A British envoy has travelled to Israel to “promote trade with the UK” days after Britain's government suspended new trade talks with the country.
Ian Austin, an independent peer and former Labour MP, posted details of his visit in a social media post on Tuesday. “Trade with Israel provides many thousands of good jobs in the UK and brings people together in the great multicultural democracy that is Israel,” he wrote.
It is understood that Lord Austin does not have any official talks planned. However, he wrote on social media that he will meet Israeli "businesses and officials" during his trip.
Trade envoys are not involved in trade negotiations, but work to promote and secure investment in the UK.
Last week, UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy suspended talks over an expanded trade deal with Israel and imposed new sanctions on settlers in the occupied West Bank.
The measures marked the toughest response to Israel's military campaign in Gaza and its handling of the crisis in the West Bank to date. At the time, an Israeli diplomat dismissed the suspension of new trade talks as "a British loss".
The diplomat added: "It is a lose-lose situation for the UK. Israel should be one of the first partners for tech and all the things we wanted to do together. This is really a British loss. We don't see it as an Israeli loss. It's a punishment to your own people."
Lord Austin, the UK trade envoy for Israel, appears to be at odds with the mood in the Foreign Office. He had expressed his intention to visit the country and “drum up business for Britain” in Politics Home last week, writing that “trade is not just about exports and quotas, it is about our values and our relationships".
He added: “Even without the benefits a new trade agreement would bring to Britain, our message is that we’re open for business, so we’ll still be encouraging British businesses to export to Israel and Israeli businesses to invest in the UK to create jobs here."
He visited the Customs Scanning Centre, the Haifa Nazareth Light Rail project, the Haifa Bayport and the Israel Institute of Technology (Technion) on his first day, “witnessing UK-Israeli co-operation at every stop”, a social media post by the UK embassy in Israel said.
A foreign office representative told The National that Lord Austin was in the country to “maintain” existing relationships with Israeli businesses.
"Lord Austin is in Israel this week in his capacity as trade envoy to maintain our relationship with Israeli businesses,” they said.
"We suspended talks with Israel on a new [free-trade agreement] because it is not possible to advance discussions with a Netanyahu government pursuing such egregious policies in Gaza and the West Bank."
The representative did not respond when asked whether Mr Lammy was aware of the trip. The Foreign Secretary accused Israel of “intolerable and repellent” actions in Gaza last week and condemned its renewed offensive on the strip.
Mr Lammy said: “We must call this what it is: it is extremism, it is dangerous, it is repellent, it is monstrous and I condemn it in the strongest possible terms.”
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PROFILE OF STARZPLAY
Date started: 2014
Founders: Maaz Sheikh, Danny Bates
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment/Streaming Video On Demand
Number of employees: 125
Investors/Investment amount: $125 million. Major investors include Starz/Lionsgate, State Street, SEQ and Delta Partners
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Where to donate in the UAE
The Emirates Charity Portal
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Al Noor Special Needs Centre
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Emirates Airline Foundation
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
Emirates Red Crescent
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Noor Dubai Foundation
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
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Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
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- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
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- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
Zidane's managerial achievements
La Liga: 2016/17
Spanish Super Cup: 2017
Uefa Champions League: 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18
Uefa Super Cup: 2016, 2017
Fifa Club World Cup: 2016, 2017
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New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
