Live updates: Follow the latest news on Israel-Gaza
A delegation of ministers from Arab and Islamic countries urged the UK to play a “balanced role” in the Israel-Gaza conflict during a meeting with British Foreign Secretary David Cameron on Wednesday.
The delegation was formed at the Islamic-Arab Summit in Riyadh to meet the five permanent members of the UN Security Council in efforts to end the Israel-Gaza war.
The committee of nine ministers and diplomats was led by Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan. It welcomed the four-day humanitarian truce between Israel and Hamas, according to a statement from the kingdom after the meeting.
After holding talks with Mr Cameron, the delegation said it was urging the international community to build on this to reach a “complete and sustainable ceasefire as soon as possible”.
It also addressed the need to revive the peace process in the hope of establishing a “sovereign, independent” Palestinian state in line with 1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as its capital, and discussed the securing of safe passages for humanitarian aid into Gaza.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has expressed unwavering support for Israel's "right" to defend itself from Hamas, but stressed it must do so within international law. Lord Cameron reaffirmed the UK's support for a two-state solution after his surprise appointment last week and said he would work for a political solution to the crisis.
“The agreement reached last night is an important opportunity to get the hostages out and more aid into Gaza to help the Palestinian people," he said on Wednesday. “We discussed how to use this step forward to think about the future and how we can build a peaceful future which provides security for Israel but also peace and stability for the Palestinian people.”
The visiting committee called on the UK to “reject all forms of selectivity” by holding Israel accountable for its actions according to international law, and not to “overlook the ugly crimes” committed by “occupation forces and settler militias” in the Palestinian territories.
Upon leaving Westminster, the delegation went straight to Paris to meet French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysée Palace.
This will conclude three days of intense diplomatic efforts, involving meetings with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow and Chinese Vice President Han Zheng earlier this week.
'Momentum for diplomacy'
The meeting with Lord Cameron is part of a “momentum for diplomacy” that experts speaking at foreign affairs think tank Chatham House see as driven by Arab states.
But it is fraught with challenges – not least because of Israel’s internal confusion over the future of Gaza. “When thinking of a diplomatic path forward, we do need to look at the appetite for that in Israel,” said Dr Elham Fakhro, associate fellow at Chatham House.
Though the Arab world’s message is “clear”, the challenges are varied and touch on existing normalisation agreements with Israel, experts on the panel said.
Foremost among these is Egypt, which has had “extremely solid” relations with Israel since the Camp David Accords, according to Mirette Mabrouk, senior fellow and founding director of the Egypt programme at the Middle East Institute. The 40-year agreement has been an “essential” security guarantor for Israel.
Yet the relationship has soured as the risk of Israel pushing Palestinians out of Gaza and into Egypt's Sinai Peninsula grows. Israeli officials have expressed intent to do so.
Egypt considers an influx of Palestinian refugees to be a security risk and a red line. Ignoring Egyptian concerns, US and European diplomats have urged Cairo to take in Palestinian refugees in exchange for debt relief from its economic crisis.
The move by western countries on behalf of Israel has threatened to “push Egypt beyond its limits", Ms Mabrouk said. “When a country that has had the worst economic crisis in 50 years is promised debt relief and consistently says no, you should pay attention,” she said.
Among the Gulf states, Saudi Arabia has “gone the furthest” in its willingness to put pressure on Israel, said Dr Fakhro.
Latest from Israel-Gaza conflict - in pictures
Understanding what Israel wants from the war is another obstacle in the path to peace, she said. “There are some unknowns. What is Israel trying to accomplish beyond its general goal of eliminating Hamas? What is Israel willing to do when there is a ceasefire eventually?” Dr Fakhro said.
An emboldened far right in Israel has called for the establishment of a wide buffer zone that would push Palestinians to southern Gaza. Talk of bringing the Palestinian Authority back to Gaza has been met with direct opposition from Israeli officials.
The US has opposed an Israel occupation of Gaza after the war. But Arab states will be reluctant to "clean up the mess" after an Israeli withdrawal.
Egypt or other Arab states' involvement in post-conflict Gaza could place them in the role of “occupier”.
“The agreement on this subject is fairly homogeneous and is the same as most of the Arab states,” Ms Mabrouk said of Egypt.
Nonetheless, ideas and proposals for how Arab states, the US and Israel can work together to contribute to peace and reconstruction are circulating in Washington, Dr Fakhro said.
“The hope is that yes, in the day after [the war], you have a momentum for diplomacy and there is a way forward,” she said.
The First Monday in May
Director: Andrew Rossi
Starring: Anna Wintour, Karl Lagerfeld, John Paul Gaultier, Rihanna
Three stars
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
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Company profile
Company name: Suraasa
Started: 2018
Founders: Rishabh Khanna, Ankit Khanna and Sahil Makker
Based: India, UAE and the UK
Industry: EdTech
Initial investment: More than $200,000 in seed funding
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.
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South Africa's T20 squad
Duminy (c), Behardien, Dala, De Villiers, Hendricks, Jonker, Klaasen (wkt), Miller, Morris, Paterson, Phangiso, Phehlukwayo, Shamsi, Smuts.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN MARITIME DISPUTE
2000: Israel withdraws from Lebanon after nearly 30 years without an officially demarcated border. The UN establishes the Blue Line to act as the frontier.
2007: Lebanon and Cyprus define their respective exclusive economic zones to facilitate oil and gas exploration. Israel uses this to define its EEZ with Cyprus
2011: Lebanon disputes Israeli-proposed line and submits documents to UN showing different EEZ. Cyprus offers to mediate without much progress.
2018: Lebanon signs first offshore oil and gas licencing deal with consortium of France’s Total, Italy’s Eni and Russia’s Novatek.
2018-2019: US seeks to mediate between Israel and Lebanon to prevent clashes over oil and gas resources.
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
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TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
THE BIO:
Favourite holiday destination: Thailand. I go every year and I’m obsessed with the fitness camps there.
Favourite book: Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. It’s an amazing story about barefoot running.
Favourite film: A League of their Own. I used to love watching it in my granny’s house when I was seven.
Personal motto: Believe it and you can achieve it.
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The cost of Covid testing around the world
Egypt
Dh514 for citizens; Dh865 for tourists
Information can be found through VFS Global.
Jordan
Dh212
Centres include the Speciality Hospital, which now offers drive-through testing.
Cambodia
Dh478
Travel tests are managed by the Ministry of Health and National Institute of Public Health.
Zanzibar
AED 295
Zanzibar Public Health Emergency Operations Centre, located within the Lumumba Secondary School compound.
Abu Dhabi
Dh85
Abu Dhabi’s Seha has test centres throughout the UAE.
UK
From Dh400
Heathrow Airport now offers drive through and clinic-based testing, starting from Dh400 and up to Dh500 for the PCR test.
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The Penguin
Starring: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz
Creator: Lauren LeFranc
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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.
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The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: seven-speed
Power: 720hp
Torque: 770Nm
Price: Dh1,100,000
On sale: now
Roll of honour 2019-2020
Dubai Rugby Sevens
Winners: Dubai Hurricanes
Runners up: Bahrain
West Asia Premiership
Winners: Bahrain
Runners up: UAE Premiership
UAE Premiership
}Winners: Dubai Exiles
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes
UAE Division One
Winners: Abu Dhabi Saracens
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes II
UAE Division Two
Winners: Barrelhouse
Runners up: RAK Rugby
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
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Day 2, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Dinesh Chandimal has inherited a challenging job, after being made Sri Lanka’s Test captain. He responded in perfect fashion, with an easy-natured century against Pakistan. He brought up three figures with a majestic cover drive, which he just stood and admired.
Stat of the day – 33 It took 33 balls for Dilruwan Perera to get off the mark. His time on zero was eventful enough. The Sri Lankan No 7 was given out LBW twice, but managed to have both decisions overturned on review. The TV replays showed both times that he had inside edged the ball onto his pad.
The verdict In the two previous times these two sides have met in Abu Dhabi, the Tests have been drawn. The docile nature of proceedings so far makes that the likely outcome again this time, but both sides will be harbouring thoughts that they can force their way into a winning position.
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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
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The biog
Title: General Practitioner with a speciality in cardiology
Previous jobs: Worked in well-known hospitals Jaslok and Breach Candy in Mumbai, India
Education: Medical degree from the Government Medical College in Nagpur
How it all began: opened his first clinic in Ajman in 1993
Family: a 90-year-old mother, wife and two daughters
Remembers a time when medicines from India were purchased per kilo
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The bio
Academics: Phd in strategic management in University of Wales
Number one caps: His best-seller caps are in shades of grey, blue, black and yellow
Reading: Is immersed in books on colours to understand more about the usage of different shades
Sport: Started playing polo two years ago. Helps him relax, plus he enjoys the speed and focus
Cars: Loves exotic cars and currently drives a Bentley Bentayga
Holiday: Favourite travel destinations are London and St Tropez
McIlroy's recent struggles
Last six stroke-play events (First round score in brackets)
Arnold Palmer Invitational Tied for 4th (74)
The US Masters Tied for 7th (72)
The Players Championship Tied for 35th (73)
US Open Missed the cut (78)
Travellers Championship Tied for 17th (67)
Irish Open Missed the cut (72)
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MOST%20POLLUTED%20COUNTRIES%20IN%20THE%20WORLD
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Results
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 2,200m, Winner: Zalman, Pat Cosgrave (jockey), Helal Al Alawi (trainer)
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6pm: Handicap (PA) Dh85,000 (T) 1,600m, Winner: Qader, Adrie de Vries, Jean de Roualle
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Championship Listed (PA) Dh180,000 (T) 1,600m, Winner: Mujeeb, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,600m, Winner: AF Majalis, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
7.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh90,000 (T) 1,600m, Winner: Shanaghai City, Fabrice Veron, Rashed Bouresly
8pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 (T) 1,400m, Winner: Nayslayer, Bernardo Pinheiro, Jaber Ramadhan
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Sarfira
Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
Rating: 2/5
Emergency phone numbers in the UAE
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
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
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
