Rubio meets Jordan's Foreign Minister as Gaza crisis worsens

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi in Washington on Wednesday, as the threat of mass starvation in Gaza continues to increase.

The two discussed the situation in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank, with Mr Rubio thanking Mr Safadi for "Jordan's leadership in advancing regional security and stability," State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement.

Mr Rubio also stressed the need for dialogue to alleviate the crisis in southern Syria and highlighted the "importance of protecting civilians on all sides."

Starvation deaths rise in Gaza as world decries 'man-made' crisis

Syria is reeling from a week of deadly fighting in the Druze heartland of Sweida. What began as clashes between Druze militia and Sunni Bedouin fighters, escalated when Syrian government forces were sent in and when Israeli intervened with strikes. The US brokered a ceasefire between Syria and Israel.

The statement said Mr Rubio and Mr Safadi also met to discuss the "trilateral agreement between the United States, Jordan, and Syria to maintain the ceasefire in Syria."

Mr Safadi is in the midst of a tour of North America. Earlier this week, he met Canada’s Foreign Minister Anita Anand.

Mr Safadi’s trip to Canada was part of a “working visit” to the country by King Abdullah II.

King Abdullah met Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Monday in Ottawa, the first meeting between the leaders since Mr Carney was elected in March.

They discussed a host of issues, including ways to “enhance the partnership between Jordan and Canada, as well as the latest developments in the region”, Jordan’s State News Agency said.

Canada pledged $28 million to help Jordan bolster its border security, the Canadian Prime Minister’s office said.

“The Prime Minister and His Majesty also discussed the situation in the Middle East, including the imperative of a ceasefire in Gaza, called for urgent, life-saving humanitarian aid to reach civilians, and the imperative for stability in Syria,” the Prime Minister’s office said.

The situation in Gaza appears to be further worsening, with the threat of mass starvation increasing in the densely populated strip.

“A large proportion of the population of Gaza is starving. I don't know what you would call it other than mass starvation – and it's man-made,” said World Health Organisation Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Wednesday.

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Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi

From: Dara

To: Team@

Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT

Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East

Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.

Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.

I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.

This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.

It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.

Uber on,

Dara

Closing the tap when washing hands for those 20 seconds can save billions of litres of water

Milestones on the road to union

1970

October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.

December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.

1971

March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.

July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.

July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.

August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.

August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.

September 3: Qatar becomes independent.

November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.

November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.

November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.

November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties

December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.

December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.

December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.

Frankenstein in Baghdad
Ahmed Saadawi
Penguin Press

Neighbourhood Watch

A Silicon Oasis of calm in bustling Dubai

How a road to nowhere became a top Ajman destination

The village community hidden among the skyscrapers of new Dubai

The specs

Common to all models unless otherwise stated

Engine: 4-cylinder 2-litre T-GDi

0-100kph: 5.3 seconds (Elantra); 5.5 seconds (Kona); 6.1 seconds (Veloster)

Power: 276hp

Torque: 392Nm

Transmission: 6-Speed Manual/ 8-Speed Dual Clutch FWD

Price: TBC

Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.