DUBAI: Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed held talks with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Sunday, state news agency WAM reported.
During the meting, which took place at the Al-Shati Palace in Abu Dhabi, the two sides discussed the existing strategic relations between the UAE and the US at various levels, especially in defense and military affairs, in addition to international and regional issues of common concern.
“The leaders discussed a range of shared security threats, including working together to increase regional defense and continuing to combat terrorism,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said in a statement.
“Secretary Austin thanked the UAE for its long-standing hospitality in hosting US forces and conveyed his appreciation for the UAE’s instrumental role as a transit location as the US military conducted the evacuation and retrograde mission from Afghanistan,” the statement added.
The meeting was attended by UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed.
Abu Dhabi crown prince and US defense secretary discuss strategic bilateral relations
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Abu Dhabi crown prince and US defense secretary discuss strategic bilateral relations
- The two sides discussed defense and military affairs between the UAE and the US
Hoping for better year ahead, Gazans bid farewell to ‘nightmare’
- Humanitarian agencies have warned that shortages of food, clean water and medical supplies persist, while winter conditions are worsening life in overcrowded camps
GAZA CITY: As 2025 draws to a close, Palestinians in Gaza are marking the new year not with celebration, but with exhaustion, grief and a fragile hope that their “endless nightmare” might finally end.
For residents of the battered territory, daily life is a struggle for survival.
Much of Gaza’s infrastructure lies in ruins, electricity remains scarce and hundreds of thousands of people live in makeshift tents after being repeatedly displaced by the two years of fighting that began with Hamas’s attack on Israel in October 2023.
“We in the Gaza Strip are living in an endless nightmare,” said Hanaa Abu Amra, a displaced woman in her thirties living in Gaza City. “We hope that this nightmare will end in 2026 ... The least we can ask for is a normal life — to see electricity restored, the streets return to normal and to walk without tents lining the roads,” she said.
Across Gaza, a territory of more than 2 million people, scenes of hardship are commonplace.
The outgoing year brought relentless loss and fear, said Shireen Al-Kayali.
“We bid farewell to 2025 with deep sorrow and grief,” she said.
“We lost a lot of people and our possessions. We lived a difficult and harsh life, displaced from one city to another, under bombardment and in terror.”
Her experience reflects that of countless Gazans who have been forced to flee repeatedly, often with little warning, taking with them only what they could carry.
Entire families have been uprooted, livelihoods destroyed, and communities fragmented as the war dragged on for two years.
Despite the devastation, some residents cling to the belief that the new year might bring an end to the fighting and a chance to rebuild.
For many Gazans, hope has become an act of resilience, particularly after the truce that came into effect on October 10 and has largely halted the fighting.
“We still hope for a better life in the new year, and I call on the free world to help our oppressed people so we can regain our lives,” said Khaled Abdel Majid, 50, who lives in a tent in Jabalia camp.
Faten Al-Hindawi hoped the truce would finally end the war.
“We will bid farewell to 2025, leaving behind its pain, and we hope that 2026 will be a year of hope, prayer, determination and success stories.”
