Israeli and U.S. officials to fly to UAE to cement 'normalisation' deal

Top aides to U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fly to the United Arab Emirates on Monday to put the final touches on a pact establishing open relations between the Gulf power and Israel.

Even before discussions start in Abu Dhabi, the delegates will have made aviation history by taking an Israeli commercial airliner - the word “peace” printed in Arabic, English and Hebrew above a cockpit window of the El Al Boeing 737 - directly from Tel Aviv to the UAE capital over Saudi territory.

“That’s what peace for peace looks like,” Netanyahu tweeted, hailing what he termed a historic flight and describing a deal for formal ties with an Arab state that does not entail handover of land that Israel captured in a 1967 war.

Announced on Aug. 13, the ‘normalisation’ deal is the first such accommodation between an Arab country and Israel in more than 20 years and was catalysed largely by shared fears of Iran.

Palestinians were dismayed by the UAE’s move, worried that it would weaken a long-standing pan-Arab position that called for Israeli withdrawal from occupied territory - and acceptance of Palestinian statehood - in return for normal relations with Arab countries.

Trump’s senior adviser and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and national security adviser Robert O’Brien head the U.S. delegation. The Israeli team is led by O’Brien’s counterpart, Meir Ben-Shabbat. Officials will explore bilateral cooperation in areas such as commerce and tourism, and Israeli defence envoys are due to visit the UAE separately.

Israeli officials hope the two-day trip will produce a date for a Washington signing ceremony, perhaps as early as September, between Netanyahu and Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan.

That could give Trump a foreign policy boost ahead of his re-election bid in November. In Jerusalem on Sunday, Kushner said the deal was a “giant step forward.”

The Trump administration has tried to coax other Sunni Arab countries concerned about Iran to engage with Israel. The most powerful of those, Saudi Arabia, has signalled it is not ready.

But in what could presage a more relaxed posture by Riyadh, the El Al plane on Monday will be allowed to overfly Saudi territory to cut flight time.

In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organisation’s executive committee, said Kushner and his team were “scrambling to convince as many Arab and Muslim leaders as possible” to give Trump an election boost.

“They will be a prop at the backdrop of a meaningless spectacle for a ridiculous agreement that will not bring peace to the region,” she said.

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Israeli and U.S. officials to fly to UAE to cement 'normalisation' deal

Top aides to U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fly to the United Arab Emirates on Monday to put the final touches on a pact establishing open relations between the Gulf power and Israel.

Even before discussions start in Abu Dhabi, the delegates will have made aviation history by taking an Israeli commercial airliner - the word “peace” printed in Arabic, English and Hebrew above a cockpit window of the El Al Boeing 737 - directly from Tel Aviv to the UAE capital over Saudi territory.

“That’s what peace for peace looks like,” Netanyahu tweeted, hailing what he termed a historic flight and describing a deal for formal ties with an Arab state that does not entail handover of land that Israel captured in a 1967 war.

Announced on Aug. 13, the ‘normalisation’ deal is the first such accommodation between an Arab country and Israel in more than 20 years and was catalysed largely by shared fears of Iran.

Palestinians were dismayed by the UAE’s move, worried that it would weaken a long-standing pan-Arab position that called for Israeli withdrawal from occupied territory - and acceptance of Palestinian statehood - in return for normal relations with Arab countries.

Trump’s senior adviser and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and national security adviser Robert O’Brien head the U.S. delegation. The Israeli team is led by O’Brien’s counterpart, Meir Ben-Shabbat. Officials will explore bilateral cooperation in areas such as commerce and tourism, and Israeli defence envoys are due to visit the UAE separately.

Israeli officials hope the two-day trip will produce a date for a Washington signing ceremony, perhaps as early as September, between Netanyahu and Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan.

That could give Trump a foreign policy boost ahead of his re-election bid in November. In Jerusalem on Sunday, Kushner said the deal was a “giant step forward.”

The Trump administration has tried to coax other Sunni Arab countries concerned about Iran to engage with Israel. The most powerful of those, Saudi Arabia, has signalled it is not ready.

But in what could presage a more relaxed posture by Riyadh, the El Al plane on Monday will be allowed to overfly Saudi territory to cut flight time.

In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organisation’s executive committee, said Kushner and his team were “scrambling to convince as many Arab and Muslim leaders as possible” to give Trump an election boost.

“They will be a prop at the backdrop of a meaningless spectacle for a ridiculous agreement that will not bring peace to the region,” she said.

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Met department forecast downpour in Karachi today

The Meteorological Department on Monday forecast rain for Karachi today, after last week's downpour left roads across the city flooded and triggered power outages across the metropolis.

The Met office said that the metropolis — despite the fact that it did not receive any rain last night — could receive moderate to heavy showers by Monday evening or night in certain areas.

The Met department said that the monsoon winds will cause rain in eastern and central Sindh after which they are expected to move towards southern Punjab and the north. These winds are expected to cause heavy rains in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan.

On the other hand, heavy rains lashed Hyderabad, Mirpur Khas, Sukkur and Thatta on Monday, inundating low-lying areas and disrupting power supply as well.

Heavy rains lashed Islamabad, Pakpattan, Sialkot, Chichawatni, Jhelum and Nikail, Azad Kashmir today as well.

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Pakistan strongly condemns desecration of Holy Quran in Sweden and Norway

The Foreign Office on Sunday strongly condemned recent incidents in Sweden and Norway in which copies of the Holy Quran were reportedly burnt, saying that "freedom of speech can't justify religious hatred".

In a statement issued on Twitter, FO spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri further said:

"The rise of such Islamophobic occurrences goes against the spirit of any religion."

"Ensuring respect for religious beliefs of others is a collective responsibility and is absolutely critical for global peace and prosperity," Chaudhri added. 

Ensuring respect for religious beliefs of others is a collective responsibility and is absolutely critical for global peace & prosperity. 2/2 @UN @OIC_OCI @OIC_IPHRC

— Spokesperson ?? MoFA (@ForeignOfficePk) August 30, 2020

A day earlier, a riot broke out in the southern Swedish town of Malmo, where at least 300 people had gathered to protest against anti-Islam activities, police said.

Protesters were throwing objects at police officers and car tyres had been set on fire, a police spokesman said. Earlier in the day, a copy of the Quran had been burned in Malmo by right-wing extremists.

The demonstrations had escalated in the same place where the Quran had been burned, the spokesman added.

Daily Aftonbladet said several anti-Islam activities had taken place in Malmo on Friday, including three men kicking a copy of the Quran between them in a public square.

Meanwhile, at an anti-Islam protest on Saturday in Oslo, Sweden — held by the far-right group Stop the Islamisation of Norway (SION) — a protester tore out pages of the Quran and spat on them, Anadolu Agency

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Met department forecast downpour in Karachi today

The Meteorological Department on Monday forecast rain for Karachi today, after last week's downpour left roads across the city flooded and triggered power outages across the metropolis.

The Met office said that the metropolis — despite the fact that it did not receive any rain last night — could receive moderate to heavy showers by Monday evening or night in certain areas.

The Met department said that the monsoon winds will cause rain in eastern and central Sindh after which they are expected to move towards southern Punjab and the north. These winds are expected to cause heavy rains in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan.

On the other hand, heavy rains lashed Hyderabad, Mirpur Khas, Sukkur and Thatta on Monday, inundating low-lying areas and disrupting power supply as well.

Heavy rains lashed Islamabad, Pakpattan, Sialkot, Chichawatni, Jhelum and Nikail, Azad Kashmir today as well.

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Pakistan strongly condemns desecration of Holy Quran in Sweden and Norway

The Foreign Office on Sunday strongly condemned recent incidents in Sweden and Norway in which copies of the Holy Quran were reportedly burnt, saying that "freedom of speech can't justify religious hatred".

In a statement issued on Twitter, FO spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri further said:

"The rise of such Islamophobic occurrences goes against the spirit of any religion."

"Ensuring respect for religious beliefs of others is a collective responsibility and is absolutely critical for global peace and prosperity," Chaudhri added. 

Ensuring respect for religious beliefs of others is a collective responsibility and is absolutely critical for global peace & prosperity. 2/2 @UN @OIC_OCI @OIC_IPHRC

— Spokesperson ?? MoFA (@ForeignOfficePk) August 30, 2020

A day earlier, a riot broke out in the southern Swedish town of Malmo, where at least 300 people had gathered to protest against anti-Islam activities, police said.

Protesters were throwing objects at police officers and car tyres had been set on fire, a police spokesman said. Earlier in the day, a copy of the Quran had been burned in Malmo by right-wing extremists.

The demonstrations had escalated in the same place where the Quran had been burned, the spokesman added.

Daily Aftonbladet said several anti-Islam activities had taken place in Malmo on Friday, including three men kicking a copy of the Quran between them in a public square.

Meanwhile, at an anti-Islam protest on Saturday in Oslo, Sweden — held by the far-right group Stop the Islamisation of Norway (SION) — a protester tore out pages of the Quran and spat on them, Anadolu Agency

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Various areas of Karachi without electricity for more than 90 hours

Several areas of Karachi remained submerged and without electricity for more than 90 hours after unprecedented rains lashed the city on Thursday.

People took to social media to protest against prolonged power outages as K-Electric, the sole electricity supply company in Karachi, failed to restore power supply in some areas of the metropolis.

Several areas of Karachi including Defence, Clifton, Lyari, SITE area, Orangi, Korangi, Old City Area, Yousuf Goth, Punjab Colony, Maripur Baldia Town, Liaquatabad, Nazimabad, Gulberg, Sadar, Jacob Lines and MA Jinnah road remained without electricity since Thursday.

The prolonged power breakdown sparked protests and sit-ins on Sunday in several areas, including in Gulistan-e-Johar, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Lyari and Korangi.

Further, Karachi Electric (KE) said that two feeders in DHA’s Phase 4 and Muslim Commercial had been powered up. “Clifton Block 7 and two of the three feeders in Bath Island have also been energised”, the power utility said in a tweet. 

Apart from these, Clifton Block-7 and two feeders out of three in Bath island have also been energized. Earlier, help from local authorities in drainage efforts in Shujaat and Nishat allowed restoration work to proceed faster (2/3)

— KE (@KElectricPk) August 30, 2020

Earlier on Thursday, some 650 feeders of K-electric had tripped after heavy and incessant downpour, suspending power supply across 60 per cent of Karachi.

Due to the low lying topography of various parts of Karachi, the water deluged into K-electric centres paralyzing electric supply to about 60 per cent of the metropolis.

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