Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed arrived in Washington on Sunday. Wam
Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed arrived in Washington on Sunday. Wam
Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed arrived in Washington on Sunday. Wam
Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed arrived in Washington on Sunday. Wam

UAE foreign minister arrives in Washington to sign Abraham Accord


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The UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, arrived in Washington on Sunday night to sign the Abraham Accord, to strengthen ties between the Emirates and Israel.

Sheikh Abdullah was invited by US President Donald Trump to take part in the signing ceremony on Tuesday, in the presence of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

A high-level delegation is accompanying him on the trip.

Among them are: Abdulla Al Marri, the Minister of Economy; Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology; Obaid Al Tayer, Minister of State for Financial Affairs; and Reem Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Co-operation.

Other notables include: Yousef Al Otaiba, UAE ambassador to the US and Minister; Omar Ghobash, Assistant Minister for Culture and Public Diplomacy; Lana Nusseibeh, UAE Permanent Representative to the UN; and Ali Al Neyadi, Commissioner of Customs and Chairman of the Federal Customs Authority.

Mr Netanyahu began his journey to Washington on Sunday evening.

"I travel to achieve peace in exchange for peace and we reached two peace agreements in just one month," Mr Netanyahu said on Twitter.

"This is a new era. These agreements will unite diplomatic peace with economic peace, and they will pump billions into our economy through investments, co-operation and joint ventures."

The US announced the Abraham Accord between the UAE and Israel in mid-August.

As part of the accord, Israel agreed to halt all annexation of Palestinian territories in exchange for establishing diplomatic ties with the UAE.

The agreement came in a joint call between Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, Mr Trump and Mr Netanyahu.

The first commercial flight between the UAE and Israel took place last month as the two countries looked to open up their tourism sectors.

On that flight was a high-level US-Israeli delegation led by White House senior adviser Jared Kushner.

On Friday, the White House announced that Israel and Bahrain had also agreed to establish full diplomatic relations.

High-level ministers from Bahrain will also formalise the deal at the Tuesday ceremony in the White House.

The European Council said on Sunday that the bloc "believes these developments represent a positive contribution to peace and stability in the Middle East".

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto will be the only EU diplomatic leader to attend the signing ceremony on Tuesday in Washington, his spokesman said on Sunday.

“At the invitation of US President Donald Trump, as the only European Union minister, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto will also attend  the signing ceremony in the White House on Tuesday,” Mate Paczolay told Hungarian news agency MTI.

Mr Szijjarto will also hold talks with Mr Trump’s son-in-law and chief adviser, Jared Kushner, the minister’s spokesman said.

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
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
F1 The Movie

Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Rating: 4/5

ELIO

Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett

Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina

Rating: 4/5

Cricket World Cup League 2

UAE results
Lost to Oman by eight runs
Beat Namibia by three wickets
Lost to Oman by 12 runs
Beat Namibia by 43 runs

UAE fixtures
Free admission. All fixtures broadcast live on icc.tv

Tuesday March 15, v PNG at Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Friday March 18, v Nepal at Dubai International Stadium
Saturday March 19, v PNG at Dubai International Stadium
Monday March 21, v Nepal at Dubai International Stadium

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
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Floward%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERiyadh%2C%20Saudi%20Arabia%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAbdulaziz%20Al%20Loughani%20and%20Mohamed%20Al%20Arifi%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EE-commerce%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETotal%20funding%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAbout%20%24200%20million%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAljazira%20Capital%2C%20Rainwater%20Partners%2C%20STV%20and%20Impact46%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E1%2C200%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

Abandon
Sangeeta Bandyopadhyay
Translated by Arunava Sinha
Tilted Axis Press 

Tearful appearance

Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday. 

Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow. 

She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.

A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.

Ain Dubai in numbers

126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure

1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch

16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.

9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.

5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place

192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.

Pharaoh's curse

British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.

Indoor Cricket World Cup Dubai 2017

Venue Insportz, Dubai; Admission Free

Day 1 fixtures (Saturday)

Men 1.45pm, Malaysia v Australia (Court 1); Singapore v India (Court 2); UAE v New Zealand (Court 3); South Africa v Sri Lanka (Court 4)

Women Noon, New Zealand v South Africa (Court 3); England v UAE (Court 4); 5.15pm, Australia v UAE (Court 3); England v New Zealand (Court 4)

Company profile

Name: Dukkantek 

Started: January 2021 

Founders: Sanad Yaghi, Ali Al Sayegh and Shadi Joulani 

Based: UAE 

Number of employees: 140 

Sector: B2B Vertical SaaS(software as a service) 

Investment: $5.2 million 

Funding stage: Seed round 

Investors: Global Founders Capital, Colle Capital Partners, Wamda Capital, Plug and Play, Comma Capital, Nowais Capital, Annex Investments and AMK Investment Office  

The specs
Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
Power: 320bhp
Torque: 605Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh219,000
On sale: Now