President Sheikh Mohamed received Grant Shapps, the UK's Defence Secretary, at Al Shati Palace on Thursday. Photo: Presidential Court
President Sheikh Mohamed received Grant Shapps, the UK's Defence Secretary, at Al Shati Palace on Thursday. Photo: Presidential Court
President Sheikh Mohamed received Grant Shapps, the UK's Defence Secretary, at Al Shati Palace on Thursday. Photo: Presidential Court
President Sheikh Mohamed received Grant Shapps, the UK's Defence Secretary, at Al Shati Palace on Thursday. Photo: Presidential Court

President Sheikh Mohamed and UK Defence Secretary discuss Israel-Gaza crisis


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President Sheikh Mohamed received the UK Defence Secretary at Al Shati Palace in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.

Grant Shapps is in the Middle East to hold talks as the UK tries to prevent an escalation of the Israel-Gaza conflict and seize an opportunity to push for peace in the region.

During their meeting in Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohamed and Mr Shapps reviewed co-operation between the two countries in the field of defence.

They also discussed the latest developments in Gaza, as well as measures to de-escalate tensions and resolve a critical situation which threatens stability in the region.

President Sheikh Mohamed and Grant Shapps reviewed co-operation between the two countries in the field of defence. Photo: Presidential Court
President Sheikh Mohamed and Grant Shapps reviewed co-operation between the two countries in the field of defence. Photo: Presidential Court

Britain has so far declined to call for a ceasefire or ask Israel to delay an expected ground offensive in Gaza.

Britain has also sought to isolate Hamas by emphasising it does not speak for the Palestinian cause and saying there is “no scenario” in which it could maintain its hold on power in a peace agreement.

Mr Shapps visited the UAE and Saudi Arabia in January, when he led the now-defunct Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. He took on the defence brief in August.

The meeting on Thursday was attended by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Presidential Court; Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohamed; Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad, Adviser for Special Affairs at the Ministry of the Presidential Court; Mohammed Al Bawardi, Minister of State for Defence Affairs; Khaldoun Al Mubarak, chairman of the Executive Affairs Authority and member of the Executive Council; and the delegation accompanying the UK Defence Secretary.

Ahmed Raza

UAE cricket captain

Age: 31

Born: Sharjah

Role: Left-arm spinner

One-day internationals: 31 matches, 35 wickets, average 31.4, economy rate 3.95

T20 internationals: 41 matches, 29 wickets, average 30.3, economy rate 6.28

Singham Again

Director: Rohit Shetty

Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone

Rating: 3/5

BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES

Saturday, May 16 (kick-offs UAE time)

Borussia Dortmund v Schalke (4.30pm) 
RB Leipzig v Freiburg (4.30pm) 
Hoffenheim v Hertha Berlin (4.30pm) 
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Paderborn  (4.30pm) 
Augsburg v Wolfsburg (4.30pm) 
Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia Monchengladbach (7.30pm)

Sunday, May 17

Cologne v Mainz (4.30pm),
Union Berlin v Bayern Munich (7pm)

Monday, May 18

Werder Bremen v Bayer Leverkusen (9.30pm)

Brief scores:

England: 290 & 346

Sri Lanka: 336 & 243

Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Sarfira

Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad

Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal 

Rating: 2/5

Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
 
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Our legal consultant

Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

The Vile

Starring: Bdoor Mohammad, Jasem Alkharraz, Iman Tarik, Sarah Taibah

Director: Majid Al Ansari

Rating: 4/5

Pharaoh's curse

British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.

Tomb%20Raider%20I%E2%80%93III%20Remastered
%3Cp%3EDeveloper%3A%20Aspyr%0D%3Cbr%3EPublisher%3A%20Aspyr%0D%3Cbr%3EConsole%3A%20Nintendo%20Switch%2C%20PlayStation%204%26amp%3B5%2C%20PC%20and%20Xbox%20series%20X%2FS%0D%3Cbr%3ERating%3A%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
MATCH RESULT

Liverpool 4 Brighton and Hove Albion 0
Liverpool: 
Salah (26'), Lovren (40'), Solanke (53'), Robertson (85')    

Updated: October 26, 2023, 1:29 PM