TheNational hamburger logo

Abu Dhabi, UAEThursday 21 January 2021

Prayer timing hamburger logo Prayer Times
Weather hamburger logo Weather
Joe Biden and his wife Jill arrive for his inauguration as the 46th president of the United States at the US Capitol in Washington, DC on January 20, 2021. Reuters

President Joe Biden: We must end this uncivil war
US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump depart the White House to board Marine One ahead of the inauguration of president-elect Joe Biden, in Washington. Reuters

'Have a good life. We will see you soon,' Trump leaves White House

World
A Lebanese person with Covid-19 symptoms is checked by doctors and nurses inside the fever clinic of Saint George Hospital on January 13, 2021 in Beirut, Lebanon. Getty

Lebanon’s healthcare workers pushed to make hard choices as Covid-19 surges

MENA
Saudi physician Hala Alkattan prepares to inject a Pfizer vaccine at a new coronavirus vaccination centre, at the Jeddah's old airport. AP

Saudi Arabia to introduce two more vaccines to boost campaign

GCC

Iran's Rouhani says ball in America's court on nuclear dispute

World

Doha offers to broker Gulf dialogue with Iran

World

Washington quiet before presidential inauguration

The Americas
IN DEPTH
Italian archbishop, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, was appointed the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem last year. Amy McConaghy/The National

In the turmoil of the Middle East an archbishop seeks balance

MENA
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, January 18, 2021. Interview with visiting Foreign Minister of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides at the Cyprus Embassy, Abu Dhabi. The National

Cyprus seeks quiet conversation over gunboat diplomacy in Mediterranean

MENA
Refugees walking into Hamdiyet. Credit : Hussein Saleh Ary

In the age of social distancing, Sudanese open their homes to Ethiopian refugees

MENA
Ambassador John Rakolta Jr and his wife Terry Rakolta at their residence at Khalidiyah, Abu Dhabi. Victor Besa / The National 

Why the US ambassador to the UAE saw himself as a 'change agent'

The Americas
Neom is a planned cross-border city in the Tabuk Province of north-western Saudi Arabia. Courtesy: Neom

Neom: Saudi Arabia's $500 billion ‘megacity of the future’

Gulf
TOPSHOT - Firefighters spray down flames on the side of Interstate 210 in Sylmar, California on January 19, 2021. Dozens of fires ignited as high winds and low humidity continue to spread throughout the state. / AFP / JOSH EDELSON

World in focus: best photos of the day
Kuwaiti MP Hamad al-Mutar (L) takes a selfie with fellow MPs after the national assembly session was adjourned due to cabinet's resignation, in Kuwait City on January 19, 2021. / AFP / YASSER AL-ZAYYAT

The Middle East Framed: regional photos of the day
TOPSHOT - Lava flows from Mount Merapi as seen from Yogyakarta on January 19, 2021. / AFP / AGUNG SUPRIYANTO

World in focus: today's best photos
Handball - 2021 IHF Handball World Championship - Preliminary Round Group F - Iceland v Morocco - New Capital Sports Hall, Cairo, Egypt - January 18, 2021 Morocco's Achraf Adli in action Pool via REUTERS/Khaled Elfiqi TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

The Middle East Framed: best regional photos
An Indian Sikh devotee performs martial arts during a religious procession ahead of the birth anniversary of the tenth Sikh Guru, Gobind Singh, in Jammu, India, January 18 2021. EPA

World in focus: today's best photos
A boy walks through a rainwater pond near a laundry line with clothes hanging out to dry at a camp for Syrians displaced by conflict in Syria's northern rebel-held Idlib province.  AFP

The Middle East framed: regional photos of the day
Members of the Palestinian security forces stand guard outside the Legislative Council building in the occupied-West Bank town of Ramallah, on January 16, 202. Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas announced yesterday dates for the first Palestinian elections in more than 15 years, setting legislative polls for May 22 and a July 31 presidential vote. Abbas's Fatah party, which controls the Palestinian Authority based in the occupied West Bank, and the Hamas Islamists, who hold power in Gaza, have for years expressed interest in taking Palestinians back to the polls. / AFP / AHMAD GHARABLI

The Middle East framed - today's best pictures
Deeply covered with snow are the trees at the Grenzadler in Oberhof, Germany, Sunday, Jan. 17, 2021. Two World Cups are taking place in the town on the Rennsteig this weekend. In front of empty crowds, the best lugers and biathletes compete for World Cup points. (Martin Schutt/dpa via AP)

World in focus: best photos of the day

Coronavirus

Travellers arrive at London Heathrow Airport in London, UK. Bloomberg

Coronavirus latest: Tests and quarantine as UK hits new record for deaths

World
Martin Whitelow had to wait longer than an hour in a queue with social distancing breaches on arriving in the UK. Martin Whitelow

Queues, tests and quarantine: What it’s like to arrive in lockdown UK

Europe
Gems Metropole School in Dubai is one of many places offering coronavirus tests. Chris Whiteoak / The National

UAE reports record coronavirus infections for ninth day in a row

Health
A member of the Ticuna tribe receives the Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine in Tabatinga, Amazonas state, Brazil. Reuters 

Brazil vaccinates indigenous people in Amazon rainforest

The Americas

Coronavirus Explained

An undated handout picture released by the University of Oxford on November 23, 2020 shows a technician working on the University's COVID-19 candidate vaccine, known as AZD1222, co-invented by the University of Oxford and Vaccitech in partnership with pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca. AFP/ University of Oxford

Corona vaccines across the Middle East: Which vaccine is Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Qatar buying?

MENA
Tourists arrive at Dubai airport amid safety protocols in place to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. AFP

UAE visa rules latest: all you need to know as amnesty deadline draws near

UAE Government
Covid-19 and vaccination concept.

The dilemma we face: who should get the Covid-19 vaccine first?

Health
A pedestrian wearing a protective mask walks past a mural in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2020. California moved 28 counties into the purple category in its four-tier system, indicating widespread transmission and requiring many indoor businesses to close. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg

Coronavirus: When could we stop wearing face masks?

Health

GCC

A schoolgirl walks to lessons at the village school in the village of Kumzar located on the Musandam Penisula. Karen Davies / The National

Coronavirus: Oman's schools reopen but parents remain cautious

Oman closes land borders as coronavirus cases rise

Saudi Arabia to reopen embassy in Doha 'within days' says foreign minister

Iran fires anti-ship cruise missiles in Indian Ocean exercise

European powers seek inclusive policy towards Iran as officials visit GCC before Biden’s inauguration

MENA

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki speaks at the White House after the inauguration of President Joe Biden, January 20, 2021. REUTERS

Biden to focus on Iran deal re-entry in calls with US allies

Mahmoud Abbas to stand for Palestinian Authority presidency, PM says

Algerian president's post-Covid foot operation a success

Lebanon fails to break government deadlock as old tensions linger

FAB agrees to buy Bank Audi's Egypt subsidiary

ASIA

People wearing protective masks to help curb the spread of the coronavirus in the Shibuya area of Tokyo. AP

Japan aims to vaccinate most of the country before Olympics

Alibaba founder Jack Ma makes first public appearance in two months

WEF: Global Risk barometer spotlights infectious disease as the top threat

Desperate rescue effort launched to save Chinese miners

Afghan business owners fear increasing Taliban violence as US troops leave

AFRICA

French President Emmanuel Macron on the French frigate Bretagne. AFP/file

France's Emmanuel Macron hints at troop reduction in Sahel

WEF: Global Risk barometer spotlights infectious disease as the top threat

Clashes in Sudan’s west Darfur leave 129 dead amid growing concerns

No surprise there ... Dubai in world's top 50 most Instagrammable places

In the age of social distancing, Sudanese open their homes to Ethiopian refugees

EUROPE

Trucks on the approach road to the Sevington Inland Border facility for customs clearance near Mersham, UK. Bloomberg

Brexit border trouble grows as key customs system hits limit

Oxford scientists prepare vaccine versions against emerging virus variants

Study finds virus strain found in South Africa poses risk of reinfection

UK newspaper group calls for full trial in Meghan Markle letter case

Pre-historic Europeans used bronze objects as currency, study says

THE AMERICAS

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki speaks at the White House after the inauguration of President Joe Biden, January 20, 2021. REUTERS

Biden to focus on Iran deal re-entry in calls with US allies

Biden signs wide range of orders, including to rejoin Paris climate accord

Here’s what’s in Biden’s first 17 presidential orders

Wall Street closes at record high after Biden takes office

World leaders congratulate US President Biden

OCEANIA

Covid-19 has driven infectious diseases up the global risks rankings in 2021. AFP

WEF: Global Risk barometer spotlights infectious disease as the top threat

Dubai expat family find themselves locked out of Australia amid long-term border closure

No surprise there ... Dubai in world's top 50 most Instagrammable places

Australia: hope for condemned pigeon after leg band deemed fake

Lost pigeon faces death in Australia after straying from US race

COMMENT

US President Joe Biden signs documents in the President's Room at the Capitol following the inauguration in Washington, January 20, 2020. EPA/Bloomberg

‘Hope in hard times’ central message of Biden inauguration

Canada's new Syrian-origin minister outshines his racist critics

Can a westerner ever really be an 'Asia expert'?

Covid-19's silver lining: a stronger, greener economy?

Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week fosters green multilateralism

BREXIT

As increasing numbers of migrants  cross the English Channel from France, many  will face prompt return after British Border Force officers are given powers to forcibly take their fingerprints.  AFP

UK border police allowed to use 'reasonable force' to obtain migrants’ fingerprints

Theresa May hits out at Boris Johnson’s ‘moral’ failures

Barnier becomes EU special adviser on UK ties

One in five UK small businesses has halted EU exports, accountants say

Shellfish lorries park near Downing Street in protest over post-Brexit export chaos
Beyond the Headlines
Sexual harassment in Egypt was the inspiration for photographer Eman Helal’s essay ‘Just Stop’. Courtesy Eman Helal

Beyond the Headlines: how Egypt's #MeToo movement is changing the country
A syringe and a vial containing the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine. AFP

Beyond the Headlines: will vaccines help us return to normal in 2021?
An Iraqi demonstrator walks among smoke from burning tires during ongoing anti-government protests in Kerbala. Reuters

Beyond the Headlines: Stories from 2020 of Covid-19 and beyond
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev attend a military parade in Baku on December 10, 2020 to mark Azerbaijan's victory in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. Turkish Presidential Press Service / AFP

Beyond the Headlines: will Azerbaijan's victory in Nagorno-Karabakh lead to lasting peace?
Damaged buildings in Mosul are surrounded by mounds of rubble three years after Iraqi forces liberated the city from ISIS. AP Photo

Beyond The Headlines: Memories of Mosul three years after ISIS
Hydroponic farming, which is more water and land efficient than conventional farming, may be the future of the industry in the UAE. Victor Besa / The National

Beyond The Headlines: The UAE's tactic against food crisis
Before his assassination, Abu Muhammed Al Masri was hiding in plain sight in Tehran. EPA

Beyond the Headlines: Iran's secret affair with Al Qaeda
An Ethiopian child who fled war in Tigray region, carries his plate as he queues for wet food ration at the Um-Rakoba camp, on the Sudan-Ethiopia border in Al-Qadarif state, Sudan November 19, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Ethiopia's Abiy Ahmed – from Nobel Peace Prize to the brink of war
US President-elect Joe Biden will bring considerable experience of foreign policy, including on the Middle East, when he enters the Oval Office in January 2021. Reuters

Beyond the Headlines: How will Joe Biden change US policy in the Middle East?
A woman tries to clear mud from her house in Honduras after the passage of Hurricane Eta. AFP

Beyond The Headlines: why superstorms are the new normal
A man walks past a large replica 'I Voted' sticker at an early voting station in Inglewood, California, for the 2020 presidential election. Bloomberg

Beyond the Headlines: how will the US election play out?
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 24: A poll worker helps voters at the Queens Public Library during early voting for the U.S. Presidential election on October 24, 2020 in the Jackson Heights neighborhood in the Queens borough in New York City. Due to the coronavirus and social distancing concerns New York State is allowing early voting for the first time. Stephanie Keith/Getty Images/AFP

Beyond The Headlines: How will Arab Americans vote in US presidential election?