New Syrian leaders say they want to contribute to ‘regional peace’
New Syrian leaders say they want to contribute to ‘regional peace’/node/2583808/middle-east
New Syrian leaders say they want to contribute to ‘regional peace’
Members of the media react during a power cut ahead of the press conference of U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf, in Damascus, Syria, December 20, 2024. (REUTERS)
New Syrian leaders say they want to contribute to ‘regional peace’
France, Germany, Britain, and the United Nations have also sent emissaries to Damascus in recent days to establish contacts with the new authorities
Updated 2 min 1 sec ago
AFP
DAMASCUS: Syria wants to contribute to “regional peace,” the country’s new authorities said late Friday, after a meeting between leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa and a US diplomatic delegation.
“The Syrian side indicated that the Syrian people stand at an equal distance from all countries and parties in the region and that Syria rejects any polarization,” the statement said.
It said the new authorities wanted to “affirm Syria’s role in promoting regional peace and building privileged strategic partnerships with countries in the region.”
A Syrian official had previously told AFP that the meeting between Al-Sharaa — known previously by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammed Al-Jolani — and the US delegation led by Barbara Leaf, head of the Middle East at the State Department, was “positive.”
Al-Sharaa, the leader of the Islamist Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) group that seized power in Damascus, was previously the target of US sanctions.
But after their first formal contact in Damascus on Friday, Washington announced it had dropped a bounty for his arrest.
“Based on our discussion, I told him that we were dropping the offer of a reward,” Leaf told reporters.
She said she told the new Syrian leader of the “critical need to ensure that terrorist groups cannot pose a threat inside Syria or outside, including to the United States and our partners in the region.”
He “committed to doing so,” she said, adding he had appeared to her as “pragmatic.”
HTS, which leads the victorious coalition of armed groups in Damascus, claims to have broken with jihadism and has sought to reassure people of its ability to revive the country after nearly 14 years of civil war.
France, Germany, Britain, and the United Nations have also sent emissaries to Damascus in recent days to establish contacts with the new authorities.
The West is wary of the risk of fragmentation of the country and the resurgence of the jihadist group Islamic State, which has never been completely eradicated there.
Guatemala authorities raid ultra-orthodox Jewish sect’s compound after report of abuse
The sect is known to have members in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Guatemala and Israel
Updated 2 min 46 sec ago
AP
GUATEMALA CITY: Guatemalan authorities searched the compound of an extremist ultra-orthodox Jewish sect Friday, taking at least 160 minors and 40 women into protective custody after reports of abuse.
Interior Minister Francisco Jiménez said the National Civil Police and members of military participated in the raid on the Lev Tahor group’s community about 55 miles (90 kilometers) southeast of the capital.
“The protection of boys and girls is an absolute priority,” Jiménez said.
Guatemala’s Attorney General’s Office said in a statement on the social platform X that suspected bones of one child were found. The office said a complaint was made in November of possible crimes including forced pregnancies, mistreatment of minors and rape.
The sect has run into legal problems in various countries.
In 2022, Mexican authorities arrested a leader of the sect near the Guatemalan border and removed a number of women and children from their compound.
In 2021, two leaders of the group were convicted of kidnapping and child sexual exploitation crimes in New York. They allegedly kidnapped two children from their mother to return a 14-year-old girl to an illegal sexual relationship with an adult male.
The sect is known to have members in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Guatemala and Israel.
US State Dept imposes visa restrictions on multiple people in South Sudan
Updated 16 min 18 sec ago
Reuters
WASHINGTON: The US Department of State said on Friday that it is imposing visa restrictions on multiple individuals responsible for the ongoing conflict in South Sudan.
“We note the continued failure of South Sudan’s leaders to use their nation’s resources to the benefit of its people, their failure to end public corruption and elite capture of the country’s resources, their failure to protect the people of South Sudan from abuses and violations of their human rights, including civil and political rights, and their failure to maintain peace,” the State Department said.
Senate approves 235th judge of Biden’s term, beating Trump’s tally
Updated 44 min 13 sec ago
AP
WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden secured the 235th judicial confirmation of his presidency Friday, an accomplishment that exceeds his predecessor’s total by one after Democrats put extra emphasis on the federal courts following Donald Trump’s far-reaching first term, when he filled three seats on the Supreme Court. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., teed up votes on two California district judges, and they were likely to be the last judicial confirmations this year before Congress adjourns and makes way for a new, Republican-led Senate. The confirmation of Serena Raquel Murillo to be a district judge for the Central District of California broke Trump’s mark. Come next year, Republicans will look to boost Trump’s already considerable influence on the makeup of the federal judiciary in his second term. Biden and Senate Democrats placed particular focus on adding women, minorities and public defenders to the judicial rank. About two-thirds of Biden’s appointees are women and a solid majority of appointees are people of color. The most notable appointee was Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first African American woman to serve on the nation’s highest court. “Prior to our effort, the number of women on the federal bench was really diminished. It was overwhelmingly white males,” said Sen. Dick Durbin, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. “We consciously moved forward to bring more women to the bench, and believe me, we had a great talent pool to work with. So I think it’ll enhance the image of the court and its work product to bring these new judges on.” Biden also placed an emphasis on bringing more civil rights lawyers, public defenders and labor rights lawyers to expand the professional backgrounds of the federal judiciary. More than 45 appointees are public defenders and more than two dozen served as civil rights lawyers. While Biden did get more district judges confirmed than Trump, he had fewer higher-tier circuit court appointments than Trump — 45 compared to 54 for Trump. And he got one Supreme Court appointment compared with three for Trump. Republicans, much to Democrats’ frustration, filled Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s seat on the court the week before the 2020 presidential election. Ginsburg had passed away in September. Democrats also faced the challenge of confirming nominees during two years of a 50-50 Senate. Rarely a week went by in the current Congress when Schumer did not tee up votes on judicial confirmations as liberal groups urged Democrats to show the same kind of urgency on judges that Republicans exhibited under Trump. Some Senate Republicans were harshly critical of Biden’s choices. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said talk of diversity did not extend to the views of the nominees. “One of the consequences of the age of Trump is that it drove Democrats insane and it drove them to the extreme left, so they put people on the bench who were selected because they were extreme partisans,” Cruz said. Liberal-leaning advocacy groups said they are delighted with the number of judges Democrats secured, but even more so with the quality of the nominees. They said diversity in personal and professional backgrounds improves judicial decision-making, helps build public trust and inspires people from all walks of life to pursue legal careers. “For our federal judiciary to actually deliver equal justice for all, it really has to be for all, and that is one reason why we certainly applaud this administration for prioritizing both professional but also demographic diversity,” said Lena Zwarensteyn, senior director of the fair courts program at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and the next chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Democrats showed newfound resolve on judicial confirmations. “They learned a lesson from the first Trump administration,” Grassley said. “Paying attention to the number of judges you get and the type of judges you put on the court is worth it.” Part of the urgency from Democrats came as they watched the nation’s highest court overturn abortion protections, eliminate affirmative action in higher education and weaken the federal government’s ability to protect the environment, public health and workplace safety through regulations. The cases showed that the balance of power in Washington extends to the judicial branch. Trump will inherit nearly three dozen judicial vacancies, but that number is expected to rise because of Republican-appointed judges who held off on retirement in hopes that a Republican would return to office and pick their replacements. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, acknowledged that the sense of accomplishment for Democrats is muted somewhat knowing that Trump will have another term to continue shaping the federal judiciary. “I’m not ready to uncork the champagne just because we’ve done some really good work over the last four years,” Blumenthal said. “We need to be prepared to work, hope for the best and try to defeat nominees who are simply unqualified. We have our work cut out for us. The prospects ahead are sobering.” Grassley promised that he’ll work to best Biden’s number. “Let me assure you, by January 20th of 2029, Trump will be bragging about getting 240 judges,” Grassley said.
Guardiola confident of Haaland revival if Man City ‘play better’
Guardiola said he had no interest in reverting to the ‘false nine’ system that he has used to good effect in the past.
Updated 48 min 22 sec ago
AFP
LONDON: Pep Guardiola believes Erling Haaland will find his form so long as the rest of his Manchester City team-mates raise their game but has not ruled out January transfer window signings as he looks to revive the Premier League champions’ fortunes. City are enduring a slump unlike any Guardiola has known in his celebrated managerial career, having lost eight and won just one of their last 11 games in all competitions. The downturn has seen the usually prolific Haaland, a key figure while City were winning an unprecedented four successive Premier League titles, denied of service and chances while scoring just once in his last five appearances. Guardiola, however, said he had no interest in reverting to the ‘false nine’ system that he has used to good effect in the past. “I prefer to play with Erling,” said Guardiola ahead of Saturday’s Premier League trip to Aston Villa. “I don’t think in the situation that I have that I don’t let Erling play — absolutely not. No, no, I didn’t think about that. “Always I play false nines for the quality specifically of the players I have in that moment. “In some games playing man to man, I love to play against false nines but I have an Erling, I have to adapt.” The Catalan boss added: “I see him well, I see him fine. The reason why maybe he’s not so productive in this situation is for the way we are playing, that we don’t produce the amount of chances that we were able to do in the past. “When he’s surrounded by two or three or four central defenders it’s not easy for him. We have to play better, to create the spaces for him.” City have rarely ventured into the transfer market during the January window in Guardiola’s eight years in charge but he accepts that policy could change this time around. “We’ll see,” he said. “I don’t know how many times in the last years we’ve gone into the winter (market) — maybe just Aymeric Laporte seven years ago. “We’re not a big fan of that but the circumstances of this season have been special. We have to see if something is possible and if not we will wait until the summer time.”
New Syrian leaders say they want to contribute to ‘regional peace’
France, Germany, Britain, and the United Nations have also sent emissaries to Damascus in recent days to establish contacts with the new authorities
Updated 21 December 2024
AFP
DAMASCUS: Syria wants to contribute to “regional peace,” the country’s new authorities said late Friday, after a meeting between leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa and a US diplomatic delegation.
“The Syrian side indicated that the Syrian people stand at an equal distance from all countries and parties in the region and that Syria rejects any polarization,” the statement said.
It said the new authorities wanted to “affirm Syria’s role in promoting regional peace and building privileged strategic partnerships with countries in the region.”
A Syrian official had previously told AFP that the meeting between Al-Sharaa — known previously by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammed Al-Jolani — and the US delegation led by Barbara Leaf, head of the Middle East at the State Department, was “positive.”
Al-Sharaa, the leader of the Islamist Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) group that seized power in Damascus, was previously the target of US sanctions.
But after their first formal contact in Damascus on Friday, Washington announced it had dropped a bounty for his arrest.
“Based on our discussion, I told him that we were dropping the offer of a reward,” Leaf told reporters.
She said she told the new Syrian leader of the “critical need to ensure that terrorist groups cannot pose a threat inside Syria or outside, including to the United States and our partners in the region.”
He “committed to doing so,” she said, adding he had appeared to her as “pragmatic.”
HTS, which leads the victorious coalition of armed groups in Damascus, claims to have broken with jihadism and has sought to reassure people of its ability to revive the country after nearly 14 years of civil war.
France, Germany, Britain, and the United Nations have also sent emissaries to Damascus in recent days to establish contacts with the new authorities.
The West is wary of the risk of fragmentation of the country and the resurgence of the jihadist group Islamic State, which has never been completely eradicated there.
