Trump vows to work for ‘just, lasting’ Israeli-Palestinian peace

November 12, 2016

Jerusalem, Nov 12: US President-elect Donald Trump pledged Friday to work for a “just, lasting peace” between Israel and the Palestinians, in his first public message on the issue since his upset victory.

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“I believe that my administration can play a significant role in helping the parties to achieve a just, lasting peace,” Trump said in a message published by the Israel Hayom newspaper.

He also said that any peace deal “must be negotiated between the parties themselves, and not imposed on them by others.”

France is currently pushing for an international conference to revitalize the moribund peace process, but Israel has said it will not take part — saying any peace talks should be bilateral between the two sides.

Russia has also offered to host direct talks between the two sides that have so far yet to take place.

The Palestinians have called for international involvement, accusing Israel of reneging on past agreements.

Speaking Friday after meeting Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Trump’s victory was “American business.”

“We followed the electoral process for over a year. What matters to us is what Mr. Trump will say once he enters the White House,” he said at a press conference.

He added that he had stressed to Medvedev his willingness to hold negotiations in Russia “but the Israeli side asked to postpone it.”

Medvedev said Russia was willing to “immediately” open a dialogue between the two sides, whether under Russian or international mediation.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Barack Obama have had frosty relations for much of the past eight years, but initial indications are that Trump’s victory could see a warming of personal relations.

Netanyahu was among the first leaders Trump spoke to after his election victory, and the president-elect’s message called Israel a “beacon of hope.”

“Israel and America share so many of the same values, such as freedom of speech, freedom of worship and the importance of creating opportunities for all citizens to pursue their dreams,” Trump’s Israel Hayom message said.

Also Friday, French presidential sources said Trump and President Francois Hollande vowed in a telephone call to try “clarify positions” on potentially thorny issues including climate change.

In a first call lasting 7-8 minutes the two leaders discussed the fight against terrorism, the battle against Daesh in Iraq and Syria, the conflict in eastern Ukraine and the Paris climate accord, a French presidential source said.

The two men expressed a “desire to work together,” the source added.

Climate change denier Trump has caused alarm in France by pledging to withdraw from the landmark deal to tackle global warming struck in Paris in December 2015.

The French also took a dim view of Trump’s claim that the terror attacks that left 130 people dead in Paris a year ago this week might have been avoided if the country had looser gun laws.

But in their talks Hollande and Trump sought common ground, emphasising the friendship between their countries and the “history and values” they share, the source said.

Hollande had vowed a “frank” discussion with the Republican.

“Donald Trump has been elected. My duty is to ensure that we have the best relations but on the basis of frankness and clarity,” Hollande told France 2 television earlier.

On Wednesday, he had warned that Trump’s stunning election win “opens a period of uncertainty.”

Hollande had made no secret of his desire to see Hillary Clinton win the White House, declaring a few months ago that Trump’s excesses “make you want to retch.”

His call with Trump came a day after talks between the forthcoming US president and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Merkel congratulated Trump and said she looked forward to meeting him, at the latest, when Germany hosts a G20 summit in July in the northern port city of Hamburg.

Merkel had offered Trump “close cooperation” and “stressed that Germany and the US are closely tied through common values,” her spokesman Georg Streiter said.

On Wednesday, Merkel had issued a first statement on Trump’s election, in which she pointedly said cooperation must be based on shared democratic values and respect for human dignity and reminded him of the global responsibility he carries.

The Spanish government, meanwhile, said that Trump’s election “opens a period of uncertainty” although his first steps have been in the right direction.

“With respect to the new president of the US it is true that it opens a period of a period of uncertainty,” government spokesman Inigo Mendez de Vigo told a news conference after a weekly cabinet meeting.

Trump’s conciliatory victory speech as well as his meeting with outgoing US President Barack Obama where they appeared to det aside past animosity “go in the right direction,” the spokesman added.

“We know the president elect in political terms from what he said during the campaign” but “during election campaigns sometimes things are said that are not easy to implement,” Mendez de Vigo said.

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Agencies
May 19,2020

Ramallah, May 19: India has given USD 2 million in aid to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency working for the welfare of Palestinian refugees in support of its core programmes and services, including education and health, amidst the coronavirus crisis.

India had increased its annual contribution to the UNRWA from USD 1.25 million in 2016 to USD 5 million in 2019. It pledged another USD 5 million for 2020 which opens its way to become a member of the agency's advisory commission, according to official sources.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) applauded India's financial support to keep its basic services operating, especially under the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The contribution was presented to the UN agency by the Representative of India (ROI) to the State of Palestine, Sunil Kumar.

"On behalf of the agency, I would like to express my deep appreciation to the Government of India for advancing part of its contribution, which will help UNRWA address cash flow challenges," Marc Lassouaoui, chief of the Donor Relations at the agency said.

"The continued determination and commitment of India in support of the Palestine refugees is commendable, in particular under the current circumstances brought on us by COVID-19," he said.

"On behalf of the Government of India, I would like to express my appreciation for the commendable work and endeavours carried out by the UNRWA. We believe that our contribution will support the agency's activities in providing the needed assistance to Palestinian refugees, and assist in achieving their full human development potential," Kumar said.

India's contribution will support the agency's "dire" financial situation due to the funding gaps that risk its core services to the Palestinian refugees in the fields of education and health.

About 3.1 million Palestine refugees depend on health services provided by the UNRWA. At the same time, the agency's schools educate 526,000 students every year, of which half are female.

The agency was created in December 1949 by the UN to support the relief and human development of Palestinian refugees.

The UNRWA definition of “refugee” covers Palestinians who fled or were expelled from their homes during the 1948 War.

Meanwhile, India is preparing medical supplies for the Palestinians to help them in their fight against the coronavirus which is likely to reach the Palestine soon, the Indian mission in the West Bank said in a statement.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month spoke to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas over phone and discussed the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. He appreciated efforts being made by the Palestinian Authority (PA) to protect its population and assured all possible support from India.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar later talked to his Palestinian counterpart Riad Malki and reiterated India's commitment to support Palestine in its battle against the global pandemic.

So far, 554 COVID-19 cases have been detected in the West Bank under PA and east Jerusalem, with two casualties.

Twenty people were found infected with the virus in Gaza, of which 14 are said to have recovered.

Separately, 17 agreements have been signed under an India-Palestine development partnership between the two sides in the fields of agriculture, health care, information technology, youth affairs, consular affairs, women empowerment and media in the past five years.

New Delhi is to provide an assistance of around USD 72 million through these agreements in projects like the post-2014 war reconstruction efforts in Gaza, construction of five schools, setting up a centre of excellence for information and communication technologies at Al-Quds University and developing a satellite centre in Ramallah.

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News Network
May 22,2020

Rajan Kurian with wife Berly Rajan Kurian, son Brian, daughter Bella and mother Valsa

Dubai, May 22: A 43-year-old Indian businessman won USD one million (approximately Rs 7.59 crore) in the Dubai Duty Free draw.

Rajan Kurian, who owns a construction business in Kerala, had bought the ticket online.

Mr Kurian said he was grateful for the win, considering the gloomy circumstances prevailing in the world due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"I will set aside a good part of my win to help the needy. I feel grateful with the win but I need to share it with people who need it," he said. 

Mr Kurian said some of the money will go into growing his business.

"The last few months have been tough with the COVID-19 situation. My business has come to a standstill. This money will be put to good use," he said.

An Indian expat also won a BMW motorbike in the lucky draw held on Wednesday.

A longtime resident of Dubai for 30 years now, 57-year-old Syed Hydrose Abdulla, who works as a public relations officer in a beverages company, had also bought the ticket online.

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Debasisdhara
 - 
Saturday, 18 Jul 2020

Lucky prize money send me please

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News Network
January 7,2020

Tehran, Jan 7: Iranian state television says 35 people have been killed and 50 others injured in a stampede that erupted at a funeral procession for a general slain in a US airstrike.

The TV says the stampede erupted in Kerman, the hometown of Gen. Qassem Soleimani where the procession was underway on Tuesday.

A procession in Tehran on Monday drew over 1 million people in the Iranian capital, crowding both main thoroughfares and side streets in Tehran.

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