Syria‘s Foreign Ministry has denied a report detailing US plans to establish a military presence at a base in Damascus.
Reuters reported this week that Washington was preparing for the move to help enable a security pact it is brokering between Syria and Israel. Six sources were quoted in the report.
The airbase in the capital would sit at the gateway to southern parts of the country expected to make up a demilitarised zone as part of a US-mediated non-aggression pact between Israel and Syria, Reuters said. It said it spoke to sources including two western officials and a Syrian defence official, who confirmed the US was planning to use the base to help monitor a potential Israel-Syria agreement.
On Thursday, an official source at the ministry described the news as “false”, in a report by state news agency Sana. “The current stage is witnessing a shift in the US position towards direct engagement with the central Syrian government, supporting efforts to unify the country, and rejecting any calls for partition,” the source said.
“In its new phase, Syria is steadily moving towards consolidating stability and strengthening co-operation based on national sovereignty and mutual respect.”
US President Donald Trump is expected to host Syrian President Ahmad Al Shara for talks in Washington on November 10, marking the first visit by a Syrian leader to the White House. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the meeting was part of Mr Trump’s effort to pursue peace in the Middle East.
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al Shibani said the talks would focus on postwar reconstruction and the easing of sanctions on Damascus. “This visit is certainly historic,” Mr Shibani told a panel at the Manama Dialogue in Bahrain. “Many topics will be discussed, starting with the lifting of sanctions.”
The UN Security Council lifted its sanctions on Mr Al Shara on Thursday, before his meeting with Mr Trump. The US-drafted resolution also lifted sanctions on Syrian Interior Minister Anas Khattab.
Washington had for months urged the 15-member council to ease its Syria sanctions after Mr Trump first announced a major US policy shift on the country in May, during his visit to the Gulf.
Mr Trump met Mr Al Shara for the first time during a visit to Saudi Arabia. It was the first encounter between the leaders of the two nations in 25 years.
“I think he’s doing a very good job,” Mr Trump said of Mr Al Shara on Thursday. “It’s a tough neighbourhood and he’s a tough guy, but I got along with him very well. And a lot of progress has been made with Syria. We did take the sanctions off Syria in order to give them a fighting shot.”
UAE central contracts
Full time contracts
Rohan Mustafa, Ahmed Raza, Mohammed Usman, Chirag Suri, Mohammed Boota, Sultan Ahmed, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Waheed Ahmed, Zawar Farid
Part time contracts
Aryan Lakra, Ansh Tandon, Karthik Meiyappan, Rahul Bhatia, Alishan Sharafu, CP Rizwaan, Basil Hameed, Matiullah, Fahad Nawaz, Sanchit Sharma
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pocketsIt Was Just an Accident
Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5
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Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
Director: Scott Cooper
Starring: Jeremy Allen White, Odessa Young, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 4/5
The story in numbers
18
This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens
450,000
More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps
1.5 million
There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m
73
The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association
18,000
The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme
77,400
The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study
4,926
This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pocketsAndhaDhun
Director: Sriram Raghavan
Producer: Matchbox Pictures, Viacom18
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, Radhika Apte, Anil Dhawan
Rating: 3.5/5
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method – usually used for eBay purchases – but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
Company Profile
Company name: Yeepeey
Started: Soft launch in November, 2020
Founders: Sagar Chandiramani, Jatin Sharma and Monish Chandiramani
Based: Dubai
Industry: E-grocery
Initial investment: $150,000
Future plan: Raise $1.5m and enter Saudi Arabia next year
Skoda Superb Specs
Engine: 2-litre TSI petrol
Power: 190hp
Torque: 320Nm
Price: From Dh147,000
Available: Now
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 640hp
Torque: 760nm
On sale: 2026
Price: Not announced yet