Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that he has been invited to China, in a fresh sign that Beijing is trying to increase its power in the Middle East.
Mr Netanyahu made the announcement while meeting members of the US House of Representatives, according to Israel's government press office.
No dates for the visit have been given.
The Prime Minister is yet to receive an official invitation to the US, despite it being almost half a year since he formed his government, which is considered the most right-wing in Israel's history.
The lack of an invitation is widely seen as a sign of Washington's displeasure at what it views as Mr Netanyahu's government's radical agenda, which includes rapidly expanding Israel's settlement programme in the occupied West Bank and plans for a deeply controversial legal reform, which opponents say threatens democracy in the country.
Mr Netanyahu stressed in the meeting that the US remains Israel's "most vital and irreplaceable ally," a sign that Israel's government is trying to placate American concerns over Beijing's growing footprint in the region.
Opposition politician and former senior Mossad official Ram Ben Barak said the visit would be a “strategic mistake of the first order”.
Earlier this month, China hosted Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, during which both sides expanded plans to form a strategic partnership.
This included China putting Palestine forward for dialogue partner status at the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation, a multilateral body that focuses mostly on regional security threats.
The trip will be Mr Netanyahu's fourth visit to China.
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- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
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Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
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“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
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Moment of the day Just three balls remained in an exhausting day for Sri Lanka’s bowlers when they were afforded some belated cheer. Nuwan Pradeep, unrewarded in 15 overs to that point, let slip a seemingly innocuous delivery down the legside. Babar Azam feathered it behind, and Niroshan Dickwella dived to make a fine catch.
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The verdict Even by the normal standards of Test cricket in the UAE, this has been slow going. Pakistan’s run-rate of 2.38 per over is the lowest they have managed in a Test match in this country. With just 14 wickets having fallen in three days so far, it is difficult to see 26 dropping to bring about a result over the next two.
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