Live updates: Follow the latest news on Israel-Gaza
Iran’s Foreign Minister warned on Thursday that if Israel's assault on Gaza persists, the US will “not be spared from this fire”.
“I say frankly to the American statesmen, who are now managing the genocide in Palestine, that we do not welcome expansion of the war in the region,” Hossein Amirabdollahian told the 193 member states at the UN General Assembly in New York.
“But if the genocide in Gaza continues, they will not be spared from this fire.”
He added that “West Asia is our region” and that Iran does not compromise “when it comes to our home’s security”.
US President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that Washington has not ruled out retaliation after the Pentagon said American forces had been attacked by Iran-backed militants at least 13 times in the Middle East in recent days.
“My warning to the Ayatollah [Ali Khamenei] is that if they continue to move against those troops, we will respond and he should be prepared,” Mr Biden told reporters.
During his speech at the UN, Mr Amirabdollahian disclosed that Hamas is prepared to release civilian hostages but that “the world should support the release of 6,000 Palestinian prisoners”.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran stands ready to play its part in this very important humanitarian endeavour, along with Qatar and Turkey," said.
The UN General Assembly is scheduled on Friday to vote on a resolution calling for a ceasefire in the ongoing Israel-Gaza war.
The draft ceasefire resolution circulated by the Arab Group, which includes that UAE, featured calls for accountability, compliance with international humanitarian law and unrestricted aid.
Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi called on member states to “unite for justice” by voting for the resolution.
“Let's unite for the rights of every Palestinian and every Israeli child to live free from the horrors of war … free from fear and looking for a life full of promise and full of opportunity.”
Israel's UN ambassador Gilad Erdan noted that this is not a war against the Palestinians but rather war with “the genocidal jihadist Hamas terror organisation”.
“Israel will continue combating the genocidal terrorists committed to our destruction,” he said. “We will not rest until Hamas is obliterated and our hostages are returned home. And we will bring them home.”
UN General Assembly resolutions lack legal binding authority, unlike Security Council resolutions.
Inside the Gaza Strip – in pictures
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Engine: 3.0-litre 6-cyl turbo
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It's up to you to go green
Nils El Accad, chief executive and owner of Organic Foods and Café, says going green is about “lifestyle and attitude” rather than a “money change”; people need to plan ahead to fill water bottles in advance and take their own bags to the supermarket, he says.
“People always want someone else to do the work; it doesn’t work like that,” he adds. “The first step: you have to consciously make that decision and change.”
When he gets a takeaway, says Mr El Accad, he takes his own glass jars instead of accepting disposable aluminium containers, paper napkins and plastic tubs, cutlery and bags from restaurants.
He also plants his own crops and herbs at home and at the Sheikh Zayed store, from basil and rosemary to beans, squashes and papayas. “If you’re going to water anything, better it be tomatoes and cucumbers, something edible, than grass,” he says.
“All this throwaway plastic - cups, bottles, forks - has to go first,” says Mr El Accad, who has banned all disposable straws, whether plastic or even paper, from the café chain.
One of the latest changes he has implemented at his stores is to offer refills of liquid laundry detergent, to save plastic. The two brands Organic Foods stocks, Organic Larder and Sonnett, are both “triple-certified - you could eat the product”.
The Organic Larder detergent will soon be delivered in 200-litre metal oil drums before being decanted into 20-litre containers in-store.
Customers can refill their bottles at least 30 times before they start to degrade, he says. Organic Larder costs Dh35.75 for one litre and Dh62 for 2.75 litres and refills will cost 15 to 20 per cent less, Mr El Accad says.
But while there are savings to be had, going green tends to come with upfront costs and extra work and planning. Are we ready to refill bottles rather than throw them away? “You have to change,” says Mr El Accad. “I can only make it available.”
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Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
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