There’s an awkward moment at a lot of holiday parties where a rambunctious and entertaining guest overstays his welcome.
He — it’s typically a man — begins repeating anecdotes, his crowd-captivating one-liners from earlier in the evening fall flat, and instead of noticing the stifled yawns and guests tiptoeing away, he just ups his antics.
That, in a nutshell, is the quandary facing the Republican Party, whose leaders would prefer Donald Trump quietly leave the building, but have no tactful way of showing their erstwhile VIP the door.
One wonders, then, if there are collective sighs of relief at the Republican National Committee following this week's catastrophic news for Mr Trump, whose bid to become president again appears ever more quixotic.
On Monday, the House panel investigating the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol referred Mr Trump to the Department of Justice for potential prosecution on four criminal charges, including conspiracy to defraud the US and incitement of insurrection.
Critics have decried the Democrat-led proceedings as political theatre, and the Justice Department has not commented on the referrals.
But Mr Trump got more bad news on an unrelated matter on Tuesday.
A different House committee, again Democrat-led, said it would release six years of his closely guarded tax returns, which are expected to show he paid little or no income tax for years thanks to significant business losses.
Then on Thursday, the January 6 committee released its final report, identifying Mr Trump as the “central cause” of the attempted “coup”.
It all triggered another round of brutal headlines for Mr Trump, who this month called for the US Constitution to be terminated and whose real estate company was convicted of carrying out a criminal scheme to defraud tax authorities for more than 15 years.
Mr Trump's snowballing crises must come as welcome news for senior Republicans as they quietly freak out about what their 2024 election platform should be and who should lead them to the polls.
The passionate loyalty Mr Trump still commands among many Republican voters means they have long downplayed any of his scandals, including the January 6 riots and his attempts to nullify the 2020 presidential election that he lost to Joe Biden by seven million votes.
But now, thanks to the culmination of years of Democrat efforts, Republicans have the cover to distance themselves from their one-time standard bearer.
Several conservatives who decried the January 6 committee as a political hatchet job suddenly became mute in their defence of the former president after the criminal referrals. Others went so far as to condemn him, a move that not long ago would have been heretical.
“The entire nation knows who is responsible for that day,” Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell said on Monday. “Beyond that, I don’t have any immediate observations.”
By Wednesday, he had gone a step further.
“Here’s what I think has changed: I think the former president’s political clout has diminished,” Mr McConnell told NBC News.
November's midterms showed once more that Mr Trump can never win another election, and a promising new candidate for 2024 in the form of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is emerging.
Mr Trump's sagging support was reflected in a recent poll that found only 31 per cent of Republicans want him to run in 2024, compared to 56 per cent who support Mr DeSantis.
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan said Mr Trump was at least partly to blame for the attack on the Capitol that left five people dead. He said: “No man is above the law”.
Tom Marino, a former congressman who had been one of the first to support Mr Trump, told The New York Times on Monday that the Republican Party now must “do whatever it has to do to get away from Trump”.
But don't expect a large number of high-profile public disavowals just yet. Mr Trump has shown he is nothing if not tenacious.
House minority leader Kevin McCarthy continues to publicly back Mr Trump and has dismissed the January 6 committee as a “sham process”. But according to witness testimony gathered by the panel, Mr Trump admitted to the congressman that he knew he had lost the 2020 election but refused to concede.
As the Republicans look to 2023, when they will have control of the House of Representatives, perhaps they will glance across the aisle and inwardly thank the Democrats for pulling Mr Trump out of contention for 2024 and, maybe, paving the way for the conservatives to reclaim the White House with a different candidate.
Maga rallies in the US — in pictures
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
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
RESULTS
5pm: Sweihan – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 2,200m
Winner: Shamakh, Fernando Jara (jockey), Jean-Claude Picout (trainer)
5.30pm: Al Shamkha – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m
Winner: Daad, Dane O’Neill, Jaber Bittar
6pm: Shakbout City – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m
Winner: AF Ghayyar, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
6.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,200m
Winner: Gold Silver, Sandro Paiva, Ibrahim Aseel
7pm: Masdar City – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: AF Musannef, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
7.30pm: Khalifa City – Maiden (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: Ranchero, Patrick Cosgrave, Bhupat Seemar
Results
5pm: Wadi Nagab – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,200m; Winner: Al Falaq, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Ahmed Al Shemaili (trainer)
5.30pm: Wadi Sidr – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m; Winner: AF Majalis, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
6pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: AF Fakhama, Fernando Jara, Mohamed Daggash
6.30pm: Wadi Shees – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Mutaqadim, Antonio Fresu, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
7pm: Arabian Triple Crown Round-1 – Listed (PA) Dh230,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Bahar Muscat, Antonio Fresu, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
7.30pm: Wadi Tayyibah – Maiden (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Poster Paint, Patrick Cosgrave, Bhupat Seemar
$1,000 award for 1,000 days on madrasa portal
Daily cash awards of $1,000 dollars will sweeten the Madrasa e-learning project by tempting more pupils to an education portal to deepen their understanding of math and sciences.
School children are required to watch an educational video each day and answer a question related to it. They then enter into a raffle draw for the $1,000 prize.
“We are targeting everyone who wants to learn. This will be $1,000 for 1,000 days so there will be a winner every day for 1,000 days,” said Sara Al Nuaimi, project manager of the Madrasa e-learning platform that was launched on Tuesday by the Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, to reach Arab pupils from kindergarten to grade 12 with educational videos.
“The objective of the Madrasa is to become the number one reference for all Arab students in the world. The 5,000 videos we have online is just the beginning, we have big ambitions. Today in the Arab world there are 50 million students. We want to reach everyone who is willing to learn.”
Company Profile
Company name: OneOrder
Started: October 2021
Founders: Tamer Amer and Karim Maurice
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Industry: technology, logistics
Investors: A15 and self-funded
Where to submit a sample
Volunteers of all ages can submit DNA samples at centres across Abu Dhabi, including: Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (Adnec), Biogenix Labs in Masdar City, NMC Royal Hospital in Khalifa City, NMC Royal Medical Centre, Abu Dhabi, NMC Royal Women's Hospital, Bareen International Hospital, Al Towayya in Al Ain, NMC Specialty Hospital, Al Ain
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Akeed
Based: Muscat
Launch year: 2018
Number of employees: 40
Sector: Online food delivery
Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception
Countries recognising Palestine
France, UK, Canada, Australia, Portugal, Belgium, Malta, Luxembourg, San Marino and Andorra
ICC T20 Rankings
1. India - 270 ranking points
2. England - 265 points
3. Pakistan - 261 points
4. South Africa - 253 points
5. Australia - 251 points
6. New Zealand - 250 points
7. West Indies - 240 points
8. Bangladesh - 233 points
9. Sri Lanka - 230 points
10. Afghanistan - 226 points
The team
Photographer: Mateusz Stefanowski at Art Factory
Videographer: Jear Valasquez
Fashion director: Sarah Maisey
Make-up: Gulum Erzincan at Art Factory
Model: Randa at Art Factory Videographer’s assistant: Zanong Magat
Photographer’s assistant: Sophia Shlykova
With thanks to Jubail Mangrove Park, Jubail Island, Abu Dhabi
Muslim Council of Elders condemns terrorism on religious sites
The Muslim Council of Elders has strongly condemned the criminal attacks on religious sites in Britain.
It firmly rejected “acts of terrorism, which constitute a flagrant violation of the sanctity of houses of worship”.
“Attacking places of worship is a form of terrorism and extremism that threatens peace and stability within societies,” it said.
The council also warned against the rise of hate speech, racism, extremism and Islamophobia. It urged the international community to join efforts to promote tolerance and peaceful coexistence.
German plea
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the German parliament that. Russia had erected a new wall across Europe.
"It's not a Berlin Wall -- it is a Wall in central Europe between freedom and bondage and this Wall is growing bigger with every bomb" dropped on Ukraine, Zelenskyy told MPs.
Mr Zelenskyy was applauded by MPs in the Bundestag as he addressed Chancellor Olaf Scholz directly.
"Dear Mr Scholz, tear down this Wall," he said, evoking US President Ronald Reagan's 1987 appeal to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate.
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
more from Janine di Giovanni
!['I told him [Donald Trump] that the stuff his people were shovelling out to the public was bull***t.' Former attorney general William Barr. AP](https://www.thenationalnews.com/resizer/v2/RLINK2AWKRFONAWRZ7TNQF6VI4.jpg?smart=true&auth=898bee20e87c352f4801c4275eab58720719d25c3b0343a94bb0b4d88c1d38f4&width=800&height=450)
