Hello from The National and welcome to the View from London – your weekly guide to the big stories from our London bureau
Yemen's fate
Stalemate takes many forms in the divided Yemen after years of war.The internationally recognised government is based in Aden while the Houthi regime, an international pariah, holds the capital Sanaa.
Things are changing as Aden-based forces move to establish control along the coast. Mohamed Sahimi, the Southern Transitional Council representative in the UK, has been talking to The National about his party stepping into a security vacuum to shore up the region.
"Armed militias had been enabled by northern government troops in Hadhramaut, including those associated with the Muslim Brotherhood and other extremist groups, including [Al Qaeda in the Arabian Penninsula]," he said.
"Across the south, the STC is leading on security responsibilities to protect our civilians and counter the threat from the Houthis in the north. This is fully in the interests of Yemen, the region and the West."
One demonstration of the push changing the dynamic is the position of the Muslim Brotherhood-aligned Al Islah Party, which was put on display in Chatham House on Tuesday.
Abdul-Razak Al Hijri, the acting secretary general, made an appearance in London where he pleaded for a negotiated way out of the sudden switch of control around Aden and the southern coastal provinces.
The STC says it is taking control of the provinces to fight smuggling and terrorist networks in south-east Yemen, which were feeding the Houthis, Aqap and Al Shabab in Somalia.
It has accused a branch of the Yemeni army in Hadhramaut, known as the First Military Region, of tolerating these smuggling networks. The First Military Region is reportedly loyal to the Islah party.
Yemeni supporters of STC leader Aidarous Al Zubaidi at a rally. AFP
Al Hijri said he met STC leaders recently and believes that a diplomatic solution is possible. “The STC has their project, which is the restoration of the southern state. We do not have a problem with this issue being discussed,” he said.
“We met with them recently. We told them, 'Let's first work to restore the state and let‘s all of us present our reservations and concerns, and each one of us can present the guarantees they believe will reassure the other actors'."
Al Islah also appears to essentially favour the status quo with the Houthi domination of northern Yemen, including the capital Sanaa. STC leader Aidarous Al Zubaidi has suggested a “serious campaign to free the north” of Yemen, which is under Houthi control, could be next.
Paramount's bid for Warner Brothers Discovery has sent the media and international investment community into a frenzy.
It’s not simply the size of the hostile takeover attempt at $108 billion for Warner, or WBD, that has caused excitement. It’s also the fact that three Gulf sovereign wealth funds have come together on the same mega-play. Abu Dhabi’s L’imad Holding Company, the Qatar Investment Authority and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund are jointly throwing their considerable weight behind the Paramount strike.
Chris Blackhurst writes on how a contribution of $24 billion to the offer led by David Ellison is potentially transformative. Mr Ellison controls Paramount and moved to hijack Netflix’s agreed rival approach for the Hollywood movie studio and owner of CNN, HBO and other media platforms.
The funds are determinedly pursuing policies of diversifying away from a historic concentration on oil and energy. They want to take their holdings and economies into new, digitally focused sectors. Media, sport, entertainment and tourism are key targets. Within that context, WBD is a glittering diamond.
Top-level Ukraine talks seem to have been non-stop for months. Europe has come under pressure from Washington to bring out concessions from Kyiv. The latest rounds this week have created optimism that a ceasefire may be imminent, although analysts suggest the main win is keeping the US on board.
This is because top US envoys went to Berlin on Monday to secure from Ukraine grudging acceptance that any deal would mean it could not join Nato. US President Donald Trump hailed potential progress from “very long and very good talks” with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the leaders of the UK, France, Germany and Nato.
US envoy Steve Witkoff looks up to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Reuters
Military and diplomatic analysts continue to pour cold water on the initiative driven by Mr Trump. Experts have warned that this optimism is likely to be misplaced, with the harsh reality that Russia has little incentive to accept the peace terms.
Keir Giles, a senior fellow at Chatham House, suggested to us that the flurry of statements about ceasefires and peace support forces are all “hypothetical”, with scant connection to political reality.
Something must be done and both Mr Trump and Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor, think a truce could happen before the end of the year.
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RESULTS
6.30pm Maiden (TB) Dh82.500 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winner Meshakel, Royston Ffrench (jockey), Salem bin Ghadayer (trainer)
7.05pm Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,400m
Winner Gervais, Connor Beasley, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
7.40pm Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (Turf) 2,410m
Winner Global Heat, Pat Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor.
8.15pm Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner Firnas, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.
DOB: 25/12/92
Marital status: Single
Education: Post-graduate diploma in UAE Diplomacy and External Affairs at the Emirates Diplomatic Academy in Abu Dhabi
Hobbies: I love fencing, I used to fence at the MK Fencing Academy but I want to start again. I also love reading and writing
Lifelong goal: My dream is to be a state minister
Sole survivors
Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
England squad
Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Dominic Bess, James Bracey, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Joe Denly, Ben Foakes, Lewis Gregory, Keaton Jennings, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Saqib Mahmood, Craig Overton, Jamie Overton, Matthew Parkinson, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Dom Sibley, Ben Stokes, Olly Stone, Amar Virdi, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
Two products to make at home
Toilet cleaner
1 cup baking soda
1 cup castile soap
10-20 drops of lemon essential oil (or another oil of your choice)
Method:
1. Mix the baking soda and castile soap until you get a nice consistency.
2. Add the essential oil to the mix.
Air Freshener
100ml water
5 drops of the essential oil of your choice (note: lavender is a nice one for this)
AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
Al Dhafra Street
Rabdan Street
Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
Our legal advisor
Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation.
Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
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
