BAB AL-HAWA, Syria: A rebel administration in Syria’s last major insurgent stronghold of Idlib handed over a four-year-old girl to her Belgian mother on Monday after a custody dispute following her father’s death.
An AFP journalist saw the tiny girl named Yasmine, dressed in a bright pink coat and clutching a gift-wrapped teddy bear, being led to the Turkish border to meet her mother.
Her handover was overseen by the civilian branch of the powerful Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) alliance, which is led by the militants of Syria’s former Al-Qaeda affiliate.
“Yasmine was handed over today to her Belgian mother Hajjer after the dispute was solved between those who were her guardians here and her mother,” Fawaz Hilal, head of the administration, told AFP.
“There was communication with the Turkish side to hand over the girl to her mother who was in Turkey,” he said.
Ibrahim Shasho, another member of the rebel administration, said the mother “filed a petition for custody of her daughter after her father died.”
The father’s “friends” had looked after Yasmine since his death and insisted she remain in their care, Shasho said, without providing any further details on their identity.
“The (HTS) judiciary looked into the case and found in favor of the mother,” added the bearded man, who brought the wide-eyed child into a press conference to have her photo taken.
The officials did not say whether the child’s father was a fighter, or to what armed group he might have belonged.
There was no immediate information from the Belgian or Turkish authorities.
HTS controls more than half of the Idlib region, but other jihadists including the Al-Qaeda-linked Hurras Al-Deen group are also present in the northwestern region bordering Turkey.
Turkey-backed rebels hold most of the rest of the region.
Idlib has since September been protected from a massive regime assault by a fragile truce deal between regime ally Russia and rebel backer Turkey.
Thousands of foreign fighters are present in the region, where they are members of HTS but also other jihadist groups.
Some of them have banded together to create what is known as the “French battalion,” which is close to Hurras Al-Deen, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
In February, two Canadians — a man and a woman — were released to Turkish authorities after being held by HTS for several weeks.
Jolly Bimbachi and a male friend had crossed into Syria from Lebanon, searching for her two sons, she told AFP.
Syria rebels hand 4-year-old to her Belgian mother
Syria rebels hand 4-year-old to her Belgian mother
- “Yasmine was handed over today to her Belgian mother Hajjer after the dispute was solved between those who were her guardians here and her mother”
- “There was communication with the Turkish side to hand over the girl to her mother who was in Turkey”
UK tells ICJ Israel must allow aid supplies into Gaza
- British lawyers outline Israel’s obligations under international law during hearings at the Hague
- UK supports banned Palestinian aid agency’s continued work in Gaza
LONDON: Lawyers representing the UK government have told the UN’s top court that Israel must allow aid supplies back into Gaza.
Speaking at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Sally Langrish, legal advisor to the UK’s Foreign Office, said Israel must also give the International Committee of the Red Cross access to Palestinian prisoners and insisted that the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees was impartial.
Her comments on Thursday were made on the fourth day of hearings at the ICJ, which was asked last year by the UN General Assembly to give an advisory opinion on Israel’s legal obligations on the operations of UN agencies and international organizations in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The hearings, which finish on Friday, have centered around Israel’s cutting off of aid supplies to Gaza and come amid dire warnings about the collapse of emergency food and water supplies to Palestinians.
“Israel must facilitate full, rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian provision to the population of Gaza, including food, water and electricity, and must ensure access to medical care in accordance with international humanitarian law,” Langrish told the court.
David Lammy, the UK’s foreign secretary, this week said Israel’s decision to block aid deliveries to Gaza was a “horrendous” decision that was causing dire suffering.
On Friday, the Red Cross warned that aid operations in Gaza were on the “verge of total collapse,” describing scenes of starving children and fights over water.
The stating of the UK’s legal position at the ICJ also came as the British government confirmed it was in talks with France and Saudi Arabia over officially recognizing the Palestinian state.
Spain, Norway and Ireland recently added themselves to the 160 countries that already recognize Palestine.
The UK was among the 137 countries to vote in favor of the UN General Assembly resolution in December to request the ICJ opinion. The US and 10 other nations voted against and 22 abstained.
The resolution was in response to Israel passing a law that effectively banned the main UN organization delivering aid to Palestinians, UNRWA, from operating in Gaza and the West Bank.
Israel claims that workers at the agency took part in the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023 that sparked Israel’s devastating military campaign in Gaza.
Langrish said the allegations of any UNRWA staff involvement in the “barbaric” Hamas attack must be thoroughly investigated. But she said the UK “supports UNRWA’s continued work and commitment to the principle of neutrality.”
She also highlighted Israel’s obligations under international law to allowing the Red Cross access to Palestinian prisoners.
Langrish said there had been “credible reports of ill-treatment of Palestinian detainees held in Israeli custody” since the war started and that Red Cross access was aimed at ensuring they are treated humanely.
That Hamas had also not allowed Red Cross access to the hostages held in Gaza was also “completely unacceptable,” she said, but added that this could not be used to justify Israel denying Red Cross access to Palestinian detainees since.
The ICJ’s opinion is expected to take months to be delivered.
At least 29 people were killed in Gaza on Friday, AFP reported, with the number of Palestinians killed in the conflict now more than 52,000. The Hamas attack in October 2023 killed 1,218 people.
King Charles to attend Canada’s state opening of parliament
- Charles, along with his wife Queen Camilla, will visit Canada from May 26 to May 27
LONDON: Britain’s King Charles will attend Canada’s state opening of parliament in Ottawa, Buckingham Palace said on Friday, in a clear show of support for the former British colony of which he is still head of state.
Charles, along with his wife Queen Camilla, will visit Canada from May 26 to May 27, the palace said.
The monarch’s attendance comes after his recent acknowledgment that he is also the king of Canada, a country that US President Donald Trump has made clear he has designs on.
The visit to Canada would be Charles’ second overseas trip this year, after his visit to Italy where he held a private meeting with Pope Francis before the pontiff’s demise.
UAE had hottest April on record: met office
- That topped the average daily high of 42.2 Celsius
- UAE has been gripped by a heatwave for several days
DUBAI: The UAE endured its hottest April on record with an average daily high of 42.6 degrees Celsius (108.7 Fahrenheit), the National Center of Meteorology (NCM) said.
That topped the average daily high of 42.2 Celsius (108 Fahrenheit) recorded in April 2017, said the center, which has been keeping comprehensive figures since 2003.
UAE has been gripped by a heatwave for several days that has prompted authorities to warn residents to drink plenty of fluids and avoid work outdoors during the hottest part of the day.
NCM meteorologist Ahmed Habib said the culprit was a mass of very hot air that had blown in from the desert.
On April 27, temperatures in the emirate of Fujairah peaked at 46.6 Celsius (115.9 Fahrenheit), the second highest ever recorded in April in the UAE.
This year’s heatwave stands in stark contrast to April 2024, when the UAE was swept by its heaviest rains in 75 years, in which four people died.
Scientists of the World Weather Attribution network said last year’s rains were “very likely” exacerbated by global warming.
Pakistan sees tax-to-GDP ratio hitting 10.6% by June as reform efforts continue
- The country’s tax-to-GDP ratio was among the lowest in the region and stood at 8.8% in FY2023-24
- Pakistan’s finance chief projects foreign exchange reserves to reach $14 billion by the end of June
KARACHI: Pakistan’s finance chief said on Friday the country’s tax-to-GDP ratio was expected to reach 10.6% by the end of the current fiscal year, according to an official statement, as the government works to build on economic progress made under recent International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan programs.
Pakistan’s tax-to-GDP ratio, one of the lowest in the region, stood at around 8.8% in fiscal year 2023-24. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has repeatedly warned that such low levels of revenue mobilization are unsustainable and pose long-term risks to fiscal stability.
Aurangzeb shared the projection while briefing representatives of Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings as part of Pakistan’s ongoing sovereign ratings review.
“The Finance Minister presented a detailed overview of the government’s macroeconomic reform agenda and reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to achieving sustainable and inclusive economic growth by enhancing productivity and promoting exports,” the finance ministry said in a statement after the meeting.
He said Pakistan’s external portfolio was well-managed, with foreign exchange reserves projected to reach $14 billion by the end of June.
“He further stated that the tax-to-GDP ratio was expected to reach 10.6 percent by the end of June, which would mark progress toward the government’s target of raising it to 13 percent by the conclusion of the 37-month Extended Fund Facility (EFF) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF),” the statement said.
Pakistan has taken several steps to improve revenue collection, including the automation of processes at the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), the operationalization of the National Tax Council and the imposition of agricultural income tax.
It has also separated the Tax Policy Office from the FBR to better align tax policymaking with broader economic goals.
Aurangzeb also highlighted recent surpluses in both the primary balance and the current account, along with falling inflation and current account deficit figures, which he said were contributing to improved economic fundamentals.
During last month’s IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington, the Pakistani finance chief held over 70 engagements with rating agencies, development finance institutions, investors and think tanks.
The government also maintains the international community broadly supports Pakistan’s reform agenda, as it tries to maintain its overall economic momentum.
German spy agency brands far-right AfD as ‘extremist’, opens way for closer surveillance
- A 1,100-page experts’ report found the AfD to be a racist and anti-Muslim organization
- The BfV agency needs such a classification to be able to monitor a political party
BERLIN: Germany’s spy agency on Friday classified the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) as “extremist,” enabling it to step up monitoring of the country’s biggest opposition party, which decried the move as a “blow against democracy.”
A 1,100-page experts’ report found the AfD to be a racist and anti-Muslim organization, a designation that allows the security services to recruit informants and intercept party communications, and which has revived calls for the party’s ban.
“Central to our assessment is the ethnically and ancestrally defined concept of the people that shapes the AfD, which devalues entire segments of the population in Germany and violates their human dignity,” the BfV domestic intelligence agency said in a statement.
“This concept is reflected in the party’s overall anti-migrant and anti-Muslim stance,” it said, accusing the AfD of stirring up “irrational fears and hostility” toward individuals and groups.
The BfV agency needs such a classification to be able to monitor a political party because it is more legally constrained than other European intelligence services, a reflection of Germany’s experience under both Nazi and Communist rule.
Other organizations classified as extremist in Germany are neo-Nazi groups such as the National Democratic Party (NDP), Islamist groups including Islamic State, and far-left ones such as the Marxist-Leninist Party of Germany.
The agency was able to act after the AfD last year lost a court case in which it had challenged its previous classification by the BfV as an entity suspected of extremism.
The move follows other setbacks the far-right across Europe has suffered in recent months as it seeks to translate surging support into power. They include a ban on France’s Marine Le Pen contesting the 2027 presidential election after her embezzlement conviction, and the postponement of Romania’s presidential vote after a far-right candidate won the first round.
“VERY SERIOUS. After France and Romania, another theft of Democracy?” wrote Matteo Salvini, deputy Italian prime minister and leader of far-right party, the League, on X.
The AfD denounced its designation as a politically motivated attempt to discredit and criminalize it.
“The AfD will continue to take legal action against these defamatory attacks that endanger democracy,” co-leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla said in a statement.
A BAN?
German parliament could now attempt to limit or halt public funding for the AfD — but for that authorities would need evidence that the party is explicitly out to undermine or even overthrow German democracy.
Meanwhile, civil servants who belong to an organization classified as “extremist” face possible dismissal, depending on their role within the entity, according to Germany’s interior ministry.
The stigma could also make it harder for the AfD, which currently tops several polls and is Germany’s most successful far-right party since World War Two, to attract members.
The BfV decision comes days before conservative leader Friedrich Merz is due to be sworn in as Germany’s new chancellor and amid a heated debate within his party over how to deal with the AfD in the new Bundestag, or lower house of parliament.
The AfD won a record number of seats in the national election in February, coming in second behind Merz’s conservatives, which in theory entitled it to chair several key parliamentary committees.
A prominent Merz ally, Jens Spahn, has called for the AfD to be treated as a regular opposition party to prevent it casting itself as a “victim.”
However, other established parties, and many conservatives have rejected that approach — and could use Friday’s news to justify blocking AfD attempts to lead committees.
“Starting today, no one can make excuses anymore: This is not a democratic party,” said Manuela Schwesig, premier of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and senior member of the Social Democrats (SPD), who are about to form a government with the conservatives.
Under the new government, the authorities should review whether to ban the AfD, SPD leader Lars Klingbeil told Bild newspaper.
SPD’s outgoing chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday called for a careful evaluation and warned against rushing to outlaw the party.
Created in 2013 to protest the euro zone bailouts, the euroskeptic AfD morphed into an anti-migration party after Germany’s decision to take in a large wave of refugees in 2015.
