Egypt is spearheading a diplomatic drive to convene an Islamic summit to broaden opposition to US President Donald Trump's plan for the Gaza Strip, sources briefed on this effort have told The National.
Mr Trump has said he wants to permanently displace Gaza's 2.3 million Palestinians, take control of the war-devastated enclave and rebuild it as the “Riviera of the Middle East”.
The sources said Saudi Arabia and Qatar were also involved in the diplomatic effort to hold a summit of the 57-state, Saudi-based Organisation of Islamic Co-operation.
The Islamic gathering would be held after an Arab summit due to take place in Cairo on February 27, but no exact date has been agreed, said the sources. They added that it would take place in either Egypt or Saudi Arabia.
It is the latest in a series of diplomatic moves by Egypt to build broad international opposition to the proposals by Mr Trump, which demand that Egypt and Jordan take in the Palestinians displaced from their homeland. He has threatened to withdraw aid from the two US-allied nations if they refuse.
The aim of the summits is to demonstrate a united and broad opposition front against Mr Trump's Gaza proposals so that he may be persuaded to drop the idea, said officials.
However, observers say this course of action appears unlikely at present, given the frequency with which the US President asserts his commitment to the plans.
Egypt borders both Gaza and Israel − with which it signed a US-sponsored peace treaty in 1979 that has long been considered a cornerstone of regional stability. The treaty, however, has come under growing stress since the Israel-Gaza war began in October 2023. Supporting Palestinians' right to self-determination is a central plank of Egypt's foreign policy, something that has often strained ties with Israel.
“Rallying the Arab and Muslim worlds against Trump's ideas for Gaza is meant to put pressure on the American president and influence public opinion in the West,” said one source.
“What Trump has proposed can possibly be undermined and made to eventually crumble, so long as there's Arab and Islamic unity. It's important at this juncture to revive the old sentiments and mindset of Arab nationalism. It's the best defence of the Palestinian cause.”
The Arab summit, the sources have said, will adopt an Egyptian proposal for convening a conference of international donors and regional stakeholders on the reconstruction of Gaza, where most built-up areas have been laid to waste by Israel's military campaign.
A fragile truce that paused the fighting on January 19 has come under renewed stress this week, amid threats by Israel to resume its attacks in Gaza to eradicate Hamas. On Thursday, Hamas said it would resume the release of hostages, which may ease these tensions.
Egypt, according to the sources, has a Gaza reconstruction plan of its own to counter Mr Trump's proposals. It will be presented to the Arab summit and the proposed donors conference that will follow. The sources declined to share precise details of this plan, except that it would be staggered over 15 years, with the first three years focused on the restoration of essential services and infrastructure.
However, it does not entail moving Gaza's residents outside of the territory, they stressed.
Tension between Egypt and the US over Mr Trump's Gaza proposals is juxtaposed with a close alliance dating back to the 1970s and involving wide-ranging co-operation on security, counter-terrorism and intelligence-sharing, as well as diplomatic co-ordination.
Egypt has also received billions of dollars in US economic and military aid over the years, with an annual $1.3-billion military assistance programme that has helped the most populous Arab nation modernise its armed forces, after years of reliance on Soviet-era weapons.
Egypt's President Abdel Fattah El Sisi has been careful to avoid a public confrontation with Mr Trump over the US leader's proposals, said the sources, but also has shown unwavering opposition to the plans, saying Cairo will never be part of an injustice against the Palestinians.
Simultaneously, he has been lavishly praising Mr Trump as a “strong leader” capable of bringing peace and stability to a Middle East torn by the Arab-Israeli conflict for close to a century. The Egyptian leader and his government have also been commending Cairo's “strategic partnership” with Washington in their pronouncements.
However, said the sources, Mr El Sisi has indefinitely postponed a visit to Washington that had been expected later this month but which was never officially confirmed by Cairo or the White House.
The sources said the decision to put off the visit followed an assessment of the mood in the Trump administration and among loyal members of Congress. This indicated that the visit could fuel tension to a degree that may inflict serious damage to relations.
“El Sisi is in a no-win situation. He cannot publicly push back against Trump's Gaza idea while seated next to him in the Oval Office. Finessing the issue to avoid a public confrontation can also be very damaging for the Egyptian leader at home,” said Michael Hanna, director of the US programme at the International Crisis Group think tank.
“It is not an opportune moment for El Sisi to go to Washington. He will have little wriggle room there and the visit can potentially do more harm than good,” said Mr Hanna, who is based in New York.
However, explained the sources, Mr Trump's threat to stop economic and military aid to Egypt if it doesn't go along with his Gaza plan could run into strong resistance in Washington given the close military ties between the two countries. Egypt, for example, grants US warships priority in transiting the Suez Canal and makes its air space routinely available to American military aircraft. The two militaries frequently hold joint war games.
“That relationship may well be beyond the reach of any Oval Office occupant. Military aid to and co-operation with Egypt is of strategic value to the United States. The Pentagon understands that very well,” said the source.
Egypt and the US, along with Qatar, brokered the ceasefire that has paused the Gaza war after more than a year of on-and-off mediation between Hamas and Israel. Cairo, with US blessing, had mediated the end of previous fighting between Hamas and Israel.
As part of its continuing diplomatic campaign against Mr Trump's Gaza plans, Mr El Sisi dispatched Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty to Washington this week to explain to US officials, key members of Congress and well-connected think tanks Cairo's position and the gravity of the US President's proposals, said the sources.
Mr Abdelatty's overriding message in Washington, they added, was to warn that, if implemented, Mr Trump's proposals could undermine the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty and torpedo any prospect of a revival of the long-stalled Middle East peace process − plunging the region into years of further upheaval.
Egypt and Israel fought four, fully-fledged wars between 1948 and 1973. More than 50 years after the last conflict ended, Israel remains the most likely future war adversary in the doctrine of the Egyptian military, with the arid and sparsely populated Sinai Peninsula the expected main theatre of operations.
Sinai, with a coastline on both the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, has been repeatedly mentioned as the most likely home for displaced Palestinians from neighbouring Gaza.
Significantly, Egypt's Defence Minister Gen Abdel Maguid Saqr was at hand on Monday when the Third Army – whose primary mandate has traditionally been to protect Sinai – conducted war drills.
“The commander of the armed forces … demanded from the men of the field Third Army to maintain the highest level of combat readiness, so the armed forces can continue to carry out its tasks and responsibilities under any circumstances,” said a military statement.
Attacks on Egypt’s long rooted Copts
Egypt’s Copts belong to one of the world’s oldest Christian communities, with Mark the Evangelist credited with founding their church around 300 AD. Orthodox Christians account for the overwhelming majority of Christians in Egypt, with the rest mainly made up of Greek Orthodox, Catholics and Anglicans.
The community accounts for some 10 per cent of Egypt’s 100 million people, with the largest concentrations of Christians found in Cairo, Alexandria and the provinces of Minya and Assiut south of Cairo.
Egypt’s Christians have had a somewhat turbulent history in the Muslim majority Arab nation, with the community occasionally suffering outright persecution but generally living in peace with their Muslim compatriots. But radical Muslims who have first emerged in the 1970s have whipped up anti-Christian sentiments, something that has, in turn, led to an upsurge in attacks against their places of worship, church-linked facilities as well as their businesses and homes.
More recently, ISIS has vowed to go after the Christians, claiming responsibility for a series of attacks against churches packed with worshippers starting December 2016.
The discrimination many Christians complain about and the shift towards religious conservatism by many Egyptian Muslims over the last 50 years have forced hundreds of thousands of Christians to migrate, starting new lives in growing communities in places as far afield as Australia, Canada and the United States.
Here is a look at major attacks against Egypt's Coptic Christians in recent years:
November 2: Masked gunmen riding pickup trucks opened fire on three buses carrying pilgrims to the remote desert monastery of St. Samuel the Confessor south of Cairo, killing 7 and wounding about 20. IS claimed responsibility for the attack.
May 26, 2017: Masked militants riding in three all-terrain cars open fire on a bus carrying pilgrims on their way to the Monastery of St. Samuel the Confessor, killing 29 and wounding 22. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack.
April 2017: Twin attacks by suicide bombers hit churches in the coastal city of Alexandria and the Nile Delta city of Tanta. At least 43 people are killed and scores of worshippers injured in the Palm Sunday attack, which narrowly missed a ceremony presided over by Pope Tawadros II, spiritual leader of Egypt Orthodox Copts, in Alexandria's St. Mark's Cathedral. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attacks.
February 2017: Hundreds of Egyptian Christians flee their homes in the northern part of the Sinai Peninsula, fearing attacks by ISIS. The group's North Sinai affiliate had killed at least seven Coptic Christians in the restive peninsula in less than a month.
December 2016: A bombing at a chapel adjacent to Egypt's main Coptic Christian cathedral in Cairo kills 30 people and wounds dozens during Sunday Mass in one of the deadliest attacks carried out against the religious minority in recent memory. ISIS claimed responsibility.
July 2016: Pope Tawadros II says that since 2013 there were 37 sectarian attacks on Christians in Egypt, nearly one incident a month. A Muslim mob stabs to death a 27-year-old Coptic Christian man, Fam Khalaf, in the central city of Minya over a personal feud.
May 2016: A Muslim mob ransacks and torches seven Christian homes in Minya after rumours spread that a Christian man had an affair with a Muslim woman. The elderly mother of the Christian man was stripped naked and dragged through a street by the mob.
New Year's Eve 2011: A bomb explodes in a Coptic Christian church in Alexandria as worshippers leave after a midnight mass, killing more than 20 people.
The Prison Letters of Nelson Mandela
Edited by Sahm Venter
Published by Liveright
Batti Gul Meter Chalu
Producers: KRTI Productions, T-Series
Director: Sree Narayan Singh
Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Divyenndu Sharma, Yami Gautam
Rating: 2/5
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
Sugary teas and iced coffees
The tax authority is yet to release a list of the taxed products, but it appears likely that sugary iced teas and cold coffees will be hit.
For instance, the non-fizzy drink AriZona Iced Tea contains 65 grams of sugar – about 16 teaspoons – per 680ml can. The average can costs about Dh6, which would rise to Dh9.
Cold coffee brands are likely to be hit too. Drinks such as Starbucks Bottled Mocha Frappuccino contain 31g of sugar in 270ml, while Nescafe Mocha in a can contains 15.6g of sugar in a 240ml can.
The Cairo Statement
1: Commit to countering all types of terrorism and extremism in all their manifestations
2: Denounce violence and the rhetoric of hatred
3: Adhere to the full compliance with the Riyadh accord of 2014 and the subsequent meeting and executive procedures approved in 2014 by the GCC
4: Comply with all recommendations of the Summit between the US and Muslim countries held in May 2017 in Saudi Arabia.
5: Refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of countries and of supporting rogue entities.
6: Carry out the responsibility of all the countries with the international community to counter all manifestations of extremism and terrorism that threaten international peace and security
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 178hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 280Nm at 1,350-4,200rpm
Transmission: seven-speed dual-clutch auto
Price: from Dh209,000
On sale: now
Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Lamsa
Founder: Badr Ward
Launched: 2014
Employees: 60
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: EdTech
Funding to date: $15 million
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 247hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 370Nm from 1,500-3,500rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 7.8L/100km
Price: from Dh94,900
On sale: now
UAE v United States, T20 International Series
Both matches at ICC Academy, Dubai. Admission is free.
1st match: Friday, 2pm
2nd match: Saturday, 2pm
UAE squad: Mohammed Naveed (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Shaiman Anwar, Rameez Shahzad, Amjad Gul, CP Rizwan, Mohammed Boota, Abdul Shakoor, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Sultan Ahmed, Zahoor Khan, Amir Hayat
USA squad: Saurabh Netravalkar (captain), Jaskaran Malhotra, Elmore Hutchinson, Aaron Jones, Nosthush Kenjige, Ali Khan, Jannisar Khan, Xavier Marshall, Monank Patel, Timil Patel, Roy Silva, Jessy Singh, Steven Taylor, Hayden Walsh
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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Ultra processed foods
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
if you go
The flights
Air Astana flies direct from Dubai to Almaty from Dh2,440 per person return, and to Astana (via Almaty) from Dh2,930 return, both including taxes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Ritz-Carlton Almaty cost from Dh1,944 per night including taxes; and in Astana the new Ritz-Carlton Astana (www.marriott) costs from Dh1,325; alternatively, the new St Regis Astana costs from Dh1,458 per night including taxes.
When to visit
March-May and September-November
Visas
Citizens of many countries, including the UAE do not need a visa to enter Kazakhstan for up to 30 days. Contact the nearest Kazakhstan embassy or consulate.
Second ODI
England 322-7 (50 ovs)
India 236 (50 ovs)
England win by 86 runs
Next match: Tuesday, July 17, Headingley
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MATCH INFO
Argentina 47 (Tries: Sanchez, Tuculet (2), Mallia (2), De La Fuente, Bertranou; Cons: Sanchez 5, Urdapilleta)
United States 17 (Tries: Scully (2), Lasike; Cons: MacGinty)
Company%20Profile
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Other ways to buy used products in the UAE
UAE insurance firm Al Wathba National Insurance Company (AWNIC) last year launched an e-commerce website with a facility enabling users to buy car wrecks.
Bidders and potential buyers register on the online salvage car auction portal to view vehicles, review condition reports, or arrange physical surveys, and then start bidding for motors they plan to restore or harvest for parts.
Physical salvage car auctions are a common method for insurers around the world to move on heavily damaged vehicles, but AWNIC is one of the few UAE insurers to offer such services online.
For cars and less sizeable items such as bicycles and furniture, Dubizzle is arguably the best-known marketplace for pre-loved.
Founded in 2005, in recent years it has been joined by a plethora of Facebook community pages for shifting used goods, including Abu Dhabi Marketplace, Flea Market UAE and Arabian Ranches Souq Market while sites such as The Luxury Closet and Riot deal largely in second-hand fashion.
At the high-end of the pre-used spectrum, resellers such as Timepiece360.ae, WatchBox Middle East and Watches Market Dubai deal in authenticated second-hand luxury timepieces from brands such as Rolex, Hublot and Tag Heuer, with a warranty.
Juliet, Naked
Dir: Jesse Peretz
Starring: Chris O'Dowd, Rose Byrne, Ethan Hawke
Two stars
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
INFO
Everton 0
Arsenal 0
Man of the Match: Djibril Sidibe (Everton)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Results
5pm: Warsan Lake – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 2,200m; Winner: Dhaw Al Reef, Sam Hitchcott (jockey), Abdallah Al Hammadi (trainer)
5.30pm: Al Quadra Lake – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Mrouwah Al Gharbia, Sando Paiva, Abubakar Daud
6pm: Hatta Lake – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: AF Yatroq, George Buckell, Ernst Oertel
6.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Ashton Tourettes, Adries de Vries, Ibrahim Aseel
7pm: Abu Dhabi Championship – Listed (PA) Dh180,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Bahar Muscat, Antonio Fresu, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
7.30pm: Zakher Lake – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 1,400m; Winner: Alfareeq, Dane O’Neill, Musabah Al Muhairi.
LOVE%20AGAIN
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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2.
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China
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3.
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UAE
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4.
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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6.
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Canada
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7.
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Singapore
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8.
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
