Donald J. Trump meets with Abdel Fattah El Sisi of Egypt in the Oval Office of White House. Olivier Douliery / EPA
Donald J. Trump meets with Abdel Fattah El Sisi of Egypt in the Oval Office of White House. Olivier Douliery / EPA
Donald J. Trump meets with Abdel Fattah El Sisi of Egypt in the Oval Office of White House. Olivier Douliery / EPA
Donald J. Trump meets with Abdel Fattah El Sisi of Egypt in the Oval Office of White House. Olivier Douliery / EPA

Egypt’s clear importance to the region


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As the most populous country in the Arab world, what happens in Egypt in the realm of politics, culture and society greatly influences the Middle East. The Arab uprisings of 2011, for example, will be forever linked to Egypt and the events that happened in Cairo and Alexandria. Indeed, the rise of Abdel Fattah El Sisi and the return of stability also carry great symbolism.

The UAE has recognised a simple and undisputable fact: a strong Egypt means a strong Middle East. That is why the leadership has entrenched firm relations with Mr El Sisi’s government through trade deals, joint military exercises and aid packages. We have stood side-by-side with Mr El Sisi as he returned the country to stability and will continue to help Egypt grow and prosper.

UAE companies are building infrastructure and housing to help Egypt modernise. Through aid packages, we are helping to address social problems and open the country to international investment. Such a transformation will create jobs and allow the government to address the core issues of the revolution such as rampant unemployment.

Given our close relationship with Egypt, it is encouraging to see our allies take a similarly warm tone with Mr El Sisi’s government. On his first official visit to Washington to meet United States president Donald Trump, Mr El Sisi noted that he was the first Egyptian leader to visit the White House in eight years. Mr Trump underlined Egypt’s role in fighting extremism and establishing stability across the Middle East. “We are very much behind President Sisi. He’s done a fantastic job in a very difficult situation. We are very much behind Egypt and the people of Egypt,” Mr Trump said in the Oval Office sitting next to the Egyptian president.

With Jordan’s King Abdullah in Washington today for his second state visit under the new administration, it is clear that a reset has taken place vis-a-vis American foreign policy in the region. After eight years of intransigence between the administration of Barack Obama and Arab leaders, Mr Trump has signalled that the US will back its traditional Sunni allies as the fight intensifies against extremism in Iraq, Syria and Yemen. Given Iran’s continued meddling in these countries, our alliance with America is critical to our shared efforts to end the political chaos that has engulfed this part of the world.

SPECS
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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.
WWE Evolution results
  • Trish Stratus and Lita beat Alicia Fox and Mickie James in a tag match
  • Nia Jax won a battle royal, eliminating Ember Moon last to win
  • Toni Storm beat Io Shirai to win the Mae Young Classic
  • Natalya, Sasha Banks and Bayley beat The Riott Squad in a six-woman tag match​​​​​​​
  • Shayna Baszler won the NXT Women’s title by defeating Kairi Sane
  • Becky Lynch retained the SmackDown Women’s Championship against Charlotte Flair in a Last Woman Standing match
  • Ronda Rousey retained the Raw Women’s title by beating Nikki Bella
How to tell if your child is being bullied at school

Sudden change in behaviour or displays higher levels of stress or anxiety

Shows signs of depression or isolation

Ability to sleep well diminishes

Academic performance begins to deteriorate

Changes in eating habits

Struggles to concentrate

Refuses to go to school

Behaviour changes and is aggressive towards siblings

Begins to use language they do not normally use

Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters

The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.

 Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.

A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.

The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.

The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.

Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.

Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment

But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.

While you're here
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FIGHT%20CARD
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Tree of Hell

Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla

Director: Raed Zeno

Rating: 4/5

U19 WORLD CUP, WEST INDIES

UAE group fixtures (all in St Kitts)
Saturday 15 January: v Canada
Thursday 20 January: v England
Saturday 22 January: v Bangladesh

UAE squad
Alishan Sharafu (captain), Shival Bawa, Jash Giyanani, Sailles Jaishankar, Nilansh Keswani, Aayan Khan, Punya Mehra, Ali Naseer, Ronak Panoly, Dhruv Parashar, Vinayak Raghavan, Soorya Sathish, Aryansh Sharma, Adithya Shetty, Kai Smith

Infiniti QX80 specs

Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6

Power: 450hp

Torque: 700Nm

Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000

Available: Now

UAE v Gibraltar

What: International friendly

When: 7pm kick off

Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City

Admission: Free

Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page

UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)

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