Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
US President Donald Trump has rescinded sanctions on far-right Israeli settler groups and people accused of being involved in violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, the new White House administration said.
The new White House website, updated following Mr Trump's inauguration, said Mr Trump had revoked Executive Order 14115, issued last February, that authorised sanctions on people “undermining peace, security and stability” in the Palestinian territory.
A US official and a leading resettlement advocate for Afghan refugees said Mr Trump also planned to cancel flights to the US for almost 1,660 Afghans previously cleared by the government to resettle in the country, including family members of American military personnel. It is part of a wider order by Mr Trump suspending refugee programmes.
The changes came as Mr Trump announced sweeping plans for his second term after his inauguration on Monday, including several measures related to the Middle East. The decisions are a reversal of major policies by former president Joe Biden, who imposed sanctions on several Israeli settlers, freezing their US assets and barring Americans from dealing with them.
Growing violence by settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank and land grabs in the occupied territory have raised concern among some of Israel's western allies. The US sanctions were imposed after the Biden administration repeatedly urged the Israeli government to hold extremists to account for actions that Washington believes set back hopes for a two-state solution.
Since the 1967 Middle East war, Israel has occupied the West Bank of the Jordan River, which Palestinians want as the core of an independent state. It has built Jewish settlements there that most countries deem illegal. Israel disputes this, and cites historical and Biblical ties to the land.
In 2019, during his first term, Mr Trump abandoned the long-held US position that the Israeli settlements were illegal, before the policy was restored by Mr Biden.
Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich thanked Mr Trump on Tuesday for his "unwavering support" in lifting the US sanctions.
"These sanctions were a severe and blatant foreign intervention in Israel's internal affairs and an unjustified violation of democratic principles and the mutual respect between friendly nations," he wrote on X.
Mr Trump has signalled he will be a staunch supporter of Israel in his second term but some analysts believe his personality may limit how much Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can push boundaries.
The new President made a number of diplomatic moves in favour of Israel during his first period in office. The US became the first country to recognise Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which Israel conquered from Syria in 1967 and later annexed. Washington also recognised Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Israel claims the whole of Jerusalem, including the occupied and annexed east of the city, which Palestinians envision as the capital of their hoped-for state.
Mr Netanyahu congratulated Mr Trump on his inauguration on Monday, telling him in a video message that the “best days of our alliance are yet to come”.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas also congratulated Mr Trump and said he was ready to work for peace with Israel based on a two-state solution.
Refugee resettlement
The Afghan refugees who will have their US flights cancelled include unaccompanied minors awaiting reunification with their families in the US, said Shawn VanDiver, head of the AfghanEvac coalition of US veterans and advocacy groups. They also include Afghans at risk of Taliban retribution because they fought for the former US-backed Afghan government, he added.
His comments were echoed by a US official who spoke to news agency Reuters.
Mr Trump's decision also leaves in limbo thousands of other Afghans who have been approved for resettlement as refugees in the US but have not yet been assigned flights from Afghanistan or from neighbouring Pakistan, Mr VanDiver said. Mr Trump made an immigration crackdown a central pledge of his 2024 election campaign, leaving the fate of US refugee programmes up in the air.
“Afghans and advocates are panicking,” said Mr VanDiver.
His organisation is the main coalition that has been working with the US government to evacuate and resettle Afghans in the US since the Taliban seized Kabul as US forces left Afghanistan in August 2021 after two decades of war. Almost 200,000 Afghans have been brought to the US by the Biden administration since the chaotic American troop withdrawal.
Mr VanDiver and the US official said the Afghans approved to resettle as refugees in the US were being removed from the manifests of flights they were due to take from Kabul between now and April.
In other remarks on the Middle East on Monday, Mr Trump said he thinks Saudi Arabia will end up joining the Abraham Accords, a series of normalisation agreements between Israel and Arab nations. He also said he was not confident the ceasefire deal in Gaza would hold, despite trumpeting his diplomacy to secure it ahead of his inauguration.
“That's not our war; it's their war. But I'm not confident,” he said. “I looked at a picture of Gaza. Gaza is like a massive demolition site,” Mr Trump added, saying “fantastic” reconstruction was needed.
“It's a phenomenal location on the sea – best weather. You know, everything's good. It's like, some beautiful things could be done with it.”
– With inputs from agencies
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The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
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MATCH INFO
Barcelona v Real Madrid, 11pm UAE
Match is on BeIN Sports
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
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
The Two Popes
Director: Fernando Meirelles
Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Jonathan Pryce
Four out of five stars
Difference between fractional ownership and timeshare
Although similar in its appearance, the concept of a fractional title deed is unlike that of a timeshare, which usually involves multiple investors buying “time” in a property whereby the owner has the right to occupation for a specified period of time in any year, as opposed to the actual real estate, said John Peacock, Head of Indirect Tax and Conveyancing, BSA Ahmad Bin Hezeem & Associates, a law firm.
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
'Worse than a prison sentence'
Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.
“It was worse than a prison sentence, where at least someone can deal with a set amount of time incarcerated," she said.
“They were living in perpetual mystery as to how their futures would pan out, and what that would be.
“Because of coronavirus, the world is very different now to the one they left, that will also have an impact.
“It will not fully register until they are on dry land. Some have not seen their young children grow up while others will have to rebuild relationships.
“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”
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England's all-time record goalscorers:
Wayne Rooney 53
Bobby Charlton 49
Gary Lineker 48
Jimmy Greaves 44
Michael Owen 40
Tom Finney 30
Nat Lofthouse 30
Alan Shearer 30
Viv Woodward 29
Frank Lampard 29
MATCH INFO
Mainz 0
RB Leipzig 5 (Werner 11', 48', 75', Poulsen 23', Sabitzer 36')
Man of the Match: Timo Werner (RB Leipzig)
MATCH INFO
Inter Milan 1 (Martinez 18' pen)
Juventus 2 (Dybala 4', Higuain 80')
