US Secretary of State Antony Blinken travels aboard a plane during his week-long trip across the Middle East, on January 10, 2024. AFP
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken travels aboard a plane during his week-long trip across the Middle East, on January 10, 2024. AFP
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken travels aboard a plane during his week-long trip across the Middle East, on January 10, 2024. AFP
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken travels aboard a plane during his week-long trip across the Middle East, on January 10, 2024. AFP

World powers must stand up to 'extremist' Israel, Jordan says


Khaled Yacoub Oweis
  • English
  • Arabic

Live updates: Follow the latest news on Israel-Gaza

The Middle East has fallen “hostage” to an “extremist” Israeli government and the only way out is to resume peace talks for an independent Palestinian state after ending the war in Gaza, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said on Tuesday.

Mr Safadi repeated Amman's calls for a comprehensive solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict as the US and Israel discuss postwar scenarios for Gaza, after more than three months of Israeli bombardment of the enclave prompted by a surprise attack on southern Israel by Hamas on October 7.

“We all need to make progress according to a defined timetable and with enough guarantees to reach the goal of peace based on a two state solution,” Mr Safadi said after meeting Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong.

“Without that, the region will remain hostage to the struggle and to an extremist Israeli agenda, which will take us to more struggles.”

Jordan, along with Egypt, were the first Arab countries with a peace treaty with Israel. The kingdom also has security co-operation with Israel and a defence pact with the US.

Support for Gaza runs particularly high in the kingdom, partly because a large part of its population are descendants of Palestinians who fled the creation of Israel in 1948, and Israel's expansion in the 1967 Middle East War.

Ten days ago, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said Palestinians should be in charge of Gaza after the war but did not rule out presence of Israeli troops.

On a visit to the Middle East last week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington wants to see the integration of Israel in the region after the war, “with security assurances and commitments from regional countries”, and “a Palestinian state – at least a pathway to get to that state”.

Mr Blinken's trip included meetings with the leaders of Jordan, Egypt and Israel.

Israel pulled out from Gaza in 2005, two years before Hamas took control of the area from the Fatah faction of President Mahmoud Abbas in a Palestinian civil war.

The war between Israel and Hamas, which is supported by Iran, started on October 7, when Hamas and other militant groups killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in an attack on southern Israel.

They also took more than 240 Israelis hostage.

The subsequent Israeli offensive on the enclave has killed more than 24,200 people, according to Gazan health officials, who have given no estimate for the number of combatants killed.

On Monday, Mr Safadi said that any plans for a postwar phase must be based “on rejection of any security role for Israel in Gaza or any Israeli presence” in the area.

He said that any “approaches” to shape the future of Gaza must be preceded by international pressure to stop Israel's attacks on the enclave.

“This war is threatening the security of the whole region. It is time to stop it,” Mr Safadi said after meeting Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis in Amman

“Any vision for the future must aim at a comprehensive solution,” he said.

John%20Wick%3A%20Chapter%204
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Skoda Superb Specs

Engine: 2-litre TSI petrol

Power: 190hp

Torque: 320Nm

Price: From Dh147,000

Available: Now

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The specs
  • Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
  • Power: 640hp
  • Torque: 760nm
  • On sale: 2026
  • Price: Not announced yet
SAUDI RESULTS

Team Team Pederson (-40), Team Kyriacou (-39), Team De Roey (-39), Team Mehmet (-37), Team Pace (-36), Team Dimmock (-33)

Individual E. Pederson (-14), S. Kyriacou (-12), A van Dam (-12), L. Galmes (-12), C. Hull (-9), E. Givens (-8),

G. Hall (-8), Ursula Wikstrom (-7), Johanna Gustavsson (-7)

How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
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  2. Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
  3. Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
  4. Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
  5. Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
  6. The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
  7. Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269

*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year

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Living in...

This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.

MATCH INFO

Mainz 0

RB Leipzig 5 (Werner 11', 48', 75', Poulsen 23', Sabitzer 36')

Man of the Match: Timo Werner (RB Leipzig)

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.”

Profile

Company: Justmop.com

Date started: December 2015

Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan

Sector: Technology and home services

Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai

Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month

Funding:  The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups. 

Sri Lanka's T20I squad

Thisara Perera (captain), Dilshan Munaweera, Danushka Gunathilaka, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Ashan Priyanjan, Mahela Udawatte, Dasun Shanaka, Sachith Pathirana, Vikum Sanjaya, Lahiru Gamage, Seekkuge Prasanna, Vishwa Fernando, Isuru Udana, Jeffrey Vandersay and Chathuranga de Silva.

SERIE A FIXTURES

Saturday Spezia v Lazio (6pm), Juventus v Torino (9pm), Inter Milan v Bologna (7.45pm)

Sunday Verona v Cagliari (3.30pm), Parma v Benevento, AS Roma v Sassuolo, Udinese v Atalanta (all 6pm), Crotone v Napoli (9pm), Sampdoria v AC Milan (11.45pm)

Monday Fiorentina v Genoa (11.45pm)

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Sarfraz (c), Zaman, Imam, Masood, Azam, Malik, Asif, Sohail, Shadab, Nawaz, Ashraf, Hasan, Amir, Junaid, Shinwari and Afridi

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Mansoor Al Shehail won the 50-man Battle Royal

The Undertaker beat Goldberg

 

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Some of Darwish's last words

"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008

His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.

Director: Laxman Utekar

Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna

Rating: 1/5

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The specs: 2018 Renault Koleos

Price, base: From Dh77,900
Engine: 2.5L, in-line four-cylinder
Transmission: Continuously variable transmission
Power: 170hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 233Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 8.3L / 100km

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MATCH INFO

Scotland 59 (Tries: Hastings (2), G Horne (3), Turner, Seymour, Barclay, Kinghorn, McInally; Cons: Hastings 8)

Russia 0

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Manchester United v Manchester City, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)

Match is on BeIN Sports

Specs%20
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
Based: Tunisia 
 
Sector: Water technology 
 
Number of staff: 22 
 
Investment raised: $4 million 
Updated: January 16, 2024, 4:42 PM