Day: May 20, 2023

With the participation of Syria, the work of the 76th session of the World Health Assembly will begin tomorrow in Geneva and will last until the 30th of this month.

The agenda of the session includes topics related to the work of the World Health Organization in the field of health emergencies, strengthening its response, and the issue of universal health coverage.

In a statement to SANA, head of the Syrian delegation, Minister of Health, Dr. Hassan al-Ghabbash, stressed the importance of participation, especially as the health challenges facing the world have highlighted the need for international collective action to develop health systems, to be more flexible and ready to respond efficiently, especially during crises and emergencies.

Al-Ghabbash hoped that the outcomes of these meetings would contribute to boost health systems, explaining that the Syrian delegation will meet on the sidelines of the Assembly’s work with many delegations to discuss the efforts exerted to enhance joint cooperation, which will positively reflect the health situation in Syria under the current circumstances.

Source: Syrian Arab News Agency

Damascus, one of the oldest cities in the world, whose streets, mountains and even houses, were able to defeat the invaders, while its flowers give peace and love in the face of hatred that the sponsors of terrorism tried to impose and sow.

Ancient flower known for its fragrance

Among the roses, for which Damascus is famous, is the Damask Rose, an ancient flower known for its fragrance and its therapeutic uses, which was considered the ambassador of Syria to the world.

The Greek poet Sappho called her the Queen of Flowers, and the Greek Historian Homer mentioned her in the Iliad and the Odyssey ; and when the English poet Shakespeare wanted to describe beauty in his maximum expression, he said in one of the texts of his plays: “Beautiful as the beautiful Rose of Damascus.” As for the Arab world, the great poet Nizar Qabbani, a native of the city of Damascus, wrote about this flower in his masterpiece (Poemario Damascene).

Symbol of beauty and love

Thanks to its intoxicating fragrance and its dazzling shape, it was considered the symbol of beauty and love, and due to its therapeutic, relaxing, and disinfectant virtues, it was registered in 2019 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) within the representative list of the intangible heritage of humanity.

One of the ancient Greek legends says that the Greek Goddess of Beauty, when she saw the charm and beauty of the city of Damascus, became jealous, and for this reason she created this rose to compete with it in its beauty, and called it the Damascus rose.

The Damascenes confirm that it was so called because it first grew in the land of Damascus.

The town of al-Mrah, about 60 km north of Damascus, is the main producer of the Damask Rose since this town enjoys a special climate characterized by cold winters, and is, as farmers say, one of the towns where the snow stays longer on the mountain peaks and highlands and this climate is very suitable for growing the Damask Rose.

The farmers of al-Mrah grow this Rose in the period between December and March months, and when it blooms in May, they go out with their families to manually collect the roses.

After the harvesting process is complete, the buds of the roses are collected and exposed to the sun for several days to dry, and then brought to the perfumers in the old markets of Damascus, especially the al-Bazourieh popular market.

Rose Water, one of the products extracted from the Damask Rose

One of the most important products of this rose is rose water (Ma Alward, in Arabic) and it is extracted by a machine called “Al-Karakah”, and it is extracted from the distillation of rose petals where every thousand kilograms of roses produces a liter of water.

These rose petal scented waters are rich in vitamins B and E, and are used to soften and care for the skin.

An extensive study from 2011 analyzed the existing evidence on the different properties attributed to these products, including its high content of vitamin C, which is very necessary to synthesize collagen since, being an antioxidant, it protects our skin from aging.This water is also a typical ingredient in the desserts that Syrian women make and use it to flavor sweets and drinks.

The most expensive oil in the world is also extracted from the Damask Rose and the Chinese considered it more valuable than gold and more durable than oil.

Source: Syrian Arab News Agency

Saudi Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, has affirmed that the 32nd Arab Summit of Jeddah discussed the most prominent Arab, regional and international issues affecting member states and their common interests, expressing his country’s hope that Syria’s return to the League of Arab States would contribute to supporting its stability and resuming its normal role in the Arab world.

“The member states welcomed the Ministerial Arab decision to resume Syria’s participation in the meetings of the Arab Council,” Prince bin Farhan said at a joint press conference with Secretary-General of League of Arab States, Ahmed Aboul Gheit following the conclusion of the Arab Summit works, hoping this step would contribute to supporting the stability of Syria, preserving its territorial integrity.

Bin Farhan went on saying that Saudi Arabia and members of Arab League affirmed that there is no solution to the crisis in Syria except through dialogue, partnership and cooperation with the Syrian government.

He noted that there is a humanitarian crisis and there are Syrian refugees who want to return to their country, and we must help them, and there is a difficult economic situation which affected the Syrian people, thus, we should help to find practical and realistic solutions.

Regarding the situation in Sudan, Saudi Foreign Minister stated that his country is working to create an atmosphere to reach a humanitarian truce after the decision taken through the meeting of Sudanese parties in Jeddah, which stipulated adhering to humanitarian principles and protecting civilians.

He called on all parties to assume responsibility through dialogue and to refrain from using weapons to resolve differences, since the Sudanese citizen is the one who pays the price.

For his part, Aboul Gheit stated that the decision regarding return of Syria to the League has a very clear symbol, and there is a desire that this be the beginning of resolving the crisis, restoring Syria to its normal role within the Arab system, and overcoming the difficult circumstances which have faced the country.

He stressed that the situation in Syria is a priority and the League will work with the Syrian government to secure return of Syrian refugees to their homes, hoping that the West will help achieve this goal in accordance with the UN Security Council resolution that stipulated support for early recovery projects.

Source: Syrian Arab News Agency

The country is affected by a shallow air pressure from the southeastern direction accompanied by southwestern air currents in the upper parts of the atmosphere, temperatures remain below average in general, Meteorological Department said.

Spring weather prevails, the skies will be clear to partly cloudy with a little chance for thunder showers over different regions, heavy rains are expected over the northwestern, coastal and al-Jazeera regions, according to Saturday bulletin.

The wind will be westerly to southwesterly with low to moderate speed with some active gusts in the southern regions exceeds 35km/h, the sea waves will be low to medium in amplitude.

The expected temperatures in some Syrian cities will be as follows: Damascus 25/11, Daraa 22/11, Hasaka 28/18, Lattakia 25/19, Tartous 24/19, Deir Ezzor 35/20.

Source: Syrian Arab News Agency

With the participation of Syria, the Scientific and Technical Forum, that cares for the most important outcomes of the researches about earthquakes and how to protect from their dangers started in Algeria.

Representative of Syria in Algeria, Minister of Public Works and Housing, Suhail Abdullatif discussed with Algerian Minister of Housing, Mohamed Tariq Belaribi the possibility of boosting technical cooperation between the two countries in the field of earthquakes and how to prevent their dangers.

Source: Syrian Arab News Agency