Latest news with #post-al-Assad
Euronews
3 days ago
- Politics
- Euronews
So-called IS claims first attack on Syrian forces since al-Assad fall
The so-called Islamic State (IS) group has claimed responsibility for two attacks in southern Syria, including one on government forces that a war monitor described as the first on the Syrian army since the fall of long-time president Bashar al-Assad. The so-called IS group said in a statement that in one attack, a bomb targeting a "vehicle of the apostate regime" detonated, leaving seven soldiers dead or wounded. It said the attack occurred "last Thursday," in the al-Safa area in the southern province of Sweida. In a separate statement, the group said another bomb attack occurred this week, targeting members of the US-backed Free Syrian Army. It claimed that one fighter was killed and three others wounded in that attack. Syria's interim government hasn't commented on either of these claims and a spokesperson for the Free Syrian Army didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the attack on government forces killed one civilian and wounded three soldiers, describing it as the first such attack to be claimed by the IS group against Syrian forces since the 54-year rule by the al-Assad family ended in December. The extremist group, which once controlled large parts of Syria and Iraq, is opposed to the new authority in Damascus led by President Ahmad al-Sharaa, who was once the head of al-Qaeda's Syria branch, which fought battles against it. Over the past several months, the IS group has claimed responsibility for attacks against the US-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in the northeast. The IS group was defeated in Syria in March 2019 when SDF fighters captured the last sliver of land that the extremists controlled. Since then, its sleeper cells have carried out deadly attacks, mainly in eastern and northeast Syria. In January, state media reported that intelligence officials in Syria's post-al-Assad government thwarted a plan by the group to set off a bomb at a Shiite Muslim shrine south of Damascus. Al-Sharra met with US President Donald Trump in Saudi Arabia earlier this month, when the American leader said that Washington would work on lifting crippling economic sanctions imposed on Damascus since the days of al-Assad. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement after the meeting that Trump urged al-Sharaa to diplomatically recognise Israel, "tell all foreign terrorists to leave Syria" and help the US stop any resurgence of the IS group. Parallel to this, earlier this week the European Union lifted most sanctions on Syria but slapped new ones on people and groups it says participated in attacks on civilians during a wave of violence in the coastal region in March. The EU's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas had announced plans to lift the sanctions last week, but warned the move was "conditional" and that sanctions could be resumed if the new government doesn't keep the peace. Russia accused Serbia of exporting arms to Ukraine, calling it a "stab in the back" from one of Moscow's longest-standing European allies. The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) issued a statement on Thursday claiming that "Serbian defence enterprises, contrary to the 'neutrality' declared by official Belgrade, continue to supply ammunition to Kyiv.' The statement alleged that the export of the Serbian arms to Ukraine was going through NATO intermediaries, "primarily the Czech Republic, Poland and Bulgaria." "Recently, exotic options involving African states have also been used for this purpose," SVR said. Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić denied the accusations on Friday, saying that although the contract with the Czech Republic does exist, it does not allow exporting the materiel to another country. "For example, they correctly say that there is a contract with the Czech Republic. But no permission was given, and none of the (ammunition) was delivered" to Ukraine, Vučić told Serbian state broadcaster RTS. He added that he had already discussed the issue of arms exports to Ukraine with Russian President Vladimir Putin recently and that it was agreed that Moscow and Belgrade would create a "working group" to establish how Serbian-made weapons reached Ukraine. This is not the first time Vučić has had to respond to similar claims. The Financial Times reported in June 2024 that Serbian ammunition worth €750 million has made its way indirectly to Ukraine. In March, Belgrade denied it exported arms to Kyiv after Moscow demanded to know if it had delivered thousands of rockets for Ukraine's defence against Russia's all-out invasion. Serbian arms' presence in Ukraine, mostly Soviet-era calibre ammunition adopted as standard and manufactured in the former Yugoslavia, has been publicly discussed since 2023, but it is unclear why the Russian foreign security service decided to react now. The SVR has claimed that the arms sales are being carried out through a "simple scheme using fake end-user certificates and intermediary countries" serving as "a cover for anti-Russian actions". The accusations out of Moscow went even further to say that "the contribution of Serbian defence industry workers to the war unleashed by the West, the outcome of which Europe would like to see as a 'strategic defeat' of Russia, amounts to hundreds of thousands of shells ... as well as a million rounds of ammunition for small arms". 'It seems that the desire of Serbian defence industry workers and their patrons to profit from the blood of fraternal Slavic peoples has made them completely forget who their real friends are and who their enemies are," the statement said. Vučić stated that the attacks on Serbia from the East and the West are "frequent" because Belgrade "leads autonomous and independent policies". Serbia is one of the countries in the Western Balkans that is considered a major candidate for EU membership. At the same time, Vučić has maintained close ties with Russia, including after Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. He was among a handful of European leaders to attend Putin's Victory Day parade in Moscow on 9 May, a decision Vučić defended by saying he was there to celebrate Serbia's participation in liberating the continent from fascism in World War II. Serbia also refused to join Western sanctions on Russia and hasn't supported most EU statements condemning Moscow's full-scale invasion, although it voted in favour of its condemnation at the UN.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Syrians hopeful for the future after US and EU sanctions relief
Syrians on the streets of Damascus on Saturday welcomed the move by the Trump administration to ease sanctions imposed on the war-torn country. Their celebration follows the formal easing of sanctions by the EU earlier this week and that of the US announced last week during US President Donald Trump's Middle East tour. 'Yesterday, when I read the news that the Caesar sanctions are actually being lifted, especially after the reports we heard in recent weeks, I honestly cried," a resident, Zeina Shahla, told local media. "We're finally seeing real steps toward the country's recovery,' she added. The sanctions relief follows the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024. On Tuesday, the EU said it adopted a gradual and reversible approach in order to support Syria's transition and economic recovery, which followed the suspension of some economic sanctions in February. For the US, the congressional sanctions, known as the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, aimed to isolate Syria's previous rulers by effectively expelling those doing business with them from the global financial system. However, a Treasury Department action has now suspended enforcement of sanctions against anyone doing business with a range of Syrian individuals and entities, including Syria's central bank. And a measure by the State Department waived for six months a tough set of sanctions imposed by Congress in 2019. They specifically block post-war reconstruction, so while they can be waived for 180 days by executive order, investors are likely to be wary of reconstruction projects when sanctions could be reinstated after six months. US President Donald Trump granted Syria sweeping exemptions from sanctions in a major first step toward fulfilling his pledge to lift a half-century of penalties on a country shattered by 14 years of civil war. Syria's foreign ministry said Saturday that the country 'extends its hand' to anyone that wants to cooperate with Damascus, on the condition that there is no intervention in the country's internal affairs. Related EU lifts all economic sanctions on Syria, hoping to speed up post-al-Assad recovery Trump meets Syria's 'young, attractive' al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia and lifts sanctions on Damascus On Friday, the Trump administration said the actions were 'just one part of a broader US government effort to remove the full architecture of sanctions.' Those penalties had been imposed on the Assad family for their support of Iranian-backed militias, their chemical weapons programme and abuse of civilians. Damascus resident Nael Kaddah said now that the sanctions are being eased, the country will flourish again. For Kaddah, Syrians will be able to transfer money freely, unlike in the past when there were several companies that monopolized the business and took large commissions on transfers. 'Now any citizen can receive a transfer from anywhere in the world,' he said. The EU and the US say the removal of sanctions aims to give the interim Syrian government a better chance of survival, a key decision that the administration in Damascus has welcomed.
Euronews
17-03-2025
- Business
- Euronews
How much energy do AI-powered chatbots consume?
Each ChatGPT question is estimated to use around 10 times more electricity than a traditional Google search. According to the nonprofit research firm Electric Power Research Institute, a ChatGPT request uses 2.9 watt-hours while traditional Google queries use about 0.3 watt-hours each. With an estimated 9 billion daily searches, this would mean an additional demand of nearly 10 TWh of electricity per year. The AI industry relies on data centres to train and operate its models, leading to increased energy demand and contributing to global greenhouse gas emissions. Microsoft announced its CO2 emissions had risen nearly 30% since 2020 due to data centre expansion. Google's global greenhouse gas emissions in 2023 were almost 50% higher than in 2019, largely due to the energy demand tied to data centres. Energy use by artificial intelligence currently only represents a fraction of the technology sector's power consumption and is estimated to be around 2 to 3% of total global emissions. However, this percentage is likely to go up as more companies, governments and organisations use AI to drive efficiency and productivity. There are currently more than 8,000 data centres globally, with about 16% of these located in Europe. The majority of these centres are concentrated in the financial centres of Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Paris, and Dublin. It is estimated that the electricity consumption in the data centre sector in the European Union will reach almost 150 TWh by 2026, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). Electricity demand from data centres in Ireland was 5.3 TWh in 2022, representing 17% of the country's total electricity consumed. That is equivalent to the amount of electricity consumed by all urban residential buildings. If AI application use continues to expand at a rapid rate, the sector could account for 32% of the country's total electricity demand by 2026. Denmark also hosts 34 data centres, half of them located in Copenhagen. As in Ireland, Denmark's total electricity demand is forecast to grow mainly due to the data centre sector's expansion, which is expected to consume 6 TWh by 2026, reaching just under 20% of the country's electricity demand. Meanwhile, data centres in Nordic countries – such as Sweden, Norway, and Finland – benefit from lower electricity costs. This is attributed to lower cooling demand due to their colder weather. The largest actor amongst Nordic countries is Sweden, with 60 data centres, and half of them in Stockholm. Given decarbonisation targets, Sweden and Norway may further increase their participation in the data centre market since almost all of their electricity is generated from low-carbon sources. The European Union is committed to working with Syria's de facto government as it looks to rebuild and revive its economy, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday, despite a recent eruption of violence casting doubt over the stability of the country's post-al-Assad transition. On Monday, the Commission chief unveiled almost €2.5 billion in additional support for Syrians over the next two years. The announcement came during an annual donor conference in which the Syrian government was represented for the first time by foreign minister Asaad al-Shibani. EU member states are also expected to unveil further pledges, with German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock saying Germany will commit a further €300 million in additional aid. The EU is "ready to do more to attract the necessary investments for reconstruction" as long as the de facto authorities in Damascus continue to transition towards a new Syria in which all strands of society are represented, von der Leyen said. She described the signing of a transitional constitution last Thursday and the recent deal struck with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) which control the resource-rich north-east of the country as "historic". "In the past, we have always worked for Syria and for Syrians. But today, we can finally work with Syria." The EU's support for the de facto authorities, led by former al-Qaeda commander Ahmed al-Sharaa, comes despite the eruption of brutal violence in Syria's north-western coastal regions just days ago. Gunmen linked to al-Sharaa's Sunni Islamist-led government carried out the extrajudicial killing of as many as 1300 people in response to attacks by remnants of al-Assad's force, according to war monitoring groups. The UN has says "entire families", including civilian women and children, were killed in what appeared to be sectarian executions in predominantly Alawite areas. The bloc's top diplomat Kaja Kallas said earlier on Monday that the outbreak of violence is "worrying" and shows that "hope in Syria is really hanging by a thread". The EU has already lifted a series of broad-ranging sanctions on key industries such as the energy, transport and financial sectors in a bid to help the war-torn country's economic recovery and reconstruction. Kallas suggested on Monday that the bloc will continue to follow its roadmap to ease the pressure on Damascus despite recent violence exposing the country's volatility and fragility. "This is our position right now: that we are helping Syria to also move further," she said. "Of course we want to see that the current leadership is (...) holding accountable those who were responsible for the violence, and we also want to see the inclusiveness of government build-up."
Euronews
17-03-2025
- Business
- Euronews
EU steps up support for Syrians but says hope is 'hanging by a thread'
The European Union is committed to working with Syria's de facto government as it looks to rebuild and revive its economy, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday, despite a recent eruption of violence casting doubt over the stability of the country's post-al-Assad transition. On Monday, the Commission chief unveiled almost €2.5 billion in additional support for Syrians over the next two years. The announcement came during an annual donor conference in which the Syrian government was represented for the first time by foreign minister Asaad al-Shibani. EU member states are also expected to unveil further pledges, with German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock saying Germany will commit a further €300 million in additional aid. The EU is "ready to do more to attract the necessary investments for reconstruction" as long as the de facto authorities in Damascus continue to transition towards a new Syria in which all strands of society are represented, von der Leyen said. She described the signing of a transitional constitution last Thursday and the recent deal struck with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) which control the resource-rich north-east of the country as "historic". "In the past, we have always worked for Syria and for Syrians. But today, we can finally work with Syria." The EU's support for the de facto authorities, led by former al-Qaeda commander Ahmed al-Sharaa, comes despite the eruption of brutal violence in Syria's north-western coastal regions just days ago. Gunmen linked to al-Sharaa's Sunni Islamist-led government carried out the extrajudicial killing of as many as 1300 people in response to attacks by remnants of al-Assad's force, according to war monitoring groups. The UN has says "entire families", including civilian women and children, were killed in what appeared to be sectarian executions in predominantly Alawite areas. The bloc's top diplomat Kaja Kallas said earlier on Monday that the outbreak of violence is "worrying" and shows that "hope in Syria is really hanging by a thread". The EU has already lifted a series of broad-ranging sanctions on key industries such as the energy, transport and financial sectors in a bid to help the war-torn country's economic recovery and reconstruction. Kallas suggested on Monday that the bloc will continue to follow its roadmap to ease the pressure on Damascus despite recent violence exposing the country's volatility and fragility. "This is our position right now: that we are helping Syria to also move further," she said. "Of course we want to see that the current leadership is (...) holding accountable those who were responsible for the violence, and we also want to see the inclusiveness of government build-up."
