth family member is free
Buy tickets at: wbworldabudhabi.com/en/tickets
Turkish Ladies
Various artists, Sony Music Turkey
UAE SQUAD
Mohammed Naveed (captain), Mohamed Usman (vice captain), Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Imran Haider, Tahir Mughal, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed, Fahad Nawaz, Abdul Shakoor, Sultan Ahmed, CP Rizwan
ENGLAND%20SQUAD
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Find the right policy for you
Don’t wait until the week you fly to sign up for insurance – get it when you book your trip. Insurance covers you for cancellation and anything else that can go wrong before you leave.
Some insurers, such as World Nomads, allow you to book once you are travelling – but, as Mr Mohammed found out, pre-existing medical conditions are not covered.
Check your credit card before booking insurance to see if you have any travel insurance as a benefit – most UAE banks, such as Emirates NBD, First Abu Dhabi Bank and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, have cards that throw in insurance as part of their package. But read the fine print – they may only cover emergencies while you’re travelling, not cancellation before a trip.
Pre-existing medical conditions such as a heart condition, diabetes, epilepsy and even asthma may not be included as standard. Again, check the terms, exclusions and limitations of any insurance carefully.
If you want trip cancellation or curtailment, baggage loss or delay covered, you may need a higher-grade plan, says Ambareen Musa of Souqalmal.com. Decide how much coverage you need for emergency medical expenses or personal liability. Premium insurance packages give up to $1 million (Dh3.7m) in each category, Ms Musa adds.
Don’t wait for days to call your insurer if you need to make a claim. You may be required to notify them within 72 hours. Gather together all receipts, emails and reports to prove that you paid for something, that you didn’t use it and that you did not get reimbursed.
Finally, consider optional extras you may need, says Sarah Pickford of Travel Counsellors, such as a winter sports holiday. Also ensure all individuals can travel independently on that cover, she adds. And remember: “Cheap isn’t necessarily best.”
INDIA%20SQUAD
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Why it pays to compare
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.
Brief scores:
Toss: Kerala Knights, opted to fielf
Pakhtoons 109-5 (10 ov)
Fletcher 32; Lamichhane 3-17
Kerala Knights 110-2 (7.5 ov)
Morgan 46 not out, Stirling 40
THE SPECS
Touareg Highline
Engine: 3.0-litre, V6
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Power: 340hp
Torque: 450Nm
Price: Dh239,312
