Dust and dirt fly off a black Jeep as it speeds over broken pavement in Eastern Ghouta, on the outskirts of Damascus. Inside, Hayat Tahrir Al Sham operative Abu Amro, seated in the front passenger seat, is in a hurry.
His mission is clear: recruit as many young men as possible for HTS, which overthrew the regime of former president Bashar Al Assad in December with just 20,000 fighters.
HTS, once linked with Al Qaeda and Al Nusra Front, is now in control of parts of Syria. After relocating from Damascus to Idlib, it has become a key player in managing the region.
The group urgently needs manpower, particularly in the more remote areas.
The Jeep pulls up at a public square in Ain Tarma, a district that once belonged to the rebels. Vegetable sellers with the new Syrian flag plastered over their vehicles pause to watch the gaunt man with an immaculately trimmed black beard step into a municipal building.
“Do you know suitable people to join us?” Abu Amro asks an Ain Tarma notable. He leaves a phone number and heads to a former regime barracks in the area where new HTS recruits will undergo three weeks of training.
The influx of new recruits will help HTS increase its control over Syria. In Ghouta and elsewhere over the last month, the group has been superimposing its own security structures on local governments it already runs, according to members of the organisation and other people working with it.
However, this tightening control risks undermining the hopes many Syrians had for an open society after HTS ended five decades of Assad family dictatorship. Under Bashar Al Assad and his father, Hafez, the states's pervasive security apparatus meant no decision could be made without the approval of the secret police.
While there have been no widespread crackdowns on dissent or secret detentions seen under the previous regime, HTS leader Ahmad Al Shara, now president of the country, has made no clear commitment to a democratic transformation.
Since the regime fell, thousands have joined HTS, Abu Amro says, with hundreds more expected soon at the barracks in Ghouta. There, he greets school-aged children who have volunteered to clean the compound.
They tear down posters of Mr Al Assad and throw away piles of deteriorating uniforms, broken helmets and other worn-out military gear – tangible signs of the former regime's decay.
Video: Syria's Al Shara visits Idlib for first time since taking power
Abu Amro gives instructions to repair the toilets and showers in the barracks. Any other problems, even broken beds, are minor because the recruits will not be staying there for long, he tells the volunteers.
The area’s largely rural, poor and religiously conservative population plays to HTS's favour. Ghouta, once called the Gardens of Damascus, became a poverty-stricken belt around the capital as a result of economic and environmental decline.
Regime bombing obliterated vast areas of Ghouta. The Barada River, once a source of life, now flows as a foul-smelling stream through what is mostly barren farmland.
Still, local neighbourhood and clan allegiances remain strong.
Many former rebel fighters who have been bussed to north-west Syria under surrender deals in 2018, are now returning. These agreements followed a brutal three-year siege waged by the regime and its allies Russia and Iran.
Several days ago, hundreds of these fighters took to the streets of the Chabaa district, protesting against the arrest of one of their own by HTS personnel..
The situation was de-escalated after assurances that the man was only taken in for questioning about a drug case. However, he was not released, a clear sign of the new control HTS exerts in an area that once resisted the Assad regime.
“The HTS does not yet have the numbers to subdue Ghouta, but the people do not want a clash,” says Abu Tareq, a member of a newly formed local council in Ghouta who serves as a liaison with HTS.
Although Abu Tareq is wary of HTS's hardline religious ideology -- more extreme than the interpretations of Islam common in Damascus -- he acknowledges that any improvements to living conditions could win support for the group.
Even small changes, like doubling the power supply from one hour a day to two, would help endear HTS to the local population.
Abu Tareq was a fighter with Failaq Al Rahman, one of two main rebel brigades in Ghouta, whose members were deported to Idlib in 2018.
He now holds his position after securing local consensus and receiving approval from HTS commander Abu Ahmad Al Hilwani, known as the Emir of Ghouta.
HTS has maintained the Assad regime's eight-district administrative divisions, covering Ghouta and the rest of the countryside of Damascus, which continue to report to the Ministry of Interior.
However, the “emir” has appointed a local security chief in each district, called the mousaed al amni, or security assistant, who effectively “runs the show”, said Abu Tareq.
These local security heads are responsible to a parallel HTS command structure in each district, known as Amn Al Hayat, typically housed in one of the towering security compounds left behind by the regime.
Last week, in one of these compounds, people were lining up to register the cars they had seized after regime operatives abandoned them on December 8, the day the Assad regime was ousted.
“They told me that for now, I am allowed to keep it,” said a former Failaq Al Rahman fighter, sitting in a Hyundai SUV.
Exclusive interview: Iraq’s Foreign Minister on Syria, ISIS and regional stability
Student Of The Year 2
Director: Punit Malhotra
Stars: Tiger Shroff, Tara Sutaria, Ananya Pandey, Aditya Seal
1.5 stars
All about the Sevens
Cape Town Sevens on Saturday and Sunday: Pools A – South Africa, Kenya, France, Russia; B – New Zealand, Australia, Spain, United States; C – England, Scotland, Argentina, Uganda; D – Fiji, Samoa, Canada, Wales
HSBC World Sevens Series standing after first leg in Dubai 1 South Africa; 2 New Zealand; 3 England; 4 Fiji; 5 Australia; 6 Samoa; 7 Kenya; 8 Scotland; 9 France; 10 Spain; 11 Argentina; 12 Canada; 13 Wales; 14 Uganda; 15 United States; 16 Russia
About RuPay
A homegrown card payment scheme launched by the National Payments Corporation of India and backed by the Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank
RuPay process payments between banks and merchants for purchases made with credit or debit cards
It has grown rapidly in India and competes with global payment network firms like MasterCard and Visa.
In India, it can be used at ATMs, for online payments and variations of the card can be used to pay for bus, metro charges, road toll payments
The name blends two words rupee and payment
Some advantages of the network include lower processing fees and transaction costs
Left Bank: Art, Passion and Rebirth of Paris 1940-1950
Agnes Poirer, Bloomsbury
Ain Dubai in numbers
126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure
1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch
16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.
9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.
5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place
192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.
Vidaamuyarchi
Director: Magizh Thirumeni
Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra
Rating: 4/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
T20 World Cup Qualifier
October 18 – November 2
Opening fixtures
Friday, October 18
ICC Academy: 10am, Scotland v Singapore, 2.10pm, Netherlands v Kenya
Zayed Cricket Stadium: 2.10pm, Hong Kong v Ireland, 7.30pm, Oman v UAE
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Rameez Shahzad, Darius D’Silva, Mohammed Usman, Mohammed Boota, Zawar Farid, Ghulam Shabber, Junaid Siddique, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Waheed Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Zahoor Khan
Players out: Mohammed Naveed, Shaiman Anwar, Qadeer Ahmed
Players in: Junaid Siddique, Darius D’Silva, Waheed Ahmed
Torbal Rayeh Wa Jayeh
Starring: Ali El Ghoureir, Khalil El Roumeithy, Mostafa Abo Seria
Stars: 3
Brief scoreline:
Wales 1
James 5'
Slovakia 0
Man of the Match: Dan James (Wales)
How much of your income do you need to save?
The more you save, the sooner you can retire. Tuan Phan, a board member of SimplyFI.com, says if you save just 5 per cent of your salary, you can expect to work for another 66 years before you are able to retire without too large a drop in income.
In other words, you will not save enough to retire comfortably. If you save 15 per cent, you can forward to another 43 working years. Up that to 40 per cent of your income, and your remaining working life drops to just 22 years. (see table)
Obviously, this is only a rough guide. How much you save will depend on variables, not least your salary and how much you already have in your pension pot. But it shows what you need to do to achieve financial independence.
