The US president Barack Obama has declared an end to US combat in Iraq, saying its people must now take the lead in charting their destiny as Americans turn to rebuilding their own battered nation.
But he called on his country to steel itself for more bloodshed as he doubles down on the war in Afghanistan, billing the fight as "essential" to protecting the US homeland from the festering threat from al Qa'eda.
Mr Obama's primetime address was meant to mark a symbolic moment in US disengagement from Iraq, but avoided talk of victory or defeat as political uncertainty and violence cloud a nation the United States invaded in 2003.
Speaking from the Oval Office, Mr Obama, who anchored his presidential campaign on opposing the war, spoke of his "awe" at the sacrifices of US troops, and issued a statesmanlike appeal to heal domestic divides opened by the conflict.
"Tonight, I am announcing that the American combat mission in Iraq has ended," Mr Obama said, seated in the same spot as former president George W. Bush when he unleashed the US war machine more than seven years ago.
"Operation Iraqi Freedom is over, and the Iraqi people now have lead responsibility for the security of their country," Mr Obama said in the 18-minute address marking the transition of the US mission in Iraq.
Amid political tumult at home, Mr Obama attempted to refocus Americans on the need to repair the ravaged economy, as a slowing recovery sours his popularity and augurs heavy losses for Democrats in November's congressional polls.
He argued that Americans had met their "responsibility" in Iraq and now needed to "turn the page" and "rebuild our nation here at home."
"At this moment, as we wind down the war in Iraq, we must tackle those challenges at home with as much energy, and grit and sense of common purpose as our men and women in uniform who have served abroad."
Mr Obama had vowed to get American combat troops home from Iraq and has pulled nearly 100,000 soldiers out - even as he escalated the war in Afghanistan.
But with 50,000 American troops remaining in Iraq on a training and counter-terrorism mission until the end of the next year, Mr Obama warned that though US combat was ending, violence in Iraq would not.
"Extremists will continue to set off bombs, attack Iraqi civilians and try to spark sectarian strife," he said, but asserted that Iraqis would not allow "terrorists" to thwart their destiny.
He also called on Iraq's factions to end the long deadlock over forming a government after March's inconclusive elections.
"Tonight, I encourage Iraq's leaders to move forward with a sense of urgency to form an inclusive government that is just, representative, and accountable to the Iraqi people," he said.
Turning to Afghanistan, Mr Obama admitted that many Americans were asking "tough questions" about the Afghan war as it grinds into a 10th year with bloodshed rising and now end in sight.
"We must never lose sight of what is at stake. As we speak al Qa'eda continues to plot against us, and its leadership remains anchored in the border region of Afghanistan and Pakistan."
But he seemed to temper his earlier insistence that US forces would begin withdrawing from the country next year, speaking instead of a less clear "transition" to "Afghanistan responsibility".
"Troop reductions will be determined by conditions on the ground," Mr Obama said, in language apparently less robust than his insistence in December 2009 that "after 18 months, our troops will begin to come home".
White House officials insisted however, that the policy, which opened Mr Obama up to criticism from political opponents and some in the military, had not changed.
Mr Obama also sought to heal fierce political divisions whipped up over the Iraq war, including by his own intense criticisms of the war leadership of ex-president George W Bush, whom he called yesterday.
"It's well known that he and I disagreed about the war from its outset. Yet no one could doubt President Bush's support for our troops, or his love of country, and commitment to our security."
"There were patriots who supported this war, and patriots who opposed it."
Some 4,427 US troops have been killed in Iraq and 34,268 wounded since the invasion ordered by Mr Bush to topple late dictator Saddam Hussein.
Exact figures for Iraqi casualties caught up in the eruption of sectarian violence in the wake of Saddam's fall are not known, but the website icasualties.org put it at more than 48,600.
In a television address to his people, Iraqi prime minister Nuri al Maliki earlier stressed the Iraqi military and police were now in charge, adding he was confident the last US forces would leave as planned at the end of 2011.
"This is a day that will remain in the memory of all Iraqis. Today, Iraq has become a sovereign and independent country," he said
* AFP
Ramy: Season 3, Episode 1
Creators: Ari Katcher, Ryan Welch, Ramy Youssef
Stars: Ramy Youssef, Amr Waked, Mohammed Amer
Rating: 4/5
The Specs
Price, base Dh379,000
Engine 2.9-litre, twin-turbo V6
Gearbox eight-speed automatic
Power 503bhp
Torque 443Nm
On sale now
The studios taking part (so far)
- Punch
- Vogue Fitness
- Sweat
- Bodytree Studio
- The Hot House
- The Room
- Inspire Sports (Ladies Only)
- Cryo
Bridgerton season three - part one
Directors: Various
Starring: Nicola Coughlan, Luke Newton, Jonathan Bailey
Rating: 3/5
Difference between fractional ownership and timeshare
Although similar in its appearance, the concept of a fractional title deed is unlike that of a timeshare, which usually involves multiple investors buying “time” in a property whereby the owner has the right to occupation for a specified period of time in any year, as opposed to the actual real estate, said John Peacock, Head of Indirect Tax and Conveyancing, BSA Ahmad Bin Hezeem & Associates, a law firm.
Cinco in numbers
Dh3.7 million
The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown
46
The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.
1,000
The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]
50
How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday
3,000
The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
1.1 million
The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.
Company profile
Name: Infinite8
Based: Dubai
Launch year: 2017
Number of employees: 90
Sector: Online gaming industry
Funding: $1.2m from a UAE angel investor
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
ROUTE TO TITLE
Round 1: Beat Leolia Jeanjean 6-1, 6-2
Round 2: Beat Naomi Osaka 7-6, 1-6, 7-5
Round 3: Beat Marie Bouzkova 6-4, 6-2
Round 4: Beat Anastasia Potapova 6-0, 6-0
Quarter-final: Beat Marketa Vondrousova 6-0, 6-2
Semi-final: Beat Coco Gauff 6-2, 6-4
Final: Beat Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 6-2
The nine articles of the 50-Year Charter
1. Dubai silk road
2. A geo-economic map for Dubai
3. First virtual commercial city
4. A central education file for every citizen
5. A doctor to every citizen
6. Free economic and creative zones in universities
7. Self-sufficiency in Dubai homes
8. Co-operative companies in various sectors
9: Annual growth in philanthropy
The Little Mermaid
Director: Rob Marshall
Stars: Halle Bailey, Jonah Hauer-King, Melissa McCarthy, Javier Bardem
Rating: 2/5
Winners
Best Men's Player of the Year: Kylian Mbappe (PSG)
Maradona Award for Best Goal Scorer of the Year: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
TikTok Fans’ Player of the Year: Robert Lewandowski
Top Goal Scorer of All Time: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
Best Women's Player of the Year: Alexia Putellas (Barcelona)
Best Men's Club of the Year: Chelsea
Best Women's Club of the Year: Barcelona
Best Defender of the Year: Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus/Italy)
Best Goalkeeper of the Year: Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG/Italy)
Best Coach of the Year: Roberto Mancini (Italy)
Best National Team of the Year: Italy
Best Agent of the Year: Federico Pastorello
Best Sporting Director of the Year: Txiki Begiristain (Manchester City)
Player Career Award: Ronaldinho
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: SmartCrowd
Started: 2018
Founder: Siddiq Farid and Musfique Ahmed
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech / PropTech
Initial investment: $650,000
Current number of staff: 35
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Various institutional investors and notable angel investors (500 MENA, Shurooq, Mada, Seedstar, Tricap)
Can NRIs vote in the election?
Indians residing overseas cannot cast their ballot abroad
Non-resident Indians or NRIs can vote only by going to a polling booth in their home constituency
There are about 3.1 million NRIs living overseas
Indians have urged political parties to extend the right to vote to citizens residing overseas
A committee of the Election Commission of India approved of proxy voting for non-resident Indians
Proxy voting means that a person can authorise someone residing in the same polling booth area to cast a vote on his behalf.
This option is currently available for the armed forces, police and government officials posted outside India
A bill was passed in the lower house of India’s parliament or the Lok Sabha to extend proxy voting to non-resident Indians
However, this did not come before the upper house or Rajya Sabha and has lapsed
The issue of NRI voting draws a huge amount of interest in India and overseas
Over the past few months, Indians have received messages on mobile phones and on social media claiming that NRIs can cast their votes online
The Election Commission of India then clarified that NRIs could not vote online
The Election Commission lodged a complaint with the Delhi Police asking it to clamp down on the people spreading misinformation
Kill
Director: Nikhil Nagesh Bhat
Starring: Lakshya, Tanya Maniktala, Ashish Vidyarthi, Harsh Chhaya, Raghav Juyal
Rating: 4.5/5
SPEC SHEET: SAMSUNG GALAXY S24 ULTRA
Display: 6.8" quad-HD+ dynamic Amoled 2X, 3120 x 1440, 505ppi, HDR10+, 120Hz
Processor: 4nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, 64-bit octa-core
Memory: 12GB RAM
Storage: 256/512GB / 1TB
Platform: Android 14, One UI 6.1
Main camera: quad 200MP wide f/1.7 + 50MP periscope telephoto f/3.4 with 5x optical/10x optical quality zoom + 10MP telephoto 2.4 with 3x optical zoom + 12MP ultra-wide f/2.2; 100x Space Zoom; auto HDR, expert RAW
Video: 8K@24/30fps, 4K@30/60/120fps, full-HD@30/60/240fps, full-HD super slo-mo@960fps
Front camera: 12MP f/2.2
Battery: 5000mAh, fast wireless charging 2.0, Wireless PowerShare
Connectivity: 5G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC
I/O: USB-C; built-in Galaxy S Pen
Durability: IP68, up to 1.5m of freshwater up to 30 minutes; dust-resistant
SIM: Nano + nano / nano + eSIM / dual eSIM (varies in different markets)
Colours: Titanium black, titanium grey, titanium violet, titanium yellow
In the box: Galaxy S24 Ultra, USB-C-to-C cable
Price: Dh5,099 for 256GB, Dh5,599 for 512GB, Dh6,599 for 1TB
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Revibe
Started: 2022
Founders: Hamza Iraqui and Abdessamad Ben Zakour
Based: UAE
Industry: Refurbished electronics
Funds raised so far: $10m
Investors: Flat6Labs, Resonance and various others
TWISTERS
Director:+Lee+Isaac+Chung
Starring:+Glen+Powell,+Daisy+Edgar-Jones,+Anthony+Ramos
Rating:+2.5/5
The specs: McLaren 600LT
Price, base: Dh914,000
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 600hp @ 7,500rpm
Torque: 620Nm @ 5,500rpm
Fuel economy 12.2.L / 100km