US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin's meetings with Israeli leaders have changed location and his arrival has been slightly delayed due to protests in the country, a US official said on Wednesday.
The change in the Thursday meetings was made at the request of the Israeli government, the official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.
They were to have taken place at Israel's Ministry of Defence in Tel Aviv, The Financial Times cited Pentagon press secretary Patrick Ryder as saying, but instead will occur nearer the airport.
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Israeli cities for the ninth straight week on Saturday to protest against a plan by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to overhaul the country's court system.
The marches have attracted huge crowds on a weekly basis since early January, when Mr Netanyahu's government floated legislation that would limit Supreme Court powers to rule against the legislature and the executive, while giving lawmakers decisive powers in appointing judges.
The intensity of the protests has heightened since March 1, when Israeli police fired stun grenades and scuffles broke out in Tel Aviv during a nationwide “day of disruption”.
Mr Austin has been engaged a whistle-stop tour of the Middle East this week, last meeting Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi on Wednesday in Cairo.
The pair discussed the “strategic partnership” between their two countries and improving joint military and security co-operation, as well as surging violence between Israel and the Palestinians in the West Bank.
“The President emphasised the importance of intensifying international efforts to bring about calm in Palestinian territories,” a presidential statement read. Israel must stop escalations and unilateral moves, he told Mr Austin.
Mr Austin was in Cairo on the latest stop of a Middle East tour that has already taken him to Jordan and Iraq. His meeting with Mr El Sisi, a former army general in office since 2014, took place at his suburban presidential palace a 10-minute drive away from the airport.
Egypt and the US have been close allies since the late 1970s, with Cairo receiving billions of dollars in US military and economic aid.
Currently, Egypt receives $1.3 billion in military aid annually, making it one of the world’s largest recipients of such assistance.
The two countries have, over the years, also forged close military counter-terrorism co-operation. They regularly hold joint war games, while Egypt routinely allows the US warplanes to fly through its airspace and grants American warships priority when sailing through the Suez Canal.
“The US-Egypt defence partnership is an essential pillar of our commitment to this region,” Mr Austin wrote on Twitter upon landing in Cairo.
“I'm here to strengthen our co-ordination on key issues and to pursue opportunities to deepen our long-standing bilateral partnership with Egypt.”
Egypt has also played a key role in brokering numerous truces between Israel, Washington’s closest Middle East ally, and the militant Palestinian group Hamas that controls the Gaza Strip.
Mr Austin's trip comes as violence has surged across the occupied West Bank to its highest levels in years. He will fly to Israel later on Wednesday.
His visit to Baghdad on Tuesday was previously unannounced and came two days before the 20th anniversary of the US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.
Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
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Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
Ultra processed foods
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre turbo 4-cyl
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Power: 190bhp
Torque: 300Nm
Price: Dh169,900
On sale: now
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
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.
Who is Allegra Stratton?
- Previously worked at The Guardian, BBC’s Newsnight programme and ITV News
- Took up a public relations role for Chancellor Rishi Sunak in April 2020
- In October 2020 she was hired to lead No 10’s planned daily televised press briefings
- The idea was later scrapped and she was appointed spokeswoman for Cop26
- Ms Stratton, 41, is married to James Forsyth, the political editor of The Spectator
- She has strong connections to the Conservative establishment
- Mr Sunak served as best man at her 2011 wedding to Mr Forsyth
