Rescuers say halting work in north Gaza after Israel threats

DUBAI: The Arab League’s secretary-general on Wednesday warned that if US President Donald Trump continued to pressure Gazans and regionally influential powers, this “might lead the region to a new round of grave conflicts.”

“In my opinion, I see that (happening) if President Trump continues in this manner to pressure Gazans, the Arab world, Egyptians, Jordanians, and the region’s influential powers,” said Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit.

“I imagine that instead of settling the Palestinian cause, justly and based on the two-state solution, this might lead the region (the Middle East) to a new round of grave conflicts between Arabs and Israel,” Aboul Gheit told the World Government Summit on Wednesday.

Addressing a packed auditorium during a session titled “The State of the Arab World,” the secretary-general said that “any plans to evacuate the Palestinian territories of their residents” must be rejected, and pointed out that “an acceptable settlement” must be achieved between the two parties.

Alongside Aboul Gheit was Jasem Al-Budaiwi, who is secretary-general of the General Secretariat of the Gulf Cooperation Council, in a session moderated by the Egyptian journalist and businessman Imad Eddine Adib.

Aboul Gheit emphasized that the Palestinian state must be recognized and the “Palestinians must be given their rights.”

He said the US suggestions were unacceptable to Arabs, and in particular Palestinians, warning against the repercussions of US policy on the paths of “peace and understanding” in the region.

After a question by Adib on Trump’s statement on Tuesday, the Arab League head replied: “Right at the moment, the problem as I see it, is that the American vision is an ambiguous one … in the sense that it envisions settling the Middle East conflict through finishing the Palestinian existence, Palestinian character and Palestinian identity in Gaza.

“This is not a settlement (of the conflict) but is rather transferring the conflict to a phase that exceeds Gaza and Israel, making it reach the global level.”

Aboul Gheit added: “If you wish to send the Palestinians to Canada or Argentina, they will fight (for their cause) from there … they will fight from Canada and Argentina. We must understand this … it (Palestine) is their land.”

The senior Egyptian diplomat hopes that a cycle of new conflicts does not occur because it will have negative effects on stability and on everything that “we have built in the region over the period from 1978 (Camp David) and the Egyptian-Israeli understanding until this moment.”

Aboul Gheit said that there had been no Arab defeat, but rather that there had been progress and readiness for any cooperation to coexist between the Palestinians and Israelis within one space.

“On the Palestinian issue, it is not necessary to implement President Trump’s words on the ground. The words are ‘give and take’ and we must complete our efforts with the two-state solution initiative,” Al-Budaiwi said.

During the session, the Arab League’s secretary-general hinted at the differences between the Fatah Movement and Hamas, saying the Palestinian people were in dire need, and the people who are most in need of an Arabic-Arabic and Palestinian-Palestinian agreement and accord.

Meanwhile, the GCC’s secretary-general said that there were clear constants regarding the Palestinian cause, at the forefront of which is the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and the return of refugees.

“We in the Cooperation Council work within this framework,” he said.

Al-Budaiwi said the US realized the importance of security and stability in the region, and “we have strategic alliances with the US,” noting that the stance of the  GCC countries does not change, and always stem from the importance of implementing international legitimacy.

“We are optimistic and deal with matters with deliberation and wisdom, and we seek a unified Arab position that aims to obtain the rights of the Palestinian people,” he concluded.

DUBAI: Governments need to feed artificial intelligence models accurate data  —stored in secure, centralized centers — so that better solutions can be found to improve public services, said Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison at the World Governments Summit here on Wednesday.

AI, if harnessed correctly, would fundamentally change several industries including medicine, agriculture and robotics, said Ellison during a discussion on governance featuring former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair.

This was a view later echoed by AstraZeneka’s CEO Pascal Soriot, who warned against the inefficiencies of fragmented information which placed hurdles in the way of effective healthcare.

Soriot warned of the problems of what he called data fragmentation, where information is not held in a centralized environment.

“While AI is transformative, data fragmentation remains a hurdle. The healthcare industry needs time to adapt, but the potential is undeniable.”

In Ellison’s session, titled “Reimagining Technology for Government: A conversation with Larry Ellison and Tony Blair,” the Oracle co-founder said the scope to improve governance, especially in areas such as health, has improved significantly.

Oracle is a US-based tech company known for its database management system used by organizations across the globe.

“Countries need to unify their data so it can be consumed and used by the AI model. We must feed the AI model as much data about a country as possible,” Ellison said.

A single unified platform was proposed by Ellison to give AI models all the context and information needed to provide accurate responses and maximize its usage.

Ellison said government data was currently fragmented and once this information was unified, it was vital to store it securely. “These data centers need to be secure in our countries for privacy and security reasons,” he added.

Improving AI models would, for example, lower healthcare costs as diagnosis would be much faster, he explained. AI could also help maximize crop yields to improve food security for the planet.

“The UAE has a treasure of data that can improve quality of life and lifespan by preparing healthcare data and using these AI models to improve quality of life,” he added.

He added that Oracle would no longer require users to access platforms with passwords but would implement biometric scans and AI technology.

“The digital tools we have right now are so primitive. We can easily be locked out of all our data; passwords and data are so easily stolen and ransomed. We need to modernize our systems,” he said.

In the later session on the global health sector, AstraZeneca’s Soriot said there were two factors contributing to the current surge in preventable conditions.

“Self-inflicted diseases are a growing crisis in the health industry,” he said, identifying climate change and obesity as the leading culprits.

“Air pollution, increasing temperatures, and climate change are not just abstract threats; they are silent killers,” Soriot warned.

He elaborated on the impact of microplastics, pollutants, and toxic emissions, which have been linked to rising cases of heart attacks, cancers, and kidney and liver diseases worldwide.

Soriot pointed to obesity as another critical factor.

“This self-inflicted condition triggers chronic low-level inflammation, paving the way for kidney disease, heart disease, diabetes, and various forms of cancer,” he said.

He expressed frustration over the minimal investment in preventive healthcare. “Governments allocate only 3 percent of their healthcare budgets to prevention and early diagnosis.”

But he said this could be tackled with the use of technology. “Artificial Intelligence is revolutionizing healthcare, enabling early diagnosis where traditional methods fall short.”

AI’s capabilities in detecting early signs of lung cancer and kidney issues could extend lives significantly, he added.

In his closing remarks Soriot said: “The future of healthcare hinges on our ability to prevent rather than just treat.

“We must prioritize early intervention, leverage technology, and rethink our approach to health. Only then can we hope to reverse this silent crisis.”