Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu greets US President Joe Biden in Tel Aviv in October last year. Mr Biden has faced criticism as the US continues to send military aid to Israel. AFP
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu greets US President Joe Biden in Tel Aviv in October last year. Mr Biden has faced criticism as the US continues to send military aid to Israel. AFP
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu greets US President Joe Biden in Tel Aviv in October last year. Mr Biden has faced criticism as the US continues to send military aid to Israel. AFP
Thomas Watkins is Washington bureau chief at The National
April 07, 2024
After six months of immutable support for Israel in its campaign in Gaza, US President Joe Biden has wavered for the first time.
“Outraged” by the Israeli military’s killing of seven aid workers, one of whom was a US citizen, Mr Biden called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week to tell him that American policy would change unless Israel works towards a ceasefire, or if it continues to fail to protect civilians in Gaza.
The move marked a potential turning point in the conflict, which erupted on October 7 when Hamas militants stormed southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking hundreds of hostages.
Immediately after the phone call, Israel moved to allow more aid into Gaza, which teeters on the brink of famine and where health authorities say more than 33,100 people have been killed.
But for Mr Biden’s critics, his attempt to put pressure on Israel comes as too little, too late, and is offset by the fact the US continues to supply its ally with billions of dollars of military aid.
Where, they asked, was his outrage when about 200 other aid workers were killed? Why has it taken Mr Biden six months to use America's power to force Israel to reduce the civilian death toll?
And why does he still refuse to put conditions on military aid to ensure it is used in a way to avoid civilian casualties?
Progressive senator Bernie Sanders said Mr Biden's occasional sharp words for the Israeli Prime Minister feel empty given continuing overall US support.
“One day the President is 'angry' at Netanyahu, the next day he is 'very angry', the next day he is 'very, very angry'. So what? At the same time, there is support for more military aid [to Israel] in a supplemental bill,” Mr Sanders told Pod Save America.
“You cannot continue to talk about your worries about a humanitarian situation in Gaza and then give Netanyahu another $10 billion, or more bombs. You cannot do that. That is hypocritical.”
The timing of Mr Biden’s call suggests he was acting at least partly out of political self-interest and not merely because of the seven World Central Kitchen aid workers killed in the Israeli air strike.
Doubtless he has been feeling the pressure from his Democratic base. Progressives and Arab Americans alike have vowed not to vote for him in November, even if that means a victory for former president Donald Trump, known for his Muslim travel ban in 2017.
Aside from some occasional sharp words for Israel, Mr Biden has largely sat on his hands while the death toll in Gaza has reached staggering levels.
The electoral numbers are particularly bleak for Mr Biden in key swing states such as Michigan and Wisconsin, where Democrats have sworn off voting for the President in numbers far greater than he won the states by in 2020.
Mr Biden needs his base to turn out in huge numbers in November if he is to beat Mr Trump.
But as of today, there seems to be little indication that they will, even though another Trump presidency could leave Israel free to take unfettered action in Gaza, and potentially the occupied West Bank.
A lot can happen before the presidential election, but Mr Biden’s actions last week have not immediately placated the base he needs to turn out to vote for him on November 5.
Similarly, it probably won’t do much to endear him to conservatives, many of whom consider his pressure on Mr Netanyahu to be a betrayal of Israel.
“To help his polls in Michigan, Joe Biden just strengthened Hamas's negotiating position. He effectively encouraged Hamas to hold out and not release the hostages. Shameful,” Republican senator Tom Cotton said on X.
Republicans have by and large been happy to stay quiet on how they would handle the Israel-Gaza war differently, borrowing from Napoleon’s adage: “Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.”
Mr Trump's Republican Party is even more hawkish than Democrats in supporting Israel and has factions calling for the annihilation of Palestinians in Gaza.
For example, Tim Walberg, a Republican representative from Michigan, said during a recent town hall meeting that Gaza should be treated “like Nagasaki and Hiroshima”, the Japanese cities the US dropped atom bombs on at the end of the Second World War.
And following the phone call with Mr Netanyahu, the Republican-led House Rules Committee announced it would consider a resolution that “opposes efforts to place one-sided pressure on Israel with respect to Gaza, including calls for an immediate ceasefire”.
By doing so little to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza for six months, Mr Biden has left himself little room to manoeuvre now, and any actions he does take will be seen as unsatisfactory by progressives and conservatives alike.
One of the World Central Kitchen vehicles hit in an Israeli air strike. Seven aid workers were killed in the attack. AP
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
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Final scores
18 under: Tyrrell Hatton (ENG)
- 14: Jason Scrivener (AUS)
-13: Rory McIlroy (NIR)
-12: Rafa Cabrera Bello (ESP)
-11: David Lipsky (USA), Marc Warren (SCO)
-10: Tommy Fleetwood (ENG), Chris Paisley (ENG), Matt Wallace (ENG), Fabrizio Zanotti (PAR)
Innotech Profile
Date started: 2013
Founder/CEO: Othman Al Mandhari
Based: Muscat, Oman
Sector: Additive manufacturing, 3D printing technologies
Size: 15 full-time employees
Stage: Seed stage and seeking Series A round of financing
Investors: Oman Technology Fund from 2017 to 2019, exited through an agreement with a new investor to secure new funding that it under negotiation right now.
How has net migration to UK changed?
The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.
It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.
The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.
The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.
Pox that threatens the Middle East's native species
Camelpox
Caused by a virus related to the one that causes human smallpox, camelpox typically causes fever, swelling of lymph nodes and skin lesions in camels aged over three, but the animal usually recovers after a month or so. Younger animals may develop a more acute form that causes internal lesions and diarrhoea, and is often fatal, especially when secondary infections result. It is found across the Middle East as well as in parts of Asia, Africa, Russia and India.
Falconpox
Falconpox can cause a variety of types of lesions, which can affect, for example, the eyelids, feet and the areas above and below the beak. It is a problem among captive falcons and is one of many types of avian pox or avipox diseases that together affect dozens of bird species across the world. Among the other forms are pigeonpox, turkeypox, starlingpox and canarypox. Avipox viruses are spread by mosquitoes and direct bird-to-bird contact.
Houbarapox
Houbarapox is, like falconpox, one of the many forms of avipox diseases. It exists in various forms, with a type that causes skin lesions being least likely to result in death. Other forms cause more severe lesions, including internal lesions, and are more likely to kill the bird, often because secondary infections develop. This summer the CVRL reported an outbreak of pox in houbaras after rains in spring led to an increase in mosquito numbers.
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
Create and maintain a strong bond between yourself and your child, through sensitivity, responsiveness, touch, talk and play. “The bond you have with your kids is the blueprint for the relationships they will have later on in life,” says Dr Sarah Rasmi, a psychologist.
Set a good example. Practise what you preach, so if you want to raise kind children, they need to see you being kind and hear you explaining to them what kindness is. So, “narrate your behaviour”.
Praise the positive rather than focusing on the negative. Catch them when they’re being good and acknowledge it.
Show empathy towards your child’s needs as well as your own. Take care of yourself so that you can be calm, loving and respectful, rather than angry and frustrated.
Be open to communication, goal-setting and problem-solving, says Dr Thoraiya Kanafani. “It is important to recognise that there is a fine line between positive parenting and becoming parents who overanalyse their children and provide more emotional context than what is in the child’s emotional development to understand.”
UAE team
1. Chris Jones-Griffiths 2. Gio Fourie 3. Craig Nutt 4. Daniel Perry 5. Isaac Porter 6. Matt Mills 7. Hamish Anderson 8. Jaen Botes 9. Barry Dwyer 10. Luke Stevenson (captain) 11. Sean Carey 12. Andrew Powell 13. Saki Naisau 14. Thinus Steyn 15. Matt Richards
Replacements
16. Lukas Waddington 17. Murray Reason 18. Ahmed Moosa 19. Stephen Ferguson 20. Sean Stevens 21. Ed Armitage 22. Kini Natuna 23. Majid Al Balooshi
Nickname: Mama Nadia to children, staff and parents
Education: Bachelors degree in English Literature with Social work from UAE University
As a child: Kept sweets on the window sill for workers, set aside money to pay for education of needy families
Holidays: Spends most of her days off at Senses often with her family who describe the centre as part of their life too
Coming soon
Torno Subito by Massimo Bottura
When the W Dubai – The Palm hotel opens at the end of this year, one of the highlights will be Massimo Bottura’s new restaurant, Torno Subito, which promises “to take guests on a journey back to 1960s Italy”. It is the three Michelinstarred chef’s first venture in Dubai and should be every bit as ambitious as you would expect from the man whose restaurant in Italy, Osteria Francescana, was crowned number one in this year’s list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
Akira Back Dubai
Another exciting opening at the W Dubai – The Palm hotel is South Korean chef Akira Back’s new restaurant, which will continue to showcase some of the finest Asian food in the world. Back, whose Seoul restaurant, Dosa, won a Michelin star last year, describes his menu as, “an innovative Japanese cuisine prepared with a Korean accent”.
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
The highly experimental chef, whose dishes are as much about spectacle as taste, opens his first restaurant in Dubai next year. Housed at The Royal Atlantis Resort & Residences, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal will feature contemporary twists on recipes that date back to the 1300s, including goats’ milk cheesecake. Always remember with a Blumenthal dish: nothing is quite as it seems.
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
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final:
First leg: Liverpool 5 Roma 2
Second leg: Wednesday, May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Bitcoin is the most popular virtual currency in the world. It was created in 2009 as a new way of paying for things that would not be subject to central banks that are capable of devaluing currency. A Bitcoin itself is essentially a line of computer code. It's signed digitally when it goes from one owner to another. There are sustainability concerns around the cryptocurrency, which stem from the process of "mining" that is central to its existence.
The "miners" use computers to make complex calculations that verify transactions in Bitcoin. This uses a tremendous amount of energy via computers and server farms all over the world, which has given rise to concerns about the amount of fossil fuel-dependent electricity used to power the computers.
UAE central contracts
Full time contracts
Rohan Mustafa, Ahmed Raza, Mohammed Usman, Chirag Suri, Mohammed Boota, Sultan Ahmed, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Waheed Ahmed, Zawar Farid
Mazen Abukhater, principal and actuary at global consultancy Mercer, Middle East, says the company’s Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index - which benchmarks 34 pension schemes across the globe to assess their adequacy, sustainability and integrity - included Saudi Arabia for the first time this year to offer a glimpse into the region.
The index highlighted fundamental issues for all 34 countries, such as a rapid ageing population and a low growth / low interest environment putting pressure on expected returns. It also highlighted the increasing popularity around the world of defined contribution schemes.
“Average life expectancy has been increasing by about three years every 10 years. Someone born in 1947 is expected to live until 85 whereas someone born in 2007 is expected to live to 103,” Mr Abukhater told the Mena Pensions Conference.
“Are our systems equipped to handle these kind of life expectancies in the future? If so many people retire at 60, they are going to be in retirement for 43 years – so we need to adapt our retirement age to our changing life expectancy.”
Saudi Arabia came in the middle of Mercer’s ranking with a score of 58.9. The report said the country's index could be raised by improving the minimum level of support for the poorest aged individuals and increasing the labour force participation rate at older ages as life expectancies rise.
Mr Abukhater said the challenges of an ageing population, increased life expectancy and some individuals relying solely on their government for financial support in their retirement years will put the system under strain.
“To relieve that pressure, governments need to consider whether it is time to switch to a defined contribution scheme so that individuals can supplement their own future with the help of government support,” he said.
