Istanbul                                                                                                                                                                                                13 Dec 2017                                                                                                                                                                               (Anadolu Agency)

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) issued a declaration on Wednesday recognizing East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine.

The "Istanbul Declaration" dubbed "Freedom for Jerusalem" was issued Wednesday evening after an extraordinary summit held in Istanbul.

"We confirm that we recognize the state of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital, and call the world to recognize East Jerusalem as the occupied capital of Palestine," the declaration read.

The declaration also rejected and condemned the "unlawful" decision of the U.S. president.

It added that it was "not possible to give up on an independent and sovereign Palestine state, with East Jerusalem as its capital."

"[...Trump's decision on Jerusalem] is null and void on the basis of history, laws and conscience," the declaration said.

"We call on the UN, EU and members of the international community to look after UN resolutions on Jerusalem's status," it added.

In the declaration, the OIC welcomed the "peaceful resistance" that was shown by the people of Palestine against the break-in attempt to the Temple Mount in July.

The declaration also called on the Trump administration to reconsider and withdraw their "unlawful" decision.

The OIC was established during a historic summit in Rabat, Morocco in 1969 following an arson attack on Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem.

Al-Aqsa was set on fire by an Australian Christian called Michael Denis Rohan on Aug. 21, 1969. The shrine and a 1,000-year-old pulpit were totally destroyed as well as several historical sites.

Rohan had joined a U.S.-based sect called “The Church of God” and believed that setting fire to Al-Aqsa would hasten the coming of the Messiah.

He was later declared mentally unstable and is reported to have died in psychiatric care in 1995.

Doha                                                                                                                                                                                                      09 Dec. 2017                                                                                                                                                                                    (QNA)

Seiichi Otsuka, ambassador of Japan to Qatar has  said that the relations between Japan and Qatar has been strengthened since the visit of the Emir of State of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani to Japan in February 2015.

He said that the two countries have established strong ties in the energy and infrastructure sectors.

On the occasion of Qatar National Day, Japanese ambassador in his message said that the Emir's visit to Japan paved the way for diversifying and widening the domain of cooperative relations to include the social, educational, cultural fields. He also emphasized the importance of increasing the pace of this cooperation to cope with Qatar's speedy nation-building process.

The Ambassador of Japan praised the Qatari leadership for ensuring safety and security of people and for the good management of the national economy and the active diplomacy during the current conditions in the Gulf region.

Otsuka stated that under the current circumstance in the Gulf region, the new business models and emerging commercial networks are desirable. He expressed hope that this situation can boost the ties between Qatar and Asian countries in particular.

Ambassador Seiichi Otsuka hailed the Qatari economy and its strength against the siege imposed on the country, pointing out that citizens and residents still live under normal conditions.

He said that the overwhelming majority of foreign countries support the Qatari position that the problem should be solved through dialogue. He stressed that this anniversary can provide an opportunity to demonstrate ineffectiveness of the siege and to remind us of the necessity to work for ending it.

The Ambassador reiterated the insistence of his government that the problem should be solved through 'dialogue' between the concerned parties from the beginning. He also expressed his government's support for Kuwait's mediation efforts because it is preferable to be solved within the GCC framework.

 

"Six months have passed since the eruption of the crisis, unfortunately we see the tension increasing even now. Therefore, we should double our efforts not to escalate but stabilize the situation," he said.

He added that it is better to submit specific complaints and ask for legal judgments and decisions of tribunal through the multilateral fora. These things should be subjected to the international law and regulations.

The Ambassador of Japan stressed the importance of stabilizing the situation in the Middle East, where regional conflicts have a complex impact on the domestic policies of each country.

All concerted efforts of the international community should be fully mobilized in order to make simultaneous solutions in the region, he stated.

 

.

Doha                                                                                                                                                                                                  09 Dec. 2017                                                                                                                                                                              (QNA)

Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry (QCC) has announced the hosting of the Qatari-Pakistani business and investment conference. The Conference will be held during first quarter of next year. A delegation of 50 businessmen from Pakistan will be participating to discuss investment and business opportunities between the two countries in various areas.

It was announced during a  recent meeting between Qatar Chamber of Commerce and a delegation of Pakistani businessmen headed by Zahed Latif Khan, Chairman of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Rawalpindi.

The two sides discussed various means and areas of cooperation and ways of enhancing bilateral trade relations. They also looked into the arrangements for organizing the Qatari-Pakistani Business and Investment Conference.

Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Qatari business community has been invited to visit Pakistan to participate in the "Gwadar" port conference scheduled for March 2018.

Mohammed bin Ahmed bin Tawar, Vice President of Qatar Chamber, said that the Chamber welcomes holding of business and investment conference in Doha to look into investment opportunities between Qatar and Pakistan.

He said that Qatari businessmen are keen to know investment opportunities available in Pakistan, especially in the area of food security, industrialization, pharmaceuticals and agro-industry, and that will be main focus areas of the conference.  The conference will be providing opportunity to look into the possible partnerships between the two sides, particularly in light of the incentives provided by the Qatari government to attract foreign investments and facilitate the business environment.

Mohammed bin Ahmed bin Tawar expressed his hope from forthcoming conference to achieve its goals  and in enhancing bilateral relations between private sector of both the countries. He said that Qatar's economic and trade sectors are witnessing remarkable movement and development, we welcome all investments that can achieve further growth to the State economy.

Leader of Pakistani delegation, Zahid Latif Khan said that the Pakistani private sector is ready to cooperate with Qatari counterpart in all areas of investments. He invited members of Qatar Chamber of commerce and Business community to visit Pakistan for a closer look at the available investment opportunities. He said that this opportunity will also be fruitful to interact and enhancing mutual cooperation in all fields of economy.

Istanbul                                                                                                                                                                                              09 Dec. 2017                                                                                                                                                                                (Anadolu News)

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron an Saturday agreed to “close cooperation” on the Jerusalem crisis, a presidential source said.

In a telephone call, the leaders discussed concerns over the U.S. move to recognize Jerusalem as the Israeli capital, calling it “worrisome for the region”.

Erdogan said it was the duty of all humanity to preserve the status of Jerusalem, the source said on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

He noted the importance of the sensitive attitude of EU members and said a wrong step could negatively impact the region, including Israel.

The presidents agreed to continue efforts to convince the U.S. to reconsider its decision.

On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump announced the U.S.’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s “undivided” capital and said the U.S. Embassy would relocate from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Erdogan also spoke to Presidents Nursultan Nazarbayev, Ilham Aliyev and Michel Aoun, of Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Lebanon respectively, about Jerusalem, the source said.

He said regional peace and stability could only be secured through an independent and sovereign Palestine state within its 1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Referring to the extraordinary summit of Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) due to be held in Istanbul on Dec. 13, he said the summit would be an important forum to show the Islamic world’s united front over Jerusalem, a holy city for Muslims, Jews and Christians.

Meanwhile, in a statement, Aliyev described the U.S. decision as “wrong and against international law”.

Moscow                                                                                                                                                                                                08 Dec. 2017                                                                                                                                                                                    (TASS)

Russian airlines carried 97.5 mln passengers in January-November period of 2017, which is a record result for the sector, according to the data released by Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency on Friday.

"Russian airlines are expected to carry up to 105 mln passengers by the end of the year," the agency said.

"In January-November period of this year, Russian air carriers provided services to 97.5 mln passengers, a 19.1% increase compared with the same period last year," the report said.

Previously, the highest level of 93.1 mln people was reported in 2014.

 

Cairo                                                                                                                                                                                                  09 Dec 2017                                                                                                                                                                                (AlJazeera News)

The head of the Arab League has called US President Donald Trump's decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital "dangerous and unacceptable" and a "flagrant attack on a political solution" to the Israeli- Palestinian conflict.

The statement by Ahmed Aboul-Gheit, the regional bloc's secretary-general, came at the start of an emergency meeting of foreign ministers from 22 Arab states in Egypt's Capital, Cairo, on Saturday.

Aboul-Gheit said Trump's decision was "against international law and raises questions over American efforts to support peace" between Palestine and Israel.

'US an aggressor against Palestinians'

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki, speaking to reporters ahead of the meeting in Cairo, said Palestinians can no longer accept the US as a broker in the peace process because it has now "positioned itself as a party in a dispute and not as a mediator".

Calling for a UN Security Council action against Trump's decision, al-Maliki added, "America is being an aggressor against the Palestinian people and against international law."

US officials, however, have defended the move, saying Trump remains committed to reviving long-stalled talks between the Palestinians and Israelis.

The status of Jerusalem, home to sites holy to Muslims, Jews and Christians, is one of the core issues in the perennial Israeli-Palestinian conflict. After occupying the city's eastern part in the 1967 War, Israel annexed the territory, and proclaimed it as its "eternal, undivided capital."

The Palestinians, however, see East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state, a position Aboul-Gheit backed in his opening statement on Saturday.

"We call upon all countries that support peace to refuse the decision of the US president. We consider the decision unfair and unjust. We call upon everyone to recognise Palestine as a state and East Jerusalem as its capital," he said.

Speaking at the meeting, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said aid Trump's policy change put the "region on the verge of explosion".

Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Qatar's foreign minister, called for "all possible measures under international law", while his Lebanese counterpart called for the League to consider imposing sanctions on the US.

"Pre-emptive measures must be taken against the decision ... beginning with diplomatic measures, then political, then economic and financial sanctions," said Gebran Bassil.

Statements made for 'public consumption'

But despite the rhetoric in the Cairo meeting, Marwan Bishara, Al Jazeera's senior political analyst, said Arab states, in practice, differed in their reaction to Trump's decision.

"I doubt that all this will come together and culminate in any serious decision or action plan," he said.

"We will probably be left once again for the Arab street, rather than the Arab League, to do something moving forward."

Ali Abunimah co-founder of Electronic Intifada, an independent online news publication focusing on Palestine, concurred.

"The Arab League meeting and the Arab League summit will amount to nothing, as it has amounted to nothing for decades," he told Al Jazeera from the US city of Chicago.

"All the statements being made by the Arab regimes are strictly for public consumption because the Arab public is clearly outraged as the massive demonstrations in cities across the world showed.

"But in reality, most of these regimes - Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and Jordan - are very close to Israel.  They either have formal or tacit ties and so they will do nothing in practice other than issue statements."

Meanwhile, the leader of Egypt's Coptic Church on Saturday cancelled an upcoming visit with US President Mike Pence in protest of the shift in US policy. Pope Tawadros II said Trump's move "did not take into account the feelings of millions of Arab people".

The grand imam of Cairo's Al Azhar Mosque said he would not meet Pence either, while Palestinian leaders stated that Trump's deputy was not welcome in the occupied territories.

Meanwhile,  the leader of Egypt's Coptic Church has cancelled an upcoming meeting with US Vice President Mike Pence, protesting against Washington's move to declare Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

The move by Pope Tawadros II on Saturday came a day after Palestinian leaders also said that Pence, who is scheduled to visit the region later this month, was not welcome in the occupied territories.

In a statement, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Egypt said it "excused itself from hosting" Pence when he visits the Egyptian capital of Cairo on December 20.

It said Trump's decision "did not take into account the feelings of millions of Arab people".

On Friday, the grand imam of Cairo's Al-Azhar Masjid also said that he would not meet Pence, according to Egyptian media.

"How can I sit with those who granted what they do not own to those who do not deserve it?" said Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb.

During his trip to the region, Pence was expected to also visit Israel with a stop in the Palestinian city of Bethlehem.

Jhang, Pakistan                                                                                                                                                                                  09 Dec. 2017                                                                                                                                                                                        (APP)

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Prime Minister  of Pakistan on Saturday performed the groundbreaking of Punjab Power Plant here to produce 1263 megawatt of electricity as another step forward towards making Pakistan self-sufficient in energy sector.

Shehbaz Sharif , Chief Minister Punjab joined Prime Minister as they unveiled the plaque to launch work on the project being executed in Haveli Bahadur Shah area in Jhang District. Minister of State for Power Abid Sher Ali was also present on the occasion.

The Punjab Power Plant would be fueled by the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) that would generate 810 MW in its first phase to complete in 14 months approximately.

The second phase of the project would complete in 26 months to produce total 1263 MW of electricity.

 

09 Dec 2017
(Haaretz News)

Israeli media told today that China's Singulato and Tencent cancel visits to Israel, as does Japan's Toyota Foundation, amid Trump's Jerusalem decision.

Haaretz reports that No longer just rockets from Gaza, but now also a hit to the local economy, as high-tech delegations from Japan and China canceled Thursday their trips to Israel following U.S. President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

The Chinese Embassy has issued a formal travel warning, valid until January 10, 2018. China is concerned about the security situation following Trump's announcement, and expects the conflict to impact its investment programs in Israel.

On Saturday morning, a number of Israeli startups were notified that Shen Haiyin, CEO and founder of the Chinese company Singulato currently developing a miniature electric car, had cancelled his visit just six hours before his flight. Shen was supposed to arrive for a series of meetings with Israeli high-tech companies.

A delegation from Tencent, China’s largest internet company, also cancled their expected visit.

The situation is expected to worsen, as cancellations are not limited only to China. TheMarker was also notified that the Japanese company Toyota's Fund also canceled its trip to Israel, which had been scheduled for Sunday.

According to estimates, 10-20% of capital for Israel's high-tech sector comes from China.

On Wednesday 6th of December 2017, Patriarchs and heads of local churches in Jerusalem penned a special letter addressed to U.S. President Donald Trump to express their concern over his intention to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and possibly relocate the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

The letter, sent on Wednesday hours ahead of the expected announcement by Trump, asks the president to walk back on the potential unilateral recognition of the city as solely Israeli. "Our solemn advice and plea is for the United States to continue recognizing the present international status of Jerusalem. Any sudden changes would cause irreparable harm," the clerics pleaded with the president.

Kuala Lumpur                                                                                                                                                                                  09 Dec. 2017                                                                                                                                                                                      (Bernama News)

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak today said Malaysia would not compromise with the United States of America (US) on matter involving the sanctity of Islam,despite having multi-dimensional diplomatic relations with the super power.

Referring to US President Donald Trump's announcement to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, Najib said it contravened the principle of sovereignty as contained in the United Nations Resolution.

"We can collaborate in many aspect, but in this matter (recognising Jerusalem as Israel's capital), we stand firm that it is absolutely unacceptable.

"Not only Muslims, the Christians are also not happy with the announcement, and so is the western world," he said at a press conference after winding up the debate at the UMNO general assembly here today.

Earlier, in his speech, Najib said he was prepared to cancel his annual consultation programme with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong so that he could voice out Malaysia's protest at the special meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) in Istanbul this Dec 13.

Najib said he could not accept Muslims being suppressed in any situations and would not let Jerusalem, which is the third holy land for the Muslims, to be usurped.

He said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had contacted him last Wednesday to ask for his presence at the OIC special meeting to voice out Malaysia's protest.

Doha                                                                                                                                                                                                      06 Dec 2017

AL SHAQAB Endurance Team will be at the Messaied Endurance Village this Saturday, 9th December, to participate in the National Day Endurance Cup CEI2* 120 Km competition.  The competition promises to be a thrilling feature of the Qatar Equestrian and Modern Pentathlon Federation’s calendar as it also serves as a qualifier for the Qatar National Team that will participate in the World Equestrian Games 2018, in Tryon, USA.

Comprising 18 riders, including trainers who will also be competing as riders, the team is all geared up for the challenge and looking forward to getting positive results.  Head of Endurance, Jassim Al Madhadi stated “Representing Al Shaqab and Qatar is one of the most positive feelings that I can have. Our goal is to triumph again at the World Championship and at any competition we participate in”.

For the trainers, it is a double opportunity as they seek success both as a trainer and rider. “We have seven trainers, who focus daily on training horses and strategizing on the competition.  And, certainly, all of us are looking to be at the top of the podium. All the trainers and the riders wish positive results in the National endurance Cup because we are proud of Qatar”, stated Hassan Tahous.

The Qatar National Day competition is organized by the Endurance Committee of the Qatar Equestrian & Modern Pentathlon Federation.

Next endurance competition will be held in January 2018 with the 1^st competition of the new year being the 160 km CEI3*.