No one, whether Russians, Europeans or Arabs, would like to meddle with the mission of George Mitchell, the US special envoy. The man is the sole mediator, and his mission is the only game in town, wrote Areeb al Rantawi in a comment piece for the Jordanian newspaper Addustoor.
Mr Mitchell is given a free ride to act in a serene manner as he goes through his mission. "Yet if European diplomats are asked about his chances of success, one hears strangely pessimistic answers such as 30 per cent."
When raising a prospective plan B of referring the case to the UN Security Council, Europeans would say that we do not believe in this, and only Arabs hold this view. "And no one will eventually assure you about a happy ending for either plan A or B."
"What about plan C: involving Hamas in the negotiations, in case plans A and B fail? Some might say, there should be no problem and an open dialogue with the Islamic movement would usher in a new phase. And this might be only a matter of time as it is the case with the Taliban and to some extent Hizbullah."
But what prevents these talks now? The answer is Mahmoud Abbas, the president of Palestinian Authority, who has incessantly requested Europeans not do so until the whole peace process takes shape.
The London-based newspaper Al Quds al Arabi declared in its editorial that the decision by the Yemeni government to close down the offices of both Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya television channels is wrong.
"The way this was done was uncivilised. It was indeed painful to see security forces enter the premises of both channels, confiscate equipment and badly treat the personnel. "
The Yemeni president Ali Saleh has always boasted that Yemen has more than 100 newspapers and magazines. The two stations have greatly served reform and always advocated the country's stability. "They have dealt with internal issues professionally, and stood by the government's point of view more than that of the opposition."
Accusing Al Jazeera of exaggerating the scale of events in Yemen is baseless. The Yemeni decision followed a recent trend of cracking down on media outlets as many newspapers were sanctioned and many journalists arrested and tortured. It is inconceivable that the Yemeni authorities would inhibit the media from access to information while it is preparing to launch a fierce attack against the rebels.
This newspaper would prefer that the president intervene to stop this campaign against the media because Yemenis may resort to other foreign sources of information, which could be less balanced.
"Many senior officials cabled congratulatory notes to Iraqis in which they hailed the elections. The UN representative in Iraq, for instance, urged all parties to accept the outcome. He was speaking as if Iraq is similar to a western country with no sectarian and ethnic discrimination," observed Wafeeq al Sameraei in an opinion article for the London-based newspaper Al Sharq al Awsat.
Such a view prompts us to inquire about the criteria some outside observers used to measure the alleged success of the Iraqi legislative election.
If we review the whole process, we see that a massive exclusion of candidates took place; and as polling started, many blasts took place in usually stable quarters to discourage voters from participation. Additionally, only a small portion (about 71,000) of one million exiled Iraqis in Syria, Jordan and Egypt voted.
The preliminary results, if not rigged, confirmed that Iraqis still needed more time to overcome sectarianism. Because of mistrust in the proper implementation of western models of democracy, different sects stuck to their candidates.
Problems that impeded the course of democracy in Iraq and have caused much of the violence lie in the inequitable distribution of wealth. Corruption, for its part, stands as the major block towards reform and a factor that perpetuates the rule of the most sizeable sect at the expense of political plurality.
Mazen Hammad, in a comment piece for the Qatari daily Al Watan, revisited the the reconciliation efforts between Fatah and Hamas. He said that little information were provided by the Palestinians in this regard, but Israeli press offered some. Haaretz, for example, affirmed that Egypt was hardening its measures concerning travel permits for Hamas leaders in Gaza and requested that the movement to sign a reconciliation agreement with no conditions.
The move came amid new tensions caused by the erection of a wall between the Sinai Peninsula and Gaza Strip and following the murder of a Palestinian policeman by a Palestinian sniper. This also triggered fear in Cairo that other attacks by some small and unidentified groups might cause a delay in the construction of the wall.
Meanwhile, the Israeli press talked about change of the strategies by Hamas, either by leaders in Gaza or by those in Damascus, namely Khaled Mishaal, the movement's political bureau chief. There were also some unconfirmed reports that the latter was trying to form a new government in Gaza to replace that of Ismail Haniyeh. The failure to listen to popular demanda to achieve Palestinian reconciliation is equal to a crime.
* Digest compiled by Mostapha El Mouloudi
@Email:melmouloudi@thenational.ae
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Huddersfield Town permanent signings:
- Steve Mounie (striker): signed from Montpellier for £11 million
- Tom Ince (winger): signed from Derby County for £7.7m
- Aaron Mooy (midfielder): signed from Manchester City for £7.7m
- Laurent Depoitre (striker): signed from Porto for £3.4m
- Scott Malone (defender): signed from Fulham for £3.3m
- Zanka (defender): signed from Copenhagen for £2.3m
- Elias Kachunga (winger): signed for Ingolstadt for £1.1m
- Danny WIlliams (midfielder): signed from Reading on a free transfer
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Barcelona v Liverpool, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE).
Second leg
Liverpool v Barcelona, Tuesday, May 7, 11pm
Games on BeIN Sports
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
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Navdeep Suri, India's Ambassador to the UAE
There has been a longstanding need from the Indian community to have a religious premises where they can practise their beliefs. Currently there is a very, very small temple in Bur Dubai and the community has outgrown this. So this will be a major temple and open to all denominations and a place should reflect India’s diversity.
It fits so well into the UAE’s own commitment to tolerance and pluralism and coming in the year of tolerance gives it that extra dimension.
What we will see on April 20 is the foundation ceremony and we expect a pretty broad cross section of the Indian community to be present, both from the UAE and abroad. The Hindu group that is building the temple will have their holiest leader attending – and we expect very senior representation from the leadership of the UAE.
When the designs were taken to the leadership, there were two clear options. There was a New Jersey model with a rectangular structure with the temple recessed inside so it was not too visible from the outside and another was the Neasden temple in London with the spires in its classical shape. And they said: look we said we wanted a temple so it should look like a temple. So this should be a classical style temple in all its glory.
It is beautifully located - 30 minutes outside of Abu Dhabi and barely 45 minutes to Dubai so it serves the needs of both communities.
This is going to be the big temple where I expect people to come from across the country at major festivals and occasions.
It is hugely important – it will take a couple of years to complete given the scale. It is going to be remarkable and will contribute something not just to the landscape in terms of visual architecture but also to the ethos. Here will be a real representation of UAE’s pluralism.
Result
UAE (S. Tagliabue 90 1') 1-2 Uzbekistan (Shokhruz Norkhonov 48', 86')
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
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Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
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