US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Israel, the West Bank, Morocco and Algeria, the State Department announced on Thursday.
Mr Blinken will also meet Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, to “discuss regional security and international developments” while in Rabat next week.
Yael Lempert, the acting assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, told reporters that they will broadly discuss “regional security and international development” in a “strategic conversation about the full range of international issues before us".
“This is a valued and really important strategic relationship for us and it’s an opportune moment for this meeting,” said Ms Lempert. “There's a lot to discuss.”
Mr Blinken will visit Israel on Saturday and remain in the region through Wednesday.
“During the course of his trip, the secretary will emphasise to all of the foreign leaders he meets that the United States stands in solidarity with the government and people of Ukraine in the face of the Kremlin’s aggression,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.
“We will continue to work closely with our allies and partners to impose further costs on [Russian President Vladimir Putin] and his enablers if Putin does not change course.”
The trip agenda will also include issues such as Iran, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the Abraham Accords.
Mr Blinken will meet Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, Defence Minister Benny Gantz and President Isaac Herzog before moving on to Ramallah where he will meet Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and representatives from Palestinian civil society.
Mr Price said that the secretary’s meetings will “underscore the unwavering US commitment to Israel’s security” while emphasising “the importance of strengthening US-Palestinian relations”.
Ms Lempert also noted that Mr Blinken will discuss President Joe Biden's stalled bid to reopen the Jerusalem consulate for Palestinians during his meetings with Israeli leadership and Mr Abbas.
She also said that he is likely to raise the issue of Israel's demolition of Palestinian homes in the West Bank.
“I will say that the State Department has made the administration's view clear,” said Ms Lempert. “We believe it is critical for Israel and the Palestinian Authority to refrain from unilateral steps that exacerbate tension and undercut efforts to negotiate a two-state solution.”
While in Morocco, Mr Blinken will meet Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita and in Algeria, he will meet President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra.
Ms Lempert said that the agenda will also include “building support for the UN's engagement on Western Sahara".
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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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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Results
Stage Two:
1. Mark Cavendish (GBR) QuickStep-AlphaVinyl 04:20:45
2. Jasper Philipsen (BEL) Alpecin-Fenix
3. Pascal Ackermann (GER) UAE Team Emirates
4. Olav Kooij (NED) Jumbo-Visma
5. Arnaud Demare (FRA) Groupama-FDJ
General Classification:
1. Jasper Philipsen (BEL) Alpecin-Fenix 09:03:03
2. Dmitry Strakhov (RUS) Gazprom-Rusvelo 00:00:04
3. Mark Cavendish (GBR) QuickStep-AlphaVinyl 00:00:06
4. Sam Bennett (IRL) Bora-Hansgrohe 00:00:10
5. Pascal Ackermann (GER) UAE Team Emirates 00:00:12
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EA Sports FC 26
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3/5
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It will take centuries to achieve gender parity in workplaces around the globe, according to a December report from the World Economic Forum.
The WEF study said there had been some improvements in wage equality in 2018 compared to 2017, when the global gender gap widened for the first time in a decade.
But it warned that these were offset by declining representation of women in politics, coupled with greater inequality in their access to health and education.
At current rates, the global gender gap across a range of areas will not close for another 108 years, while it is expected to take 202 years to close the workplace gap, WEF found.
The Geneva-based organisation's annual report tracked disparities between the sexes in 149 countries across four areas: education, health, economic opportunity and political empowerment.
After years of advances in education, health and political representation, women registered setbacks in all three areas this year, WEF said.
Only in the area of economic opportunity did the gender gap narrow somewhat, although there is not much to celebrate, with the global wage gap narrowing to nearly 51 per cent.
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Key facilities
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- 600-seat auditorium
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- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
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