Dubai ruler approves Latifa City housing project for Emirati citizens

Dubai ruler approves Latifa City housing project for Emirati citizens
Latifa City, the newly designated area for citizen housing, honors the memory of Sheikh Mohammed’s mother. (Shutterstock)
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Updated 14 January 2024
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Dubai ruler approves Latifa City housing project for Emirati citizens

Dubai ruler approves Latifa City housing project for Emirati citizens
  • Housing plots earmarked for citizens cover an area of 40 million square feet

DUBAI: Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, has approved a number of housing projects for 2024 as part of the Dubai Social Agenda 33, Emirates News Agency reported on Sunday.

The approved projects include the distribution of 3,500 plots of land to Emirati citizens in Dubai, as well as 2,300 ready-to-move-in houses valued at AED5.5 billion ($1.5 billion).

Sheikh Mohammed said citizens, their families, and social stability were at the heart of all government plans and initiatives.

He stated that Dubai’s continued success is the result of prioritizing public welfare and leveraging available resources to ensure the best conditions for work and creativity, adding that good housing, welfare measures, a sense of reassurance and hope for the future all contribute to the emirate’s social cohesion.

Latifa City, the newly designated area for citizen housing, honors the memory of Sheikh Mohammed’s mother, Sheikha Latifa bint Hamdan bin Zayed Al-Nahyan.
The housing plots earmarked for citizens cover an area of 40 million square feet, with eligible Dubai residents receiving ownership in February. These include 2,700 plots in Latifa City and 800 plots in Al-Yalayis 5 community. The 2,300 new houses for citizens are spread throughout Al-Khawaneej 2, Al-Aweer, Wadi Al-Amardi, and Hatta.

Earlier in January, Sheikh Mohammed launched the AED208 billion Dubai Social Agenda program, with one of its primary goals being to double the number of Emirati families in the emirate within a decade. He also outlined plans to improve housing, health care, and citizens’ overall quality of life.
 


French FM in Damascus calls for ‘sovereign, stable and peaceful’ Syria

French FM in Damascus calls for ‘sovereign, stable and peaceful’ Syria
Updated 20 min 29 sec ago
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French FM in Damascus calls for ‘sovereign, stable and peaceful’ Syria

French FM in Damascus calls for ‘sovereign, stable and peaceful’ Syria
  • France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot expressed his hope on Friday for a “sovereign, stable and peaceful” Syria as he visited Damascus for talks on behalf of the European Union

DAMASCUS: France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot expressed his hope on Friday for a “sovereign, stable and peaceful” Syria as he visited Damascus for talks on behalf of the European Union.
“This hope is real” but also “fragile,” Barrot told journalists at the French embassy in Damascus on his first visit to Syria since longtime ruler Bashar Assad was toppled.Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and top French diplomat Jean-Noel Barrot visited Syria's Saydnaya prison on Friday, an emblem of abuses under deposed leader Bashar al-Assad, AFP journalists said.
The foreign ministers were in Syria to meet with the country's new authorities, including leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, in the highest-level visit by major Western powers since Assad was ousted on December 8.


Israel army says intercepted missile, drone launched from Yemen

Israel army says intercepted missile, drone launched from Yemen
Updated 03 January 2025
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Israel army says intercepted missile, drone launched from Yemen

Israel army says intercepted missile, drone launched from Yemen
  • Israel’s emergency service provider, Magen David Adom, reported that it had treated several people who were injured or experienced panic attacks on their way to shelters

Jerusalem: Israel’s military reported that it shot down a missile and a drone launched from Yemen on Friday, the latest in a series of attacks from the country targeting Israel in recent weeks.
“A missile that was launched from Yemen and crossed into Israeli territory was intercepted,” the military said in a statement posted to its Telegram channel.
“A report was received regarding shrapnel from the interception that fell in the area of Modi’in in central Israel. The details are under review.”
Israel’s emergency service provider, Magen David Adom, reported that it had treated several people who were injured or experienced panic attacks on their way to shelters after air raid sirens sounded in the center and south of the country.
Hours later the military announced that it had also shot down a drone launched from Yemen.
The drone was intercepted before it entered Israel, the military added.
On Tuesday, Israel also said it had intercepted a missile launched from Yemen.
Much of Yemen is controlled by Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who have been firing missiles and drones at Israel — as well as at ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden — in what they say is solidarity with Palestinians during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
The Houthis have stepped up their attacks since November’s ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Israel has also struck Yemen, including targeting Sanaa’s international airport at the end of December.


24 killed as pro-Ankara factions clash with Syria’s Kurdish-led SDF

24 killed as pro-Ankara factions clash with Syria’s Kurdish-led SDF
Updated 03 January 2025
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24 killed as pro-Ankara factions clash with Syria’s Kurdish-led SDF

24 killed as pro-Ankara factions clash with Syria’s Kurdish-led SDF
  • The latest bout of fighting was sparked by attacks by the Turkiye-backed fighters on two towns south of Manbij, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said
  • Swathes of northern Syria are controlled by the US-backed SDF, which spearheaded the fight that helped oust the Daesh group from its last territory in Syria in 2019

BEIRUT: At least 24 fighters, mostly from Turkish-backed groups, were killed in clashes with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the northern Manbij district, a war monitor said on Thursday.
The violence killed 23 Turkish-backed fighters and one member of the SDF-affiliated Manbij Military Council, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The Britain-based war monitor said the latest bout of fighting was sparked by attacks by the Ankara-backed fighters on two towns south of Manbij.
Swathes of northern Syria are controlled by a Kurdish-led administration whose de facto army, the US-backed SDF, spearheaded the fight that helped oust the Daesh group from its last territory in Syria in 2019.
Turkiye accuses the main component of the SDF, the People’s Protection Units (YPG), of being affiliated with the militant Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which both Washington and Ankara blacklist as a terrorist group.
Fighting has raged around the Arab-majority city of Manbij, controlled by the Manbij Military Council, a group of local fighters operating under the SDF.
According to the Observatory, “clashes continued south and east of Manbij, while Turkish forces bombarded the area with drones and heavy artillery.”
The SDF said it repelled attacks by Turkiye-backed groups south and east of Manbij.
“This morning, with the support of five Turkish drones, tanks and modern armored vehicles, the mercenary groups launched violent attacks” on several villages in the Manbij area, the SDF said in a statement.
“Our fighters succeeded in repelling all the attacks, killing dozens of mercenaries and destroying six armored vehicles, including a tank.”
Turkiye has mounted multiple operations against the SDF since 2016, and Ankara-backed groups have captured several Kurdish-held towns in northern Syria in recent weeks.
The fighting has continued since rebels led by Islamist group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) toppled longtime ruler Bashar Assad on December 8.
 


King Charles donates to International Rescue Committee’s Syria aid operation

King Charles donates to International Rescue Committee’s Syria aid operation
Updated 03 January 2025
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King Charles donates to International Rescue Committee’s Syria aid operation

King Charles donates to International Rescue Committee’s Syria aid operation
  • Donation will fund healthcare, protect children, provide emergency cash 

LONDON: King Charles III has helped pay for urgent humanitarian aid needed in Syria after the fall of Bashar Assad.

Charles made an undisclosed donation to International Rescue Committee UK to fund healthcare, protect children and provide emergency cash.

The king is the patron of the charity, which says Syria is facing profound humanitarian needs despite the defeat of the Assad regime by opposition forces.

Khusbu Patel, IRC UK’s acting executive director, said: “His Majesty’s contribution underscores his deep commitment to addressing urgent global challenges, and helping people affected by humanitarian crises to survive, recover and rebuild their lives.

“We are immensely grateful to His Majesty The King for his donation supporting our work in Syria. This assistance will enable us to provide essential services, including healthcare, child protection and emergency cash, to those people most in need.”

The charity said it was scaling-up its efforts in northern Syria to evaluate the urgent needs of communities. Towns and villages have become accessible to aid groups for the first time in years now that rebel forces have taken control of much of the country.

The charity said Syria ranks fourth on its emergency watchlist for 2025 and a recent assessment found that people in the northeast of the country were facing unsafe childbirth conditions, cold-related illnesses, water contamination, and shortages of medical supplies.

Charles last month said he would be “praying for Syria” as he attended a church service in London attended by various faiths.

The king met Syrian nun Sister Annie Demerjian at the event, who described the situation in her homeland after the regime had been swept from power.


Israel strikes Syrian army positions near Aleppo: monitor

Israel strikes Syrian army positions near Aleppo: monitor
Updated 03 January 2025
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Israel strikes Syrian army positions near Aleppo: monitor

Israel strikes Syrian army positions near Aleppo: monitor
  • Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the strikes targeted defense and research facilities

BEIRUT: Israel bombed Syrian army positions south of Aleppo on Thursday, the latest such strikes since the overthrow of longtime strongman Bashar Assad, a war monitor and local residents said.

Residents reported hearing huge explosions in the area, while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the strikes targeted defense and research facilities.
The observatory said that “at least seven massive explosions were heard, resulting from an Israeli airstrike on defense factories... south of Aleppo.”
There was no immediate information on whether the strikes caused any casualties.

Syrian state TV also reported about an Israeli strike in Aleppo without providing details.
A resident of the Al-Safira area told AFP on condition of anonymity: “They hit defense factories, five strikes... The strikes were very strong. It made the ground shake, doors and windows opened — the strongest strikes I ever heard... It turned the night into day.”
Since opposition forces overthrew Assad in early December, Israel has conducted hundreds of strikes on Syrian military assets, saying they are aimed at preventing military weapons from falling into hostile hands.