US President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that he has withdrawn his nominee for UN ambassador, Elise Stefanik, to help preserve the Republicans' slim majority in the House of Representatives, which will be crucial for advancing his “America First” agenda.
Mr Trump had chosen the New York Republican to represent the US at the world body shortly after winning re-election in November.
“I have asked Elise, as one of my biggest allies, to remain in Congress to help me deliver historic tax cuts, great jobs, record economic growth, a secure border, energy dominance, peace through strength, and much more, so we can make America great again,” Mr Trump said on his Truth Social platform. “With a very tight majority, I don’t want to take a chance on anyone else running for Elise’s seat."
Mr Trump's Republican Party holds a 218 to 213 majority in the House, with four seats currently vacant. They are gearing up to extend the 2017 tax cuts and tackle the national debt, which exceeds $36.6 trillion.
Elected to Congress in 2014, Ms Stefanik was initially a moderate conservative but has shifted to the right over time and now aligns herself closely with Mr Trump's wing of the Republican Party.
She was elected chairwoman of the House Republican Conference in 2021, succeeding Liz Cheney, who became a Trump critic after his attempts to overturn the 2020 election. In this role, Ms Stefanik defended Mr Trump during both impeachment trials and frequently criticised the Biden administration on issues related to Israel and the Middle East, as well as voting against spending packages that would deliver assistance to Ukraine.
Her nomination as ambassador to the UN, regarded as one of the least controversial administration picks, progressed through the committee in late January. But the House Republicans' razor-thin majority has left her confirmation in limbo for several months. She was the last cabinet-level Trump nominee who had not been confirmed.
“There are others that can do a good job at the United Nations,” he wrote.
Dorothy Shea has been serving as the acting US ambassador to the UN since Linda Thomas-Greenfield left in January. It was not immediately clear who Mr Trump might choose to replace Ms Stefanik.
Whoever Mr Trump chooses to replace Ms Stefanik will face a complicated future at the UN. Since resuming office on January 20, the President has ceased US participation in the UN Human Rights Council, continued the suspension of funding for the Palestinian relief agency UNRWA, and initiated a review of the UN cultural agency Unesco.
He has also declared US intentions to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement and the World Health Organisation.
The language of diplomacy in 1853
Treaty of Peace in Perpetuity Agreed Upon by the Chiefs of the Arabian Coast on Behalf of Themselves, Their Heirs and Successors Under the Mediation of the Resident of the Persian Gulf, 1853
(This treaty gave the region the name “Trucial States”.)
We, whose seals are hereunto affixed, Sheikh Sultan bin Suggar, Chief of Rassool-Kheimah, Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon, Chief of Aboo Dhebbee, Sheikh Saeed bin Buyte, Chief of Debay, Sheikh Hamid bin Rashed, Chief of Ejman, Sheikh Abdoola bin Rashed, Chief of Umm-ool-Keiweyn, having experienced for a series of years the benefits and advantages resulting from a maritime truce contracted amongst ourselves under the mediation of the Resident in the Persian Gulf and renewed from time to time up to the present period, and being fully impressed, therefore, with a sense of evil consequence formerly arising, from the prosecution of our feuds at sea, whereby our subjects and dependants were prevented from carrying on the pearl fishery in security, and were exposed to interruption and molestation when passing on their lawful occasions, accordingly, we, as aforesaid have determined, for ourselves, our heirs and successors, to conclude together a lasting and inviolable peace from this time forth in perpetuity.
Taken from Britain and Saudi Arabia, 1925-1939: the Imperial Oasis, by Clive Leatherdale
On racial profiling at airports
Pots for the Asian Qualifiers
Pot 1: Iran, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, China
Pot 2: Iraq, Uzbekistan, Syria, Oman, Lebanon, Kyrgyz Republic, Vietnam, Jordan
Pot 3: Palestine, India, Bahrain, Thailand, Tajikistan, North Korea, Chinese Taipei, Philippines
Pot 4: Turkmenistan, Myanmar, Hong Kong, Yemen, Afghanistan, Maldives, Kuwait, Malaysia
Pot 5: Indonesia, Singapore, Nepal, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Mongolia, Guam, Macau/Sri Lanka
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Known as The Lady of Arabic Song, Umm Kulthum performed in Abu Dhabi on November 28, 1971, as part of celebrations for the fifth anniversary of the accession of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan as Ruler of Abu Dhabi. A concert hall was constructed for the event on land that is now Al Nahyan Stadium, behind Al Wahda Mall. The audience were treated to many of Kulthum's most well-known songs as part of the sold-out show, including Aghadan Alqak and Enta Omri.
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Altitude (metres above sea level): 0
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In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
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Key findings
- Over a period of seven years, a team of scientists analysed dietary data from 50,000 North American adults.
- Eating one or two meals a day was associated with a relative decrease in BMI, compared with three meals. Snacks count as a meal. Likewise, participants who ate more than three meals a day experienced an increase in BMI: the more meals a day, the greater the increase.
- People who ate breakfast experienced a relative decrease in their BMI compared with “breakfast-skippers”.
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