TOKYO: Japan’s Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa held a telephone talk with his Israeli counterpart Eli Cohen on Friday and stated that Japan is concerned about recent unilateral measures that have caused an escalation of tensions in the region, although he did not clarify what measures he was referring to.
Hayashi explained Japan’s approach of assisting Palestinians in order to achieve a two-state solution, and asked for cooperation from Israel.
Cohen stated that Israel respects the status quo with regard to holy sites.

BEIRUT: Japan, through the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Program (GGP), will provide the Lebanese Hospital Geitaoui University Medical Center, with specialized medical equipment.
On Friday, Ambassador Magoshi Masayuki signed a grant contract with Sister Hadia Abi Chebli, Director of the Lebanese Hospital Geitaoui University Medical Center.
The hospital, located in Ashrafieh, and which was badly damaged by the Beirut port explosion in 2020, plays a pivotal role in the Lebanese health care sector.

ABU DHABI: The UAE has maintained its position as one of the safest places in the world, according to the Global Terrorism Index.
The GTI provides a comprehensive summary of global trends and patterns that have influenced terrorism over the past two decades, based on an analysis of various social and economic conditions, and influential geopolitical factors.
Emirates News Agency reported on Thursday that the UAE is one of the safest countries worldwide, with a “very low” risk of the spread of terrorist activities.

LONDON: Efforts to protect the Palestinian economy, ideals, and resilience must be tripled as fears rise that the two-state solution to the conflict with Israel is becoming increasingly unlikely, the Chairman of the Bank of Palestine Hashim Shawa said on Thursday.

Speaking at a session called “For the Sake of Peace: Jumpstarting the Palestinian Economy” at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Shawa said both Israelis and Palestinians are worried that the two-state solution will not materialize in the current political climate.

AL-MUKALLA, Yemen: Three Yemeni troops, including a military commander, have been killed by a roadside bomb set by Al-Qaeda militants in a hilly region of the southern province of Abyan, local officials said.
The latest deaths raise the total number of soldiers killed in such assaults since August to 68.
Abdul Raham Muthana, commander of a military unit belonging to the Security Belt forces, and two of his companions died and three more were injured when their vehicle ran over a roadside bomb while patrolling the Omaran valley in Abyan province on Wednesday.