A top UN official said Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir's visit to Al Aqsa compound in East Jerusalem was seen as “particularly inflammatory” and warned of the risk of violence.
Speaking to the UN Security Council on Thursday, Khaled Khiari, the assistant secretary general for political and peacebuilding affairs, said all sides should work to lower tension following the minister's visit this week.
“While the visit was not accompanied or followed by violence, it is seen as particularly inflammatory, given Mr Ben Gvir’s past advocacy for changes to the status quo,” Mr Khiari said at the emergency session called by the UAE and China.
“As we have seen numerous times in the past, the situation at Jerusalem’s holy sites is deeply fragile, and any incident or tension there can spill over and cause violence throughout the occupied Palestinian territory, in Israel and elsewhere in the region.”
Mr Khiari reiterated UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres's call for all parties to refrain from steps that could “escalate tension in and around the holy sites and for all to uphold the status quo, in line with the special role of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan”.
During the meeting at the Security Council on Thursday, the UAE said Mr Ben-Gvir's visit could destabilise the fragile situation in the occupied Palestinian territory.
“The UAE strongly condemns the storming of Al Aqsa Mosque courtyard by an Israeli minister under the protection of Israeli forces,” said the UAE Mission to the UN.
"Such provocative actions reflect a lack of commitment to the existing historical and legal status of the holy sites in Jerusalem and further destabilise the fragile situation in the occupied Palestinian territories."
Visits such as this "constitute a serious development that moves the region further away from the desired path of peace" and "contribute to fueling extremism and hatred in the region”, it said.
Mohamed Abushahab, the UAE's deputy ambassador to the UN, said Mr Ben-Gvir's visit reflected a lack of commitment to the existing historic and legal status of Jerusalem's holy sites.
“They also constitute a serious development that moves the region further away from the desired path of peace and contribute to perpetuating the negative trends of the conflict,” Mr Abushahab said.
Before the council meeting, Israel's ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, told reporters the visit was “not an incursion” into Al Aqsa, and “whoever claims otherwise is only inflaming the situation”.
The emergency meeting was requested after Mr Ben-Gvir, a far-right leader who has previously called for the status quo in Jerusalem to be changed, visited Al Aqsa, a site also revered by Jews.
“The Temple Mount is open to all,” Mr Ben-Gvir said on Twitter, using the Jewish name for the site. Video footage showed him strolling along the periphery of the compound, surrounded by a heavy security detail.
Mr Ben-Gvir's visit sparked a wave of international condemnation, including from Israel's close ally the US.
Although the visit to the holy site passed without incident, it risked increasing friction with Palestinians after a surge of violence in the West Bank in 2022.
Al Aqsa is located in East Jerusalem and is the third-holiest site in Islam.
Under a long-standing status quo, non-Muslims can visit the site at specific times, but are not allowed to pray there.
In recent years, a growing number of Jewish people, most of them Israeli nationalists, have covertly prayed at the compound, a development decried by Palestinians.
Israeli police confront Palestinian protesters at Jerusalem's Al Aqsa Mosque — in pictures
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Haircare resolutions 2021
From Beirut and Amman to London and now Dubai, hairstylist George Massoud has seen the same mistakes made by customers all over the world. In the chair or at-home hair care, here are the resolutions he wishes his customers would make for the year ahead.
1. 'I will seek consultation from professionals'
You may know what you want, but are you sure it’s going to suit you? Haircare professionals can tell you what will work best with your skin tone, hair texture and lifestyle.
2. 'I will tell my hairdresser when I’m not happy'
Massoud says it’s better to offer constructive criticism to work on in the future. Your hairdresser will learn, and you may discover how to communicate exactly what you want more effectively the next time.
3. ‘I will treat my hair better out of the chair’
Damage control is a big part of most hairstylists’ work right now, but it can be avoided. Steer clear of over-colouring at home, try and pursue one hair brand at a time and never, ever use a straightener on still drying hair, pleads Massoud.
Diriyah%20project%20at%20a%20glance
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THREE
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Types of bank fraud
1) Phishing
Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.
2) Smishing
The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.
3) Vishing
The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.
4) SIM swap
Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.
5) Identity theft
Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.
6) Prize scams
Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.
Brief scoreline:
Liverpool 2
Mane 51', Salah 53'
Chelsea 0
Man of the Match: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
- Pension support
- Mental well-being assistance
- Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
- Financial well-being incentives
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The design
The protective shell is covered in solar panels to make use of light and produce energy. This will drastically reduce energy loss.
More than 80 per cent of the energy consumed by the French pavilion will be produced by the sun.
The architecture will control light sources to provide a highly insulated and airtight building.
The forecourt is protected from the sun and the plants will refresh the inner spaces.
A micro water treatment plant will recycle used water to supply the irrigation for the plants and to flush the toilets. This will reduce the pavilion’s need for fresh water by 30 per cent.
Energy-saving equipment will be used for all lighting and projections.
Beyond its use for the expo, the pavilion will be easy to dismantle and reuse the material.
Some elements of the metal frame can be prefabricated in a factory.
From architects to sound technicians and construction companies, a group of experts from 10 companies have created the pavilion.
Work will begin in May; the first stone will be laid in Dubai in the second quarter of 2019.
Construction of the pavilion will take 17 months from May 2019 to September 2020.
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
What is graphene?
Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged like honeycomb.
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were "playing about" with sticky tape and graphite - the material used as "lead" in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But as they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment had led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
At the time, many believed it was impossible for such thin crystalline materials to be stable. But examined under a microscope, the material remained stable, and when tested was found to have incredible properties.
It is many times times stronger than steel, yet incredibly lightweight and flexible. It is electrically and thermally conductive but also transparent. The world's first 2D material, it is one million times thinner than the diameter of a single human hair.
But the 'sticky tape' method would not work on an industrial scale. Since then, scientists have been working on manufacturing graphene, to make use of its incredible properties.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. Their discovery meant physicists could study a new class of two-dimensional materials with unique properties.
In numbers
- Number of children under five will fall from 681 million in 2017 to 401m in 2100
- Over-80s will rise from 141m in 2017 to 866m in 2100
- Nigeria will become the world’s second most populous country with 791m by 2100, behind India
- China will fall dramatically from a peak of 2.4 billion in 2024 to 732 million by 2100
- an average of 2.1 children per woman is required to sustain population growth
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The%20specs
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Sheer grandeur
The Owo building is 14 storeys high, seven of which are below ground, with the 30,000 square feet of amenities located subterranean, including a 16-seat private cinema, seven lounges, a gym, games room, treatment suites and bicycle storage.
A clear distinction between the residences and the Raffles hotel with the amenities operated separately.
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TALE OF THE TAPE
Manny Pacquiao
Record: 59-6-2 (38 KOs)
Age: 38
Weight: 146lbs
Height: 166cm
Reach: 170cm
Jeff Horn
Record: 16-0-1 (11 KOs)
Age: 29
Weight: 146.2lbs
Height: 175cm
Reach: 173cm
