The historic resolution made by the UAE leadership to formally establish ties with Israel a year ago was seen as one of the most significant breakthroughs in the Middle East peace process that had stalled for years.
Under the agreement, known as the Abraham Accords that former US president Donald Trump helped to broker, Israel agreed to suspend its planned annexation of parts of the occupied West Bank.
Bahrain later joined the UAE in officially establishing ties with Israel.
In mid September 2020, senior representatives of the UAE, Bahrain, the US and Israel signed the Abraham Accords at the White House in Washington.
Senior UAE ministers said the agreement would not change their firm stance towards the peace process. The UAE remains committed to the Arab plan of a negotiated two-state solution, with East Jerusalem as the capital of an independent Palestinian state.
As part of the deal, Israel also reached an agreement with Sudan and Morocco.
What has happened since August?
Since last August, both the UAE and Israel have exchanged ambassadors, opened embassies and established co-operation in areas such as health care, innovation, aviation, environment and energy.
Last month, the UAE opened its embassy in the stock exchange building in Tel Aviv.
“This embassy will serve not just as a home for diplomats but a base for our task to continue to build on our new partnership,” said the UAE's ambassador to Israel, Mohamed Al Khaja, after raising the UAE flag.
Its aim is “to seek dialogue, not disputes, to build a new paradigm of peace and to provide a model for a new collaborative approach to conflict resolution in the Middle East”.
In June, Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid opened his country’s embassy in Abu Dhabi and a consulate in Dubai.
Mr Lapid’s visit to the UAE was the first by a senior Israeli minister since relations were established.
“We are standing here today because we chose peace over war,” Mr Lapid said during the opening ceremony in Abu Dhabi.
“Israel wants peace with its neighbours, with all its neighbours – we aren't going anywhere. The Middle East is our home, we're here to stay,” he said.
In the year since the Accords were signed, trade has reached more than Dh2.48 billion ($675.2 million) between the two states.
The agreement between the UAE, Israel and the US established the Abraham Fund, and through this fund the US International Development Finance Corporation, the UAE and Israel committed to mobilising more than $3bn in private sector-led investment and development initiatives to promote regional economic co-operation in the Middle East and the wider region.
The UAE’s Minister of State for Food Security, Mariam Al Mheiri, signed an agreement to enhance co-operation in food production, supply chains and research during a visit to Israel in June.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry said nearly 200,000 Israelis have visited the UAE and 12 agreements have been signed during the past 10 months.
Morocco and Sudan agreements
Mr Lapid landed in Morocco on Wednesday in what was the first visit by Israel’s foreign minister since the two countries agreed to strengthen relations.
They agreed in December to resume diplomatic ties and relaunch direct flights under a deal brokered by Mr Trump.
Last month, non-stop commercial flights from Tel Aviv to Marrakesh were launched by Israeli airlines, but due to an increase in coronavirus cases in both nations the intention to increase tourism is on hold.
Sudan last year joined the agreement to normalise ties with Israel, followed by a move by Mr Trump to drop the country from a US government list of countries promoting and harbouring terrorists in December.
Israel and Sudan plan to develop economic and trade links, with an initial focus on agriculture.
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UAE cricketers abroad
Sid Jhurani is not the first cricketer from the UAE to go to the UK to try his luck.
Rameez Shahzad Played alongside Ben Stokes and Liam Plunkett in Durham while he was studying there. He also played club cricket as an overseas professional, but his time in the UK stunted his UAE career. The batsman went a decade without playing for the national team.
Yodhin Punja The seam bowler was named in the UAE’s extended World Cup squad in 2015 despite being just 15 at the time. He made his senior UAE debut aged 16, and subsequently took up a scholarship at Claremont High School in the south of England.
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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AndhaDhun
Director: Sriram Raghavan
Producer: Matchbox Pictures, Viacom18
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, Radhika Apte, Anil Dhawan
Rating: 3.5/5
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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match info
Maratha Arabians 138-2
C Lynn 91*, A Lyth 20, B Laughlin 1-15
Team Abu Dhabi 114-3
L Wright 40*, L Malinga 0-13, M McClenaghan 1-17
Maratha Arabians won by 24 runs
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
MATCH INFO
Al Jazira 3 (O Abdulrahman 43', Kenno 82', Mabkhout 90 4')
Al Ain 1 (Laba 39')
Red cards: Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain)
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FINAL RECKONING
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg
Rating: 4/5
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Trippier bio
Date of birth September 19, 1990
Place of birth Bury, United Kingdom
Age 26
Height 1.74 metres
Nationality England
Position Right-back
Foot Right
