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UAE foreign minister receives Syrian counterpart in Abu Dhabi

Update UAE foreign minister receives Syrian counterpart in Abu Dhabi
United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Syria’s new foreign minister Asaad Al-Shaibani in Abu Dhabi, Jan. 6 (WAM)
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Updated 06 January 2025

UAE foreign minister receives Syrian counterpart in Abu Dhabi

UAE foreign minister receives Syrian counterpart in Abu Dhabi

DUBAI: Syria’s new foreign minister, Asaad Al-Shaibani, was welcomed by United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi for high-level talks on Monday.

The meeting focused on strengthening bilateral relations and reaffirming the UAE’s support for Syria’s independence, sovereignty, and stability.

The UAE foreign minister expressed commitment to assisting the Syrian people in achieving their aspirations and ensuring security across the nation.

During the meeting, he affirmed Abu Dhabi's firm position in supporting Syria's independence and sovereignty over its entire territory and the right of the Syrian people to a secure future and a decent life.

He affirmed the importance of stability in Syria to achieve prosperity, progress, and development, the Emirates News Agency reported.

Mohamed Mubarak Al-Mazrouei, the Emirati Minister of State for Defense Affairs, Reem bint Ibrahim Al-Hashimi, Minister of State for International Cooperation Affairs, Khalifa Bin Shaheen Almarar, Minister of State, and Hassan Ahmed Al-Shehhi, the UAE Ambassador to Syria; also attended the meeting.

The Syrian delegation consisted of Murhaf Abu Qasra, the Minister of Defense; Omar Shaqrouq, the Minister of Electricity; Ghiath Diab, the Minister of Oil and Mineral Resources; and Anas Khattab, the Chief of the General Intelligence Service.

Shaibani landed in the UAE Monday on his first visit to the country since rebels toppled president Bashar Assad last month, official news agency SANA said.
“Shaibani, accompanied by defense minister Murhaf Abu Qasra and intelligence chief Anas Khattab, has arrived in the United Arab Emirates,” SANA reported.
Shaibani also posted a picture of himself on X stepping off a plane, and said he looked forward “to building constructive bilateral relations.”
The officials took office after Islamist-led rebels swept into Damascus in early December, toppling Assad after more than 13 years of civil war.
Their trip to the UAE comes after they visited its Gulf neighbors Qatar on Sunday and Ƶ last week.
Both Qatar and Turkiye, which backed the anti-Assad opposition, reopened their embassies in Damascus in the aftermath of Assad’s flight to Moscow.
Turkiye has long maintained a working relationship with the HTS rebels, leaving it with a direct line to Damascus.


Summit in Doha to discuss  Arab-Islamic response to Israeli attack against Qatar 

Summit in Doha to discuss  Arab-Islamic response to Israeli attack against Qatar 
Updated 17 sec ago

Summit in Doha to discuss  Arab-Islamic response to Israeli attack against Qatar 

Summit in Doha to discuss  Arab-Islamic response to Israeli attack against Qatar 
  • An extraordinary Arab-Islamic Summit will discuss the Israeli attack on the State of Qatar targeting senior Hamas leaders

DUBAI: Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said Saturday that an emergency Arab-Islamic Summit set to take place in its capital Doha will discuss a draft resolution on Israel's attack against the Gulf state, according to the Qatar News Agency (QNA). 

“The summit will discuss a draft resolution on the Israeli attack on the State of Qatar, submitted by the preparatory meeting of Arab and Islamic foreign ministers, which will be held tomorrow Sunday,” foreign ministry spokesperson Majid bin Mohammed Al Ansari told QNA.  

He emphasized that “the convening of the Arab-Islamic Summit at this time has its significance, as it reflects the broad Arab and Islamic solidarity with the State of Qatar in confronting the cowardly Israeli aggression.” 

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced earlier that Doha will host an extraordinary Arab-Islamic Summit to discuss the Israeli attack on the State of Qatar targeting senior Hamas leaders. 

The preparatory meeting of foreign ministers will happen on Sunday. The summit will then convene on Monday.


UAE, Indonesian presidents reiterate support for Qatar following Israeli attack

UAE, Indonesian presidents reiterate support for Qatar following Israeli attack
Updated 13 September 2025

UAE, Indonesian presidents reiterate support for Qatar following Israeli attack

UAE, Indonesian presidents reiterate support for Qatar following Israeli attack
  • Sheikh Mohamed received President Prabowo on Friday in Abu Dhabi

DUBAI: UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed and his Indonesian counterpart President Prabowo Subianto on Friday have reiterated their countries’ full solidarity with Qatar following Israel’s attack on the state last week. 

Sheikh Mohamed received President Prabowo on Friday in Abu Dhabi, who is on an official visit to the United Arab Emirates.  

During their meeting, “the two leaders also exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual concern, including the Israeli attack on the State of Qatar,” WAM News Agency reported. 

Both sides reiterated their countries’ condemnation of the attack and expressed their solidarity with Qatar, it added. 

The leaders also discussed opportunities to strengthen bilateral cooperation during their meeting, particularly in the fields of economy, development, investment, and renewable energy, among others. 


OIC: World should now move to carry out measures contained in New York Declaration

OIC: World should now move to carry out measures contained in New York Declaration
Updated 13 September 2025

OIC: World should now move to carry out measures contained in New York Declaration

OIC: World should now move to carry out measures contained in New York Declaration
  • The declaration, which calls for a two-state solution and a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, won the UNGA's overwhelming support on Friday
  • Co-sponsored by Ƶ and France, the resolution passed with 142 countries voting in favor, 10 against and 12 abstaining

JEDDAH: With the historic adoption by the UN General Assembly of the New York Declaration on the Palestinian issue, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) said it is now incumbent on all states to move to carry out the measures contained in the document.

The declaration, which calls for a two-state solution and a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, won the UNGA’s overwhelming support on Friday.

Co-sponsored by Ƶ and France, the resolution passed with 142 countries voting in favor, 10 against and 12 abstaining.

“The widespread endorsement constitutes an international consensus and commitment to work towards the establishment of a Palestinian state, ending the Israeli occupation, and achieving a just and comprehensive peace in the region,” the OIC said in a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency on Saturday.

The statement called on all states to assume their responsibilities and immediately move to implement the measures contained in the declaration, including full recognition of the State of Palestine and support for its full membership in the United Nations.

Smoke and flames rise from an Israeli military strike on a building in Gaza City on Sept. 12, 2025, as the UN General Assembly voted on the New York Declaration. (AP Photo)

The statement also urged countries to put “pressure on Israel, the occupying force, to halt its crimes of occupation, aggression, settlement, displacement, destruction, and starvation against the Palestinian people.”

For its part, the 57-nation Muslim organization affirmed its commitment to working and cooperating with all international parties to ensure the implementation of the declaration, particularly on the establishment of an independent state on the June 4, 1967, borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

The OIC commended the pioneering role played by Ƶ and France in co-chairing the conference and their joint efforts in mobilizing support for the adoption and drafting of the final document.

UN members that voted ’no’

Of the UNGA’s 193 member states, the ten countries that voted against it were Israel, the United States, Argentina, Hungary, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay and Tonga.

Those that abstained were Albania, Czech Republic, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Fiji, Guatemala, Moldova, North Macedonia, Samoa, and South Sudan.

The vote comes ahead of a meeting of world leaders on September 22 — on the sidelines of the high-level UN General Assembly — where Britain, France, Canada, Australia and Belgium are expected to formally recognize a Palestinian state.

In opposing the resolution, Israel and the US reasoned that it would only further embolden the Palestinian Hamas militant movement.

“Make no mistake, this resolution is a gift to Hamas,” US diplomat Morgan Ortagus told the General Assembly. “Far from promoting peace, the conference has already prolonged the war, emboldened Hamas and harmed the prospects of peace in both short and long term.”

Israel, which has long criticized the UN for not condemning Hamas by name for the October 7 attacks, dismissed the declaration as one-sided and described the vote as theater.

Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, addresses delegates at the UN General Assembly before a vote on the Saudi-French sponsored resolution on September 12, 2025. (REUTERS)
 

“The only beneficiary is Hamas …When terrorists are the ones cheering, you are not advancing peace; you are advancing terror,” Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon said.

The surprise Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023 — which killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and netter 251 hostages — sparked the ongoing Israeli assault on Gaza. Aside from destroying almost every structure in the Palestinian enclave, Israel’s offensive has killed more than 64,000 people, also mostly civilians, according to Gaza health authorities.

Proponents of the resolution, however, argue that the declaration condemns the attacks against Israel by Hamas attack that  triggered the war in Gaza.

It also condemns the attacks by Israel against civilians and civilian infrastructure in Gaza, siege and starvation, “which have resulted in a devastating humanitarian catastrophe and protection crisis.”

French Ambassador to the UN Jerome Bonnafont speaks during a General Assembly meeting to vote on two states solution to the Palestinian question on September 12, 2025 in New York City. (AFP)

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the resolution secured the international isolation of Hamas.

“For the first time today, the United Nations adopted a text condemning it for its crimes and calling for its surrender and disarmament,” he said in an X post.

(With Agencies)

 

 


US, Saudi, UAE, Egypt call for Sudan truce, transition to civilian rule

US, Saudi, UAE, Egypt call for Sudan truce, transition to civilian rule
Updated 13 September 2025

US, Saudi, UAE, Egypt call for Sudan truce, transition to civilian rule

US, Saudi, UAE, Egypt call for Sudan truce, transition to civilian rule
  • Transition should “meet the aspirations of the Sudanese people toward smoothly establishing an independent, civilian-led government”, the four countries said in a statement
  • Since April 2023, Sudan has been torn apart by war between its army — which maintains control over most state institutions — and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces 

WASHINGTON : The United States, Ƶ, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt called on Friday for a three-month humanitarian truce in Sudan, to be followed by a permanent ceasefire and a nine-month transition toward civilian rule.
In a joint statement issued by the US State Department, the four countries said the transition should “meet the aspirations of the Sudanese people toward smoothly establishing an independent, civilian-led government with broad-based legitimacy and accountability.”
Since April 2023, Sudan has been torn apart by war between its army — which maintains control over most state institutions — and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The conflict has killed tens of thousands, displaced millions and created what the United Nations describes as one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
“Sudan’s future governance is for the Sudanese people to decide through an inclusive and transparent transition process, not controlled by any warring party,” Friday’s statement said.
The statement appeared to have been released in lieu of a meeting involving the foreign ministers of the four countries that had originally been scheduled for July in Washington but was postponed due to disagreements between Egypt and the UAE.
Egypt, a key ally of Sudan’s regular army, has consistently called for the protection of state institutions.
The UAE, meanwhile, has been widely accused — including in UN reports — of supplying arms to the RSF, a claim it denies.

A satellite image shows long-range 'suicide' drones and launching gear north of the airport in Nyala, Sudan, on May 6, 2025. (Maxar Technologies/Handout via REUTERS )

Diplomatic sources told AFP that Cairo objected to earlier language barring both the army and the RSF from taking part in the transition.
The final language appears to reflect a compromise, avoiding specific mention of either side while insisting Sudan’s next government be decided by the people.
It also explicitly excludes the involvement of “violent extremist groups part of or evidently linked to the Muslim Brotherhood” in the transition process.
The United States on Friday imposed sanctions on Sudan’s army-aligned finance minister, Gebreil Ibrahim, a senior Islamist figure, and on the Baraa Ibn-Malik Brigade, an Islamist militia that has been fighting alongside the army.
Islamists dominated Sudanese politics for three decades under ousted president Omar Al-Bashir and have seen a resurgence during the war, aligning with the army.
“These sanctions aim to limit Islamist influence within Sudan and curtail Iran’s regional activities, which have contributed to regional destabilization, conflict, and civilian suffering,” the US Treasury Department said in a statement.
Despite international efforts to push for peace, it remains unclear whether the warring factions are willing to engage.
In June, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for a one-week ceasefire in North Darfur’s besieged capital of El-Fasher. The army agreed to the pause, but the RSF rejected it.
Both sides have repeatedly vowed to continue fighting until securing outright military victory.
The army currently controls Sudan’s east, north and center, while the RSF holds parts of the south and nearly all of the western Darfur region — where it recently declared a parallel government, fueling fears of the country’s fragmentation.
Friday’s joint statement, however, maintained “there is no viable military solution to the conflict, and the status quo creates unacceptable suffering and risks to peace and security.”
 


Israeli strikes on Yemen’s Houthi rebels damage residential homes, forcing families to live in ruins

Israeli strikes on Yemen’s Houthi rebels damage residential homes, forcing families to live in ruins
Updated 13 September 2025

Israeli strikes on Yemen’s Houthi rebels damage residential homes, forcing families to live in ruins

Israeli strikes on Yemen’s Houthi rebels damage residential homes, forcing families to live in ruins
  • Wednesday’s strikes killed 46 people and wounded 165, according to a toll released by the Houthi-run health ministry in Sanaa
  • Israel has previously launched waves of airstrikes in response to Houthi missiles and drones attacks in support of Palestinians in Gaza

ADEN, Yemen: Israel’s deadly airstrikes this week targeting Iran-backed rebels in Yemen have damaged residential areas in the country’s capital of Sanaa, leaving many houses in ruins and residents without help from authorities and unable to afford repairs on their own.
Wednesday’s strikes killed 46 people — including 11 women and five children — and wounded 165, according to a toll released late Thursday by the rebel-run health ministry in Sanaa. Most of the casualties were in Sanaa. Rebel officials said 11 local journalists were also killed in the strikes.
The strikes followed a drone launched by the Houthi rebels that breached Israel’s multilayered air defenses and slammed into a southern Israeli airport, blowing out glass windows and injuring one person.
In yemen, a military headquarters and a Sanaa fuel station were also hit, the rebels said previously, as well as a government facility in the city of Hazm, the capital of northern Jawf province. The National Museum of Yemen was also damaged, according to the rebels’ culture ministry, with footage from the site showings damage to the building’s façade.
In Sanaa, where Yemen’s yearslong civil war has impoverished many, residents told The Associated Press they cannot afford any major repairs and that the local authorities are not offering compensation or help with reconstruction.
Dozens of homes in Sanaa’s central Tahrir area were damaged. One of the residents from there, Um Talal, said she has no faith the authorities will help repair the house where she lives with her daughter and two sons.
The airstrikes knocked out their living room walls and damaged the kitchen, leaving dirt, debris and rubble, speaking to The Associated Press over the phone.
“Everything was lost in the blink of an eye,” she said. “Authorities haven’t even called us to this day. ”
Despite the destruction, she said the family will fix what they can and continue living in their home.
Another resident, Ahmed Al-Wasabi, said he and his family — luckily — were not home when one of the airstrikes partially destroyed their house.
“The explosions terrified people who went running and children and women were crying and screaming,” said Khaled Al-Dabeai, a grocery shop owner who added that the force of the explosions knocked products off his shelves.
Israel has previously launched waves of airstrikes in response to the Houthis’ firing missiles and drones at Israel. The Houthis say they are supporting Hamas and the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
The Houthis have launched missiles and drones toward Israel and targeted ships in the Red Sea for over 22 months, saying they are attacking in solidarity with Palestinians amid the war in Gaza.
Houthi leader Mahdi Al-Mashat vowed on Wednesday to continue the attacks, warning Israelis to “stay alarmed since the response is coming for sure.”