BRUSSELS: European Union nations on Monday set out conditions for lifting sanctions on Syria and kick-starting aid to the conflict-ravaged country amid uncertainty about its new leaders’ intentions just over a week after they seized power.
At a meeting in Brussels, the EU’s top diplomats said they want guarantees from members of Syria’s interim government that they are preparing for a peaceful political future involving all minority groups, one in which extremism and former allies Russia and Iran have no place.
Since Damascus fell on Dec. 8 and leader Bashar Assad fled to Moscow, Syria’s transition has been surprisingly smooth. Few reports have surfaced of reprisals, revenge killings or sectarian violence. Most looting or destruction has been quickly contained.
But the new leadership has yet to lay out a clear vision of how Syria will be governed. The interim government was set up by former opposition forces led by Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, or HTS, a former Al-Qaeda affiliate that the EU and US consider to be a terrorist organization.
The interim government is set to rule until March. Arab foreign ministers have called for UN-supervised elections based on a new constitution. The UN envoy to Syria has pressed for removing sanctions.
To understand more, the EU is sending an envoy to Damascus for talks with those at least temporarily in charge.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc wants a “stable, peaceful and all-comprising government in place,” but that it will probably take weeks, if not months, for Syria’s new path to be clear.
“Syria faces an optimistic, positive, but rather uncertain future, and we have to make sure that this goes to the right direction,” she told reporters at a meeting of EU foreign ministers. “For us, it’s not only the words, but we want to see the deeds.”
In a message aimed at the new leaders, Kallas said: “Russia and Iran are not your friends, are not helping you if you are in trouble. They left Assad’s regime, and that is a very clear message showing that their hands are full elsewhere and they are weakened.”
Syria has been shattered by five decades of Assad family rule. Its economy has been destroyed, poverty is widespread, inflation and unemployment are high and corruption seeps through daily life. Millions of people have fled the country.
Hundreds of thousands of them live in Europe, and while some EU countries have suspended asylum applications from Syrian refugees, only those willing to return will be helped to get home, for now.
In 2011, the EU began imposing asset freezes and travel bans on Syrian officials and organizations in response to Assad’s crackdown on civilian protesters, which turned into civil war. The sanctions have been slapped on some 316 people and 86 entities accused of backing Assad.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said that before any sanctions are lifted or EU development aid sent to Syria, “a certain number of conditions must be met.” They include, he said, “a political transition that allows all Syrian minority groups to be represented, the respect of human rights, the rights of women in Syria (and) the rejection of terrorism and extremism.”
His Spanish counterpart, Jose Manuel Albares, said Syria’s new leaders must understand that the EU has some “red lines” which should be respected before support comes.
“We must guarantee the territorial integrity of Syria and we must make sure that there (is) no foreign interference,” he said. “If those questions are correctly addressed by the new authorities, then we can have a second conversation about sanctions.”
Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said Europe’s support for Syria’s new leaders should not be “a blank check in advance,” whereby the bloc would be expected to lift all its sanctions and economic restrictions and then start talks.
Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp also told reporters that “regarding the Russian military bases in Syria, we want the Russians out.”
EU seeks assurances from Syria’s new leaders in exchange for dropping sanctions
https://arab.news/599cc
EU seeks assurances from Syria’s new leaders in exchange for dropping sanctions
- New leadership has yet to lay out a clear vision of how Syria will be governed
- Arab foreign ministers have called for UN-supervised elections based on a new constitution
A dozen states sue the Trump administration to stop tariff policy
- The suit asks the court to declare the tariffs to be illegal, and to block government agencies
NEW YORK: A dozen states sued the Trump administration in the US Court of International Trade in New York on Wednesday to stop its tariff policy, saying it is unlawful and has brought chaos to the American economy.
The lawsuit said the policy put in place by President Donald Trump has left the national trade policy subject to Trump’s “whims rather than the sound exercise of lawful authority.”
It challenged Trump’s claim that he could arbitrarily impose tariffs based on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The suit asks the court to declare the tariffs to be illegal, and to block government agencies and its officers from enforcing them.
A message sent to the Justice Department for comment was not immediately returned.
The states listed as plaintiffs in the lawsuit were Oregon, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York and Vermont.
In a release, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes called Trump’s tariff scheme “insane.”
She said it was “not only economically reckless — it is illegal.”
The lawsuit maintained that only Congress has the power to impose tariffs and that the president can only invoke the International Emergency Economic Powers Act when an emergency presents an “unusual and extraordinary threat” from abroad.
“By claiming the authority to impose immense and ever-changing tariffs on whatever goods entering the United States he chooses, for whatever reason he finds convenient to declare an emergency, the President has upended the constitutional order and brought chaos to the American economy,” the lawsuit said.
Last week, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, sued the Trump administration in US District Court in the Northern District of California over the tariff policy, saying his state could lose billions of dollars in revenue as the largest importer in the country.
White House spokesperson Kush Desai responded to Newsom’s lawsuit, saying the Trump administration “remains committed to addressing this national emergency that’s decimating America’s industries and leaving our workers behind with every tool at our disposal, from tariffs to negotiations.”
Palestinian student remains detained in Vermont with a hearing set for next week
- In court documents, the government argues that Mahdawi’s detention is a “constitutionally valid aspect of the deportation process”
- Mahdawi is still scheduled for a hearing date in immigration court in Louisiana on May 1, his attorneys said
BURLINGTON, Vermont: A large crowd of supporters and advocates gathered outside a Vermont courthouse Wednesday to support a Palestinian man who led protests against the war in Gaza as a student at Columbia University and was arrested during an interview about finalizing his US citizenship.
Mohsen Mahdawi, a legal permanent resident for 10 years, was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on April 14. He made an initial court appearance Wednesday during which a judge extended a temporary order keeping Mahdawi in Vermont and scheduled a hearing for next week.
Mahdawi’s lawyers say he was detained in retaliation for his speech advocating for Palestinian human rights.
“What the government provided thus far only establishes that the only basis they have to currently detaining him in the manner they did is his lawful speech,” attorney Luna Droubi said after the hearing. “We intend on being back in one week’s time to free Mohsen.”
In court documents, the government argues that Mahdawi’s detention is a “constitutionally valid aspect of the deportation process” and that district courts are barred from hearing challenges to how and when such proceedings are begun.
“District courts play no role in that process. Consequently, this Court lacks jurisdiction over Petitioner’s claims, which are all, at bottom, challenges to removal proceedings,” wrote Michael Drescher, Vermont’s acting US attorney.
According to his lawyers, Mahdawi had answered questions and signed a document that he was willing to defend the US Constitution and laws of the nation. They said masked ICE agents then entered the interview room, shackled Mahdawi, and put him in a car.
“What we’re seeing here is unprecedented where they are so hellbent on detaining students from good universities in our country,” attorney Cyrus Mehta said. “These are not hardened criminals. These are people who have not been charged with any crime, they have also not been charged under any of the other deportation provisions of the Immigration Act.”
Mahdawi is still scheduled for a hearing date in immigration court in Louisiana on May 1, his attorneys said. His notice to appear says he is removable under the Immigration and Nationality Act because the Secretary of State has determined his presence and activities “would have serious adverse foreign policy consequences and would compromise a compelling US foreign policy interest.”
Last month, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the State Department was revoking visas held by visitors who were acting counter to national interests, including some who protested Israel’s war in Gaza and those who face criminal charges.
According to the court filing, Mahdawi was born in a refugee camp in the West Bank and moved to the United States in 2014. He recently completed coursework at Columbia and was expected to graduate in May before beginning a master’s degree program there in the fall.
As a student, Mahdawi was an outspoken critic of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and organized campus protests until March 2024.
US Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont, a Democrat, met with Mahdaw i on Monday at the prison and posted a video account of their conversation on X. Mahdawi said he was “in good hands.” He said his work is centered on peacemaking and that his empathy extends beyond the Palestinian people to Jews and to the Israelis.
“I’m staying positive by reassuring myself in the ability of justice and the deep belief of democracy,” Mahdawi said in Welch’s video. “This is the reason I wanted to become a citizen of this country, because I believe in the principles of this country.”
Mahdawi’s attorney read a statement from him outside the courthouse Wednesday in which he urged supporters to “stay positive and believe in the inevitability of justice.”
“This hearing is part of the system of democracy, it prevents a tyrant from having unchecked power,” he wrote. “I am in prison, but I am not imprisoned.”
Meanwhile, the government is appealing a decision by a different Vermont judge who said another detained student, Rumeysa Ozturk of Tufts University, should be returned to Vermont.
On Tuesday, members of Congress from Massachusetts traveled to Louisiana to meet with Ozturk and Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil. US Sen. Ed Markey and US Reps. Ayanna Pressley and Jim McGovern expressed concern at a news conference Wednesday that the students, as well as other detainees, were being deprived of nutritious meals, sleep and blankets in the cold facilities.
Khalil and Ozturk have not committed any crimes, the delegation said — they are being unlawfully detained for exercising their right to free speech.
“They are being targeted and imprisoned because of their political views,” McGovern said.
Trump plans to exempt carmakers from some tariffs, FT reports
US President Donald Trump is planning to spare carmakers from some tariffs, The Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing two people with knowledge of the matter.
Car parts would be exempted from tariffs that are being imposed on imports from China over fentanyl and tariffs levied on steel and aluminum, the report added.
The owner of a Dominican nightclub whose roof collapsed, killing 232, speaks for the first time
- Espaillat told a reporter with El Día news program that employees had added new plasterboard to the roof hours before the collapse
- “We always bought plasterboard. Always,” said Espaillat, who spoke in a subdued manner throughout the nearly one-hour interview
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico: A roof that collapsed at a popular nightclub in the Dominican Republic and killed 232 people this month had filtration problems for decades and had been repeatedly fixed with plasterboard, according to its owner.
Antonio Espaillat, who also serves as manager of the Jet Set nightclub in the Dominican capital of Santo Domingo, spoke with local TV station Telesistema on Wednesday in his first interview since the April 8 disaster.
Espaillat told a reporter with El Día news program that employees had added new plasterboard to the roof hours before the collapse.
He noted that plasterboard had fallen repeatedly throughout the years for reasons including water that filtered through the club’s air conditioning units. However, Espaillat said no one ever inspected the roof or water filtrations.
“We always bought plasterboard. Always,” said Espaillat, who spoke in a subdued manner throughout the nearly one-hour interview.
A spokeswoman for Espaillat did not return a message for comment seeking an interview with him.
Espaillat said he learned about the collapse when his sister called him from underneath the debris, trapped along with hundreds of others attending a concert by beloved merengue singer Rubby Pérez, who was among those killed.
“To the families of the victims, I want to say I’m sorry. I’m very sorry,” Espaillat said. “I am completely destroyed.”
‘We were all surprised’
Espaillat said he was 6 years old when his mother founded the legendary club 52 years ago. The club later moved to a space occupied by a shuttered movie theater and remained in that location for 30 years until the collapse.
He said there were six air-conditioning units on the roof, plus three water tanks. An electric plant was installed in an adjacent room, not on the roof, he added.
Every six to eight years, a specialized crew would waterproof the roof, with the last waterproofing done about a month before the collapse, he said.
The heavy woofers that boomed music at Jet Set, known for its merengue parties held every Monday, were on the floor, he said.
Espaillat said if there was something he could have done to avoid the collapse, he would have done it.
“There was no warning, nothing. We were all surprised,” he said.
‘I’m going to face everything’
The Dominican government has created a committee that includes local and international experts tasked with investigating the collapse.
About 515 people were at Jet Set when the roof fell on the crowd, according to Espaillat.
In the 53 hours following the disaster, crews rescued 189 survivors. Dozens of others were hospitalized.
The 232 victims include seven doctors; a retired UN official; former MLB players Octavio Dotel and Tony Enrique Blanco Cabrera; and Nelsy Cruz, the governor of Montecristi province and sister of seven-time Major League Baseball All-Star Nelson Cruz,
At least three lawsuits have been filed.
Espaillat, who said he usually attended Jet Set’s Monday merengue parties, was in Las Vegas for a convention when his sister called.
“How can a roof collapse?” he recalled wondering as he flew back to the Dominican Republic.
Espaillat said he did not immediately visit the site upon arriving because officials worried about his safety, noting that people at the scene were angry.
He said he hasn’t slept much since the disaster, and that he has talked to the families of his employees and some of the victim’s relatives.
“I’m going to face everything,” he said. “I’m not going anywhere.”
An ongoing investigation
The investigation into what caused the collapse could take a couple of months and has raised questions about the safety of infrastructure across Santo Domingo and beyond.
There is currently no government agency tasked with inspecting the buildings of private businesses in the Dominican Republic, although President Luis Abinader announced last week that new legislation is expected to change that.
Yamil Castillo, a structural engineer and vice president of the Society of Engineers of Puerto Rico, said water leaks can be extremely damaging and should be taken care of immediately.
Castillo, who is not involved in investigating the collapse, warned that water seeping into the different materials that compose a roof can weigh it down, in addition to whatever else is placed on the roof, including air conditioning units.
Salty air also cause corrosion and roof damage, he said.
“Those leaks should have been fixed,” Castillo said, adding that replacing the plasterboard was not enough.
Lithuania accuses Belarus, Russia of operation against Belarusian exiles
- VSD said the goal of the alleged operation had been to cause conflicts between Lithuanians and Belarusians Vilnius
- It accused Minsk and Moscow of recruiting people to organize and undertake attacks
VILNIUS: Lithuania’s intelligence service accused Belarus and Russia on Wednesday of attempting to organize attacks against Belarusians in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius.
The State Security Department (VSD) said the goal of the alleged operation had been to cause conflicts between Lithuanians and the tens of thousands of Belarusians in the Baltic state.
Many Belarusians, who include opposition figures and activists, moved there as Minsk clamped down on dissent after a 2020 presidential election that rights groups said was fraudulent.
“Russian and Belarusian intelligence services have been conducting ... an operation since 2023 aimed at fomenting ethnic tensions between Lithuanian society and the newly-arrived Belarusian diaspora to make them feel unsafe in the country,” the VSD said in a statement.
It accused Minsk and Moscow of recruiting people to organize and undertake attacks on Belarusian exiles in exchange for cryptocurrency payments.
It said the assaults were prevented but did not specify how.
The VSD also accused the two countries of recruiting people to spray anti-Belarusian and anti-Lithuanian graffiti in Vilnius.
It said a series of vandalism acts targeting Belarusian businesses and cultural centers had taken place since last year.
The intelligence service claimed Belarus and Russia recruited people mainly from the Russian-speaking Lithuanian community on Telegram, a secure messaging app.
European officials have accused Russia of orchestrating a hybrid war against Western countries supporting Ukraine since Moscow invaded the country in February 2022.
The term “hybrid” is commonly used to describe attacks that do not use conventional military tactics, such as sabotaging infrastructure or launching cyberattacks.
In March, Lithuania arrested two Ukrainians for attempting to set fire to an IKEA store in Vilnius — an incident it blamed on Russian intelligence.
“Lithuania’s intelligence services warn that the work of Russian and Belarusian secret services in Lithuania remain intensive,” the VSD said.
