US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has pledged to maintain the country’s strong ties with Israel, following a rare public disagreement between the two longtime allies.
Mr Blinken told Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen on Thursday he "reaffirmed the importance of the enduring US-Israel bilateral relationship", State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said.
But Mr Blinken also vowed renewed US support for a Palestinian state.
The call took place as thousands rallied across Israel and the Palestinian territories for Land Day on Thursday, commemorating a deadly crackdown in 1976 on protests against Israeli plans to seize land owned by Arab citizens.
Two people were wounded by Israeli army fire during a march in the blockaded Gaza Strip, AFP said.
US pressure on Israel
On Tuesday, President Joe Biden urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to abandon proposals that would give the Israeli government greater control over appointments to the country's Supreme Court.
Mr Netanyahu rejected Mr Biden’s calls to “walk away” from the reforms and said he would not give in to foreign pressure.
He later claimed he was confident of finding a compromise on the reforms.
During Thursday's call, Mr Blinken discussed Iran as well as renewed US support for a Palestinian state — an idea rejected by much of Israel’s hard-right government.
Mr Blinken "emphasised the importance of refraining from unilateral actions that exacerbate tensions", Mr Patel said.
Mr Biden, who has known Mr Netanyahu for decades, took office hoping to avoid a replay of the public feuding with the Israeli leader seen when he was Barack Obama's vice president.
But the State Department issued strong condemnation after Israel's parliament voted to annul a US-backed rule against certain settlements in the West Bank and denounced one of Mr Netanyahu's ministers over remarks denying the existence of the Palestinian people.
What is Palestinian Land Day?
Land Day commemorates protests and a strike on March 30, 1976, against a decision by the Israeli authorities to seize large sections of land in the northern Galilee region.
Israeli police fired at demonstrators, killing six people, and the government plan was subsequently annulled.
On Thursday, at the rally in Sakhnin, an Arab city in northern Israel, many people were wearing the traditional keffiyeh scarf as they waved Palestinian flags and chanted: "Freedom! Freedom!", AFP reported.
"This demonstration is happening under a fascist government and against the backdrop of growing racism, which has become mainstream is Israel," lawmaker Ahmed Tibi said.
Hayat Hammoud, 29, said she had joined the Sakhnin march in "solidarity" with the families of the "martyrs" of the 1976 events.
In Gaza, under a crippling Israeli-led blockade since 2007, hundreds marched along the heavily guarded border.
Israeli soldiers fired bullets and tear gas to disperse the crowd from the other side of the fence, AFP said.
A Palestinian medical source said two people had been taken to hospital in Gaza city with gunshot wounds.
An Israeli army spokesman told AFP that "two fragmentation grenades" thrown from the Palestinian side landed on the other side of the fence without causing injuries.
"The soldiers shot tear gas and .22 calibre rounds, and hits were identified on a number of rioters," he added.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
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Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
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The view from The National
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
Ruwais timeline
1971 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company established
1980 Ruwais Housing Complex built, located 10 kilometres away from industrial plants
1982 120,000 bpd capacity Ruwais refinery complex officially inaugurated by the founder of the UAE Sheikh Zayed
1984 Second phase of Ruwais Housing Complex built. Today the 7,000-unit complex houses some 24,000 people.
1985 The refinery is expanded with the commissioning of a 27,000 b/d hydro cracker complex
2009 Plans announced to build $1.2 billion fertilizer plant in Ruwais, producing urea
2010 Adnoc awards $10bn contracts for expansion of Ruwais refinery, to double capacity from 415,000 bpd
2014 Ruwais 261-outlet shopping mall opens
2014 Production starts at newly expanded Ruwais refinery, providing jet fuel and diesel and allowing the UAE to be self-sufficient for petrol supplies
2014 Etihad Rail begins transportation of sulphur from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais for export
2017 Aldar Academies to operate Adnoc’s schools including in Ruwais from September. Eight schools operate in total within the housing complex.
2018 Adnoc announces plans to invest $3.1 billion on upgrading its Ruwais refinery
2018 NMC Healthcare selected to manage operations of Ruwais Hospital
2018 Adnoc announces new downstream strategy at event in Abu Dhabi on May 13
Source: The National
German intelligence warnings
- 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
The five pillars of Islam
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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Greizmann (21', 49'), Gabi (89')
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Indika
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
The five pillars of Islam
Read more about the coronavirus
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.
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Analysis
Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more
Match info
Liverpool 3
Hoedt (10' og), Matip (21'), Salah (45 3')
Southampton 0
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
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Bareilly Ki Barfi
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Three and a half stars
