A joint US-Israel delegation visited Bahrain on Sunday, where officials signed bilateral agreements after an announcement last month of the intention to normalise relations.
El Al Flight 973, named after Bahrain's international dialling code, flew from Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport through Saudi Arabian airspace to Manama, landing at Bahrain International Airport on Sunday afternoon.
The delegation was met by Bahrain's Foreign Minister, Abdullatif Al Zayani.
"Today we build on that historic occasion at the White House last month, taking the next steps to implement the declaration in support of peace and the Abraham Accords," Mr Zayani said.
"We do so in the conviction that this approach of engagement and co-operation is the most effective, the most sustainable, means to bring about a genuine and lasting peace, one which safeguards the rights of the Middle East's peoples."
The Israeli delegation was led by National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat and Foreign Ministry director general Alon Ushpiz.
The US team was led by Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin.
The delegation headed to the office of the Deputy Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa, in Gudaibiyah Palace.
Sheikh Mohammed said Bahrain's approach to peace in the region aimed to boost efforts to resolve the Palestinian issue on the basis of the two-state solution, international legitimacy and the Arab Peace Initiative, the Bahrain News Agency reported.
Mr Ben-Shabbat said before take-off that the visit would “translate plans to actions and concrete agreements”, with deals signed involving finance, investment, trade, tourism, communications, technology and agriculture.
Another Israeli official said the visit represented the official establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, which were expected to sign a joint statement establishing full diplomatic relations.
Mr Mnuchin said the opportunities were "quite enormous" for deals in "economic, trade, investment cultural and security between the three countries".
The visit came days after the Knesset overwhelmingly approved the Abraham Accord between Israel and the UAE, and one month after the accord was signed on the White House lawn on September 15.
As part of the deal to normalise relations, the UAE and Bahrain and Israel will eventually establish embassies and exchange ambassadors.
The Israeli official said the Israeli embassy was expected to open in Bahrain in the coming months.
Egypt and Jordan are the only other two Arab states to sign diplomatic treaties with Israel, in 1979 and 1994, respectively.
The Israeli delegation is slated to fly back to Tel Aviv later on Sunday, while the Americans will head to the UAE before flying to Israel on Tuesday.
Last month, the first known commercial flight between the two countries brought a delegation of Israeli officials to Manama to discuss co-operation between Israel and Bahrain after the signing of an agreement to normalise ties.
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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Ferran Torres 67'
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Josip Llicic 3' (P), 43' (P), 71', 82'
Dates for the diary
To mark Bodytree’s 10th anniversary, the coming season will be filled with celebratory activities:
- September 21 Anyone interested in becoming a certified yoga instructor can sign up for a 250-hour course in Yoga Teacher Training with Jacquelene Sadek. It begins on September 21 and will take place over the course of six weekends.
- October 18 to 21 International yoga instructor, Yogi Nora, will be visiting Bodytree and offering classes.
- October 26 to November 4 International pilates instructor Courtney Miller will be on hand at the studio, offering classes.
- November 9 Bodytree is hosting a party to celebrate turning 10, and everyone is invited. Expect a day full of free classes on the grounds of the studio.
- December 11 Yogeswari, an advanced certified Jivamukti teacher, will be visiting the studio.
- February 2, 2018 Bodytree will host its 4th annual yoga market.
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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Stars: Shadi Alfons, Marwan Abdullah, Doaa Mostafa Ragab
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
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- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
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From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
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Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
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Aged just 11, Khulood Al Najjar’s daughter, Nora, bravely attempted to fight off Philip Spence. Her finger was injured when she put her hand in between the claw hammer and her mother’s head.
As a vital witness, she was forced to relive the ordeal by police who needed to identify the attacker and ensure he was found guilty.
Now aged 16, Nora has decided she wants to dedicate her career to helping other victims of crime.
“It was very horrible for her. She saw her mum, dying, just next to her eyes. But now she just wants to go forward,” said Khulood, speaking about how her eldest daughter was dealing with the trauma of the incident five years ago. “She is saying, 'mama, I want to be a lawyer, I want to help people achieve justice'.”
Khulood’s youngest daughter, Fatima, was seven at the time of the attack and attempted to help paramedics responding to the incident.
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