LONDON: Britain’s minister for Asia and the Middle East has completed a second trip to the Gulf as she looks to shore up economic ties between the UK and the region.

Amanda Milling’s visit to Bahrain, the UAE and Qatar followed last month’s news that Gulf Cooperation Council countries would enter the UK’s Electronic Travel Authorisation scheme exempting nationals from visa requirements, and the launch of discussions on a free trade agreement.

JERUSALEM: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas held rare meetings and calls with Israeli leaders in an effort to calm tensions and coordinate security measures days before US President Joe Biden’s first visit to the region.
Israel’s President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Yair Lapid had separate calls with Abbas on Friday, official statements said, following a meeting between Abbas and Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah on Thursday.

KHARTOUM: Pro-democracy groups in Sudan announced a “revolutionary council” on Thursday to close ranks against coup leader Gen. Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, rejecting his offer of a civilian government, as protesters keep pressing for his resignation.
Gen. Al-Burhan led a coup in October last year that derailed a transition to civilian rule, unleashing near-weekly protests and prompting key donors to freeze much-needed funding.

TUNIS: Tunisian street vendors often complain of official harassment, but one sandwich maker-turned-social-media-star hopes his struggles against bureaucracy will motivate young entrepreneurs.
Habib Hlila, 27, first set up a food van in the working-class Bab El Khadra district of Tunis in early April, selling sandwiches at the end of each day’s fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

CAIRO: Tamer Mostafa, head of the Commercial Office in London and minister plenipotentiary of trade at the Egyptian Embassy in London, said that the volume of trade exchange between Egypt and the UK increased during the first quarter of 2022 by about 46 percent to reach £756 million pounds ($906 million), compared to £518 million during the same quarter last year.