RAMALLAH: Jordan’s King Abdullah II landed in Ramallah on Monday to meet Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, in his first trip to the Israeli-occupied West Bank since 2017, Abbas’s office said.
Abdullah’s visit comes as foreign ministers from four Arab states joined an unprecedented meeting hosted in Israel, a gathering Israel hailed as “historic,” following a series of normalization agreements last year, which angered the Palestinians.
The visit also comes less than a week before Ramadan, the Muslim holy month which last year saw waves of violence across the West Bank and Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem.
The Jordanian king met Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid earlier this month to discuss strategies for containing unrest during Ramadan.
Palestinian officials have repeatedly warned that the West Bank, which Israel captured from Jordan in 1967, was on the verge of “exploding.”
Tensions in the occupied territory remain high between Palestinian residents and Jewish settlers, who live in communities widely regarded as illegal under international law.
Palestinians also regularly clash with Israeli security forces in the West Bank, often resulting in Palestinian deaths.
Jordan’s king lands in Ramallah on rare trip to meet Abbas
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Jordan’s king lands in Ramallah on rare trip to meet Abbas
Indian students protest US envoy’s campus talk over Gaza war
- Student-led protest led to university canceling an event involving US ambassador
- Indian students say they stand in solidarity with students protest across US
NEW DELHI: Students at one of India’s most prominent universities gathered in protest over an event involving the US ambassador to New Delhi on Monday, as they stood up against American support for Israel’s war on Gaza.
US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti was invited for a talk on US-India ties at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi on Monday afternoon, which would take place amid protests on American campuses demanding their universities cut financial ties with Israel over its military offensive in Gaza, which has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians.
At the university’s convention center, over 100 students organized by the Jawaharlal Nehru University Student Union protested the invitation of Garcetti, calling out his complicity “in the genocide Israel is currently doing in Palestine.”
JNUSU President Dhananjay told Arab News: “By calling such a person in the university … who is supporting the genocide, we want to tell them that JNU is not silent on this issue and we want to speak up.
“We are protesting against the US support for the genocide in Gaza committed by Israel.”
Hundreds of US college students have been arrested and suspended as peaceful demonstrations calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and divestment from companies linked to Israel spread across American campuses.
The student-led movement comes after nearly six months since Israel began its onslaught on the Gaza Strip, which Tel Aviv said was launched to stamp out the militant group Hamas.
Hundreds of thousands of housing units in the besieged territory have either been completely or partially destroyed, while the majority of public facilities, schools and hundreds of cultural landmarks have been demolished and continue to be targeted in intense bombing operations.
JNU student leaders said they stood in solidarity with the protesting students in the US.
“We are students, and we need to ask questions. If some atrocities are taking place and there are mindless killings going on, speaking out against this should be the responsibility of all sections of society,” Dhananjay said.
“The visuals that we see make us shiver and shake our conscience. If we don’t speak up, then I don’t think we have a right to be a social being.”
At the JNU campus on Monday, the student protest led to a cancellation of the event involving the US envoy.
“We feel happy that we forced the administration to cancel the talks by the ambassador,” JNUSU Vice President Avijit Ghosh told Arab News.
Despite India’s historic support for Palestine, the government has been mostly quiet in the wake of Israel’s deadly siege of Gaza.
When Indians went to the streets in the past months to protest and raise awareness on the atrocities unfolding in Gaza, their demonstrations were dispersed by police and campaigns stifled.
Members of Indian civil society have since come together to challenge their government’s links with Tel Aviv and break Delhi’s silence on Israel’s war crimes against Palestinians, reflecting similar concerns that some university students also felt.
“The US is supporting Israel in the killing of Palestinian people in Gaza. It’s also suppressing students in its country who are raising voice against the genocide in Gaza,” Ghosh said.
“We are agitated that India is being a mute spectator and not taking a clear stand against the ongoing genocide in Gaza.”
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia to take ‘concrete measures’ to boost bilateral trade — PM Sharif
- Statement came after Shehbaz Sharif’s meeting with Saudi Commerce Minister Majid Al-Qasabi on WEF sidelines
- The WEF has convened a special meeting in Riyadh on global collaboration, growth and energy for development
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday said Pakistan and Saudi Arabia would be taking “concrete measures” to boost the volume of bilateral trade between the two countries, Pakistani state media reported.
The statement came after PM Sharif’s meeting with Saudi Minister of Commerce Majid Al-Qasabi on the sidelines of a special meeting of the World Economic Forum in Riyadh.
Sharif informed the Saudi minister about the role of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), set up in June, in promoting and facilitating the foreign investment.
“The Saudi minister told the prime minister that on the directives of Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman, the Kingdom was prioritizing trade and investment in Pakistan,” the state-run APP news agency reported.
“The Saudi minister said that the targets were being set to take the bilateral ties to a new height within one or one-and-half years.”
On the occasion, PM Sharif noted that Pakistani nationals had played a significant role in the progress and prosperity of Saudi Arabia, according to the report.
The Saudi commerce minister stressed the need to further promote Pakistan-Saudi Arabia ties among the youth.
Sharif arrived in Riyadh on Saturday to attend the WEF summit on global collaboration, growth and energy on April 28-29. The conference has convened more than 700 participants, including key stakeholders from governments and international organizations, business leaders from the WEF partner companies as well as young global leaders, experts and innovators.
After being on a number of panels at the WEF event on Sunday and holding several sideline meetings, the prime minister will address the closing plenary of the summit today, Monday, and also meet a number of top Saudi officials.
On Sunday, Sharif attended a Special Dialogue and Gala Dinner hosted by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman where they discussed bilateral ties as well as regional issues including the war in Gaza.
Sharif’s meeting with the crown prince took place less than a week after a high-powered delegation, headed by Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan, visited Pakistan to discuss investments.
“To continue the discussion, the Prime Minister said that he has brought with him a high-powered delegation to Riyadh, including key ministers responsible for investment, so that follow-up meetings could take place between relevant officials,” the Pakistani Prime Minister’s Office said.
Sharif reiterated his invitation to the Saudi crown prince for an official visit to Pakistan at his earliest convenience, the PMO added.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoy strong trade, defense and cultural ties. The Kingdom is home to over 2.7 million Pakistani expatriates and serves as the top source of remittances to the cash-strapped South Asian country.
Both Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have been closely working to increase bilateral trade and investment deals, and the Kingdom recently reaffirmed its commitment to expedite an investment package worth $5 billion.
Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan added to basketball’s FIBA 3x3 World Tour
- 13th edition of the FIBA 3x3 World Tour — the top competition on the 3x3 pro circuit — will take place in 18 cities around the world
- 3x3 will be part of the NEOM Beach Games, a major international sports event in the heart of the city
The International Basketball Federation has announced Almaty (Kazakhstan) and NEOM (Saudi Arabia) as the latest additions to the 3x3 World Tour.
The 13th edition of the FIBA 3x3 World Tour — the top competition on the 3x3 pro circuit — will take place in 18 cities around the world.
Almaty will host the first-ever visit of the World Tour to Kazakhstan, while NEOM, in hosting the event for the first time, will build upon its established track record of holding a Super Quest in 2022 then a Challenger in 2023.
3x3 will be part of the NEOM Beach Games, a major international sports event in the heart of the city.
Updated 2024 season:
Utsunomiya Opener (April 27-28)
Marseille Masters (May 31-June 1)
Ulaanbaatar Masters (June 8-9)
Chengdu Masters (June 22-23)
Edmonton Masters (July 6-7)
Almaty Masters (July 13-14)
Lausanne Masters (Aug. 16-17)
Debrecen Masters (Aug. 31-Sept. 1)
Shanghai Masters (Sept. 21-22)
Wuxi Masters (Oct. 6-7)
Amsterdam Masters (Oct. 12-13)
Macau Masters (Oct. 19-20)
Abu Dhabi Masters (Oct. 26-27)
Manama Masters (Nov. 1-2)
NEOM Masters (Nov. 7-9)
Shenzhen Masters (Nov. 16-17)
Hong Kong Masters (Nov. 23-24)
World Tour Final (December)
The location and dates of the FIBA 3x3 World Tour Final will be announced at a later stage.
Ukraine’s Zelensky urges US to speed up weapons deliveries
KYIV: President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday that vital US weapons were starting to arrive in Ukraine in small amounts and that the process needed to move faster as advancing Russian forces were trying to take advantage.
Zelensky told a joint news conference in Kyiv alongside visiting NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg that the situation on the battlefield directly depended on the speed of ammunition supplies to Ukraine.
“Timely support for our army. Today I don’t see anything positive on this point yet. There are supplies, they have slightly begun, this process needs to be sped up,” he said.
Scotland’s Humza Yousaf quits in boost to Labour before UK vote
- Yousaf quit after a week of chaos triggered by his scrapping of a coalition agreement with Scotland’s Greens
- He then failed to secure enough support to survive a vote of no confidence against him expected later this week
LONDON: Scotland’s leader Humza Yousaf resigned on Monday, further opening the door to the UK opposition Labour Party regaining ground in its former Scottish heartlands during a national election expected to be held later this year.
Yousaf said he was quitting as head of the pro-independence Scottish National Party (SNP) and first minister of Scotland’s devolved government after a week of chaos triggered by his scrapping of a coalition agreement with Scotland’s Greens.
He then failed to secure enough support to survive a vote of no confidence against him expected later this week.
Resigning little over a year after he replaced Nicola Sturgeon as first minister and SNP leader, Yousaf said it was time for someone else to lead Scotland.
“I’ve concluded that repairing our relationship across the political divide can only be done with someone else at the helm,” Yousaf said, adding he would continue until a successor was chosen in an SNP leadership contest.
Yousaf abruptly ended a power-sharing agreement between his pro-independence SNP and the Green Party after a row over climate change targets. The SNP’s fortunes have faltered over a funding scandal and the resignation of Sturgeon as party leader last year. There has also been infighting over how progressive its pitch should be as it seeks to woo back voters.
Caught between defending the record of the coalition government and some nationalists’ demands to jettison gender recognition reforms and refocus on the economy, Yousaf was unable to strike a balance that would ensure his survival.
The SNP is losing popular support after 17 years of heading the Scottish government. Earlier this month, polling firm YouGov said the Labour Party had overtaken the SNP in voting intentions for a Westminster election for the first time in a decade.
Labour’s resurgence in Scotland adds to the challenge facing British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party which is lagging far behind Labour in UK-wide opinion polls.
The Scottish parliament now has 28 days to choose a new first minister before an election is forced, with former SNP leader John Swinney and Yousaf’s former leadership rival Kate Forbes seen as possible successors.
If the SNP is unable to find a new leader to command support in parliament, a Scottish election will be held. Yousaf, the first Muslim head of government in modern Western Europe, succeeded Sturgeon as first minister in March 2023. Once hugely popular, Sturgeon has been embroiled in a party funding scandal with her husband, who was charged this month with embezzling funds. Both deny wrongdoing.
