Europe stands strong, but more must be done on security and defence, European ministers have said during a panel discussion moderated by The National. Panellists, including top officials from Luxembourg, Spain, the Netherlands and Sweden, as well as a security expert, stressed the urgent need for stronger defence co-operation and self-reliance.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 drove a surge in European defence spending, and the return of US President Donald Trump to the White House has added urgency to these efforts. His renewed scepticism of Nato, threats to reduce US military commitments in Europe and demands for allies to shoulder more defence costs have pushed European nations to increase their budgets.
Dutch Defence Minister Ruben Brekelmans called for Europe to take greater responsibility for its own security, proposing that nations willing to act should do so even without full EU consensus.
“Given the challenge of EU-wide consensus, a ‘coalition of the willing’ should act decisively. Strengthening defence and aligning with the US is crucial,” he told the Raisina Dialogue conference in New Delhi on Tuesday.
President Trump’s pressure on Europe might be a blessing in disguise, said Florence Gaub, director of the research division at the Nato Defence College in Rome.
“Effective transatlantic deterrence relies not just on rhetoric but on real capabilities – credible deterrence requires a strong military,” added Ms Gaub. “Security is the foundation – without it, nothing else matters. Europe faces urgent security challenges that require timely action, not for the US, but for its own stability.”
Earlier this month, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen presented a five-point plan to rearm the continent. The commission is also seeking to set up collective arms purchasing for the entire bloc. With fears of a weaker transatlantic security umbrella, European leaders are accelerating strategic autonomy to prepare for an uncertain security landscape.
“For transatlantic relations to remain credible, they must be independent of political shifts in the US,” State Secretary for Foreign and Global Affairs Diego Martinez Belío told the panel in the Indian capital.
From left to right, Xavier Bettel, Luxembourg's Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, and Minister for Development Co-operation and Humanitarian Affairs; Maria Malmer Stenergard, Sweden's Minister for Foreign Affairs; Diego Martinez Belío, Spain's State Secretary for Foreign and Global Affairs; Ruben Brekelmans, The Netherlands' Minister of Defence; Florence Gaub, Director of the Research Division, Nato Defence College in Rome; Vanessa Ghanem, Arab Affairs Editor at The National News. ORF
Ukraine war
Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed on Tuesday to temporarily halt attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities but declined to endorse a full 30-day ceasefire, which Mr Trump had hoped would be the first step towards a permanent peace deal. The White House said that talks on a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea, as well as discussions on a broader ceasefire and a permanent peace agreement, would begin immediately following a lengthy call between the two leaders.
It was unclear whether Ukraine would be involved in those talks.
“It is essential that no discussions about Ukraine’s future take place without Ukraine at the table. Any negotiations that sideline Kyiv would undermine its sovereignty and self-determination,” said Xavier Bettel, Deputy Prime Minister of Luxembourg.
Ukraine accused Russia on Wednesday of effectively rejecting the ceasefire proposal, and both countries blamed each other early in the morning for launching air attacks that led to fires and damaged infrastructure.
Last week, the US agreed to resume military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine after Kyiv said it was ready to support Washington's proposal for the 30-day ceasefire. The security support was paused after Mr Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy clashed in a fiery Oval Office meeting.
As a result, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said that the US president’s actions should serve as “a wake-up call for us to unite and design our own centre of gravity”.
“Turkey has played a crucial role in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Its ability to deploy forces would be a significant contribution,” said Mr Brekelmans. “As one of the few nations that has challenged Russia while balancing ties with both Moscow and Nato, Turkey’s position remains pivotal.”
Some suggest that while Turkey was once referred to as “Russia’s Trojan horse in Nato”, it might now be a partner.
Foreign aid
With priority shifting towards defence and security, several European countries have announced cuts to their foreign aid budgets, putting global health programmes at risk. This raises questions about the future of global aid efforts.
“Sweden remains a champion in development aid, not only because it’s the right thing to do but also because it makes a difference,” said Maria Malmer Stenergard, Sweden’s Minister of Foreign Affairs. “It helps prevent forced migration and extremism, promotes women’s and girls’ rights and fights HIV. It is in every country’s interest to stay engaged in these critical areas.”
She added: “But at the same time, no woman or girl is truly free if she is not secure. We must invest in our security to protect this freedom.”
Cyberbullying or online bullying could take many forms such as sending unkind or rude messages to someone, socially isolating people from groups, sharing embarrassing pictures of them, or spreading rumors about them.
Cyberbullying can take place on various platforms such as messages, on social media, on group chats, or games.
Parents should watch out for behavioural changes in their children.
When children are being bullied they they may be feel embarrassed and isolated, so parents should watch out for signs of signs of depression and anxiety
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Always check the weather forecast before setting off
Make sure you have plenty of water
Set off early to avoid sudden weather changes in the afternoon
Wear appropriate clothing and footwear
Take your litter home with you
Bournemouth 1 Manchester City 2
Watford 0 Brighton and Hove Albion 0
Newcastle United 3 West Ham United 0
Huddersfield Town 0 Southampton 0
Crystal Palace 0 Swansea City 2
Manchester United 2 Leicester City 0
West Bromwich Albion 1 Stoke City 1
Chelsea 2 Everton 0
Tottenham Hotspur 1 Burnley 1
Liverpool 4 Arsenal 0
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
MATCH DETAILS
Chelsea 4
Jorginho (4 pen, 71 pen), Azpilicueta (63), James (74)
Ajax 4
Abraham (2 og), Promes (20). Kepa (35 og), van de Beek (55)
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024. It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine. Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages]. The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts. With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians. Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved. Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world. The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Date started: January 2017 Founder: Khaled Zaatarah Based: Dubai and Los Angeles Sector: Technology Size: 21 employees Funding: $7 million Investors: Shorooq Partners, KBW Ventures, Vision Ventures, Hala Ventures, 500Startups, Plug and Play, Magnus Olsson, Samih Toukan, Jonathan Labin
if you go
Getting there
Etihad (Etihad.com), Emirates (emirates.com) and Air France (www.airfrance.com) fly to Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport, from Abu Dhabi and Dubai respectively. Return flights cost from around Dh3,785. It takes about 40 minutes to get from Paris to Compiègne by train, with return tickets costing €19. The Glade of the Armistice is 6.6km east of the railway station.
Staying there
On a handsome, tree-lined street near the Chateau’s park, La Parenthèse du Rond Royal (laparenthesedurondroyal.com) offers spacious b&b accommodation with thoughtful design touches. Lots of natural woods, old fashioned travelling trunks as decoration and multi-nozzle showers are part of the look, while there are free bikes for those who want to cycle to the glade. Prices start at €120 a night.
At one point, two feature films were in the works, but only German director Werner Herzog’s project starring Nicole Kidman would be made. While there were high hopes he would do a worthy job of directing the biopic, when Queen of the Desert arrived in 2015 it was a disappointment. Critics panned the film, in which Herzog largely glossed over Bell’s political work in favour of her ill-fated romances.
A documentary
A project that did do justice to Bell arrived the next year: Sabine Krayenbuhl and Zeva Oelbaum’s Letters from Baghdad: The Extraordinary Life and Times of Gertrude Bell. Drawing on more than 1,000 pieces of archival footage, 1,700 documents and 1,600 letters, the filmmakers painstakingly pieced together a compelling narrative that managed to convey both the depth of Bell’s experience and her tortured love life.
Books, letters and archives
Two biographies have been written about Bell, and both are worth reading: Georgina Howell’s 2006 book Queen of the Desert and Janet Wallach’s 1996 effort Desert Queen. Bell published several books documenting her travels and there are also several volumes of her letters, although they are hard to find in print. Original documents are housed at the Gertrude Bell Archive at the University of Newcastle, which has an online catalogue.
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Constant Variable (CVT)
Power: 141bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh64,500
On sale: Now
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League quarter-final, second leg (first-leg score)
Porto (0) v Liverpool (2), Wednesday, 11pm UAE
Match is on BeIN Sports
The specs
Engine: 2.5-litre, turbocharged 5-cylinder
Transmission: seven-speed auto
Power: 400hp
Torque: 500Nm
Price: Dh300,000 (estimate)
On sale: 2022
if you go
The flights
Direct flights from the UAE to the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, are available with Air Arabia, (www.airarabia.com) Fly Dubai (www.flydubai.com) or Etihad (www.etihad.com) from Dh1,200 return including taxes. The trek described here started from Jomson, but there are many other start and end point variations depending on how you tailor your trek. To get to Jomson from Kathmandu you must first fly to the lake-side resort town of Pokhara with either Buddha Air (www.buddhaair.com) or Yeti Airlines (www.yetiairlines.com). Both charge around US$240 (Dh880) return. From Pokhara there are early morning flights to Jomson with Yeti Airlines or Simrik Airlines (www.simrikairlines.com) for around US$220 (Dh800) return.
The trek
Restricted area permits (US$500 per person) are required for trekking in the Upper Mustang area. The challenging Meso Kanto pass between Tilcho Lake and Jomson should not be attempted by those without a lot of mountain experience and a good support team. An excellent trekking company with good knowledge of Upper Mustang, the Annaurpuna Circuit and Tilcho Lake area and who can help organise a version of the trek described here is the Nepal-UK run Snow Cat Travel (www.snowcattravel.com). Prices vary widely depending on accommodation types and the level of assistance required.
