UAE, ISRAEL REACH AGREEMENT TO ESTABLISH DIPLOMATIC TIES

Israel and the United Arab Emirates have reached a deal to normalise

relations, with Israel agreeing to suspend its controversial plans to annex

parts of the occupied West Bank.

In a surprise statement by US President Donald Trump, who helped broker it,

the countries called the accord "historic" and a breakthrough toward peace.

Until now Israel has had no diplomatic relations with Gulf Arab countries.

But shared worries over Iran have led to unofficial contacts between them.

Palestinian leaders were reportedly taken by surprise. A spokesman for

President Mahmoud Abbas said the deal amounted to "treason", and the

Palestinian ambassador to the UAE was being recalled.

President Trump called the deal between Prime Minister Netanyahu and Abu

Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed Al Nahyan "a truly historic moment". It marks

only the third Israel-Arab peace deal since Israel's declaration of

independence in 1948, after Egypt and Jordan.

"Now that the ice has been broken I expect more Arab and Muslim countries

will follow the United Arab Emirates," he told reporters in the Oval Office,

saying there would be a signing ceremony at the White House in the coming

weeks.

Earlier, in response to a President Trump's tweeted announcement, Mr

Netanyahu wrote in Hebrew: "Historic day."

A joint statement from the U.S., the UAE and Israel was issued immediately

after Trump's tweet. It said delegations would meet in the coming weeks to

sign deals on direct flights, security, telecommunications, energy, tourism

and health care. The two countries also will partner on fighting the

COVID-19 pandemic.

BIDEN, AL-SISI HAIL UAE-ISRAEL AGREEMENT

Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential candidate, Thursday praised the peace

agreement signed between the United Arab Emirates and Israel

as a "historic step to bridge the deep divides of the Middle East."

Biden released a statement saying that he would not support Tel Aviv's

annexation plans of the West Bank if he is elected president in November.

"The UAE's offer to publicly recognize the State of Israel is a welcome,

brave, and badly-needed act of statesmanship," Biden said.

Biden said that the deal had allowed a path toward "a more peaceful, stable

Middle East," adding that he and VP candidate Kamala Harris would seek to

challenge all the nations in the region to keep pace if elected.

Biden also said that Israeli annexation would be a "body blow to the cause

of peace, which is why I oppose it now and would oppose it as president."

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Thursday welcomed the peace

agreement "I followed with interest and appreciation the joint statement

between the United States, United Arab Emirates and Israel to halt the

Israeli annexation of Palestinian lands and taking steps to bring peace in

the Middle East," al-Sisi said on Twitter.

He also applauded "the efforts of those in charge of the deal to achieve

prosperity and stability" in the region.

The pro-Israel U.S. lobby group, American Israel Public Affairs Committee,

has issued a statement saying it greatly appreciates the efforts of

President Donald Trump and his administration in facilitating the diplomatic

move.

AIPAC urged other Arab states and the Palestinians to follow the UAE's lead

and "end its boycott of Israel and America and return to the negotiating

table."

TRUMP TAKES REFUGE OF 'BIRTHER CONSPIRACY' TO DELEGITIMISE HARRIS'

NOMINATION

Democratic vice-presidential candidate Senator Kamala Harris has been hit by

a "birther movement", with US President Donald Trump saying he had heard

that she does not meet the requirements to serve the White House.

Asked about the matter at the White House, Trump told reporters he had

"heard" rumors that Harris, a Black woman and US-born citizen whose parents

were immigrants, does not meet the requirement to serve in the White House.

The president said he considered the rumors "very serious."

The conspiracy is false. Harris, who was tapped this week by Joe Biden to

serve as his running mate on the Democratic ticket, was born in Oakland,

California, and is eligible to be president under the constitutional

requirements. The question is not even considered complex, according to

constitution lawyers.

"Full stop, end of story, period, exclamation point," said Jessica Levinson,

a professor at Loyola Law School.

The Biden campaign called opinion piece racist.

Trump built his political career on questioning a political opponent's

legitimacy. He was a high-profile force behind the so-called "birther

movement" - the lie that questioned whether President Barack Obama, the

nation's first Black president, was eligible to serve. Only after mounting

pressure during his 2016 campaign did Trump disavow the claims.

LEBANON'S MILITARY GETS SWEEPING POWERS AFTER BEIRUT BLAST

Lebanon's Parliament on Thursday approved a state of emergency in Beirut in

its first session since the catastrophic August 4 explosion, granting the

military sweeping powers amid rising popular anger at official corruption

and mismanagement and political uncertainty.

The government resigned after the blast that killed more than 170 people,

injured at least 6,000 and wrecked the capital's port and caused widespread

damage across the capital.

Before it resigned, the government declared the state of emergency that gave

the military the power to declare curfews, prevent public gatherings and

censor the media, as well as refer civilians to military tribunals for

alleged security breaches.

The action required approval by lawmakers, which they granted Thursday.

The move has been criticised by rights groups and others who say the

civilian government already was operating with increased powers because of

the coronavirus outbreak. Some pointed to the military crackdown on

protesters last week, fearing the extended powers could lead to silencing

dissent.

RESOLUTION TO CONDEMN CHINESE AGGRESSION AGAINST INDIA INTRODUCED IN U.S.

SENATE

A bipartisan group of two powerful American senators on Thursday introduced

a resolution in the Senate condemning China's aggression towards India to

change the status quo at the Line of Actual Control between the two Asian

giants.

The resolution by Senator John Cornyn, who is the Republican Senate Majority

Whip, and Senator Mark Warner, who is ranking member of the Senate Select

Committee on Intelligence, follows instances of Chinese military forces

harassing Indian patrols as well as increased troop deployments and

infrastructure construction in contested areas.

Mr. Cornyn and Mr. Warner are Co-Chairs of the Senate India Caucus.

This resolution condemns PRC's actions to change the Line of Actual Control,

especially in the midst of diplomatic negotiations between the two

countries; and encourages the two nations to find a diplomatic resolution

that restores the April 2020 status quo at the LAC, said Mr. Warner.

ISRAEL SUCCESSFULLY TESTS ADVANCED MISSILE DEFENSE SYSTEM

Israel's Defense Ministry said Thursday it conducted a successful test of

the country's advanced missile defense system against long-range ballistic

attacks.

Defense Minister Benny Gantz said the successful flight test of the Arrow-2

interceptor was part of Israel's technological effort that "ensures that we

will always be one step ahead of our enemies."

The test was conducted overnight in central Israel, jointly with the U.S.

Missile Defense Agency.

Arrow-2 is part of the multi-layered system Israel has developed to defend

against both short- and mid-range rockets fired from Gaza and Lebanon, as

well as Iran's long-range missiles. It includes Iron Dome, David's Sling and

the Arrow-3 system - capable of defending against threats from outside the

atmosphere.

The Arrow rocket system is designed to intercept the longest-range missiles,

including outside the atmosphere.

Moshe Patel, who heads the Defense Ministry's missile defense organization,

said Iran was the most natural threat but that Arrow could also cope with

attacks from Iraq, Syria and elsewhere.

FRANCE REINFORCES NAVAL FORCES IN MEDITERRANEAN

France said on Thursday it was "temporarily reinforcing" its military

presence in the eastern Mediterranean Sea amid tensions between neighbours

Greece and Turkey over recently-discovered gas reserves.

The French military said two Rafale jets would arrive on Thursday on the

island of Crete for a stay of "several days", after having taken part in a

military exercise in Cyprus earlier in the week.

The assault helicopter carrier Tonnerre (Thunder), en route to deliver aid

to Beirut after last week's deadly port explosion there, was joined

overnight by the La Fayette frigate, previously deployed to Cyprus, and they

took part in an exercise with the Greek navy.

"The purpose of this military presence is to strengthen the autonomous

assessment of the situation and to affirm France's commitment to free

movement, to the security of maritime navigation in the Mediterranean and

respect for international law," said a Ministry statement.

Relations between France and Turkey have been icy as President Emmanuel

Macron has accused Ankara of violating the sovereignty of Greece and Cyprus

- claims Turkey rejects.

WHO: RUSSIAN VACCINE NOT IN ADVANCED TEST STAGES

The World Health Organization says the vaccine approved by Russia this week

is not among the nine that it considers in the advanced stages of testing.

WHO and partners have included nine experimental COVID-19 vaccines within

an investment mechanism it is encouraging countries to join, known as the

Covax facility. The initiative allows countries to invest in several

vaccines to obtain early access, while theoretically providing funding for

developing countries.

"We don't have sufficient information at this point to make a judgment" on

the Russia vaccine, said Dr Bruce Aylward, a senior adviser to WHO's

director-general.

OLI-PRACHANDA MEET TO RESOLVE THEIR DIFFERENCES

Nepal's Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli and the ruling party's executive

chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' met again on Thursday to sort out

their differences and resolve the intra-party rift, with the sources here

expecting a breakthrough soon.

The two leaders one-on-one meeting at the Prime Minister's residence at

Baluwatar in Kathmandu. This was their first meeting after a week.

The details of the meeting have not been disclosed. The sources close to the

ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) said the talk ended on a positive note.

Sources said as Prime Minister Oli agreed to hand over the total command of

the party to Prachanda during the meeting, an agreement could be closer.

The leaders are expected to meet on Friday too.

PAKISTAN COURT SUSPENDS ONE-YEAR JAIL SENTENCE OF TWO SENIOR JAMAAT-UD-DAWAH

LEADERS

A Pakistani court on Thursday suspended a one-year jail sentence of two

senior leaders of the Jamaat-ud-Dawah and close aides of mastermind of the

2008 Mumbai attack Hafiz Saeed in a terror-financing case.

The Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Lahore in June handed down one-year

imprisonment to Abdul Rehman Makki and Abdus Salam for terror-financing.

Both the leaders had challenged their conviction in the Lahore High Court

(LHC). "The Lahore High Court today suspended one-year sentence each of

Abdul Rehman Makki and Abdus Salam and ordered their release on bail," a

court official told PTI.

According to the ATC verdict, both JuD/LeT leaders were found guilty of

terrorism-financing.