Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani discussed ways to save the region from the “grave crises” threatening its security and stability during talks on Tuesday.
Mr Al Sudani visited New Alamein, a coastal city north of Cairo and the summer seat of the government.
“The meeting witnessed an exchange of views on the means to save the region from the grave crises that are shaking it and threatening its stability … they agreed on the necessity of reducing regional escalation,” an Egyptian presidential statement said.
The two leaders also emphasised the need for a ceasefire in Gaza and ending the humanitarian crisis in the sector.
Egypt has attempted, with Qatar and the US, to broker a ceasefire in the 10-month-old war in Gaza as well as a hostage and prisoner swap.
The need for a pause in the Gaza war became more urgent after a rise in regional tensions after the assassination of Hamas's political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last month. Israel did not comment on the killing, however, it did claim responsibility for the assassination of top Hezbollah commander, Fouad Shukr, in Beirut in July.
Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah had their most intense exchange of cross-border hostilities on Sunday, underlining the potential for the Gaza war to grow into a wider conflict.
Iraq is also home to several powerful militias backed by Iran, which have attacked US forces in Iraq and across the region in solidarity with Hamas.
Mr Al Sudani “affirmed Iraq's commitment to co-operation and openness towards Egyptian companies, particularly in the areas of housing, agriculture, and water management,” an official Iraqi statement said.
The Egyptian and Iraqi leaders, it added, had “extensive discussions” in the areas of oil, agriculture, and water management, as well as the trilateral co-operation with Jordan in what is known as The New Levant Initiative to boost mainly commercial co-operation between the three countries.
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
The Florida Project
Director: Sean Baker
Starring: Bria Vinaite, Brooklynn Prince, Willem Dafoe
Four stars
The specs
Engine: 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 380hp at 5,800rpm
Torque: 530Nm at 1,300-4,500rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Price: From Dh299,000 ($81,415)
On sale: Now
Three ways to boost your credit score
Marwan Lutfi says the core fundamentals that drive better payment behaviour and can improve your credit score are:
1. Make sure you make your payments on time;
2. Limit the number of products you borrow on: the more loans and credit cards you have, the more it will affect your credit score;
3. Don't max out all your debts: how much you maximise those credit facilities will have an impact. If you have five credit cards and utilise 90 per cent of that credit, it will negatively affect your score.
Tottenham Hotspur 3 (Son 1', Kane 8' & 16') West Ham United 3 (Balbuena 82', Sanchez og 85', Lanzini 90' 4)
Man of the match Harry Kane
THE SPECS
Engine: Four-cylinder 2.5-litre
Transmission: Seven-speed auto
Power: 165hp
Torque: 241Nm
Price: Dh99,900 to Dh134,000
On sale: now
Paltan
Producer: JP Films, Zee Studios Director: JP Dutta Cast: Jackie Shroff, Sonu Sood, Arjun Rampal, Siddhanth Kapoor, Luv Sinha and Harshvardhan Rane Rating: 2/5
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
The bio
Favourite book: Peter Rabbit. I used to read it to my three children and still read it myself. If I am feeling down it brings back good memories.
Best thing about your job: Getting to help people. My mum always told me never to pass up an opportunity to do a good deed.
Best part of life in the UAE: The weather. The constant sunshine is amazing and there is always something to do, you have so many options when it comes to how to spend your day.
Favourite holiday destination: Malaysia. I went there for my honeymoon and ended up volunteering to teach local children for a few hours each day. It is such a special place and I plan to retire there one day.
Scoreline
Switzerland 5
Three tips from La Perle's performers
1 The kind of water athletes drink is important. Gwilym Hooson, a 28-year-old British performer who is currently recovering from knee surgery, found that out when the company was still in Studio City, training for 12 hours a day. “The physio team was like: ‘Why is everyone getting cramps?’ And then they realised we had to add salt and sugar to the water,” he says.
2 A little chocolate is a good thing. “It’s emergency energy,” says Craig Paul Smith, La Perle’s head coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer, gesturing to an almost-empty open box of mini chocolate bars on his desk backstage.
3 Take chances, says Young, who has worked all over the world, including most recently at Dragone’s show in China. “Every time we go out of our comfort zone, we learn a lot about ourselves,” she says.
