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UAE foreign minister, PLO official discuss global push for ceasefire

UAE foreign minister, PLO official discuss global push for ceasefire
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Updated 21 December 2023
Reuters
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UAE foreign minister, PLO official discuss global push for ceasefire

UAE foreign minister, PLO official discuss global push for ceasefire
Updated 21 December 2023
Reuters
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DUBAI: The UAE foreign minister met a senior Palestinian Authority official in Abu Dhabi, where they discussed international efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza, the Emirati state news agency reported on Thursday.
Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan met Palestine Liberation Organization Secretary-General Hussein Sheikh also to discuss the humanitarian crisis in the coastal enclave.
In the meeting, Sheikh Abdullah stressed the importance of prioritizing negotiations toward a framework for a two-state peace deal between the Israelis and Palestinians, WAM reported.
The UAE has condemned the Oct. 7 Hamas attack and called on the Palestinian group to release hostages held in Gaza.

FASTFACT

UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan stressed the importance of prioritizing negotiations toward a framework for a two-state peace deal.

The UAE has also condemned Israel’s bombardment of the enclave and used its non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council to push for a ceasefire in the war.
The US said that there are “serious and widespread concerns” that the current draft of a UN Security Council resolution that aims to boost humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip “could actually slow down” deliveries.
“The goal of this resolution is to facilitate and help expand humanitarian assistance getting into Gaza, and we cannot lose sight of that purpose,” said Nate Evans, spokesperson for the US mission to the UN.
“We must ensure any resolution helps and doesn’t hurt the situation on the ground,” he said in New York.

Indian man charged with rape and murder of doctor that sparked widespread protests

Indian man charged with rape and murder of doctor that sparked widespread protests
Updated 9 min 10 sec ago
AFP
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Indian man charged with rape and murder of doctor that sparked widespread protests

Indian man charged with rape and murder of doctor that sparked widespread protests
  • The suspect, named as Sanjoy Roy, was arrested the day after the murder on August 9 and held in custody since
  • Roy, who had been working as a volunteer supporting patients, would potentially face death penalty if convicted
Updated 9 min 10 sec ago
AFP

Kolkata: Indian police on Monday charged a man with the rape and murder of a 31-year-old doctor, a crime which appalled the country and triggered wide-scale protests.
The discovery of the doctor’s bloodied body at a government hospital in the eastern city of Kolkata on August 9 sparked nationwide anger at the chronic issue of violence against women.
The suspect, named as Sanjoy Roy, arrested the day after the murder and held in custody since, was formally charged on Monday with a confidential document of evidence submitted to the court.
“Sanjoy Roy has been charged with the rape and murder of the on-duty trainee post-graduate doctor inside the hospital,” a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) official told AFP.
Roy, widely reported by Indian media to be aged 33, and who had been working as a volunteer in the hospital supporting patients, would potentially face the death penalty if convicted.
Doctors in Kolkata went on strike for weeks in response to the brutal attack.
Tens of thousands of ordinary Indians joined in the protests, which focused anger on the lack of measures for women doctors to work without fear.
While most medics have returned to work, a small group began a hunger strike this month.
The doctors say the West Bengal state government had failed to deliver on its promises to upgrade lighting, security cameras and other measures to protect them.
India’s Supreme Court last month ordered a national task force to examine how to bolster security for health care workers, saying the brutality of the killing had “shocked the conscience of the nation.”
The gruesome nature of the attack drew comparisons with the 2012 gang rape and murder of a young woman on a Delhi bus, which also sparked weeks of nationwide protests.
 

Topics: India rape

Pakistan PM assures Beijing will ‘personally oversee’ probe into attack that killed two Chinese

Pakistan PM assures Beijing will ‘personally oversee’ probe into attack that killed two Chinese
Updated 48 min 22 sec ago
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Pakistan PM assures Beijing will ‘personally oversee’ probe into attack that killed two Chinese

Pakistan PM assures Beijing will ‘personally oversee’ probe into attack that killed two Chinese
  • Two Chinese nationals were among three killed in the attack near Karachi airport on Sunday
  • The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) separatist group claimed responsibility for the attack
Updated 48 min 22 sec ago
NAIMAT KHAN

KARACHI: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday assured Chinese Ambassador Jiang Zaidong of personally overseeing investigation into a militant attack on a Chinese convoy in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi, promising that those responsible would be brought to justice.
Two Chinese nationals among three people were killed and 10 others injured in the attack near the Karachi airport late on Sunday night, Pakistani officials and the Chinese embassy said. The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) separatist group claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that Chinese nationals were targeted by a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device.
China is a major ally and investor in Pakistan, having pledged over $65 billion in road, infrastructure and development projects in Pakistan under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a part of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative, that aims to connect China to the Arabian Sea and help Islamabad expand and modernize its economy.
PM Sharif on Monday visited the Chinese embassy in Islamabad and held a meeting with Ambassador Jiang to extend his condolences over the death of the two Chinese nationals, according to the Pakistan PM’s office.
“I will personally oversee the investigation into this incident,” Sharif said, expressing sorrow over the loss of Chinese lives in the attack. “After the identification of those responsible for the incident, they will be brought to justice.”
He said his government had fully mobilized resources to identify those behind this “act of terrorism,” adding that the protection of Chinese nationals was a “top priority” of Pakistan.
Sharif also assured the Chinese envoy of further strengthening security arrangements for Chinese nationals working in Pakistan.
The Chinese ambassador expressed confidence in the Pakistani government’s “effective investigation, prompt identification of the responsible terrorists, and their swift punishment,” according to a statement issued by Sharif’s office.
“We hope that those responsible for the incident will receive appropriate punishment as soon as possible,” Ambassador Jiang was quoted as saying.
The attack targeted a convoy of the Port Qasim Electric Power Company at around 11:00pm on Sunday night, according to the Chinese embassy. Two Chinese nationals were killed and one was injured.
The embassy said the Chinese side was working with Pakistani authorities in the aftermath.
“The Chinese Embassy and Consulates General in Pakistan remind Chinese citizens, enterprises and projects in Pakistan to be vigilant, pay close attention to the security situation, strengthen security measures, and make every effort to take safety precautions,” it said in a statement.
On Monday, the Pakistani foreign office condemned the attack and said the country’s security and law enforcement agencies would make every effort to arrest the perpetrators and their facilitators.
“This barbaric act will not go unpunished,” it said.
Separately, the BLA named the militant who carried out the attack as Shah Fahad Badini, a member of its Majeed Brigade who belonged to the Kili Badini area of the Nushki district in Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province.
The 28-year-old had joined the group in 2019 and had completed his degree in Business Administration at the Lasbela University, it added.
Sunday’s attack is the latest by the BLA, the most prominent of a number of separatist groups fighting for independence for Pakistan’s gas-and-mineral-rich Balochistan province, where a low-lying insurgency has been ongoing for the past two decades. Baloch militants blame the Pakistani state for exploiting the province’s resources, a charge denied by state authorities.
The BLA also accuses Beijing of helping Islamabad exploit the province and has attacked Chinese interests and projects in the past, in particular the strategic port of Gwadar on the Arabian Sea. It has previously killed Chinese citizens working in the region and attacked Beijing’s consulate in Karachi.
In March this year, a suicide bombing killed five Chinese engineers and a Pakistani driver in northwestern Pakistan as they headed to the Dasu Dam, the biggest hydropower project in the country. In 2022, three Chinese educators and their Pakistani driver were killed when an explosion ripped through a van at the University of Karachi.
Sunday’s attack came after a series of coordinated attacks, most claimed by the BLA, that killed more than 50 people in Balochistan in August. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and other officials said at the time the attacks had sought to harm Chinese-funded investment and development projects.
 

Topics: Pakistan China Ties

World Bank looking to free up emergency funds for Lebanon

World Bank looking to free up emergency funds for Lebanon
Updated 58 min 44 sec ago
Reuters
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World Bank looking to free up emergency funds for Lebanon

World Bank looking to free up emergency funds for Lebanon
Updated 58 min 44 sec ago
Reuters

WASHINGTON: The World Bank is looking to free up emergency funds for Lebanon, potentially including up to $100 million through the use of special clauses in existing loan deals, its managing director of operations told Reuters.

The Washington-based development lender currently has $1.65 billion in loans to the country including a $250 million loan approved this week to help connect dispersed renewable energy projects in the country.

Amid fighting across southern Lebanon, the bank was currently discussing ways in which it could help support the economy, including through the use of so-called Contingent Emergency Response Component clauses.

“We can use our existing portfolio and free up some money for really critical, short-term liquidity needs,” Anna Bjerde said.

CERCs are present in around 600 of the bank’s existing projects, globally, and allow it to redirect funds that have yet to be disbursed, if requested to by a government, for example after a health or natural disaster, or during conflict.

Lebanon has yet to make such a request, Bjerde said.

After a year of exchanges of fire between Hezbollah and Israel mostly limited to the frontier region, the conflict has significantly escalated in Lebanon.

Lebanon’s government could choose to use an existing social protection program that was put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic that allows for financial support to be sent to individuals, Bjerde said.

“It has the benefit of being totally digital so you can reach people, plus it can be verified a bit... so we will also probably use that to top up the social safety net for those that are particularly affected.”

Up to 1 million people have been internally displaced in the country, she added: “So it’s important we focus on that.”

Lebanon’s Finance Ministry and Economy Ministry did not immediately respond when asked for comment.

Topics: main

UK’s Starmer urges Middle East ‘restraint’ on Oct 7 anniversary

Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer makes a statement on the anniversary of the Hamas terror attacks in Israel.
Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer makes a statement on the anniversary of the Hamas terror attacks in Israel.
Updated 07 October 2024
AFP
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UK’s Starmer urges Middle East ‘restraint’ on Oct 7 anniversary

Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer makes a statement on the anniversary of the Hamas terror attacks in Israel.
  • “All sides must now step back from the brink and find the courage of restraint. There is no military solution to these challenges,” Starmer said
Updated 07 October 2024
AFP

LONDON: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday urged “all sides” in the Middle East conflict to “find the courage of restraint,” on the first anniversary of Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel.
Addressing lawmakers in parliament, the UK leader said the region “cannot endure another year of this” and that “civilians on all sides have suffered too much.”
“All sides must now step back from the brink and find the courage of restraint. There is no military solution to these challenges,” Starmer told MPs in a somber House of Commons.
His comments followed a statement earlier Monday in which he paid tribute to the victims of those killed a year ago, saying: “We stand together to remember the lives so cruelly taken.”
Starmer, who took power in early July, added that Britain “must unequivocally stand with the Jewish community and unite as a country,” following a surge in reports of anti-Semitism across the UK.
“On this day of pain and sorrow, we honor those we lost, and continue in our determination to return those still held hostage, help those who are suffering, and secure a better future for the Middle East,” he said.
In his brief speech in parliament, Starmer said 15 British citizens were killed on October 7 in the attacks, and that another died while being held in captivity.
The Hamas onslaught left 1,205 dead on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on the latest official Israeli figures.
Some 251 people were captured and taken as hostages to the Gaza Strip. Of those 97 are still held captive including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
Starmer also noted that more than 41,000 Palestinians had also been killed in Israel’s military response, reiterating his calls for immediate ceasefires in Lebanon and Gaza, and more aid to be allowed into the latter.
Again urging British citizens in Lebanon to leave, the UK leader noted 430 people had already left the country on government chartered flights over the last week.

Topics: october 7 War on Gaza British Prime Minister Keir Starmer

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PIF takes 40% stake in Selfridges in new partnership with Central Group

PIF takes 40% stake in Selfridges in new partnership with Central Group
Updated 07 October 2024
Arab News
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PIF takes 40% stake in Selfridges in new partnership with Central Group

PIF takes 40% stake in Selfridges in new partnership with Central Group
Updated 07 October 2024
Arab News

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund on Monday announced a strategic partnership with Central Group, a leading conglomerate in retail, real estate, and hospitality.

Under this partnership, PIF will acquire a 40 percent stake in both the operating and property companies of Selfridges Group, while Central Group will retain the remaining 60 percent. The agreement involves new investments from both parties aimed at enhancing Selfridges Group’s market position and supporting future growth, according to a PIF statement.

Turqi Al-Nowaiser, deputy governor and head of the International Investments Division at PIF, commented on the collaboration: “We are excited to partner with Central Group in Selfridges Group, one of Europe’s most iconic luxury department stores. This transaction will enable Selfridges Group to strengthen its status as a premier retail destination.”

This partnership follows PIF’s binding agreement to fully acquire Signa Group’s interest in Selfridges Group and is subject to the usual regulatory approvals.

The alliance aligns with PIF’s strategy of investing in key sectors globally and is built on a shared vision to unlock additional value within Selfridges Group.

By leveraging PIF’s investment expertise and Central Group’s industry leadership, the partnership aims to accelerate Selfridges Group's growth, solidifying its role as a major player in the European luxury retail market.

Selfridges Group operates 18 premier luxury department stores across three countries, including Selfridges in the UK, De Bijenkorf in the Netherlands, and Brown Thomas and Arnotts in Ireland. Its flagship locations on London’s Oxford Street and Manchester’s Exchange Square are celebrated as cultural and retail landmarks.

Topics: PIF acquisition

Latest updates

World Bank looking to free up emergency funds for Lebanon
World Bank looking to free up emergency funds for Lebanon
UK’s Starmer urges Middle East ‘restraint’ on Oct 7 anniversary
Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer makes a statement on the anniversary of the Hamas terror attacks in Israel.
PIF takes 40% stake in Selfridges in new partnership with Central Group
PIF takes 40% stake in Selfridges in new partnership with Central Group
Iran says it will hit back against any Israeli strike
Billboard shows slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, late Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, and the IRGC’s Abbas Nilforushan.
Evacuation packages out of Lebanon advertised on social media
Evacuation packages out of Lebanon advertised on social media

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