President Sheikh Mohamed spoke by phone with Sultan Haitham of Oman on Friday. Photo: UAE Presidential Court / Oman News Agency
President Sheikh Mohamed spoke by phone with Sultan Haitham of Oman on Friday. Photo: UAE Presidential Court / Oman News Agency
President Sheikh Mohamed spoke by phone with Sultan Haitham of Oman on Friday. Photo: UAE Presidential Court / Oman News Agency
President Sheikh Mohamed spoke by phone with Sultan Haitham of Oman on Friday. Photo: UAE Presidential Court / Oman News Agency

President Sheikh Mohamed and Oman's Sultan Haitham offer Gaza support in call


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President Sheikh Mohamed and Oman's Sultan Haitham reiterated their support for the Palestinian people and issued a renewed plea for an end to the war with Israel during a phone call on Friday.

The leaders emphasised that the long-proposed two-state solution remained the only "viable path to achieve a just and comprehensive peace in the region".

Gaza is in the grip of a worsening humanitarian crisis after nearly two years of war in which more than 64,000 Palestinians have been killed and about two million displaced.

The Israeli military began its offensive after Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel and killed 1,200 people.

Sheikh Mohamed and Sultan Haitham also reviewed the long-standing ties between the two countries and ways to further strengthen relations during discussions.

The two men exchanged greetings in honour of the Prophet Mohammed's birthday, expressing their hope that the occasion would help to bring peace and stability to the region.

Emirati and Omani leaders meet regularly in support of a deep-rooted friendship which spans several decades.

In May, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, on Monday met Sultan Haitham at Al Baraka Palace in Muscat.

The meeting focused on building relations between the countries, with discussions focused on strengthening co-operation across key sectors, particularly in the economic, commercial, tourism, cultural and knowledge fields, Dubai Media Office reported.

Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Ruler of Sharjah, had travelled to the Omani capital the previous month for talks with the Sultan of Oman.

Sultan Haitham emphasised the strong relations between the UAE and Oman while the Sharjah Ruler spoke of his desire to see continued prosperity for Oman and its people.

Sultan Haitham praised Sheikh Dr Sultan for his contributions to preserving Arab culture and identity by documenting its history, referring to the Sharjah Ruler's book The Portuguese in the Sea of ​​Oman, Events in Annals from 1497AD to 1757AD.

The specs
  • Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
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The figures behind the event

1) More than 300 in-house cleaning crew

2) 165 staff assigned to sanitise public areas throughout the show

3) 1,000 social distancing stickers

4) 809 hand sanitiser dispensers placed throughout the venue

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
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  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
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  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The five pillars of Islam
The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting

2. Prayer

3. Hajj

4. Shahada

5. Zakat 

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.

Part three: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

Herc's Adventures

Developer: Big Ape Productions
Publisher: LucasArts
Console: PlayStation 1 & 5, Sega Saturn
Rating: 4/5

The specs: 2019 Subaru Forester

Price, base: Dh105,900 (Premium); Dh115,900 (Sport)

Engine: 2.5-litre four-cylinder

Transmission: Continuously variable transmission

Power: 182hp @ 5,800rpm

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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.

Updated: September 05, 2025, 4:07 PM`