US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday called on all parties to ease tension in Jerusalem and urged practical steps towards that end.
“We are very focused on the situation in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza," Mr Blinken said before his meeting with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Al Safadi.
"We are very deeply concerned about the rocket attacks that we are seeing now that need to stop and need to stop immediately."
He said Israel had the right to defend itself against rocket attacks and repeated US concerns about "provocative actions" near the Haram Al Sharif, one of Islam's holiest sites.
“All sides need to de-escalate, reduce tension and take practical steps to calm things down,” Mr Blinken said.
He said delaying the decision on the evictions of Palestinian families in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood and rerouting the Jerusalem Day parade were appreciated by Washington, but more needed to be done.
Mr Al Safadi, whose country is custodian of Haram Al Sharif, said: “Jerusalem is a red line and maintaining peace and stability is key.”
He also called for de-escalation and said “all illegal and provocative measures against the [people] of Sheikh Jarrah or in terms of violations into [Haram Al Sharif] must stop".
“The status quo must be preserved and the rights of Palestinians need to be respected,” Mr Al Safadi said.
He also met US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan on Monday.
“Mr Sullivan recognized the special role Jordan plays in overseeing holy shrines in Jerusalem and thanked Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Safadi for the Kingdom’s efforts with Palestinian and Israeli authorities to bring about calm in the final days of the Holy Month of Ramadan,” a statement by the White House read.
On Sunday, Mr Sullivan spoke with Israeli security chief Meir Ben-Shabbat and expressed “serious concerns about the potential evictions of Palestinian families from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood".
Under popular and external pressure, Israel’s Supreme Court delayed on Sunday a decision to expel six Palestinian families from the neighbourhood.
On Monday, State Department spokesman Ned Price said the Biden administration was very "extremely concerned" about the use of rubber bullets inside Al Aqsa Mosque, in Haram Al Sharif, by Israeli police.
“This has been ongoing for days and we have seen tensions escalate,” Mr Price said.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki called the situation “unacceptable".
Some Republican leaders have voiced their support for Israel's right to "self-defence".
The situation continued to intensify on Monday when Hamas fired about 100 rockets into Israel, Israeli media reported.
Israel retaliated with air strikes in Gaza that killed 20 Palestinians, the Gazan Health Ministry said.
Hundreds have been wounded in clashes in Jerusalem since Friday, the Palestinian Red Crescent said.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Mamo Year it started: 2019 Founders: Imad Gharazeddine, Asim Janjua Based: Dubai, UAE Number of employees: 28 Sector: Financial services Investment: $9.5m Funding stage: Pre-Series A Investors: Global Ventures, GFC, 4DX Ventures, AlRajhi Partners, Olive Tree Capital, and prominent Silicon Valley investors. Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMaly%20Tech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Mo%20Ibrahim%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%20International%20Financial%20Centre%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20FinTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%241.6%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2015%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPre-seed%2C%20planning%20first%20seed%20round%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20GCC-based%20angel%20investors%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Married Malala
Malala Yousafzai is enjoying married life, her father said.
The 24-year-old married Pakistan cricket executive Asser Malik last year in a small ceremony in the UK.
Ziauddin Yousafzai told The National his daughter was ‘very happy’ with her husband.
What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
- Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
- Tourism industry knowledge.
- Professional ethics.
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.
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
The five pillars of Islam
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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
