Jordan's King Abdullah told Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz in Amman on Tuesday that Israel must refrain from provoking Muslims in Jerusalem during Ramadan.
The monarch has been on a diplomatic drive in the past week to cool down escalating tensions in Jerusalem.
In May last year, confrontations between Israeli right-wing nationalists, local Palestinians and Hamas supporters drew a police crackdown.
Tensions culminated in a devastating 11-day war between Israel and Hamas that left at least 256 Palestinians dead in Gaza and killed 12 people in Israel, including citizens of other countries.
King Abdullah will meet Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Jordan on Wednesday, the two governments said.
Jordanian state media quoted the king as telling Mr Gantz that preserving calm during Ramadan requires guaranteeing freedom of worship at Al Aqsa Mosque, one of Islam's holiest sites, and "preventing provocations that could lead to escalation".
Ramadan is expected to start at the weekend.
Jordan has sought to raise its regional profile since the election of US President Joe Biden in November 2020, after years of disagreement between Jordanian officials and the Donald Trump administration.
Mr Trump was seen by Amman as having attempted to sideline the kingdom, particularly in regard to the Palestinian issue, as Washington prioritised normalisation of Arab states with Israel.
The kingdom considers itself as having a special status in relation to Al Aqsa Mosque, dating from the early 20th century, when religious leaders in Palestine awarded the Sharif of Makkah, the great grandfather of King Abdullah, custodianship of the shrine.
The 1994 peace treaty between Jordan and Israel says that Israel "respects the present special role" of Jordan in "Muslim Holy shrines in Jerusalem" and recognises "the Jordanian historic role in these shrines."
The last war between Hamas and Israel in May erupted partly because of an Israeli raid on Al Aqsa at the beginning of Ramadan.
A large proportion of Jordan's 10 million people are of Palestinian origin.
Jordanian officials regard Israeli actions in recent years against the Palestinians as increased repression that could result in another mass movement of Palestinians into the kingdom, similar to the two refugee waves in 1948 and 1967.
The king told Mr Gantz that "all measures that undermine peace must be stopped", and that Palestinian-Israeli peace can only be achieved on the basis of a two-state solution.
Although Jordan has been intensifying contacts with Israel, it was not part of a meeting in Negev, Israel this week between senior ministers from the UAE, Israel, Bahrain, Morocco, Egypt and the US.
Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said the Negev meeting aimed at building up regional deterrence against Iran.
The meeting took place amid expectations of a deal between the US and Iran to return to a nuclear accord abandoned under President Trump.
A senior Jordanian official said on condition of anonymity that Jordan was invited to the meeting but chose not to attend.
An official Israeli statement said President Herzog will be making a "historic public presidential visit" to Jordan on Wednesday, and indicated that ways to reduce tension in the holy land in Ramadan will be on the agenda.
"The two leaders will discuss several issues, including deepening Israeli-Jordanian relations, maintaining regional stability with an emphasis on the coming holiday period," the statement said.
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How the UAE gratuity payment is calculated now
Employees leaving an organisation are entitled to an end-of-service gratuity after completing at least one year of service.
The tenure is calculated on the number of days worked and does not include lengthy leave periods, such as a sabbatical. If you have worked for a company between one and five years, you are paid 21 days of pay based on your final basic salary. After five years, however, you are entitled to 30 days of pay. The total lump sum you receive is based on the duration of your employment.
1. For those who have worked between one and five years, on a basic salary of Dh10,000 (calculation based on 30 days):
a. Dh10,000 ÷ 30 = Dh333.33. Your daily wage is Dh333.33
b. Dh333.33 x 21 = Dh7,000. So 21 days salary equates to Dh7,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service. Multiply this figure for every year of service up to five years.
2. For those who have worked more than five years
c. 333.33 x 30 = Dh10,000. So 30 days’ salary is Dh10,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service.
Note: The maximum figure cannot exceed two years total salary figure.
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Power: 650hp at 6,750rpm
Torque: 800Nm from 2,500-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 11.12L/100km
Price: From Dh796,600
On sale: now
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The specs: 2018 Mercedes-Benz E 300 Cabriolet
Price, base / as tested: Dh275,250 / Dh328,465
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder
Power: 245hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 370Nm @ 1,300rpm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.0L / 100km
So what is Spicy Chickenjoy?
Just as McDonald’s has the Big Mac, Jollibee has Spicy Chickenjoy – a piece of fried chicken that’s crispy and spicy on the outside and comes with a side of spaghetti, all covered in tomato sauce and topped with sausage slices and ground beef. It sounds like a recipe that a child would come up with, but perhaps that’s the point – a flavourbomb combination of cheap comfort foods. Chickenjoy is Jollibee’s best-selling product in every country in which it has a presence.
'How To Build A Boat'
Jonathan Gornall, Simon & Schuster
Museum of the Future in numbers
- 78 metres is the height of the museum
- 30,000 square metres is its total area
- 17,000 square metres is the length of the stainless steel facade
- 14 kilometres is the length of LED lights used on the facade
- 1,024 individual pieces make up the exterior
- 7 floors in all, with one for administrative offices
- 2,400 diagonally intersecting steel members frame the torus shape
- 100 species of trees and plants dot the gardens
- Dh145 is the price of a ticket
