Syrian President Ahmad Al Shara on Friday welcomed the permanent lifting by the US of its so-called Caesar sanctions, paving the way for the return of investments to his country.
President Donald Trump on Thursday repealed the Caesar Act sanctions on Syria, when he signed the National Defence Authorisation Act for Fiscal Year 2026 into law.
The Senate passed the bipartisan legislation this week with a vote of 77 to 20. The bill was passed by the House of Representatives last week.
The Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, signed into law in 2019, was aimed at members of the regime of former president Bashar Al Assad, who were accused of war crimes and human rights abuses.
“Today is the first day that Syria is without sanctions, thanks to God Almighty, and then to your efforts and patience for 14 years,” Mr Al Shara said in a recorded video in the first post of his official X account.
He gave his “special thanks to [US] President Donald Trump... for responding to the call of the Syrian people, and to the members of Congress for recognising the sacrifices of the Syrian people.”
Mr Trump had already twice suspended the implementation of sanctions against Syria in response to pleas from Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
But Mr Al Shara had sought a permanent end to the sanctions, fearing that as long as the measures remained they would deter businesses wary of legal risks in the US, the world’s largest economy.
The repeal of the sanctions requires a review of the situation in Syria every 180 days over the course of four years to ensure that Damascus is taking appropriate action in areas including fighting ISIS, removing foreign fighters from government roles, and upholding religious and ethnic minority rights.
If the US government finds that the Syrian government is off track in these goals, the bill stipulates that it can impose sanctions on people until Damascus adjusts course.
Earlier on Friday, a Syrian Foreign Ministry statement welcomed the step, calling it “an entrance to the phase of reconstruction and development”.
It urged “all Syrians in the country and abroad to contribute to national recovery efforts”.
“It also renews its call to investors from brotherly and friendly countries, as well as to Syria businesspeople, to explore investment opportunities and participate in reconstruction,” the statement added.
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Teaching your child to save
Pre-school (three - five years)
You can’t yet talk about investing or borrowing, but introduce a “classic” money bank and start putting gifts and allowances away. When the child wants a specific toy, have them save for it and help them track their progress.
Early childhood (six - eight years)
Replace the money bank with three jars labelled ‘saving’, ‘spending’ and ‘sharing’. Have the child divide their allowance into the three jars each week and explain their choices in splitting their pocket money. A guide could be 25 per cent saving, 50 per cent spending, 25 per cent for charity and gift-giving.
Middle childhood (nine - 11 years)
Open a bank savings account and help your child establish a budget and set a savings goal. Introduce the notion of ‘paying yourself first’ by putting away savings as soon as your allowance is paid.
Young teens (12 - 14 years)
Change your child’s allowance from weekly to monthly and help them pinpoint long-range goals such as a trip, so they can start longer-term saving and find new ways to increase their saving.
Teenage (15 - 18 years)
Discuss mutual expectations about university costs and identify what they can help fund and set goals. Don’t pay for everything, so they can experience the pride of contributing.
Young adulthood (19 - 22 years)
Discuss post-graduation plans and future life goals, quantify expenses such as first apartment, work wardrobe, holidays and help them continue to save towards these goals.
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hall of shame
SUNDERLAND 2002-03
No one has ended a Premier League season quite like Sunderland. They lost each of their final 15 games, taking no points after January. They ended up with 19 in total, sacking managers Peter Reid and Howard Wilkinson and losing 3-1 to Charlton when they scored three own goals in eight minutes.
SUNDERLAND 2005-06
Until Derby came along, Sunderland’s total of 15 points was the Premier League’s record low. They made it until May and their final home game before winning at the Stadium of Light while they lost a joint record 29 of their 38 league games.
HUDDERSFIELD 2018-19
Joined Derby as the only team to be relegated in March. No striker scored until January, while only two players got more assists than goalkeeper Jonas Lossl. The mid-season appointment Jan Siewert was to end his time as Huddersfield manager with a 5.3 per cent win rate.
ASTON VILLA 2015-16
Perhaps the most inexplicably bad season, considering they signed Idrissa Gueye and Adama Traore and still only got 17 points. Villa won their first league game, but none of the next 19. They ended an abominable campaign by taking one point from the last 39 available.
FULHAM 2018-19
Terrible in different ways. Fulham’s total of 26 points is not among the lowest ever but they contrived to get relegated after spending over £100 million (Dh457m) in the transfer market. Much of it went on defenders but they only kept two clean sheets in their first 33 games.
LA LIGA: Sporting Gijon, 13 points in 1997-98.
BUNDESLIGA: Tasmania Berlin, 10 points in 1965-66
TOURNAMENT INFO
Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier
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The top two teams will qualify to play at the World T20 in the West Indies in November
UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (captain), Chamani Seneviratne, Subha Srinivasan, Neha Sharma, Kavisha Kumari, Judit Cleetus, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Heena Hotchandani, Namita D’Souza, Ishani Senevirathne, Esha Oza, Nisha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi
What drives subscription retailing?
Once the domain of newspaper home deliveries, subscription model retailing has combined with e-commerce to permeate myriad products and services.
The concept has grown tremendously around the world and is forecast to thrive further, according to UnivDatos Market Insights’ report on recent and predicted trends in the sector.
The global subscription e-commerce market was valued at $13.2 billion (Dh48.5bn) in 2018. It is forecast to touch $478.2bn in 2025, and include the entertainment, fitness, food, cosmetics, baby care and fashion sectors.
The report says subscription-based services currently constitute “a small trend within e-commerce”. The US hosts almost 70 per cent of recurring plan firms, including leaders Dollar Shave Club, Hello Fresh and Netflix. Walmart and Sephora are among longer established retailers entering the space.
UnivDatos cites younger and affluent urbanites as prime subscription targets, with women currently the largest share of end-users.
That’s expected to remain unchanged until 2025, when women will represent a $246.6bn market share, owing to increasing numbers of start-ups targeting women.
Personal care and beauty occupy the largest chunk of the worldwide subscription e-commerce market, with changing lifestyles, work schedules, customisation and convenience among the chief future drivers.
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Rating: 4/5
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Directed by: Craig Brewer
Starring: Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, Jermaine Fowler, Leslie Jones
3/5 stars
