The UAE, Israel and the US will launch two trilateral working groups focused on religious co-existence as well as water and energy issues, the US State Department announced on Tuesday.
The groups will be launched on Wednesday following a meeting in Washington between Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, and his Israeli and American counterparts, Yair Lapid and Antony Blinken.
“This reflects our belief in the Abraham Accords and normalisation agreements are large and helped to achieve a more peaceful and prosperous Middle East,” a senior US administration official told reporters on a call previewing the trilateral meeting.
“These working groups will seek to realise that promise to link up to important US partners in the region and find new ways to solve old problems together in Israel, in the UAE, but also across the region and beyond to the benefit of US, Israeli and Emirati interests.”
The senior US official said Mr Blinken intends to thank Sheikh Abdullah for the UAE’s assistance during the removal of US citizens and visa holders from Afghanistan.
“Simply put, support for this effort is critical to our operations and we remain deeply grateful for their humanitarian efforts and compassion,” the official said.
Additionally, the senior US official said that Sheikh Abdullah and Mr Blinken will “discuss perspectives on achieving a sustainable ceasefire” in Yemen.
The two will also discuss Syria and the need to secure the “urgent implementation of reforms” in Lebanon to help ensure the country’s security.
Before the trilateral meeting, Mr Lapid made the rounds in Washington on Tuesday for separate discussions with Vice President Kamala Harris, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.
National Security Council spokeswoman Emily Horne said Mr Lapid and Mr Sullivan “discussed deepening Israel’s relationships with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco".
She said they also “discussed the current situation in Gaza, and Mr Sullivan emphasised the importance of practical steps to improve the lives of the Palestinians".
The senior administration official told The National that Republicans in Congress had released a months-long hold “some weeks ago” on $75 million in economic and development funding for the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
James Risch and Mike McCaul first instated the hold on the $75m hold in April after President Joe Biden’s administration announced in April it would resume $235m in Palestinian aid halted under former president Donald Trump.
Mr Lapid and Mr Blinken will also discuss the additional $1 billion in funding for the Iron Dome missile defence programme that Israel has requested from the US.
The House of Representatives voted 420-9 to appropriate the additional $1bn for Israel last month and the bill is expected to pass the Senate easily as well.
Both Israel and the Biden administration say the funding is meant to replenish the Iron Dome batteries depleted during Israel’s latest war against Hamas in May, which killed at least 243 Palestinians and 12 Israelis while devastating the Gaza Strip.
But the $1bn funding request represents a 60 per cent increase over the $1.7bn in total funding that the US has provided in Iron Dome funding over the past decade.
Asked by The National whether the additional Iron Dome funding would be used for purposes other than replenishing batteries, the senior administration official simply reiterated the US commitment to the missile defence programme without clarifying the high cost.
“We are committed to Iron Dome funding,” the senior US official told The National.
“We remain committed to Israel’s qualitative military edge.”
START-UPS%20IN%20BATCH%204%20OF%20SANABIL%20500'S%20ACCELERATOR%20PROGRAMME
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Gulf rugby
Who’s won what so far in 2018/19
Western Clubs Champions League: Bahrain
Dubai Rugby Sevens: Dubai Hurricanes
West Asia Premiership: Bahrain
What’s left
UAE Conference
March 22, play-offs:
Dubai Hurricanes II v Al Ain Amblers, Jebel Ali Dragons II v Dubai Tigers
March 29, final
UAE Premiership
March 22, play-offs:
Dubai Exiles v Jebel Ali Dragons, Abu Dhabi Harlequins v Dubai Hurricanes
March 29, final
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
WHAT ARE NFTs?
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are tokens that represent ownership of unique items. They allow the tokenisation of things such as art, collectibles and even real estate.
An NFT can have only one official owner at one time. And since they're minted and secured on the Ethereum blockchain, no one can modify the record of ownership, not even copy-paste it into a new one.
This means NFTs are not interchangeable and cannot be exchanged with other items. In contrast, fungible items, such as fiat currencies, can be exchanged because their value defines them rather than their unique properties.
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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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
- 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
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
The Details
Article 15
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If you go:
Getting there:
Flying to Guyana requires first reaching New York with either Emirates or Etihad, then connecting with JetBlue or Caribbean Air at JFK airport. Prices start from around Dh7,000.
Getting around:
Wildlife Worldwide offers a range of Guyana itineraries, such as its small group tour, the 15-day ‘Ultimate Guyana Nature Experience’ which features Georgetown, the Iwokrama Rainforest (one of the world’s four remaining pristine tropical rainforests left in the world), the Amerindian village of Surama and the Rupununi Savannah, known for its giant anteaters and river otters; wildlifeworldwide.com
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2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets