Biden calls for immediate ceasefire in call with Netanyahu, White House says

Update Smoke rises from a building destroyed in Israeli airstrike at the Bureij camp for Palestinian refugees in the central Gaza Strip on January 12, 2025. (AFP)
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Smoke rises from a building destroyed in Israeli airstrike at the Bureij camp for Palestinian refugees in the central Gaza Strip on January 12, 2025. (AFP)
Update Biden calls for immediate ceasefire in call with Netanyahu, White House says
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Updated 13 January 2025
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Biden calls for immediate ceasefire in call with Netanyahu, White House says

Smoke rises from a building destroyed in Israeli airstrike at the Bureij camp for Palestinian refugees in the central Gaza Strip
  • Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN’s “State of the Union” program earlier on Sunday that the parties were “very, very close” to reaching a deal
  • Netanyahu thanked Biden for lifelong support of Israel, White House says

WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden spoke on Sunday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the White House said, as US officials race to reach a Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal before Biden leaves office on Jan. 20.
Biden and Netanyahu discussed efforts underway to reach a deal to halt the fighting in the Palestinian enclave and free the remaining hostages there, the White House said in a statement after the two leaders spoke by telephone.
Biden “stressed the immediate need for a ceasefire in Gaza and return of the hostages with a surge in humanitarian aid enabled by a stoppage in the fighting under the deal,” it said.
Netanyahu updated Biden on progress in the talks and on the mandate he has given his top-level security delegation now in Doha in order to advance a hostage deal, Netanyahu said in a statement.
The two leaders also discussed “the fundamentally changed regional circumstances following the ceasefire deal in Lebanon, the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, and the weakening of Iran’s power in the region,” the White House said.




This photo taken on July 25, 2024, shows US President Joe Biden, right, meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House in Washington. (REUTERS File)

Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN’s “State of the Union” program earlier on Sunday that the parties were “very, very close” to reaching a deal, but still had to get it across the finish line.
He said Biden was getting daily updates on the talks in Doha, where Israeli and Palestinian officials have said since Thursday that some progress has been made in the indirect talks between Israel and militant group Hamas.
“We are still determined to use every day we have in office to get this done,” Sullivan said, “and we are not, by any stretch of imagination, setting this aside.”
He said there was still a chance to reach an agreement before Biden leaves office, but that it was also possible “Hamas, in particular, remains intransigent.”
During their call, Netanyahu also thanked Biden for his lifelong support of Israel and “the extraordinary support from the United States for Israel’s security and national defense,” the White House said.
Israel launched its assault in Gaza after Hamas fighters stormed across its borders in October 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Since then, more than 46,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to Palestinian health officials, with much of the enclave laid to waste and gripped by a humanitarian crisis, and most of its population displaced.
Vice President-elect JD Vance told the “Fox News Sunday” program in an interview taped on Saturday that he expects a deal for the release of US hostages in the Middle East to be announced in the final days of the Biden administration, maybe in the last day or two.
President-elect Donald Trump, a staunch supporter of Israel, has strongly backed Netanyahu’s goal of destroying Hamas. He has promised to bring peace to the Middle East, but has not said how he would accomplish that.


UAE’s president receives phone call from US secretary of state

UAE’s president receives phone call from US secretary of state
Updated 5 sec ago
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UAE’s president receives phone call from US secretary of state

UAE’s president receives phone call from US secretary of state
  • Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan tells Marco Rubio that 2-state solution is key for peace in Middle East

LONDON:  Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the president of the UAE, received a phone call from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday.

The UAE’s president told Rubio that a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was the key to peace in the Middle East.

Sheikh Mohamed emphasized the need for a just and lasting peace in the region, ensuring security and stability for everyone, the Emirates News Agency reported.

The parties discussed ways to strengthen cooperation across various fields to serve the countries’ strategic relationship.


Egypt projects 4% growth in 2025 amid strong economic reforms

Egypt projects 4% growth in 2025 amid strong economic reforms
Updated 37 min 33 sec ago
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Egypt projects 4% growth in 2025 amid strong economic reforms

Egypt projects 4% growth in 2025 amid strong economic reforms
  • Results of fiscal discipline, says economy minister Rania Al-Mashat
  • Increased capital inflows, foreign direct investment being recorded

DUBAI: Egypt is likely to record 4 percent growth at the end of 2025, the nation’s Planning and Economic Development Minister Rania Al-Mashat said at the World Governments Summit on Wednesday.

In a session titled “The Regional Economic Outlook of 2025,” Al-Mashat, presented an optimistic view of Egypt’s trajectory amid global challenges.

Panelists during the session addressed disruptions Egypt has faced, notably the 70 percent decline in Suez Canal revenues.

In addition, they highlighted geopolitical tensions stemming from President Donald Trump’s recent threats to displace Palestinians to Egypt and Jordan.

Despite these challenges, Al-Mashat emphasized Egypt’s resilience and strategic economic measures.

“At the outset, macroeconomic stability is a necessary condition for growth and private sector engagement,” she said.

She detailed Egypt’s home-grown program with the International Monetary Fund since March 2024, focusing on fiscal consolidation, reducing domestic debt, stringent public investment discipline, and tighter monetary policy to control inflation.

These measures have restored macroeconomic stability, leading to increased capital inflows and foreign direct investment.

Al-Mashat reported 3.2 percent growth in the first quarter of the 2024/2025 fiscal year, with notable performance in the manufacturing sector, signifying stronger integration with global value chains.

However, she stressed that macroeconomic stability alone was insufficient without structural reforms aimed at increasing competitiveness, private sector involvement, and promoting the green transition.

Egypt has attracted nearly $4 billion in renewable energy investments over the past year, positioning itself as a regional energy hub.

“Agility and resilience are key,” she noted, projecting a 4 percent growth rate by year-end, despite global headwinds such as inflationary pressures and monetary policy shifts.

Al-Mashat concluded by emphasizing Egypt’s proactive stance in financing for development, including domestic resource mobilization, debt swaps, and concessional finance for the green transition, all vital for Egypt’s economic future.


‘We are gearing towards becoming a multiplanetary species,’ says UAE space director

‘We are gearing towards becoming a multiplanetary species,’ says UAE space director
Updated 56 min 45 sec ago
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‘We are gearing towards becoming a multiplanetary species,’ says UAE space director

‘We are gearing towards becoming a multiplanetary species,’ says UAE space director

DUBAI: All the UAE’s space projects are gearing toward humanity becoming a multiplanetary species, Salem Al-Marri, director-general of the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center, told the World Governments Summit on Wednesday.

Speaking to Arab News, Al-Marri discussed the UAE’s partnership with the Saudi space mission. 

“Having our (Saudi Arabia and the UAE) astronauts in space at the same time is the first time we had that many Arabs in space at one time,” he said.

Al-Marri said he hoped to have the two countries work together more extensively and share resources to further develop the Arab space industry.

“We’d love to have our astronauts visit Saudi along with the Saudi astronauts, Rayyanah Barnawi and Ali Al-Qarni, have some joint outreach activities and really take it from there. I think also from the research perspective, the data, the outreach, we are now working on different projects that we will announce soon,” he added.

But Al-Marri jokingly revealed that he, personally, was not ready to relocate to Mars, even if the opportunity were to come up tomorrow.

“Not in my lifetime, no. If there’s a return ticket then yes, if it’s a visit for a couple of years and coming back, I would do that. But I think within the next decade we would see some sort of human presence on Mars for a quick type of mission,” he said.

“The global exploration roadmap is moving towards trying to get a permanent presence on the moon and around the moon, and then using that to go to Mars,” he said. 

In a panel discussion with Salem Butti Al-Qubaisi, director-general of the UAE Space Agency, the directors discussed UAE’s space missions and progress since the UAE space mission to Mars was announced in 2014.

“We see a big benefit of having these astronauts sent into space, performing hundreds of experiments, which benefit us here on the ground,” Al-Marri said.

When asked if the UAE’s scarcity of water in any way limited the space mission, both directors said it served as motivation for the project to go further.

“One of the main objectives of the space mission is to help understand water. We can see if there are other sources of water available. If we are planning to go deeper into space we must ensure that there are adequate resources out there,” Al-Qubaisi said.

Al-Marri said MBRSC’s goal and motivation was to see an Emirati on the moon in the next 10 years.

The UAE Astronaut Program was launched in 2017 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, the vice president and prime minister of the UAE, and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, who was deputy supreme commander of the UAE Armed Forces at the time and is now the UAE president.

Sultan Al-Neyadi was the first Emarati and Arab astronaut to undertake a long-term space mission and the first to complete a spacewalk.

Al-Neyadi, together with NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, were part of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 that lifted off on March 2, 2023 from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The crew conducted more than 200 science experiments and technology demonstrations during their stay at the space station and returned to earth on Sept. 4, 2023.

 


Hamas says group’s delegation in Cairo for talks on Gaza ceasefire

Hamas says group’s delegation in Cairo for talks on Gaza ceasefire
Updated 12 February 2025
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Hamas says group’s delegation in Cairo for talks on Gaza ceasefire

Hamas says group’s delegation in Cairo for talks on Gaza ceasefire

GAZA: Hamas said on Wednesday a delegation headed by its chief negotiator had arrived in Cairo for Gaza truce talks, which a group official said were aimed at ending the “current crisis” in implementing the ceasefire.
“A delegation headed by Khalil Al-Hayya, head of the Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip, arrived in Cairo and began meetings with Egyptian officials, and followed up on the implementation of the ceasefire agreement,” Hamas said in a statement. An official told AFP the delegation “will discuss ways to end the current crisis and ensure the occupation’s commitment to implementing the agreement.”


Trump pressure on Gazans and regional powers might lead to grave conflicts, says Arab League chief

Trump pressure on Gazans and regional powers might lead to grave conflicts, says Arab League chief
Updated 12 February 2025
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Trump pressure on Gazans and regional powers might lead to grave conflicts, says Arab League chief

Trump pressure on Gazans and regional powers might lead to grave conflicts, says Arab League chief
  • Aboul Gheit emphasized that the Palestinian state must be recognized
  • Aboul Gheit said that there had been no Arab defeat, but rather that there had been progress and readiness for any cooperation to coexist between the Palestinians and Israelis within one space

DUBAI: The Arab League’s secretary-general on Wednesday warned that if US President Donald Trump continued to pressure Gazans and regionally influential powers, this “might lead the region to a new round of grave conflicts.”

“In my opinion, I see that (happening) if President Trump continues in this manner to pressure Gazans, the Arab world, Egyptians, Jordanians, and the region’s influential powers,” said Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit.

“I imagine that instead of settling the Palestinian cause, justly and based on the two-state solution, this might lead the region (the Middle East) to a new round of grave conflicts between Arabs and Israel,” Aboul Gheit told the World Government Summit on Wednesday.

Addressing a packed auditorium during a session titled “The State of the Arab World,” the secretary-general said that “any plans to evacuate the Palestinian territories of their residents” must be rejected, and pointed out that “an acceptable settlement” must be achieved between the two parties.

Alongside Aboul Gheit was Jasem Al-Budaiwi, who is secretary-general of the General Secretariat of the Gulf Cooperation Council, in a session moderated by the Egyptian journalist and businessman Imad Eddine Adib.

Aboul Gheit emphasized that the Palestinian state must be recognized and the “Palestinians must be given their rights.”

He said the US suggestions were unacceptable to Arabs, and in particular Palestinians, warning against the repercussions of US policy on the paths of “peace and understanding” in the region.

After a question by Adib on Trump’s statement on Tuesday, the Arab League head replied: “Right at the moment, the problem as I see it, is that the American vision is an ambiguous one … in the sense that it envisions settling the Middle East conflict through finishing the Palestinian existence, Palestinian character and Palestinian identity in Gaza.

“This is not a settlement (of the conflict) but is rather transferring the conflict to a phase that exceeds Gaza and Israel, making it reach the global level.”

Aboul Gheit added: “If you wish to send the Palestinians to Canada or Argentina, they will fight (for their cause) from there … they will fight from Canada and Argentina. We must understand this … it (Palestine) is their land.”

The senior Egyptian diplomat hopes that a cycle of new conflicts does not occur because it will have negative effects on stability and on everything that “we have built in the region over the period from 1978 (Camp David) and the Egyptian-Israeli understanding until this moment.”

Aboul Gheit said that there had been no Arab defeat, but rather that there had been progress and readiness for any cooperation to coexist between the Palestinians and Israelis within one space.

“On the Palestinian issue, it is not necessary to implement President Trump’s words on the ground. The words are ‘give and take’ and we must complete our efforts with the two-state solution initiative,” Al-Budaiwi said.

During the session, the Arab League’s secretary-general hinted at the differences between the Fatah Movement and Hamas, saying the Palestinian people were in dire need, and the people who are most in need of an Arabic-Arabic and Palestinian-Palestinian agreement and accord.

Meanwhile, the GCC’s secretary-general said that there were clear constants regarding the Palestinian cause, at the forefront of which is the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and the return of refugees.

“We in the Cooperation Council work within this framework,” he said.

Al-Budaiwi said the US realized the importance of security and stability in the region, and “we have strategic alliances with the US,” noting that the stance of the  GCC countries does not change, and always stem from the importance of implementing international legitimacy.

“We are optimistic and deal with matters with deliberation and wisdom, and we seek a unified Arab position that aims to obtain the rights of the Palestinian people,” he concluded.