Israel pushing for more settler homes despite UN vote

December 28, 2016

Jerusalem, Dec 28: An Israeli committee is to discuss issuing permits for more settler homes in annexed east Jerusalem, despite a landmark UN resolution demanding an end to such activity.

settlement

The Ir Amim NGO, which monitors settlement building, said the planning committee could approve permits for 618 housing units in the mainly Palestinian eastern sector of the city.

It would mark the first such approvals since Friday's UN Security Council vote demanding a halt to Israeli settlement building in Palestinian territory.

The resolution, which passed after the United States took the rare move of abstaining, infuriated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who lashed out at President Barack Obama and vowed not to abide by it.

Jerusalem deputy mayor Meir Turjeman, who also heads the committee, has reportedly also spoken of seeking to advance plans for some 5,600 other units at earlier stages in the process.

Yesterday he told AFP there were no plans to call off discussions in response to the UN vote. The hundreds of building permits were on the agenda before the resolution was passed. "We'll discuss everything that's on the table in a serious manner," he said.

And on his Facebook page, Turjeman said: "I'm not concerned by the UN or anything else trying to dictate our actions in Jerusalem.

"I hope the government and new US administration will give us the momentum to continue and make up for the shortage created over the eight years of the Obama administration," he said of settlement construction.

Israel has already taken diplomatic steps in response to what it calls the "shameful" resolution, which received the support of 14 Security Council members and a US abstention.

On Tuesday, the foreign ministry said it was "temporarily reducing" visits and work with embassies of nations that voted for it.

On Christmas Day it summoned ambassadors of countries that voted for the resolution while Netanyahu met US ambassador Daniel Shapiro on Sunday.

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shaji
 - 
Thursday, 29 Dec 2016

UN should declare ISRAEL as terrorist state and put trade embargo on this state. All countries should expel Israel Ambassador and call back their Ambassador from Israel. Let these terrorists enjoy in their land only. They are shameless and those who support them are more than shameless.

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News Network
April 28,2020

Riyadh, Apr 28: The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Saudi Arabia crossed the critical 20,000-mark on Tuesday with the discovery of 1,266 new cases. Eight new deaths were also recorded during the last 24 hours, bringing the virus-related death toll to 152.

Twenty-three percent of the new cases are of Saudi nationals, while 77 percent are of non-Saudi residents, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) quoted the ministry spokesman Dr. Muhammad Al-Abdel Ali as saying.

Out of the total 20,077 cases till Tuesday, 17,141 cases are active, he added. A total of 118 cases are currently critical, the spokesman said.

Out of the 1,266 new cases, 327 were reported in Makkah, 273 in Madinah, 262 in Jeddah, and 171 in Riyadh. There were 58 cases in Jubail, 35 in Dammam, 32 in Taif, 29 in Tabuk and 18 in Al-Zulfi. Additionally, nine cases were recorded in Khulais; eight in Buraidah; seven in Al-Khobar; five in Hufof; four each in Qatif and Ras Tanura; three in Adhum; two each in Al-Jafr, Al-Majaridah, Yanbu, Bisha and Diriyah; and one each in Abha, Khamis Mushayt, Baqeeq, Dhahran, Dhalum, Sabiya, Hafr Al Batin, Hail, Sakaka, Wadi Al-Dawasir and Sajr, the spokesman said.

The Kingdom saw a spike in cases when the health ministry began its field-testing efforts nearly two weeks ago, targeting suspected infection cluster areas. Since then, there has been a steady increase in daily cases.

Till Monday, around 1 million people were screened in various neighborhoods throughout the Kingdom.

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January 15,2020

Asia, Jan 15: Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif on Wednesday said that killing of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani showed the ignorance and arrogance of the United States and asserted that Washington looks at things from their perspective and not keeping the interests of the region in mind."The US looks at things from their perspective, not from the perspective of this region. The killing of Qassem Soleimani shows ignorance and arrogance. 430 Indian cities saw protests against killing of Soleimani," Zarif said at an event.

Hitting out at US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, Zarif said that they were the only ones, along with the Islamic State (ISIS) who celebrated the death of Soleimani.

"Who is celebrating Soleimani's killing? President Trump, Pompeo and Daesh (Arabic name of ISIS). You wonder about strange bedfellows?" he said.

Tensions between the US and Iran soared dramatically earlier this month after Washington launched airstrikes at Baghdad International Airport, which killed Soleimani. Tehran retaliated by firing a volley of ballistic missiles at two military bases of US-led coalition forces in Iraq, leading to a strife in the region.

However, Zarif regretted the shooting down of the Ukrainian airline and said it happened because of "tension".

"Nine million people were out in the streets of Iran commemorating Soleimani. You cannot bring out so many people to protest. The shooting down of a plane was a mistake. 180 families are mourning the loss of their dear ones. It happened because of tension," he said.

Asked whether there a chance of a diplomatic solution to the ongoing crisis, Zarif ruled out negotiating with the US.

"Iran is interested in diplomacy. We are not interested in negotiating with the US. US did not keep its commitments under nuclear deal. We had a US deal and the US broke it. If we have a Trump deal, how long will it last?" he said.

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News Network
March 18,2020

Dubai, Mar 18: Emirates, one of the world's biggest international airlines, has asked pilots to take unpaid leave to help it mitigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic that has shattered demand for global travel.

"To this end you are strongly encouraged to make use of this opportunity to volunteer for additional paid and unpaid leave," the airline said in an internal email to pilots, seen by Reuters.

Emirates earlier this month asked some staff to take unpaid leave, although at that time it was not available to pilots.

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