Foreign ministers from Israel and Palestine are expected to attend a dinner in Brussels on Monday in a rare diplomatic setting as the Gaza war continues.
They have both confirmed their attendance at an EU-Southern Neighbourhood ministerial meeting, The National understands.
While it appears that Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar and his Palestinian counterpart Varsen Aghabekian will be in the same room, it remains unclear whether they will speak.
The meeting comes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he hoped for a truce soon in Gaza as talks continued in Qatar.
“We would like for us as Palestinians to speak for ourselves at this meeting and send a message to Europeans about the humanitarian crisis for Palestinians and ask that they take measures against Israel,” a Palestinian official told Euronews.
The aim of the Brussels meeting is to strengthen relations between the EU and the 10 partner countries in the Mediterranean region.
They include Algeria, Egypt and Jordan. Syria has been reintegrated since the fall of the Assad regime in December and its Foreign Minister Assad Al Shibani is expected to attend.
The last such meeting took place in November 2022 in Barcelona, just under a year before the October 7 Hamas-led attacks against Israel.
Relations between Israel and the EU appear to have warmed since Kaja Kallas was appointed the bloc's foreign affairs chief in December.
Ms Kallas on Thursday announced that she had struck a deal with Israel to increase the amount of aid entering Gaza. A meeting of the EU's 27 foreign ministers on Tuesday is set to discuss options to respond to Israel's human rights violations in Gaza.
There is little expectation that Tuesday's meeting will lead to concrete decisions targeting Israel. Ms Kallas has said that measures would be discussed only if the situation did not improve in Gaza, though some European ministers said they would closely watch the implementation of the aid deal.
Most European countries have said they do not approve of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation's new aid distribution operation, during which hundreds of Palestinians have been killed.
Ms Kallas this week put forward 10 options to member states, including a full suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, which appeared unlikely because it needed consensus from the 27 members.
Suspending trade relations or Israel's participation in the Erasmus+ student exchange or Horizon academic research programmes would require a qualified majority vote.
Mr Saar was in Brussels in February for the first EU-Israel high level talks in years, followed by a similar meeting with Palestine's Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa.
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Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
Fixtures (all in UAE time)
Friday
Everton v Burnley 11pm
Saturday
Bournemouth v Tottenham Hotspur 3.30pm
West Ham United v Southampton 6pm
Wolves v Fulham 6pm
Cardiff City v Crystal Palace 8.30pm
Newcastle United v Liverpool 10.45pm
Sunday
Chelsea v Watford 5pm
Huddersfield v Manchester United 5pm
Arsenal v Brighton 7.30pm
Monday
Manchester City v Leicester City 11pm
The Voice of Hind Rajab
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The specs: 2018 Maserati Levante S
Price, base / as tested: Dh409,000 / Dh467,000
Engine: 3.0-litre V6
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6.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Dirt) 1,200m; Winner: Major Cinnamon, Fernando Jara, Mujeeb Rahman
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9.25pm: Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,400m; Winner: Sharamm, Ryan Curatlo, Satish Seemar
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.
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David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
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.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
