The election and inauguration of Joe Biden as US president is not only a relief to much of the world. It is also a source of pride and affection for the nearly 7 million people of the island of Ireland, the more than 3 million Irish citizens who reside overseas (of which I am one) and the 80 to maybe 100 million around the world whose identification with their Irish ancestry makes them part of a wider diaspora. For Mr Biden is the most Irish of American presidents since John F Kennedy, a fact that he is proud to mention whenever he can.
This is no mere “blarney” or “paddy-whackery”. All eight of Mr Biden’s great-great-grandparents on his mother’s side were born in Ireland, as were two of his paternal great-grandparents. He invited the Chieftains, one of the most revered Irish music bands, to play at his inauguration (they couldn’t due to travel restrictions). When he visited the country as vice president in 2016, he declared: “James Joyce wrote, ‘When I die, Dublin will be written on my heart.’ Well, northeast Pennsylvania will be written on my heart. But Ireland will be written on my soul” – no hyperbole given Mr Biden’s long commitment to the peace process in Northern Ireland.
Mr Biden also noted at the time that it was the centenary of the Easter Rising that set in motion independence for the 26 counties that make up the Republic of Ireland today. To Irish Catholics that event was a doomed but heroic attempt to end centuries of colonisation. Many Britons take a different view. The former UK defence secretary Michael Portillo has pointed out that the Rising’s leaders, whose executions took place in the middle of the First World War, had referred to Britain’s principal enemy, the Germans, as “gallant allies”.
Indeed, Mr Biden is distinct from many other presidents with Irish roots because he is only the second – after JFK – to be a Roman Catholic. Mr Biden has specifically identified as an “Irish Catholic”, and if anyone doubts that his sympathies are more with the nationalist side in Ireland, his response to a BBC reporter who’d asked him for a quick word should put them straight. “BBC?” said Mr Biden. “I’m Irish” – and walked off. He replied with a smile and was almost certainly joking. Nevertheless, it was a distinction that someone who was concerned about appealing to Irish Protestants – the vast majority of whom regard themselves as British and want Northern Ireland to remain in the UK – likely would not have made.
All of this serves to underline that Mr Biden’s affiliations mean Boris Johnson’s administration in London will need to act very gingerly around any aspect of Brexit that has an impact on the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, which brought peace to Northern Ireland and unique cross-border arrangements with the Republic. “Any trade deal between the US and UK must be contingent upon respect for the Agreement and preventing the return of a hard border. Period,” Mr Biden tweeted last September.
Mr Johnson may have had a jolly phone call with Mr Biden recently but Micheal Martin, the Irish prime minister, appears to have spoken to him earlier. “I did invite President Biden to Ireland,” Mr Martin told CNN last Friday, “and he jokingly said to me, ‘try and keep me out.’” Under the new administration in Washington, London would do well to fear that the real “special relationship” may be with Dublin.
None of this will be lost on the many Irish people who have lived and worked in the Gulf for decades, and who have been part of my life going back to the 1980s, when my family enjoyed happy times staying with Irish friends who helped manage the Al Kharj dairy farm south of Riyadh.
What, however, will Mr Biden’s Irishness mean for the wider world? A note published by Daniel Mulhall, Ireland’s ambassador to the US, on the day of Mr Biden’s inauguration, contains some telling pointers. “In our bones,” he wrote, “we know that we are a people shaped by emigration, which has been central to the experience of being Irish for the best part of two centuries.”
Mr Biden’s maternal great-great-grandparents were born in Ireland during the 1820s and 1830s, which meant “they experienced the Great Famine of the 1840s which decimated Ireland, producing a grim harvest of death, destitution, and mass emigration.” Alluding to the fact that many Irish, especially Irish Catholics, could only enjoy true freedom outside of their homeland at that time, Mr Mulhall added that “our exiles also became a source of support for Ireland as we strove to assert our independence and cultural identity.”
I don’t think it’s too big a stretch to believe that this has informed Mr Biden’s famed capacity for empathy – that his awareness of his own ancestry instils within him a desire to be on the side of the underdog, of those who have suffered. The new president is fond of quoting Irish poets. I can imagine him speaking these lines from The Rebel, by the leader of the Easter Rising, Padraig Pearse:
“Because I am of the people, I understand the people,
I am sorrowful with their sorrow, I am hungry with their desire;
My heart is heavy with the grief of mothers,
My eyes have been wet with the tears of children….
Their shame is my shame, and I have reddened for it
Reddened for that they have served, they who should be free
Reddened for that they have gone in want, while others have been full.”
It all fits with Mr Biden’s stress on “values” and on the US leading “not merely by the example of our power, but by the power of our example”.
Now all of this needs to be tempered by the reality that many countries have very different values to America’s, and one hopes Mr Biden will be pragmatic enough not to try to enforce the US’s “example” on others.
But in these early, optimistic days of his presidency, may one not dream that Mr Biden does not entirely have to obey the dictum: “campaign in poetry, govern in prose”? That Irish soul of his is part of what has uplifted people around the world. May not just the “luck of the Irish” but that romantic muse on which he has so often drawn, remain with him.
Sholto Byrnes is an East Asian affairs columnist for The National
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Scores
New Zealand 266 for 9 in 50 overs
Pakistan 219 all out in 47.2 overs
New Zealand win by 47 runs
First Person
Richard Flanagan
Chatto & Windus
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
'Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore'
Rating: 3/5
Directed by: David Yates
Starring: Mads Mikkelson, Eddie Redmayne, Ezra Miller, Jude Law
The Two Popes
Director: Fernando Meirelles
Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Jonathan Pryce
Four out of five stars
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20NOTHING%20PHONE%20(2a)
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Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Inas%20Halabi%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENijmeh%20Hamdan%2C%20Kamal%20Kayouf%2C%20Sheikh%20Najib%20Alou%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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
Know your Camel lingo
The bairaq is a competition for the best herd of 50 camels, named for the banner its winner takes home
Namoos - a word of congratulations reserved for falconry competitions, camel races and camel pageants. It best translates as 'the pride of victory' - and for competitors, it is priceless
Asayel camels - sleek, short-haired hound-like racers
Majahim - chocolate-brown camels that can grow to weigh two tonnes. They were only valued for milk until camel pageantry took off in the 1990s
Millions Street - the thoroughfare where camels are led and where white 4x4s throng throughout the festival
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km
Price: Dh133,900
On sale: now
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Related
Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Transmission: seven-speed automatic
Power: 400hp
Torque: 560Nm
Price: Dh234,000 - Dh329,000
On sale: now
Famous left-handers
- Marie Curie
- Jimi Hendrix
- Leonardo Di Vinci
- David Bowie
- Paul McCartney
- Albert Einstein
- Jack the Ripper
- Barack Obama
- Helen Keller
- Joan of Arc
RedCrow Intelligence Company Profile
Started: 2016
Founders: Hussein Nasser Eddin, Laila Akel, Tayeb Akel
Based: Ramallah, Palestine
Sector: Technology, Security
# of staff: 13
Investment: $745,000
Investors: Palestine’s Ibtikar Fund, Abu Dhabi’s Gothams and angel investors
Know before you go
- Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
- If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
- By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
- Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
- Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.
Tips to avoid getting scammed
1) Beware of cheques presented late on Thursday
2) Visit an RTA centre to change registration only after receiving payment
3) Be aware of people asking to test drive the car alone
4) Try not to close the sale at night
5) Don't be rushed into a sale
6) Call 901 if you see any suspicious behaviour