Outgoing White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer gives a cheery wave as he enters the White House in Washington after resigning on July 21, 2017. Carlos Barria / Reuters
Outgoing White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer gives a cheery wave as he enters the White House in Washington after resigning on July 21, 2017. Carlos Barria / Reuters
Outgoing White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer gives a cheery wave as he enters the White House in Washington after resigning on July 21, 2017. Carlos Barria / Reuters
Outgoing White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer gives a cheery wave as he enters the White House in Washington after resigning on July 21, 2017. Carlos Barria / Reuters

Abrupt resignation of Trump's press secretary a 'symptom of an administration in crisis'


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Sean Spicer’s abrupt resignation as White House press secretary on Friday followed months of uncertainty about his future as Donald Trump struggled with low popularity ratings, an all-consuming Russia investigation and factional infighting.

It finally arrived amid a major shake-up of Mr Trump’s press and legal teams in the latest attempt at a reset.

Insiders said Mr Spicer’s departure was triggered by the appointment of Anthony Scaramucci, a smooth-talking New York financier, as White House communications director.

Although he was asked to stay on as press secretary, he reportedly told Mr Trump the new appointment was a mistake and that he wanted to leave.

It brings to a close long-running speculation that the gaffe-prone spokesman had fallen from favour and suggests his ally Reince Priebus, White House chief of staff, and others who came up through the mainstream of the Republican Party may also be vulnerable to appointments from outside.

Stuart Rothenberg, a Washington political analyst, said Mr Spicer’s departure was yet another symptom of an administration in crisis, suffering a malaise that emanates from the very top.

Read more: The southern belle with a tough streak takes over as Trump's press chief

“We know what the problem is. It’s not Sean Spicer, it’s not Reince Priebus, it’s not HR McMaster [national security adviser] — who all have flaws and weaknesses,” Mr Rothenberg said. “It’s Donald Trump.”

The new communications director may bring a slicker persona, he added, but would struggle to stem the negative headlines.

For his part, Mr Spice said he would stay in his post until August.

“It’s been an unbelievable honour and privilege,” he said. “This is something you dream of. I can’t thank the president enough.”

Mr Spicer had been the public face of the White House for most of its first six months. He became a figure of ridicule from day one, when he was forced to defend outlandish claims about Mr Trump’s inauguration crowd.

“This was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration, period,” he told an incredulous press corps who had seen photographs that showed otherwise. It was not the last time Mr Spicer would be obliged to exaggerate, overstate or even outright lie for the president.

Worse followed. In April, he argued that even Adolf Hitler did not use chemical weapons during World War Two as he made a point about Bashar Al Assad’s use of sarin gas against civilians in Syria, overlooking how millions of Jews were killed during the Holocaust.

As a result he became the butt of late-night TV comedians, parodied on Saturday Night Live by Melissa McCarthy as a combative figure desperate for his president's affection.

Read more: The slick charmer now in charge of getting Donald Trump's message out

His appearances in the briefing room made for compelling television as he tried to defend an administration struggling to cope with the pressure of a federal investigation and failing to advance its legislative agenda.

At the same time, his background as a typical Republican apparatchik put him out of step with the political outsiders who populated much of Mr Trump’s administration.

And at times he was undermined and contradicted by his own president’s tweets. When pressed to explain the president's thinking, on several occasions Mr Spicer could only reply, "The president's tweets speak for themselves."

For much of his tenure he doubled up as communications director but on Friday the White House announced the appointment of Mr Scaramucci, a long-standing New York friend of Mr Trump, to fill the role.

Quite how a hedge fund owner with little former communications experience can turn around Mr Trump’s fortunes and historically low approval ratings is unclear.

Appearing in the White House briefing room for the first time, he said he had discussed a strategy with the president earlier in the day.

“We were talking about letting him be himself, letting himself express his full identify. I think he's got some of the best political instincts in the world and perhaps in history,” Mr Scaramucci said.

The president relayed his thoughts on Mr Spicer's departure as usual via Twitter.

"I am grateful for Sean's work on behalf of my administration and the American people. I wish him continued success as he moves on to pursue new opportunities. Just look at his great relevision ratings," he tweeted, referring to reports that Mr Spicer's televised press briefings got more viewers than daytime soap operas.

In an interview hours after his resignation, Mr Spicer played down reports of division.

"I just thought it was in the best interest of our communications department, of our press organisation, to not have too many cooks in the kitchen," he said. "Without me in the way, they have a fresh start, so that I'm not lurking over them."

Meanwhile the negative headlines continue.

American news organisations reported on Friday that Robert Mueller, who is investigating Russian meddling in last year’s election, has asked White House officials to preserve any records of a meeting last year between the president's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr, and a Russian lawyer.

And, according to the latest Washington Post story, Russia’s ambassador to Washington told superiors in Moscow that he discussed campaign matters with Jeff Sessions, now the attorney general, during the 2016 race, apparently contradicting the attorney general’s account of their meetings.

RESULTS

Women:

55kg brown-black belt: Amal Amjahid (BEL) bt Amanda Monteiro (BRA) via choke
62kg brown-black belt: Bianca Basilio (BRA) bt Ffion Davies (GBR) via referee’s decision (0-0, 2-2 adv)
70kg brown-black belt: Ana Carolina Vieira (BRA) bt Jessica Swanson (USA), 9-0
90kg brown-black belt: Angelica Galvao (USA) bt Marta Szarecka (POL) 8-2

Men:

62kg black belt: Joao Miyao (BRA) bt Wan Ki-chae (KOR), 7-2
69kg black belt: Paulo Miyao (BRA) bt Gianni Grippo (USA), 2-2 (1-0 adv)
77kg black belt: Espen Mathiesen (NOR) bt Jake Mackenzie (CAN)
85kg black belt: Isaque Braz (BRA) bt Faisal Al Ketbi (UAE), 2-0
94kg black belt: Felipe Pena (BRA) bt Adam Wardzinski (POL), 4-0
110kg black belt final: Erberth Santos (BRA) bt Lucio Rodrigues (GBR) via rear naked choke

Our legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

THE DETAILS

Solo: A Star Wars Story

Dir: Ron Howard

Starring: Alden Ehrenreich, Emilia Clarke, Woody Harrelson

3/5

RESULT

Brazil 2 Croatia 0
Brazil: 
Neymar (69'), Firmino (90' 3)    

Bib%20Gourmand%20restaurants
%3Cp%3EAl%20Khayma%0D%3Cbr%3EBait%20Maryam%0D%3Cbr%3EBrasserie%20Boulud%0D%3Cbr%3EFi'lia%0D%3Cbr%3Efolly%0D%3Cbr%3EGoldfish%0D%3Cbr%3EIbn%20AlBahr%0D%3Cbr%3EIndya%20by%20Vineet%0D%3Cbr%3EKinoya%0D%3Cbr%3ENinive%0D%3Cbr%3EOrfali%20Bros%0D%3Cbr%3EReif%20Japanese%20Kushiyaki%0D%3Cbr%3EShabestan%0D%3Cbr%3ETeible%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
RESULTS

6.30pm Handicap (TB) US$65,000 (Dirt) 1,400m

Winner Golden Goal, Pat Dobbs (jockey), Doug Watson (trainer)

7.05pm Dubai Racing Club Classic Listed Handicap (TB) $88,000 (Turf) 2,410m

Winner: Walton Street, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.

7.40pm Dubai Stakes Group 3 (TB) $130,000 (D) 1,200m

Winner Switzerland, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar

8.15pm Singspiel Stakes Group 3 (TB) $163,000 (T) 1,800m

Winner Lord Giltters, Adrie de Vries, David O’Meara

8.50pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 (TB) $228,000 (D) 1,600m

Winner Military Law, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi.

9.25pm Al Fahidi Fort Group 2 (TB) $163,000 (T) 1,400m

Winner Land Of Legends, Frankie Dettori, Saeed bin Suroor

10pm Dubai Dash Listed Handicap (TB) $88,000 (T) 1,000m

Winner Equilateral, Frankie Dettori, Charles Hills.

Ticket prices

General admission Dh295 (under-three free)

Buy a four-person Family & Friends ticket and pay for only three tickets, so the fourth family member is free

Buy tickets at: wbworldabudhabi.com/en/tickets

Points Classification after Stage 1

1. Geraint Thomas (Britain / Team Sky) 20

2. Stefan Kueng (Switzerland / BMC Racing) 17

3. Vasil Kiryienka (Belarus / Team Sky) 15

4. Tony Martin (Germany / Katusha) 13

5. Matteo Trentin (Italy / Quick-Step) 11

6. Chris Froome (Britain / Team Sky) 10

7. Jos van Emden (Netherlands / LottoNL) 9

8. Michal Kwiatkowski (Poland / Team Sky) 8

9. Marcel Kittel (Germany / Quick-Step) 7

10. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Norway / Dimension Data) 6

Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021

Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.

The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.

These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.

“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.

“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.

“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.

“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”

Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.

There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.

“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.

“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.

“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”

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)

The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting

2. Prayer

3. Hajj

4. Shahada

5. Zakat 

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
ACC%20T20%20Women%E2%80%99s%20Championship
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20fixtures%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EFriday%2C%20June%2017%20v%20Oman%3Cbr%3ESaturday%2C%20June%2018%20v%20Singapore%3Cbr%3EMonday%2C%20June%2020%20v%20Malaysia%3Cbr%3EWednesday%2C%20June%2022%20v%20Qatar%3Cbr%3EFriday%2C%20June%2024%2C%20semi-final%3Cbr%3ESaturday%2C%20June%2025%2C%20final%3Cbr%3E%20%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20squad%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Chaya%20Mughal%20(captain)%2C%20Esha%20Oza%2C%20Indhuja%20Nandakumar%2C%20Kavisha%20Kumari%2C%20Khushi%20Sharma%2C%20Lavanya%20Keny%2C%20Priyanjali%20Jain%2C%20Rithika%20Rajith%2C%20Samaira%20Dharnidharka%2C%20Sanchin%20Singh%2C%20Siya%20Gokhale%2C%20Suraksha%20Kotte%2C%20Theertha%20Satish%2C%20Vaishnave%20Mahesh%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
CRICKET%20WORLD%20CUP%20QUALIFIER%2C%20ZIMBABWE%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20fixtures%20%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EMonday%2C%20June%2019%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ESri%20Lanka%20v%20UAE%2C%20Queen%E2%80%99s%20Sports%20Club%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EWednesday%2C%20June%2021%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EOman%20v%20UAE%2C%20Bulawayo%20Athletic%20Club%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFriday%2C%20June%2023%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EScotland%20v%20UAE%2C%20Bulawayo%20Athletic%20Club%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ETuesday%2C%20June%2027%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EIreland%20v%20UAE%2C%20Bulawayo%20Athletic%20Club%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
ICC Women's T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier 2025, Thailand

UAE fixtures
May 9, v Malaysia
May 10, v Qatar
May 13, v Malaysia
May 15, v Qatar
May 18 and 19, semi-finals
May 20, final

Quick%20facts
%3Cul%3E%0A%3Cli%3EStorstockholms%20Lokaltrafik%20(SL)%20offers%20free%20guided%20tours%20of%20art%20in%20the%20metro%20and%20at%20the%20stations%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EThe%20tours%20are%20free%20of%20charge%3B%20all%20you%20need%20is%20a%20valid%20SL%20ticket%2C%20for%20which%20a%20single%20journey%20(valid%20for%2075%20minutes)%20costs%2039%20Swedish%20krone%20(%243.75)%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3ETravel%20cards%20for%20unlimited%20journeys%20are%20priced%20at%20165%20Swedish%20krone%20for%2024%20hours%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EAvoid%20rush%20hour%20%E2%80%93%20between%209.30%20am%20and%204.30%20pm%20%E2%80%93%20to%20explore%20the%20artwork%20at%20leisure%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3C%2Ful%3E%0A