Olaf Scholz was sworn in as Chancellor of Germany on Wednesday, bringing the curtain down on Angela Merkel's 16-year term at the helm of Europe's biggest economy.
Watching from the public gallery in parliament, Mrs Merkel was given a standing ovation by MPs before they voted to confirm Mr Scholz's appointment.
Mr Scholz, 63, won the vote by 395 to 303, winning the required majority in the 736-seat parliament and clearing the final hurdle for his three-party coalition.
He takes power with a mission to modernise Germany but faces the immediate challenges of the coronavirus pandemic and the Russian troop build-up on Ukraine's eastern flank.
The Ukraine crisis occupied Mrs Merkel until her final hours in office, with Berlin under pressure from Washington over the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Russia.
She was briefed by US President Joe Biden on Tuesday after his call with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, amid fears the Kremlin is planning to invade its former Soviet neighbour.
“It must be quite, quite clear that it would be an unacceptable situation if there were a threat to Ukraine,” Mr Scholz said.
The new chancellor said his first foreign trip would be to Paris, where French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed his appointment with a call to “write the next chapter together".
Global leaders, including those of the UAE, sent congratulatory messages to Berlin. The President, Sheikh Khalifa, sent a cable to Mr Scholz with his congratulations while Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, sent similar messages.
Mr Biden extended his "congratulations" to Mr Scholz and "is looking forward to building on the strong ties between our two nations," White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said.
Moscow said it was hoping for constructive relations with Mr Scholz, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying there was “no alternative to dialogue".
After taking the oath of office and moving into the chancellery in Berlin, Mr Scholz said he would strive for “a new beginning for our country” but described the pandemic as a “great, unfinished crisis".
“It’s a great challenge and I’m very grateful that the people and parliament of this country have given me this task,” he said of his new role.
The new Cabinet, with Russia critic Annalena Baerbock as foreign minister, was sworn in at a ceremony with Germany's president.
Mr Scholz, a Social Democrat, is the ninth postwar chancellor and the fourth in the reunified Germany.
A former mayor of Hamburg, he led the party to victory after years as a junior partner to Ms Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU), in a “grand coalition” in which Mr Scholz was finance minister.
After winning September's election, he sealed a coalition deal with the Greens and Free Democrats (FDP), the first such alliance at national level.
Armin Laschet, the defeated CDU candidate at the election, was among the first to congratulate Mr Scholz in parliament.
“Although we fought for a different result, we can be happy that there is such respect among democrats in our country,” he said.
The coalition parties plan to slash Germany's carbon emissions, overhaul its creaking digital infrastructure, modernise citizenship laws, raise the minimum wage and speed up the building of new homes.
Green co-leader Robert Habeck will take on an expanded economy and climate ministry to lead the race to net zero, while FDP chief Christian Lindner is the new finance minister.
Their four-year programme to revamp Germany is called “Dare More Progress”, a hat tip to Cold War-era chancellor Willy Brandt and his pledge to “Dare More Democracy".
Before taking office, the coalition partners used their new majority to amend Germany's coronavirus laws, tightening restrictions on public transport and in workplaces.
They were criticised by the Christian Democrats, who are going into opposition, for allowing a state of emergency to expire despite a surge in infections leading up to winter.
Mr Scholz wants 30 million Germans to be vaccinated, or given a booster, by the end of the year amid frustration over the number of unprotected people.
He expressed support for a nationwide vaccine mandate, an issue to be debated by parliament in the new year.
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What you as a drone operator need to know
A permit and licence is required to fly a drone legally in Dubai.
Sanad Academy is the United Arab Emirate’s first RPA (Remotely Piloted Aircraft) training and certification specialists endorsed by the Dubai Civil Aviation authority.
It is responsible to train, test and certify drone operators and drones in UAE with DCAA Endorsement.
“We are teaching people how to fly in accordance with the laws of the UAE,” said Ahmad Al Hamadi, a trainer at Sanad.
“We can show how the aircraft work and how they are operated. They are relatively easy to use, but they need responsible pilots.
“Pilots have to be mature. They are given a map of where they can and can’t fly in the UAE and we make these points clear in the lectures we give.
“You cannot fly a drone without registration under any circumstances.”
Larger drones are harder to fly, and have a different response to location control. There are no brakes in the air, so the larger drones have more power.
The Sanad Academy has a designated area to fly off the Al Ain Road near Skydive Dubai to show pilots how to fly responsibly.
“As UAS technology becomes mainstream, it is important to build wider awareness on how to integrate it into commerce and our personal lives,” said Major General Abdulla Khalifa Al Marri, Commander-in-Chief, Dubai Police.
“Operators must undergo proper training and certification to ensure safety and compliance.
“Dubai’s airspace will undoubtedly experience increased traffic as UAS innovations become commonplace, the Forum allows commercial users to learn of best practice applications to implement UAS safely and legally, while benefitting a whole range of industries.”
French business
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
Tributes from the UAE's personal finance community
• Sebastien Aguilar, who heads SimplyFI.org, a non-profit community where people learn to invest Bogleheads’ style
“It is thanks to Jack Bogle’s work that this community exists and thanks to his work that many investors now get the full benefits of long term, buy and hold stock market investing.
Compared to the industry, investing using the common sense approach of a Boglehead saves a lot in costs and guarantees higher returns than the average actively managed fund over the long term.
From a personal perspective, learning how to invest using Bogle’s approach was a turning point in my life. I quickly realised there was no point chasing returns and paying expensive advisers or platforms. Once money is taken care off, you can work on what truly matters, such as family, relationships or other projects. I owe Jack Bogle for that.”
• Sam Instone, director of financial advisory firm AES International
"Thought to have saved investors over a trillion dollars, Jack Bogle’s ideas truly changed the way the world invests. Shaped by his own personal experiences, his philosophy and basic rules for investors challenged the status quo of a self-interested global industry and eventually prevailed. Loathed by many big companies and commission-driven salespeople, he has transformed the way well-informed investors and professional advisers make decisions."
• Demos Kyprianou, a board member of SimplyFI.org
"Jack Bogle for me was a rebel, a revolutionary who changed the industry and gave the little guy like me, a chance. He was also a mentor who inspired me to take the leap and take control of my own finances."
• Steve Cronin, founder of DeadSimpleSaving.com
"Obsessed with reducing fees, Jack Bogle structured Vanguard to be owned by its clients – that way the priority would be fee minimisation for clients rather than profit maximisation for the company.
His real gift to us has been the ability to invest in the stock market (buy and hold for the long term) rather than be forced to speculate (try to make profits in the shorter term) or even worse have others speculate on our behalf.
Bogle has given countless investors the ability to get on with their life while growing their wealth in the background as fast as possible. The Financial Independence movement would barely exist without this."
• Zach Holz, who blogs about financial independence at The Happiest Teacher
"Jack Bogle was one of the greatest forces for wealth democratisation the world has ever seen. He allowed people a way to be free from the parasitical "financial advisers" whose only real concern are the fat fees they get from selling you over-complicated "products" that have caused millions of people all around the world real harm.”
• Tuan Phan, a board member of SimplyFI.org
"In an industry that’s synonymous with greed, Jack Bogle was a lone wolf, swimming against the tide. When others were incentivised to enrich themselves, he stood by the ‘fiduciary’ standard – something that is badly needed in the financial industry of the UAE."
Normcore explained
Something of a fashion anomaly, normcore is essentially a celebration of the unremarkable. The term was first popularised by an article in New York magazine in 2014 and has been dubbed “ugly”, “bland’ and "anti-style" by fashion writers. It’s hallmarks are comfort, a lack of pretentiousness and neutrality – it is a trend for those who would rather not stand out from the crowd. For the most part, the style is unisex, favouring loose silhouettes, thrift-shop threads, baseball caps and boyish trainers. It is important to note that normcore is not synonymous with cheapness or low quality; there are high-fashion brands, including Parisian label Vetements, that specialise in this style. Embraced by fashion-forward street-style stars around the globe, it’s uptake in the UAE has been relatively slow.
Gifts exchanged
- King Charles - replica of President Eisenhower Sword
- Queen Camilla - Tiffany & Co vintage 18-carat gold, diamond and ruby flower brooch
- Donald Trump - hand-bound leather book with Declaration of Independence
- Melania Trump - personalised Anya Hindmarch handbag
Dolittle
Director: Stephen Gaghan
Stars: Robert Downey Jr, Michael Sheen
One-and-a-half out of five stars
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
