US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank on Tuesday, as tensions between the Israelis and Palestinians simmered.
Mr Blinken reiterated that it was important to take steps to defuse tensions in the West Bank, a sentiment he had shared with President Abdel Fattah El Sisi of Egypt and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week.
After the Ramallah meeting, he said he appreciated Mr Abbas's determination to “work in a responsible way during a challenging time”.
He said the US opposed any actions taken by the either side that make a two-state solution “more difficult,” including “settlement expansion, demolitions and evictions, distractions to the historic status of holy sites”.
Mr Blinken was in the West Bank as part of a regional tour ― planned before the latest violence ― and also made stops in Israel and Egypt.
He urged calm on both sides after last week's killing of seven people outside a synagogue by a Palestinian gunman, in the worst such attack in the Jerusalem area for years.
An Israeli raid in a refugee camp in Jenin resulted in the deaths of 10 Palestinians.
In January alone, 35 Palestinians were killed in clashes with Israeli troops ― the bloodiest month since 2015 ― while officials said attacks on Palestinian property by Israeli settlers have also increased.
Mr Blinken said he appreciated Mr Abbas's determination to “work in a responsible way during a challenging time”.
The US will give an additional $50 million to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, and will “continue to work” to reopen the American consulate in Jerusalem, Mr Blinken said.
Under Mr Biden's predecessor Donald Trump, the US moved its embassy to Jerusalem in a de facto recognition of the city as the capital of Israel. Mr Trump also closed a facility that served as a consulate for Palestinians.
Mr Abbas, who last week announced that his Palestinian Authority was cutting security co-ordination with Israel after 10 Palestinians were killed in the army raid in Jenin, was said to have prepared a set of demands to present to Mr Blinken during his visit to Ramallah.
The demands include stopping Israeli plans to expand settlement construction in the West Bank, halting Israeli army incursions into Palestinian towns, curbing settler attacks and acts of violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, and removing sanctions announced by the Israeli cabinet against the Palestinians, including withholding tax revenue.
After a meeting with Mr Netanyahu on Monday, Mr Blinken urged both sides to take “urgent steps” to calm tensions and said Washington would work to “restore a sense of security” craved by “Israelis and Palestinians alike”.
However, faith in the US as a broker of peace is waning.
“We can no longer trust the US policy which only protects the occupation,” deputy head of the ruling Fatah party, Mahmoud Aloul, said on Tuesday.
“The world is pressuring us to retract from our recent decisions,” he said, local outlet Al Quds Al Ekhbariya reported, possibly referring to the Palestinian Authority's decision to stop its security co-operation with Israel.
Before heading to the West Bank on Tuesday, Mr Blinken met Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, who took office as part of the right-wing Netanyahu government elected last year.
The minister praised Mr Blinken for his “unwavering support” in helping safeguard Israel's military superiority in the region.
Since the start of the year, conflict with Israel has claimed the lives of 35 Palestinian adults and children — including attackers, militants and civilians.
Over the same period six Israeli civilians, including a child, and one Ukrainian civilian have been killed. All were shot dead in Friday's attack outside the synagogue.
In Mr Blinken's first stop in Egypt and talks with Mr El Sisi, he commended “Egypt's important role in promoting stability in the region”.
The diplomats and intelligence services of Egypt — a major recipient of US military aid — are regularly called upon to intercede between Israelis and Palestinians.
Mr Blinken's Israel visit was part of the Biden administration's efforts to engage quickly with Mr Netanyahu, who had tense relations with the previous Democrat president, Barack Obama.
In November, the US also named a special representative to Palestine, Hady Amr, who described the move as “unprecedented” and a bid to “elevate” the US relationship with Palestine.
Mr Trump also stopped funding to the already underfunded UNRWA, a relationship President Joe Biden restored.
“I stopped massive amounts of money that we were paying to the Palestinians,” Mr Trump said at the time. “We’re not paying until you make a deal,” he said he told the Palestinians in 2018.
In January, UNRWA said it was starting the year with a $70 million debt and made a plea for $1.63 billion for the year to help fund schools and provide assistance across Palestinian refugee camps in the occupied territories, and in Lebanon, Syria and Jordan.
If you go
Flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh with a stop in Yangon from Dh3,075, and Etihad flies from Abu Dhabi to Phnom Penh with its partner Bangkok Airlines from Dh2,763. These trips take about nine hours each and both include taxes. From there, a road transfer takes at least four hours; airlines including KC Airlines (www.kcairlines.com) offer quick connecting flights from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville from about $100 (Dh367) return including taxes. Air Asia, Malindo Air and Malaysian Airlines fly direct from Kuala Lumpur to Sihanoukville from $54 each way. Next year, direct flights are due to launch between Bangkok and Sihanoukville, which will cut the journey time by a third.
The stay
Rooms at Alila Villas Koh Russey (www.alilahotels.com/ kohrussey) cost from $385 per night including taxes.
Dubai World Cup factbox
Most wins by a trainer: Godolphin’s Saeed bin Suroor(9)
Most wins by a jockey: Jerry Bailey(4)
Most wins by an owner: Godolphin(9)
Most wins by a horse: Godolphin’s Thunder Snow(2)
Wenger's Arsenal reign in numbers
1,228 - games at the helm, ahead of Sunday's Premier League fixture against West Ham United.
704 - wins to date as Arsenal manager.
3 - Premier League title wins, the last during an unbeaten Invincibles campaign of 2003/04.
1,549 - goals scored in Premier League matches by Wenger's teams.
10 - major trophies won.
473 - Premier League victories.
7 - FA Cup triumphs, with three of those having come the last four seasons.
151 - Premier League losses.
21 - full seasons in charge.
49 - games unbeaten in the Premier League from May 2003 to October 2004.
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.”
LILO & STITCH
Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
'Panga'
Directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Starring Kangana Ranaut, Richa Chadha, Jassie Gill, Yagya Bhasin, Neena Gupta
Rating: 3.5/5
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
Company profile
Company: Rent Your Wardrobe
Date started: May 2021
Founder: Mamta Arora
Based: Dubai
Sector: Clothes rental subscription
Stage: Bootstrapped, self-funded
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
No more lice
Defining head lice
Pediculus humanus capitis are tiny wingless insects that feed on blood from the human scalp. The adult head louse is up to 3mm long, has six legs, and is tan to greyish-white in colour. The female lives up to four weeks and, once mature, can lay up to 10 eggs per day. These tiny nits firmly attach to the base of the hair shaft, get incubated by body heat and hatch in eight days or so.
Identifying lice
Lice can be identified by itching or a tickling sensation of something moving within the hair. One can confirm that a person has lice by looking closely through the hair and scalp for nits, nymphs or lice. Head lice are most frequently located behind the ears and near the neckline.
Treating lice at home
Head lice must be treated as soon as they are spotted. Start by checking everyone in the family for them, then follow these steps. Remove and wash all clothing and bedding with hot water. Apply medicine according to the label instructions. If some live lice are still found eight to 12 hours after treatment, but are moving more slowly than before, do not re-treat. Comb dead and remaining live lice out of the hair using a fine-toothed comb.
After the initial treatment, check for, comb and remove nits and lice from hair every two to three days. Soak combs and brushes in hot water for 10 minutes.Vacuum the floor and furniture, particularly where the infested person sat or lay.
Courtesy Dr Vishal Rajmal Mehta, specialist paediatrics, RAK Hospital
Herc's Adventures
Developer: Big Ape Productions
Publisher: LucasArts
Console: PlayStation 1 & 5, Sega Saturn
Rating: 4/5
Four tips to secure IoT networks
Mohammed Abukhater, vice president at FireEye in the Middle East, said:
- Keep device software up-to-date. Most come with basic operating system, so users should ensure that they always have the latest version
- Besides a strong password, use two-step authentication. There should be a second log-in step like adding a code sent to your mobile number
- Usually smart devices come with many unnecessary features. Users should lock those features that are not required or used frequently
- Always create a different guest network for visitors
