The United Nations will be hosting on Tuesday a unified Syrian opposition in Geneva for the first time as the body's eighth round of peace talks opens in a bid to end the six-year conflict.
It comes after the disparate opposition groups announced on Friday last week that they would send a unity delegation to represent them in Geneva.
The UN-brokered talks have achieved little since fighting broke out in 2011, but progress now looks possible with a unified opposition and the emergence of Russia as the key dealmaker.
The latest round is expected to cover four main topics: a new constitution, future elections, governance and combating terrorism.
UN peace envoy Staffan de Mistura, who describes himself as a "chronic optimist", has voiced hope that this round of talks will mark the first "real negotiation". But for real progress to be achieved, the rival sides will need to overcome the hurdle that has derailed past discussions, the fate of Syrian president Bashar Al Assad.
Michael Rubin, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, a DC-based think tank, believes it's “foolish to be optimistic” about resolving the Syrian crisis.
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"The question is whether all sides have given up trying to win on the battlefield what they can't win at the negotiating table. The answer to that is they have not," he told The National.
“If the Assad regime believes it has Russia and Iran on its side and that Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the United States aren't willing to support the opposition any longer, they're going to try to eradicate the opposite rather than compromise with it."
Mr de Mistura has already directly told the main opposition grouping, the Saudi-backed High Negotiations Committee (HNC), that its demand for Mr Al Assad's ouster “may no longer be acceptable”.
In September, Mr de Mistura said the HNC needed to be "realistic" and realise "they didn't win the war". Those comments infuriated the opposition.
“The fact that the opposition isn't demanding Mr Al Assad's removal as a precondition [to entering into direct talks with the Assad government] suggests they recognise the reality of the Syrian leader's strength,” Mr Rubin said.
Backed by Russia's decisive military support, Mr Al Assad's government has regained control of 55 per cent of the country, including major cities Damascus, Aleppo, Homs and Hama, and around two-thirds of the population lives in regime-held areas.
The rest is carved up between rebel factions, extremists and Kurdish forces.
“Success may be in the eye of the beholder, but there is momentum for the political process,” said Andrew Parasiliti, director of the RAND Center for Global Risk and Security.
“The opposition is unified coming out of its meeting last week in Riyadh. Some may dislike that events are being driven by Russia, Iran, and Turkey and that Mr Al Assad does not seem to be leaving, but that is the reality heading into the talks,” Mr Parasiliti said.
The desperate HNC agreed with other opposition groups and figures during talks in Riyadh to send a 36-member unified delegation to Geneva led by HNC head Nasr Al Hariri.
On Sunday, the US state department welcomed the opposition unity push as "a positive step" and said that now was the time for the Syrian regime "to enter into substantive negotiations in Geneva".
“While there is much unsettled and the situation is fragile, the war is winding down, and that itself should be good news — for Syrians, and, hopefully, for the Geneva process,” Mr Parasaliti said.
The opposition has said it is prepared to enter into direct talks with Mr Al Assad’s government without preconditions. The delegation includes groups based in Moscow and Cairo, which take a softer approach on the fate of the Syrian president.
News that the opposition had unified came after Riad Hijab resigned on Monday as HNC leader over what he called "attempts to lower the ceiling of the revolution and prolong the regime".
Mr Al Hariri, the HNC's chief negotiator at previous rounds of talks, has insisted that Mr Al Assad needs to go. There were no immediate signs that the new unified grouping will row back on this stance. The Syrian government, meanwhile, has not yet named its delegation to the talks.
The new round of talks will take place nearly a week after leaders of Syrian rebel-backer Turkey and regime allies Iran and Russia met in the Russian resort city of Sochi, where they supported a comprehensive dialogue for Syria.
Russian president Vladimir Putin called for a "congress" of Syrian regime and opposition figures, saying this would be a "stimulus" for Geneva.
Moscow has increasingly taken centre-stage in international efforts to end the conflict, especially as US president Donald Trump's administration has pulled back from taking a leading role.
Russia and Turkey have hosted negotiations in the Kazakh capital, Astana, that led to the creation of four "de-escalation zones" in Syria. These have resulted in a drop in violence, though deadly air strikes and battles continue in some areas.
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
Points Classification after Stage 1
1. Geraint Thomas (Britain / Team Sky) 20
2. Stefan Kueng (Switzerland / BMC Racing) 17
3. Vasil Kiryienka (Belarus / Team Sky) 15
4. Tony Martin (Germany / Katusha) 13
5. Matteo Trentin (Italy / Quick-Step) 11
6. Chris Froome (Britain / Team Sky) 10
7. Jos van Emden (Netherlands / LottoNL) 9
8. Michal Kwiatkowski (Poland / Team Sky) 8
9. Marcel Kittel (Germany / Quick-Step) 7
10. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Norway / Dimension Data) 6
Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
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Company%20Profile
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Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hoopla%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EDate%20started%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMarch%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Jacqueline%20Perrottet%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2010%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPre-seed%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20required%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%24500%2C000%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs: 2019 Aston Martin DBS Superleggera
Price, base: Dh1.2 million
Engine: 5.2-litre twin-turbo V12
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 725hp @ 6,500pm
Torque: 900Nm @ 1,800rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.3L / 100km (estimate)
Specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%201.5-litre%20turbo%204-cylinder%20%2F%202.0%20turbo%204-cylinder%20(S3)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20148bhp%20%2F%20328bhp%20(S3)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20250Nm%20%2F%20420Nm%20(S3)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20December%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20TBA%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Letstango.com
Started: June 2013
Founder: Alex Tchablakian
Based: Dubai
Industry: e-commerce
Initial investment: Dh10 million
Investors: Self-funded
Total customers: 300,000 unique customers every month
SPECS%3A%20Polestar%203
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Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
Company%20profile
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
MATCH INFO
Qalandars 112-4 (10 ovs)
Banton 53 no
Northern Warriors 46 all out (9 ovs)
Kumara 3-10, Garton 3-10, Jordan 2-2, Prasanna 2-7
Qalandars win by six wickets
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Fifa Club World Cup:
When: December 6-16
Where: Games to take place at Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi and Hazza bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain
Defending champions: Real Madrid
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESmartCrowd%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2018%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESiddiq%20Farid%20and%20Musfique%20Ahmed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%20%2F%20PropTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%24650%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2035%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeries%20A%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EVarious%20institutional%20investors%20and%20notable%20angel%20investors%20(500%20MENA%2C%20Shurooq%2C%20Mada%2C%20Seedstar%2C%20Tricap)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
Getting there
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly to Johannesburg or Cape Town daily. Flights cost from about Dh3,325, with a flying time of 8hours and 15 minutes. From there, fly South African Airlines or Air Namibia to Namibia’s Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport, for about Dh850. Flying time is 2 hours.
The stay
Wilderness Little Kulala offers stays from £460 (Dh2,135) per person, per night. It is one of seven Wilderness Safari lodges in Namibia; www.wilderness-safaris.com.
Skeleton Coast Safaris’ four-day adventure involves joining a very small group in a private plane, flying to some of the remotest areas in the world, with each night spent at a different camp. It costs from US$8,335.30 (Dh30,611); www.skeletoncoastsafaris.com
The Cockroach
(Vintage)
Ian McEwan
T20 World Cup Qualifier, Muscat
UAE FIXTURES
Friday February 18: v Ireland
Saturday February 19: v Germany
Monday February 21: v Philippines
Tuesday February 22: semi-finals
Thursday February 24: final
England-South Africa Test series
1st Test England win by 211 runs at Lord's, London
2nd Test South Africa win by 340 runs at Trent Bridge, Nottingham
3rd Test July 27-31 at The Oval, London
4th Test August 4-8 at Old Trafford, Manchester
Results:
Men's wheelchair 800m T34: 1. Walid Ktila (TUN) 1.44.79; 2. Mohammed Al Hammadi (UAE) 1.45.88; 3. Isaac Towers (GBR) 1.46.46.
Four motivational quotes from Alicia's Dubai talk
“The only thing we need is to know that we have faith. Faith and hope in our own dreams. The belief that, when we keep going we’re going to find our way. That’s all we got.”
“Sometimes we try so hard to keep things inside. We try so hard to pretend it’s not really bothering us. In some ways, that hurts us more. You don’t realise how dishonest you are with yourself sometimes, but I realised that if I spoke it, I could let it go.”
“One good thing is to know you’re not the only one going through it. You’re not the only one trying to find your way, trying to find yourself, trying to find amazing energy, trying to find a light. Show all of yourself. Show every nuance. All of your magic. All of your colours. Be true to that. You can be unafraid.”
“It’s time to stop holding back. It’s time to do it on your terms. It’s time to shine in the most unbelievable way. It’s time to let go of negativity and find your tribe, find those people that lift you up, because everybody else is just in your way.”