During his state visit to the UK on July 18, 1989, UAE Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, caused quite a stir in the British media on the back of a meeting he held in the grounds of Buckingham Palace, where he was staying.
Sheikh Zayed had invited Bassam Abu Sharif, a senior adviser to Yasser Arafat, former leader of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, with whom the British government had no official relations.
The first Palestinian intifada was taking place, and former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who was then the country's trade and industry minister, had publicly called for the murder of Arafat.
“Palestine had a very special place in his heart,” Abu Sharif wrote of Sheikh Zayed in his 2009 book Arafat and the Dream of Palestine: An Insider's Account.
Recounting his meeting with the UAE Founding Father, Abu Sharif said: “Sheikh Zayed was an Arab who remained true in his national stands”.
“I summarised developments, explaining to His Highness the difficult circumstances of occupation under which our people were living. He would interrupt me once in a while to ask for more details, but I could see he was deeply moved by what I was telling him,” he wrote of their meeting.
“Due to His Highness’s busy schedule, I was granted only a 20-minute meeting. When my allotted time was up, I stood to leave, apologising for having taken up so much of his valuable time. He motioned for me to remain seated, saying firmly: 'Palestine is more important.'
“We continued talking for a whole hour, which both amazed and confused his staff. Before I left, Sheikh Zayed pledged to aid the Palestinian people and encouraged us to remain firmly committed to freeing Jerusalem.”
The following morning, one British newspaper reported their meeting with the headline: “A Terrorist in Buckingham Palace”. The Independent also suggested Abu Sharif's visit to Buckingham Palace had “embarrassed” Geoffrey Howe, the then British foreign secretary.
Buckingham Palace would later issue a statement saying the meeting had been prearranged and that, as a guest of Queen Elizabeth II, Sheikh Zayed was entitled to any visitor he wished.
Following the state reception at Buckingham Palace, hosted by the queen, Sheikh Zayed hosted a return banquet in her honour two days later. It was held at the famed Claridge's hotel in London, and the queen was accompanied by a host of British politicians and members of the British royal family, including Princess Diana who, only a few months earlier in March, had visited the UAE with then Prince Charles.
During his four-day visit to the UK, Sheikh Zayed also met former UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher at her residence and office in 10 Downing Street.
How it works
1) The liquid nanoclay is a mixture of water and clay that aims to convert desert land to fertile ground
2) Instead of water draining straight through the sand, it apparently helps the soil retain water
3) One application is said to last five years
4) The cost of treatment per hectare (2.4 acres) of desert varies from $7,000 to $10,000 per hectare
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Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
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Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
Yahya Al Ghassani's bio
Date of birth: April 18, 1998
Playing position: Winger
Clubs: 2015-2017 – Al Ahli Dubai; March-June 2018 – Paris FC; August – Al Wahda
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French business
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
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Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
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SPECS
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WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
Director: Scott Cooper
Starring: Jeremy Allen White, Odessa Young, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Akeed
Based: Muscat
Launch year: 2018
Number of employees: 40
Sector: Online food delivery
Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception
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The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
