UK lifts sanctions against 24 Syrian entities including central bank
UK lifts sanctions against 24 Syrian entities including central bank/node/2592655/middle-east
UK lifts sanctions against 24 Syrian entities including central bank
Britain on Thursday removed 24 Syrian entities from its sanctions list and unfroze their assets, including the Central Bank of Syria, other banks and petroleum companies. (AFP/File)
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Updated 06 March 2025
Reuters
UK lifts sanctions against 24 Syrian entities including central bank
The West is rethinking its approach to Syria
Britain’s foreign office did not give further details
Updated 06 March 2025
Reuters
LONDON: Britain on Thursday removed 24 Syrian entities from its sanctions list and unfroze their assets, including the Central Bank of Syria, other banks and petroleum companies.
The West is rethinking its approach to Syria after insurgent forces led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham ousted Bashar Assad as president in December. Last month, European Union countries suspended a range of sanctions against Syria.
Britain’s foreign office did not give further details on the lifting of the sanctions and did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A Syrian government media official did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Egyptian farmers behind world’s perfumes face climate fight alone
Child labor remains widespread in Egypt with 4.2 million children working in agriculture, industry and services, often in unsafe or exploitative conditions, according to a 2023 state study
Updated 55 min 51 sec ago
AFP
SHUBRA BALULA, Egypt: For years, Egyptian jasmine picker Wael Al-Sayed has collected blossoms by night in the Nile Delta, supplying top global perfume houses. But in recent summers, his basket has felt lighter and the once-rich fragrance is fading.
“It’s the heat,” said Sayed, 45, who has spent nearly a decade working the fields in Shubra Balula, a quiet village about 100 kilometers (60 miles) north of Cairo and a key hub for Egypt’s jasmine industry.
As temperatures rise, he said, the flowers bloom less and his daily harvest has dropped from six kilograms to just two or three in the past two years.
In this fertile pocket of the delta, jasmine has sustained thousands of families like Sayed’s for generations, but rising temperatures, prolonged dry spells and climate-driven pests are putting that legacy at risk.
An agricultural worker harvests jasmine flowers at sunrise at a field in the village of Shubra Balula in Egypt's northern Nile delta province of Gharbiya on July 7, 2025. (AFP)
From June to October, families, including children, traditionally head into the fields between midnight and dawn to hand-pick jasmine at peak fragrance.
With yields shrinking, some are leaving the trade entirely and those that have stayed now work longer hours.
More children are also being pulled in to help and often stay up all night to pick before going to school.
Child labor remains widespread in Egypt with 4.2 million children working in agriculture, industry and services, often in unsafe or exploitative conditions, according to a 2023 state study.
Agricultural workers harvest jasmine flowers at sunrise at a field in the village of Shubra Balula in Egypt's northern Nile delta province of Gharbiya on July 7, 2025. (AFP)
This year, Sayed has brought two of his children — just nine and 10 years old — to join him and his wife on their 350-square-meter (3,800-square-foot) plot.
“We have no other choice,” Sayed said.
According to the country’s largest processor, A Fakhry & Co, Egypt produces nearly half the world’s jasmine concrete, a waxy extract from the plant that provides a vital base for designer fragrances and is a multi-million dollar export.
An agricultural worker harvests jasmine flowers at sunrise at a field in the village of Shubra Balula in Egypt's northern Nile delta province of Gharbiya on July 7, 2025. (AFP)
In the 1970s, Egypt produced 11 tons of jasmine concrete annually, according to the International Federation of Essential Oils and Aroma Trades.
Now, A Fakhry & Co. says that’s down to 6.5 tons.
Ali Emara, 78, who has picked jasmine since the age of 12, said summers used to be hot, “but not like now.”
Mohamed Bassiouny, 56, and his four sons have seen their harvest halve from 15 to seven kilograms with pickers now taking over eight hours to fill a basket.
The region’s jasmine is highly sensitive to heat and humidity, said Karim Elgendy from Carboun Institute, a Dutch climate and energy think tank.
“Higher temperatures can disrupt flowering, weaken oil concentration and introduce stress that reduces yield,” Elgendy told AFP.
A 2023 report by the International Energy Agency found Egypt’s temperature rose 0.38C per decade (2000-2020), outpacing the global average.
The heat is affecting the strength of the jasmine’s scent, and with it the value of the oil extracted, said Badr Atef, manager of A Fakhry & Co.
Meanwhile, pests such as spider mites and leaf worms are thriving in the hotter, drier conditions and compounding the strain.
Alexandre Levet, CEO of the French Fragrance House in Grasse, France’s perfume capital, explained that the industry is facing the effects of climate change globally.
“We have dozens of natural ingredients that are already suffering from climate change,” he said, explaining that new origins for products have emerged as local climates shift.
With the Nile Delta also vulnerable to the rising Mediterranean water levels, which affect soil salinity, jasmine farmers are on the front line of a heating planet.
The laborers are left “at the mercy of this huge system entirely on their own,” said rural sociologist Saker El Nour, with “no stake” in the industry that depends on their labor.
Global brands charge up to $6,000 per kilogram of jasmine absolute, the pure aromatic oil derived from the concrete and used by perfumeries, but Egyptian pickers earn just 105 Egyptian pounds ($2) per kilogram.
A ton of flowers yields only 2-3 kilograms of concrete and less than half that in pure essential oil — enough for around 100 perfume bottles.
“What’s 100 pounds worth today? Nothing,” said Sayed.
Egypt’s currency has lost more than two-thirds of its value since 2022, causing inflation to skyrocket and leaving families like Sayed’s scraping by.
Last June, pickers staged a rare strike, demanding 150 pounds per kilogram. But with prices set by a handful of private processors and little government oversight, they only received an increase of 10 pounds.
Every year farmers earn less and less, while a heating planet threatens the community’s entire livelihood.
“Villages like this may lose their viability altogether,” Elgendy said.
Frankly Speaking: How former Israeli PM Olmert views the war
Olmert warns the Gaza war is endangering Israel’s global standing, accuses Netanyahu of reckless policies driven by self-interest
Asked whether Israel’s Smotrich and Ben-Gvir are terrorists, Olmert went even further, branding them “messianic” and “extremists”
Updated 24 August 2025
Arab News
RIYADH: Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has been outspoken in his criticism of Benjamin Netanyahu. While stopping short of accusing his successor of committing genocide, he has repeatedly said that what is happening in Gaza constitutes war crimes.
Speaking to Katie Jensen, host of the Arab News current affairs program “Frankly Speaking,” Olmert said that although Israel’s response was justified following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack, the conflict had become untenable — and a “death trap for Israelis.”
“The whole war which started after the ... violation of the temporary ceasefire agreement in March of 2025 is an illegitimate war,” said Olmert, who served as prime minister from 2006 to 2009.
“And in the illegitimate war, which is opposed by the majority of the Israelis, over 70 percent, in which lots of Israeli soldiers will be killed, when there is a serious danger to the lives of the hostages, and there will be thousands of Palestinians killed for a war which has no objective, which can’t reach any goal, which will do nothing good for any party involved, such a war is a crime, and I’ve accused the Israeli government of doing it.”
Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert being interviewed by Katie Jensen on “Frankly Speaking." (AN photo)
He added that many Israelis now believe the war primarily serves Netanyahu’s personal interests rather than the families of the remaining hostages and the security of wider Israeli society.
“This is what everyone says in Israel now,” he said. “This is an unneeded and unnecessary war, that there is not any national interest of Israel which can be served by continuing the war. And therefore, the inevitable conclusion is that it serves the personal interests of the prime minister. This is something which has been said by everyone.
“Expanding the war now against Gaza, which is so densely populated with more than a million people and where Hamas is hiding inside the most densely populated areas with non-involved citizens, is a death trap for Israelis, for something which doesn’t serve any national interest is a crime, and you have to ask yourself: What does it serve? And therefore many people conclude that it serves a personal interest.”
When asked by Jensen whether he still believes Netanyahu belongs in The Hague to face war crimes charges, Olmert said he did not recall making such a statement. This is despite a widely shared clip from an interview with UK broadcaster Piers Morgan on June 2, in which Olmert was asked directly whether Netanyahu should face trial in The Hague.
“Look, there should be a voice. And if as a result of the fact that I was prime minister and I’m fairly well-known in the international community that people want to hear what I have to say, I have to say it. Yes,” Olmert told Morgan in the clip.
Although he now appears to have walked back those comments, Olmert did endorse describing Israel’s Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich as terrorists, calling them “messianic” and “extremists.”
Ben-Gvir has provoked outrage by leading Jewish prayers at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque, violating long-standing agreements and drawing condemnation from Palestinian, Arab, and international leaders.
He has also advocated for Israeli sovereignty over Gaza, and promoting mass “voluntary” Palestinian emigration. Western governments have sanctioned him for incitement to violence and past criminal convictions for supporting terrorism and racism.
Smotrich, also sanctioned by Western states, has been criticized for inflammatory statements backing settlement expansion in the West Bank, incitement against Palestinians, and positions seen by EU partners and rights groups as undermining Palestinian rights and peace prospects.
Jensen teed up the issue with this question: “When we look at some of the comments from (Netanyahu’s) ministers, people like Smotrich, who said there is no such thing as Palestinian people — he stood under a map of ‘Greater Israel’ while saying that — he also said the Palestinian village of Huwara should be wiped out.
“Or comments from Ben-Gvir, who went on Israeli television and said his right to move freely in the West Bank is more important than Palestinians’ freedom of movement … If we consider these men’s words and actions, in your view, are these men terrorists?”
Olmert was unequivocal in his response.
“Look, this is an easy part of the question,” he said. “Yes, they are in a way in the sense that Ben-Gvir was convicted for taking part in what is considered to be terrorist actions in the past. But I think that this situation is more, somewhat more complex.
“Let’s face it. On one hand, there are these messianic groups, which are totally, totally unacceptable. For the majority of the Israelis, there’s no question about it. They are extreme, they are messianic.
“Yes, indeed, they want to expel all the Palestinians from the West Bank and annex the West Bank. And so they want to do it in Gaza. But I think that the majority of the Israelis are against it.”
Unlike Netanyahu, who has leaned into the rhetoric of his far-right ministers, Olmert said he would never have supported the notion of a “Greater Israel” — a political concept espoused by extremists that envisions expanding Israeli territory to include swathes of Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, and even land between the Nile and the Euphrates.
Olmert warned that such rhetoric and policies were costing Israel friends and allies.
“There is a deep division between a major part of the public opinion, which is in favor of changing course, and a part which is now governed by the Netanyahus and the group of thugs which are known to be the cabinet ministers,” he said.
“Now, what they are doing, they are causing a very big damage to the reputation of the state of Israel, to the integrity of the state of Israel, and to the perception of what Israel stands for.
“And that causes a huge difficulty in the relations of Israel with the traditional friends of Israel, European countries, France, Germany, Great Britain, Canada, other countries. And it also creates difficulties that will become more and more difficult to deal with, with America.
“And unfortunately also it creates difficulties with our very important friends in Egypt and Jordan, and also in the Emirates. And it certainly prevents the possible movement towards a normalization process with ֱ.”
Netanyahu has faced corruption charges since 2019, including allegations of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust. His trial, which began in 2020, has been repeatedly delayed on security grounds. He denies all charges.
There are also outstanding arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court against Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, relating to alleged war crimes in Gaza. Israel itself faces charges of genocide at the International Court of Justice.
Olmert himself resigned as prime minister in 2009 amid corruption allegations and was later convicted and imprisoned for bribery and breach of trust. Despite this, he insists his voice carries weight, arguing that most Israelis now oppose Netanyahu.
Indeed, mass demonstrations across Israel in recent weeks opposing an expansion of the war in Gaza highlight a dramatic shift in public attitudes toward the trajectory of the right-wing coalition government.
“Had I been prime minister, it would have been entirely different,” said Olmert. “I would have adopted what I represented at the time that I was prime minister, talking about the two-state solution, negotiating, (and) hopefully trying to force a Palestinian leadership to comply.”
Olmert said the failure of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process to date could not be blamed entirely on Israel. He recalled that during his tenure he had offered the Palestinians a state, but says they rejected the proposal.
“Let’s not forget that in 2008, 2009, when I was prime minister, I proposed to the president of the Palestinian Authority a comprehensive peace plan based on the (19)67 borders,” he said.
His plan included an Israeli withdrawal from much of the West Bank, land swaps for annexed settlements, a corridor linking Gaza and the West Bank, shared or international administration of Jerusalem’s holy sites, and the symbolic acceptance of a limited number of Palestinian refugees into Israel, with compensation and resettlement for the rest.
The Palestinians rejected the deal over concerns about the right of return, the rushed timetable for consideration, doubts over Olmert’s political survival, and dissatisfaction with the terms on Jerusalem and land allocation.
Regardless of fault, the repeated collapse of peace efforts in this period culminated in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack and Israel’s ensuing war on Gaza, which has since killed at least 60,000 Palestinians and left the enclave devastated.
One of the war’s greatest scandals to date has been the creation of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in early 2025. Critics have denounced the GHF for sidelining UN-led relief mechanisms in favor of a US- and Israeli-backed scheme that placed military personnel and private US contractors in charge of distributing aid in militarized zones.
Reports have documented hundreds of deaths and injuries among Palestinians seeking food at GHF aid sites. Groups including Medecins Sans Frontieres described the locations as scenes of “orchestrated killing” and demanded the program’s immediate suspension.
Olmert said he did not know whether Israelis had deliberately targeted civilians at GHF sites, but insisted it was Israel’s responsibility to feed Gazans.
“I think that there is a lot of fake information about precisely the circumstances regarding the humanitarian supplies and how Hamas is trying to provoke in order to reach out for food for their own needs, knowing that Hamas is not particularly careful about the lives of Palestinians and … how much is it a result of very unacceptable practices of Israeli soldiers. I don’t know,” he said.
“I say one thing and this is at the bottom line, which I think is what counts. Israel controls Gaza, we are in charge there. Therefore, it is incumbent upon Israel to provide the humanitarian needs in Gaza to everyone that needs it, effectively, comprehensively, and without the interference or the provocations of whoever wants to disturb it. This is our responsibility.”
Israeli bulldozers uproot hundreds of trees in West Bank village
“They completely uprooted and leveled them under false pretenses,” he said, explaining he and other residents had already begun replanting the pulled-up trees
Updated 24 August 2025
AFP
AL-MUGHAYYIR: Israeli bulldozers uprooted hundreds of trees in the West Bank village of Al-Mughayyir on Sunday in the presence of the Israeli military, according to journalists who witnessed the scene.
Most of the felled vegetation appeared to be olive trees, essential to the economy and culture of the West Bank, while olive groves have also long been a flashpoint for violent clashes between farmers and encroaching Israeli settlers.
Abdelatif Mohammed Abu Aliya, a local farmer from the village near Ramallah, said he lost olive trees that were over 70 years old on about one hectare of land.
“They completely uprooted and leveled them under false pretenses,” he said, explaining he and other residents had already begun replanting the pulled-up trees.
AFP photographers on the ground saw overturned soil, olive trees lying on the ground, and several bulldozers operating on the hills surrounding the village.
One bulldozer had an Israeli flag, and Israeli military vehicles were parked nearby.
“The goal is control and forcing people to leave. This is just the beginning — it will expand across the entire West Bank,” said Ghassan Abu Aliya, who leads a local agricultural association.
Residents said the bulldozing began on Thursday.
A Palestinian NGO reported 14 people had been arrested in the village over the past three days.
When asked about the incident, the Israeli army said they were looking into the matter.
In a statement, the army said it had arrested a man from Al-Mughayyir, accusing him of being “responsible for a terrorist attack” nearby.
On Aug. 16, the Palestinian Authority reported that an 18-year-old man had been shot and killed by the Israeli army in the same village.
The army said its forces responded to stones thrown by “terrorists” but did not directly link the incident to the young man’s death.
In a video widely circulated in Israeli media on Friday, a senior military commander refers to the attack in Al-Mughayyir and vows to make “every village and every enemy ... pay a heavy price” for attacks against Israelis.
Avi Bluth, the military’s top commander in the West Bank, says in the video that the villages of Palestinian attackers could face curfews, sieges, and terrain “shaping actions” with the aim of deterrence.
Jordan’s King Abdullah, foreign minister hold talks with US Congress delegation
Updated 24 August 2025
Arab News
AMMAN: Jordan’s King Abdullah II on Sunday received a US Congress delegation, which included Sen. Jeanne Shaheen and Rep. Joe Wilson, for talks on relations and regional developments, the Jordan News Agency reported.
The discussions focused on the strategic partnership between Jordan and the US, as well as joint efforts to achieve peace and stability in the Middle East, JNA added.
King Abdullah stressed to the delegation the urgent need to reach an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and ensure the flow of humanitarian aid by all possible means to all areas of the enclave.
His Majesty King Abdullah II received a US Congress delegation, which included Senator Jeanne Shaheen and Representative Joe Wilson, for discussions covering and the ’ strategic partnership, and joint efforts to achieve peace and stability in the Middle East
— RHC (@RHCJO)
He reiterated Jordan’s rejection of Israel’s plan to consolidate its occupation of Gaza, expand military control over it, and increase settlement activity in the West Bank.
The king also underlined the importance of supporting Palestinians in securing their just and legitimate rights, foremost the establishment of an independent state on the basis of the two-state solution.
He further reaffirmed Jordan’s support for Syria’s efforts to safeguard its security, stability, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.
In a separate meeting, Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi held talks with Shaheen to also review regional developments.
In a separate meeting, Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi held talks with Shaheen to also review regional developments. (Jordan News Agency)
Smoke billows after an Israeli air strike on Yemen’s capital Sanaa on August 24, 2025. (AFP)
Updated 25 August 2025
Agencies
Israel strikes on Yemeni capital Sanaa kill six, wound 86
Israel’s military said it struck the Asar and Hizaz power plants and a military site where the presidential palace is located
The strikes killed six people and injured 86 in a final toll, a Houthi Health Ministry spokesperson said on X.
Updated 25 August 2025
Agencies
SANAA/TEL AVIV: Israeli airstrikes hit Yemen’s capital on Sunday, days after the Houthi rebels fired a missile toward Israel that its military described as the first cluster bomb the rebels had launched at it since 2023.
The Iranian-backed Houthis said multiple areas across Sanaa were hit, while the Houthi-run health ministry said six people were killed and 86 others were wounded.
The rebels’ Al-Masirah satellite television reported a strike on an oil company, and video on social media showed a fireball erupting there.
The strikes are the latest in over a year of direct attacks and counterstrikes between Israel and Houthi militants in Yemen, part of a spillover from the war in Gaza.
Israel’s military said it struck the Asar and Hizaz power plants, calling them “a significant electricity supply facility for military activities,” along with a military site where the presidential palace is located.
Sanaa residents told The Associated Press they heard explosions close to a closed military academy and the presidential palace. They saw plumes of smoke near Sabeen Square, a central gathering place in the capital.
“The sounds of explosions were very strong,” said Hussein Mohamed, who lives close to the presidential palace.
Ahmed Al-Mekhlafy said he felt the sheer force of the strikes. “The house was rocked, and the windows were shattered,” he told the AP by phone.
“The strikes were conducted in response to repeated attacks by the Houthi terrorist regime against the State of Israel and its civilians, including the launching of surface-to-surface missiles and UAVs toward Israeli territory in recent days,” the Israeli military said in a statement.
On Friday, the Houthis said they had fired a ballistic missile toward Israel in their latest attack, which they said was in support of Palestinians in Gaza. An Israeli Air Force official said on Sunday the missile most likely carried several sub-munitions “intended to be detonated upon impact.”
“This is the first time that this kind of missile has been launched from Yemen,” the official said.
Since Israel’s war in Gaza against the Palestinian militant group Hamas began in October 2023, the Iran-aligned Houthis have attacked vessels in the Red Sea in what they describe as acts of solidarity with the Palestinians.
They have also frequently fired missiles toward Israel, most of which have been intercepted. Israel has responded with strikes on Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, including the vital Hodeidah port.
Unfazed
Abdul Qader Al-Murtada, a senior Houthi official, said on Sunday the Houthis, who control much of Yemen’s population, would continue to act in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
“(Israel) must know that we will not abandon our brothers in Gaza, whatever the sacrifices,” he said on X.
Nasruddin Amer, deputy head of the Houthi media office, also vowed that the militia will continue its attacks on Israel, writing on social media that “our military operations supporting Gaza won’t stop, God willing, unless the aggression is stopped, and the siege is lifted.”
The Israeli strikes were the first to hit Yemen since a week ago, when Israel said it targeted energy infrastructure it believed was used by the rebels.
The latest strikes follow the Houthis’ claim of launching a newly equipped missile toward Israel on Friday, targeting the country’s largest airport, Ben Gurion. There was no reported damage or injuries. Israel’s military said it fragmented mid-air after several interception attempts.
An Israeli Air Force official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with military regulations, called Friday’s projectile a new threat — a cluster munition, meant to detonate into multiple explosives on impact.
The use of cluster bombs makes interception more difficult and represents additional technology provided to the Houthis by Iran, the official asserted.
The official also said over 10 Israeli fighter jets carried out Sunday’s strikes.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement that Israel continues to “impose an air and naval blockade,” without details. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in televised remarks that the rebel group is “paying a heavy price for its aggression.”
Houthi attacks over the past two years have upended shipping in the Red Sea, through which about $1 trillion of global goods passes each year. From November 2023 to December 2024, the Houthis targeted more than 100 commercial and naval ships with missiles and drones.
The rebels stopped the attacks during this year’s brief ceasefire in Gaza and later became the target of a weekslong airstrike campaign ordered by US President Donald Trump.
In May, the United States announced a deal with the Houthis to end the airstrikes in return for an end to attacks on shipping, although the rebels said the agreement did not include halting attacks on targets it believed were aligned with Israel.
Last month, the Houthis said they would target merchant ships belonging to any company that does business with Israeli ports, regardless of nationality, as part of what they called a new phase of operations against Israel.
In May, Israeli airstrikes hit the Sanaa airport in a rare daytime attack that destroyed the terminal and left craters in its runway. At least six passenger planes were hit, including three belonging to Yemenia Airways, according to airport authorities.
