Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday nominated Mike Huckabee, a former governor of Arkansas and devout Christian, to be US ambassador to Israel in his coming administration.
Mr Huckabee, 69, is a staunch defender of Israel and his nomination comes as Mr Trump has promised to align US foreign policy more closely with Israel's interests as it wages wars against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
“Mike has been a great public servant, governor and leader in faith for many years,” Mr Trump said in a statement. “He loves Israel, and the people of Israel, and likewise, the people of Israel love him.”
He said Mr Huckabee, an Evangelical Christian, will work “tirelessly to bring about peace in the Middle East”.
Speaking to NewsNation in June, Mr Huckabee said there can be no negotiating with Hamas, which the US and other countries have designated a terrorist group.
“There's no valid reason to have a ceasefire with Hamas. They're not capable of having an honourable negotiation,” he said. In an earlier interview, he compared Israel's campaign in Gaza to D-Day during the Second World War.
Trump nominations
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Mr Trump, who has called himself Israel's “best friend”, has vowed to end the Gaza war. Mr Huckabee is an ordained Baptist minister and tried White House runs of his own in 2008 and 2016.
He has led paid tour group visits to Israel for years, frequently advertising the trips on conservative-leaning news outlets.
After leaving the governorship, Mr Huckabee became a political commentator and his show, Huckabee, ran on the Fox network until 2015. It now runs on TBN, an international Christian broadcasting network.
His daughter, current Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, was White House press secretary under Mr Trump.
The appointment of Mr Huckabee suggests a return to Mr Trump's original views towards Israel in his first term, when he moved the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and determined that settlements in the West Bank were not in breach of international law.
In 2017, Mr Huckabee laid the cornerstone of a neighbourhood in Efrat, one of the largest settlements in the West Bank. He has in the past referred to the area as “Judea and Samaria”, the biblical terms settlers use to describe the West Bank.
“I think Israel has a title deed to Judea and Samaria,” Mr Huckabee told CNN that same year.
“There are certain words I refuse to use. There is no such thing as a West Bank. It’s Judea and Samaria. There’s no such thing as a settlement. They’re communities, they’re neighbourhoods, they’re cities. There’s no such thing as an occupation.”
Also on Tuesday, Mr Trump nominated Steven Witkoff as special envoy to the Middle East.
"Steve is a highly respected leader in business and philanthropy, who has made every project and community he has been involved with stronger and more prosperous," Mr Trump said in a statement. "Steve will be an unrelenting voice for peace, and make us all proud."
Mr Witkoff is a real estate investor and Trump campaign donor. He is not known to have any diplomatic experience or experience in the Middle East.
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
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MATCH INFO
Quarter-finals
Saturday (all times UAE)
England v Australia, 11.15am
New Zealand v Ireland, 2.15pm
Sunday
Wales v France, 11.15am
Japan v South Africa, 2.15pm
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What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
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What is Diwali?
The Hindu festival is at once a celebration of the autumn harvest and the triumph of good over evil, as outlined in the Ramayana.
According to the Sanskrit epic, penned by the sage Valmiki, Diwali marks the time that the exiled king Rama – a mortal with superhuman powers – returned home to the city of Ayodhya with his wife Sita and brother Lakshman, after vanquishing the 10-headed demon Ravana and conquering his kingdom of Lanka. The people of Ayodhya are believed to have lit thousands of earthen lamps to illuminate the city and to guide the royal family home.
In its current iteration, Diwali is celebrated with a puja to welcome the goodness of prosperity Lakshmi (an incarnation of Sita) into the home, which is decorated with diyas (oil lamps) or fairy lights and rangoli designs with coloured powder. Fireworks light up the sky in some parts of the word, and sweetmeats are made (or bought) by most households. It is customary to get new clothes stitched, and visit friends and family to exchange gifts and greetings.
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Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Building boom turning to bust as Turkey's economy slows
Deep in a provincial region of northwestern Turkey, it looks like a mirage - hundreds of luxury houses built in neat rows, their pointed towers somewhere between French chateau and Disney castle.
Meant to provide luxurious accommodations for foreign buyers, the houses are however standing empty in what is anything but a fairytale for their investors.
The ambitious development has been hit by regional turmoil as well as the slump in the Turkish construction industry - a key sector - as the country's economy heads towards what could be a hard landing in an intensifying downturn.
After a long period of solid growth, Turkey's economy contracted 1.1 per cent in the third quarter, and many economists expect it will enter into recession this year.
The country has been hit by high inflation and a currency crisis in August. The lira lost 28 per cent of its value against the dollar in 2018 and markets are still unconvinced by the readiness of the government under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to tackle underlying economic issues.
The villas close to the town centre of Mudurnu in the Bolu region are intended to resemble European architecture and are part of the Sarot Group's Burj Al Babas project.
But the development of 732 villas and a shopping centre - which began in 2014 - is now in limbo as Sarot Group has sought bankruptcy protection.
It is one of hundreds of Turkish companies that have done so as they seek cover from creditors and to restructure their debts.
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Countries recognising Palestine
France, UK, Canada, Australia, Portugal, Belgium, Malta, Luxembourg, San Marino and Andorra
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