US President Joe Biden announced that Israel has offered a "roadmap" to a full ceasefire in the Middle East ally's military campaign against Hamas in Gaza, including a troop withdrawal and release of hostages. AFP
US President Joe Biden announced that Israel has offered a "roadmap" to a full ceasefire in the Middle East ally's military campaign against Hamas in Gaza, including a troop withdrawal and release of hostages. AFP
US President Joe Biden announced that Israel has offered a "roadmap" to a full ceasefire in the Middle East ally's military campaign against Hamas in Gaza, including a troop withdrawal and release of
Raghida Dergham is the founder and executive chairwoman of the Beirut Institute, and a columnist for The National
June 09, 2024
Over the past several months, it has become increasingly clear that US President Joe Biden lacks a decisive Middle East policy.
While his administration should undoubtedly be credited for trying to prevent the Gaza war from expanding fully into Lebanon and other arenas, its proposals have tended to be like a hastily cooked dish lacking flavour, and hence inviting scepticism and opposition.
For example, the US hurriedly presented a draft resolution to the UN Security Council supporting Mr Biden’s proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza without properly co-ordinating its positions with any of the other members, including Algeria, the only Arab state currently in the Security Council.
The Biden team appeared to be in a rush to win international support for its three-phase ceasefire initiative, not waiting for Hamas or Israel to agree to the proposals – which they didn’t anyway. And yet the US delegation presented a draft resolution welcoming the ceasefire proposal, describing it as “acceptable” to Israel, and calling on Hamas to accept it as well, urging both parties to fully implement its provisions without delay or condition.
The provisions themselves remain vague, with some still secret. The draft language is oddly worded, calling for a “complete and comprehensive ceasefire” in Gaza in the first phase, and a “permanent cessation of hostilities” in the second phase. The likes of Algeria, Russia and China expressed their reservations over the draft.
An Israeli soldier directs a tank near Israel's border with southern Gaza. Getty Images
An Israeli soldier stands on a tank in southern Israel. Getty Images
People flee the eastern parts of Rafah ahead of a threatened Israeli incursion. Reuters
Palestinians leave ahead of a threatened assault on Rafah. Reuters
Palestinians search for casualties in the rubble of a house destroyed in an Israeli strike in Rafah. AFP
Palestinians carry an injured man who was pulled from the rubble of a house destroyed in an Israeli strike in Rafah. AFP
Mourners next to the bodies of Palestinians killed in an Israeli strike in southern Gaza. Reuters
Mourners at Abu Yousef El-Najjar Hospital in Rafah. Reuters
It is puzzling that the US proposal does not involve the PA, even though the latter has an observer status in the UN
It is odd that Washington has been trying to persuade Hamas, which it considers to be a “terrorist” organisation, to agree to its initiative. It is just as puzzling that its proposal does not involve the Palestinian Authority, even though it has an observer status in the UN and is considered the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. Indeed, while Washington has leant on Egypt and Qatar to act as intermediaries, the PA has been excluded from negotiations over Gaza’s future.
Hamas leaders, who seek survival by any means – even if that involves dealing with the US and Israel – must be feeling a mix of terror and euphoria. Terror, due to Israel’s operation in Rafah, which could result in the destruction of the group’s infrastructure. Euphoria, because implicit in Mr Biden’s recent moves is some sort of recognition of Hamas.
One can go on endlessly about the Biden administration’s strategic and tactical mistakes – as well as its duplicity – over dealing with Israel. It has simultaneously put pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his war cabinet over their prosecution of the Gaza war and showered them with advanced weaponry and aircraft.
Just as contentious has been the US’s engagement with Iran, with whom it has adversarial relations. In this case, it is at least fair to say that Washington’s secret talks with Tehran have led to the containment of the Gaza war.
Of course, it is also true that Iranian officials are busy preparing for an election to replace Ebrahim Raisi, who was killed in a helicopter crash last month. With preparations under way to pick a new president – with an eye on identifying an eventual successor to the ageing supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei – the manoeuvring space for Tehran has become wider and narrower simultaneously.
A banner depicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is held up as activists rally during an anti-government demonstration in Tel Aviv on Saturday. AFP
It is fair to say, then, that for both Iran and the US (also in an election year), strategic and tactical policies have become subject to electoral outcomes. And an arena where these outcomes could have an impact is Lebanon.
Before October 7, it appeared that Lebanon and Israel were making progress on some of the outstanding issues plaguing relations between the neighbours. With the help of the US, they demarcated their maritime border, with an expectation that the land boundaries would be resolved next.
After the Hamas attacks, however, Hezbollah entered into a “supportive” war for the group without a mandate from the Lebanese state or its people. A low-intensity conflict between Hezbollah and Israel ensues today, with the pendulum constantly shifting between a commitment to the rules of engagement to a possible escalation from either side.
Panic over the Gaza war expanding into Lebanon has set in the hearts of the majority of its people, as well as in the Biden administration and the EU. The government in Beirut, meanwhile, has chosen to abscond, having effectively left it to Tehran to decide the country’s fate through Hezbollah.
It is unclear whether all this confusion and panic is strategic, tactical or genuinely the result of poor policymaking. The discussion is not solely about Lebanon or the US or Europe, but also about Iran, Israel, Hamas and Hezbollah. Nothing about the series of conflicts in the Middle East is reassuring, but one still clings to hopes in the diplomatic process, even if it appears powerless and scattershot right now.
A part of the powerlessness stems from the incoherence in Mr Biden’s approach to the region. The message to the US President, therefore, is loud and clear: be firm and avoid appeasement.
Match info
Wolves 0
Arsenal 2 (Saka 43', Lacazette 85')
Man of the match: Shkodran Mustafi (Arsenal)
'Saand Ki Aankh'
Produced by: Reliance Entertainment with Chalk and Cheese Films
Director: Tushar Hiranandani
Cast: Taapsee Pannu, Bhumi Pednekar, Prakash Jha, Vineet Singh
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Start-up hopes to end Japan's love affair with cash
Across most of Asia, people pay for taxi rides, restaurant meals and merchandise with smartphone-readable barcodes — except in Japan, where cash still rules. Now, as the country’s biggest web companies race to dominate the payments market, one Tokyo-based startup says it has a fighting chance to win with its QR app.
Origami had a head start when it introduced a QR-code payment service in late 2015 and has since signed up fast-food chain KFC, Tokyo’s largest cab company Nihon Kotsu and convenience store operator Lawson. The company raised $66 million in September to expand nationwide and plans to more than double its staff of about 100 employees, says founder Yoshiki Yasui.
Origami is betting that stores, which until now relied on direct mail and email newsletters, will pay for the ability to reach customers on their smartphones. For example, a hair salon using Origami’s payment app would be able to send a message to past customers with a coupon for their next haircut.
Quick Response codes, the dotted squares that can be read by smartphone cameras, were invented in the 1990s by a unit of Toyota Motor to track automotive parts. But when the Japanese pioneered digital payments almost two decades ago with contactless cards for train fares, they chose the so-called near-field communications technology. The high cost of rolling out NFC payments, convenient ATMs and a culture where lost wallets are often returned have all been cited as reasons why cash remains king in the archipelago. In China, however, QR codes dominate.
Cashless payments, which includes credit cards, accounted for just 20 per cent of total consumer spending in Japan during 2016, compared with 60 per cent in China and 89 per cent in South Korea, according to a report by the Bank of Japan.
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
Most wanted allegations
Benjamin Macann, 32: involvement in cocaine smuggling gang.
Jack Mayle, 30: sold drugs from a phone line called the Flavour Quest.
Callum Halpin, 27: over the 2018 murder of a rival drug dealer.
Asim Naveed, 29: accused of being the leader of a gang that imported cocaine.
Calvin Parris, 32: accused of buying cocaine from Naveed and selling it on.
John James Jones, 31: allegedly stabbed two people causing serious injuries.
Callum Michael Allan, 23: alleged drug dealing and assaulting an emergency worker.
Dean Garforth, 29: part of a crime gang that sold drugs and guns.
Joshua Dillon Hendry, 30: accused of trafficking heroin and crack cocain.
Mark Francis Roberts, 28: grievous bodily harm after a bungled attempt to steal a £60,000 watch.
James ‘Jamie’ Stevenson, 56: for arson and over the seizure of a tonne of cocaine.
Nana Oppong, 41: shot a man eight times in a suspected gangland reprisal attack.
Robo-advisers use an online sign-up process to gauge an investor’s risk tolerance by feeding information such as their age, income, saving goals and investment history into an algorithm, which then assigns them an investment portfolio, ranging from more conservative to higher risk ones.
These portfolios are made up of exchange traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to indices such as US and global equities, fixed-income products like bonds, though exposure to real estate, commodity ETFs or gold is also possible.
Investing in ETFs allows robo-advisers to offer fees far lower than traditional investments, such as actively managed mutual funds bought through a bank or broker. Investors can buy ETFs directly via a brokerage, but with robo-advisers they benefit from investment portfolios matched to their risk tolerance as well as being user friendly.
Many robo-advisers charge what are called wrap fees, meaning there are no additional fees such as subscription or withdrawal fees, success fees or fees for rebalancing.
The two riders are among several riders in the UAE to receive the top payment of £10,000 under the Thank You Fund of £16 million (Dh80m), which was announced in conjunction with Deliveroo's £8 billion (Dh40bn) stock market listing earlier this year.
The £10,000 (Dh50,000) payment is made to those riders who have completed the highest number of orders in each market.
There are also riders who will receive payments of £1,000 (Dh5,000) and £500 (Dh2,500).
All riders who have worked with Deliveroo for at least one year and completed 2,000 orders will receive £200 (Dh1,000), the company said when it announced the scheme.
RESULT
Fifth ODI, at Headingley
England 351/9
Pakistan 297
England win by 54 runs (win series 4-0)
A major shake-up of government-run schools was rolled out across the country in 2017. Known as the Emirati School Model, it placed more emphasis on maths and science while also adding practical skills to the curriculum.
It was accompanied by the promise of a Dh5 billion investment, over six years, to pay for state-of-the-art infrastructure improvements.
Recent developments have also included the introduction of moral education - which public and private schools both must teach - along with reform of the exams system and tougher teacher licensing requirements.
