ANKARA: Turkey will send a delegation led by its deputy foreign minister to Egypt in early May, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday, as Ankara ramps up a push to repair strained ties with Cairo after years of animosity.
Last month, Turkey said it had resumed diplomatic contacts with Egypt and wanted to further cooperation, eight years after ties crumbled over the Egyptian army toppling a Muslim Brotherhood president close to Ankara in 2013.
A thaw in ties between the regional powerhouses could have repercussions around the Mediterranean. They have backed rival sides in the war in Libya and sealed conflicting maritime deals with other coastal states. But Cavusoglu said on Wednesday that a new period was beginning in Turkey-Egypt ties.
Speaking in an interview with broadcaster NTV, Cavusoglu said Cairo had invited the Turkish delegation to visit Egypt in the first week of May to discuss ties. He added that a meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, whom he spoke to at the weekend, would take place after those talks.
“The Egyptian side invited a delegation from Turkey to their country in the first week of May. The conditions between us have matured, meetings could continue,” Cavusoglu said.
Cairo has said Turkey’s actions “must show alignment with Egyptian principles” to normalize ties. Last month, Ankara asked Egyptian opposition TV channels operating in Turkey to moderate their criticism of Cairo, in the first concrete step aimed at easing diplomatic tensions.
Turkey to send delegation to Egypt in May, foreign ministers to meet later
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Turkey to send delegation to Egypt in May, foreign ministers to meet later
- Ankara ramps up a push to repair strained ties with Cairo after years of animosity
Nine people die in crash during Iran holiday season
- Police say 585 people have died on the roads since the start of a holiday season
- The latest accident in Semnan province saw two vehicles crash and catch fire
TEHRAN: Nine people were killed in a car crash in northeastern Iran on Thursday, the worst single accident since the start of the Persian new year holiday, state media reported.
Police say 585 people have died on the roads since the start of a holiday season that runs from 19 March to 1 April, and sees many Iranians travel to visit family.
The latest accident in Semnan province east of the capital Tehran saw two vehicles crash and catch fire, reported IRNA state news agency quoting the emergency services.
IRNA reported that the death toll for the holiday season last year was 1,217.
The high number of deaths has been blamed on the poor condition of parts of the road network, careless driving and the low quality of the vehicles.
A police official in 2022 accused local car makers of delivering “unsafe” vehicles to the public while charging them the same price as foreign companies.
Several overseas car firms quit Iran in 2018 after the US reimposed sanctions over the country’s nuclear program.
Saudi Arabia unveils Green Finance Framework in sustainability push
RIYADH: Public and private participation in climate financing in Saudi Arabia is poised to receive a boost with the introduction of the Green Finance Framework.
This initiative, launched by the Ministry of Finance, is aimed at propelling the nation toward its sustainability goals and achieving net-zero emissions by 2060, Saudi Press Agency reported.
The framework is expected to contribute to the efforts aimed at reducing emissions through a circular carbon economy approach, along with positioning Saudi Arabia as a regional leader in sustainable finance.
It was in October 2021 that Saudi Arabia announced its ambitious goal to achieve net-zero emissions by 2060.
With this framework, the Kingdom aims to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 278 million tonnes annually by 2030, aligning with the commitments under the Paris Agreement.
The Paris Agreement is an international treaty on climate change that was produced in 2015 and compels signatories to work toward limiting the global temperature increase to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels.
The Kingdom has been spearheading several initiatives including the Saudi Green Initiative to combat the adverse effects of climate change over the past few years.
On March 27, the Kingdom celebrated its first Saudi Green Initiative Day highlighting the importance of fostering a sustainable legacy for future generations.
The celebration was organized under the theme “For Our Today and Their Tomorrow: KSA Together for a Greener Future” and it highlighted the collaboration of more than 80 public and private sector projects that are part of the SGI.
To date, Saudi Arabia has deployed 2.8 gigawatts of renewable energy to the national grid, powering more than 520,000 homes, with additional projects underway to increase capacity.
Moreover, more than 49 million trees and shrubs have been planted throughout the Kingdom since 2021, and extensive land rehabilitation efforts have been undertaken.
Additionally, energy giant Saudi Aramco, in collaboration with the Kingdom’s Ministry of Energy is building a carbon capture and storage hub in Jubail, which will have 9 million tonnes annual storage capacity upon its completion in 2027.
Experts call on people to prevent food waste
- Academics and specialists agreed that Saudi Arabia should implement new initiatives to combat the rising challenge of food waste
- Titled “Stop Food Waste,” the virtual event was organized by Saudi Platform in cooperation with Vision Platform
JEDDAH: Preventing food waste can be made possible through greater adoption of affordable and user-friendly technologies, best practices initiatives, and more awareness campaigns, experts who met at a recent virtual awareness meeting have said.
The academics and specialists agreed that Saudi Arabia should implement new initiatives to combat the rising challenge of food waste and loss effectively.
Titled “Stop Food Waste,” the virtual event was organized by Saudi Platform in cooperation with Vision Platform. It revealed that more than 33 percent of food is wasted in the Kingdom, which costs Saudi Arabia around SR40 billion ($10.66 billion) annually.
Najah Al-Omari, an international trainer and family counsellor, presented a video about recycling plant waste. Citing Qur’anic verses, she explained the difference between loss and waste and highlighted the importance of preserving food.
She presented a group of slides about Saudi citizens’ consumption of food compared to global consumption rates.
“The comparison between food waste rates reveals shocking numbers, after local waste exceeded global levels by a large margin,” she said.
Al-Omari presented a set of instructions on preserving food, reducing food waste, and achieving sustainability, and noted the extent of the impact of food waste on individuals in particular, and the country in general.
She also presented a set of practical solutions to stop food waste, some of which relate to the enactment of legislation.
Al-Omari discussed how specialized charitable organizations play a role in treating the impact of loss and waste.
Fahd Turkestani, an environmental expert, confirmed that such awareness meetings spread the culture of preserving grace and awareness in society.
He said: “In France, they ask the customer to take his or her leftover food with him (or her); and in Italy, they have put in place binding laws to limit waste. In Britain, the first supermarket was opened for leftover food.
“A restaurant in Chicago refused to use the waste bin for two years, forcing customers to consume all their meals; and in Denmark, the country succeeded in reducing food surplus by 25 percent, within five years, thanks to effective awareness programs.”
Turkestani called on the Saudi authorities to enact strict laws, including fines and penalties, to combat waste.
Meanwhile, Nouf Halawani, director of social responsibility projects at Savola World, reviewed the experiences and practices in the Kingdom during the past years. “New technologies are needed to reduce food waste,” she said.
Abdullah Osama Filali, chairman of the board of directors of the Hefz Al-Nema organization in the Makkah region, highlighted effective initiatives undertaken by the association to reduce waste, which included making agreements with hotels, restaurants, and wedding halls, to take surplus food, package it, and distribute it to the needy.
He pointed out that 800,000 meals were distributed during the year, benefiting needy families, after recycling and investing surplus food in these areas.
Palestinian Authority announces a new Cabinet as it faces calls for reform
- Interior Minister Ziad Hab Al-Rih is a member of Abbas’ secular Fatah movement and held the same portfolio in the previous government
- At least five of the incoming 23 ministers are from Gaza, but it was not immediately clear if they are still in the territory
RAMALLAH, West Bank: The Palestinian Authority has announced the formation of a new Cabinet as it faces international pressure to reform.
President Mahmoud Abbas, who has led the PA for nearly two decades and remains in overall control, announced the new government in a presidential decree on Thursday. None of the incoming ministers is a well-known figure.
Abbas tapped Mohammad Mustafa, a longtime adviser, to be prime minister earlier this month. Mustafa, a politically independent US-educated economist, had vowed to form a technocratic government and create an independent trust fund to help rebuild Gaza. Mustafa will also serve as foreign minister.
Interior Minister Ziad Hab Al-Rih is a member of Abbas’ secular Fatah movement and held the same portfolio in the previous government. The Interior Ministry oversees the security forces. The incoming minister for Jerusalem affairs, Ashraf Al-Awar, registered to run as a Fatah candidate in elections in 2021 that were indefinitely delayed.
At least five of the incoming 23 ministers are from Gaza, but it was not immediately clear if they are still in the territory.
The PA administers parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Its forces were driven from Gaza when Hamas seized power in 2007, and it has no power there.
It has little popular support or legitimacy among Palestinians, in part because it has not held elections in 18 years. Its policy of cooperating with Israel on security matters is extremely unpopular and has led many Palestinians to view it as a subcontractor of the occupation.
Opinion polls in recent years have consistently found that a vast majority of Palestinians want the 88-year-old Abbas to resign.
The United States has called for a revitalized PA to administer postwar Gaza ahead of eventual statehood.
Israel has rejected that idea, saying it will maintain open-ended security control over Gaza and partner with Palestinians who are not affiliated with the PA or Hamas. It’s unclear who in Gaza would be willing to take on such a role.
Hamas has rejected the formation of the new government as illegitimate, calling instead for all Palestinian factions, including Fatah, to form a power-sharing government ahead of national elections.
It has warned Palestinians in Gaza against cooperating with Israel to administer the territory, saying anyone who does will be treated as a collaborator, which is understood as a death threat.
Jamaa Islamiya, Lebanese militants allied to Hamas
- Several groups allied to Hamas have exchanged near-daily fire with Israeli forces along Lebanon’s southern border
- The groups say they are acting in solidarity with Hamas and Palestinians in the Gaza Strip
BEIRUT: Jamaa Islamiya has a much lower profile than other militant groups in Lebanon, but the escalation of strikes over the border with Israel is pushing it into the spotlight.
Formed in the 1960s, Jamaa Islamiya claims to have carried out operations with Palestinian militant group Hamas in southern Lebanon and said seven affiliated rescuers were killed in an overnight Israeli strike.
Several groups allied to Hamas have exchanged near-daily fire with Israeli forces along Lebanon’s southern border since war erupted in the Gaza Strip following Hamas’s October 7 attacks on southern Israel.
The groups say they are acting in solidarity with Hamas and Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Jamaa Islamiya has carried out “joint operations with Hamas” in Lebanon, according to an official from the small Sunni Muslim movement who requested anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the media.
“All forces that operate in south Lebanon coordinate their actions,” Ali Abu Yassin, head of Jamaa Islamiya’s political bureau, told AFP.
As the group announced the death of the seven medics on Wednesday, the Israeli military said those killed were Jamaa Islamiya “terrorists.”
Mohanad Hage Ali, from the Carnegie Middle East Center, said Jamaa Islamiya was “operating as an extension of Hamas in Lebanon,” describing the two movements’ relationship as “organic.”
Over the weekend, a Jamaa Islamiya official reportedly survived an Israeli drone strike in eastern Lebanon and earlier this month the group said three of its fighters were killed in Lebanon’s south.
The official requesting anonymity said two Jamaa Islamiya members were serving as bodyguards to Hamas deputy leader Saleh Al-Aruri and were killed along with him in a January 2 strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs.
Hage Ali said Jamaa Islamiya had “around 500 armed men” but played only a “marginal political role” in Lebanon with just one lawmaker in the national parliament.
Jamaa Islamiya and Hamas both come from the same ideological school as the Muslim Brotherhood, a Sunni Islamist group with origins in Egypt, the official requesting anonymity said.
Jamaa Islamiya established its armed wing, the Fajr Forces, in 1982 to fight the Israeli invasion of Lebanon.
The official said the group stayed out of Lebanon’s 1975-1990 civil war.
Relations with Hezbollah have seen ups and downs but improved recently, analyst Hage Ali said, particularly since Jamaa Islamiya elected a new leadership closer to Hamas in 2022.
But Hage Ali noted Jamaa Islamiya “is not subservient” to Hezbollah.
The two groups differ in particular over the Syrian conflict, with Hezbollah supporting Syrian President Bashar Assad since his 2011 repression of anti-government protests sparked war, unlike Hamas and Jamaa Islamiya.
Jamaa Islamiya political official Abu Yassin acknowledged his group had “differences of opinion with Hezbollah due to its participation in the Syrian war on the side of the regime.”
The Jamaa Islamiya official requesting anonymity said that though the groups differ over Syria, “today, we are in the same trench as Hezbollah on the Palestinian issue.”