Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
The day after election day for Mohammad Qazzaz is business as usual – he potters around his family-owned coffee shop in Dearborn, Michigan, greeting customers and answering phone calls on what is likely to be a busy day.
Republican Donald Trump was announced the winner of the swing state of Michigan on Wednesday, defeating Democrat Kamala Harris.
Mr Qazzaz, who is Palestinian American, voted for third-party candidate Jill Stein this year, saying President Joe Biden's continuing support for Israel amid the wars in the Middle East was a factor in his decision.
Like many Arab Americans in Dearborn, he had enthusiastically cast his vote for Mr Biden four years ago, and was pleased when he won. Amid a bout of coronavirus, he had received a phone call from then-presidential candidate Mr Biden, who was running against Mr Trump.
What should have been five-minute call exchanging pleasantries as part of a campaign effort to reach out to Americans during the pandemic, turned into a 20-minute discussion about Palestine, Israel and US efforts to broker peace in the region. Mr Biden promised at the time that should he win, he would advance peace in the Middle East through a two-state solution to the prolonged Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
But for Mr Qazzaz and other Arab Americans, Mr Biden has not done enough to end the Gaza war and his backing of Israel following its invasion of Lebanon early last month has only increased the community's ire.
Vice President Kamala Harris, who moved to the top of the ticket after the President ended his re-election bid, was seen by many as likely to continue the Biden administration’s policy of strong support for Israel.
“I am disappointed because I do remember when he [Mr Trump] was in office, he moved the [US] embassy to Jerusalem, he gave them [the Israelis] the Golan Heights in a ceremony at the White House,” Mr Qazzaz told The National.
“But I am also happy because the Democratic Party neglected us. They didn't care about our votes, they didn't care about our voice.”
In Dearborn, where more than half of the residents are Arab Americans, Mr Trump won with more than 42 per cent of the vote, according to city results released on Wednesday. His challenger Ms Harris received a little more than 36 per cent, while third-party candidate Jill Stein got more than 18 per cent.
Michigan was one of seven swing states this election. In 2020, Mr Biden won it by 150,000 votes. On Tuesday, results show Ms Harris lost it by nearly 81,000 votes.
The results were a stunning reversal from the 2020 presidential election, when nearly 69 per cent of people in the area cast their vote for Joe Biden while Mr Trump received 30 per cent. In the south end of Dearborn, an area with a large Arab population, Mr Biden received 88 per cent of the vote.
Officials noted that many residents who voted for Mr Trump, voted for Democrats in races further down ballot.
“It's vindicating,” Mustapha Hammoud, a Dearborn Dearborn City Council member, told The National. “Anybody here could have told you this was gonna happen. People here are OK with Trump winning. No one here is stressed at all.”
Walid Murad said he voted for Mr Trump this year, though four years ago he voted for Mr Biden.
“Arab Americans voted for Trump because he has the ideology that the US should not be sending money for wars abroad,” he told The National. “I think this was the main reason. And unfortunately, the Democrats caused the US to lose influence when they were seemingly unable to stop the killing of civilians. It makes no sense to me, could we as America really not stop at least the killing of civilians?”
When Mr Trump was president four years ago, he passed the so-called Muslim travel ban, enabled the expansion of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank and moved the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. There is concern that he may enact another Muslim ban, cut US humanitarian aid to Palestinians and criminalise anti-war protests.
Residents of the Michigan city say their priority is the Israel-Gaza war, which has killed more than 43,300 Palestinians, and the invasion of Lebanon, which has killed about 3,000 people. No place in the US has the impact of the conflicts been felt more than in Dearborn, where dozens of residents have lost relatives and loved ones.
Mr Trump had seized on Arab-American anger with the Biden administration and increased his outreach to the community through the aid of Massad Boulos, a Lebanese-American businessman whose son is married to the President-elect's daughter.
The President-elect has promised the community that he will end the wars in the Middle East and bring peace to the region – without providing details.
Hotel Data Cloud profile
Date started: June 2016
Founders: Gregor Amon and Kevin Czok
Based: Dubai
Sector: Travel Tech
Size: 10 employees
Funding: $350,000 (Dh1.3 million)
Investors: five angel investors (undisclosed except for Amar Shubar)
Origin
Dan Brown
Doubleday
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%3Cp%3EAverage%20amount%20of%20biofuel%20produced%20at%20DIC%20factory%20every%20month%3A%20%3Cstrong%3EApproximately%20106%2C000%20litres%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAmount%20of%20biofuel%20produced%20from%201%20litre%20of%20used%20cooking%20oil%3A%20%3Cstrong%3E920ml%20(92%25)%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ETime%20required%20for%20one%20full%20cycle%20of%20production%20from%20used%20cooking%20oil%20to%20biofuel%3A%20%3Cstrong%3EOne%20day%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EEnergy%20requirements%20for%20one%20cycle%20of%20production%20from%201%2C000%20litres%20of%20used%20cooking%20oil%3A%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E%E2%96%AA%20Electricity%20-%201.1904%20units%3Cbr%3E%E2%96%AA%20Water-%2031%20litres%3Cbr%3E%E2%96%AA%20Diesel%20%E2%80%93%2026.275%20litres%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
The bio
Date of Birth: April 25, 1993
Place of Birth: Dubai, UAE
Marital Status: Single
School: Al Sufouh in Jumeirah, Dubai
University: Emirates Airline National Cadet Programme and Hamdan University
Job Title: Pilot, First Officer
Number of hours flying in a Boeing 777: 1,200
Number of flights: Approximately 300
Hobbies: Exercising
Nicest destination: Milan, New Zealand, Seattle for shopping
Least nice destination: Kabul, but someone has to do it. It’s not scary but at least you can tick the box that you’ve been
Favourite place to visit: Dubai, there’s no place like home
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
Racecard
6.35pm: The Madjani Stakes – Group 2 (PA) Dh97,500 (Dirt) 1,900m
7.10pm: Evidenza – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,200m
7.45pm: The Longines Conquest – Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (D) 2,000m
8.20: The Longines Elegant – Conditions (TB) Dh82,500 (D)
8.35pm: The Dubai Creek Mile – Listed (TB) Dh132,500 (D) 1,600m
9.30pm: Mirdif Stakes – Conditions (TB) Dh120,000 (D) 1,400m
10.05pm: The Longines Record – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,900m
MATCH INFO
Crawley Town 3 (Tsaroulla 50', Nadesan 53', Tunnicliffe 70')
Leeds United 0
Unresolved crisis
Russia and Ukraine have been locked in a bitter conflict since 2014, when Ukraine’s Kremlin-friendly president was ousted, Moscow annexed Crimea and then backed a separatist insurgency in the east.
Fighting between the Russia-backed rebels and Ukrainian forces has killed more than 14,000 people. In 2015, France and Germany helped broker a peace deal, known as the Minsk agreements, that ended large-scale hostilities but failed to bring a political settlement of the conflict.
The Kremlin has repeatedly accused Kiev of sabotaging the deal, and Ukrainian officials in recent weeks said that implementing it in full would hurt Ukraine.
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
MATCH DETAILS
Juventus 2 (Bonucci 36, Ronaldo 90 6)
Genoa 1 (Kouame 40)
