US President Donald Trump used a prime time television address on Tuesday to demand that Congress give him $5.7 billion (Dh21bn) to build a wall on its border with Mexico.
But Mr Trump stopped short of declaring a national emergency that would allow him to pay for the wall without Congressional approval.
For the past 19 days the US federal government has been in partial shutdown as Mr Trump faces Democratic opposition in Congress to funding his 2016 campaign promise – a wall along America’s 3,000-kilometre southern border – which he previously insisted Mexico would pay for.
Using the first live Oval Office address of his presidency, Mr Trump’s hyperbolic and inflammatory language was used an attempt to whip up support for the project.
He spoke of a crisis in which a wave of illegal immigrants and drugs washing across the US border posed a serious threat to the nation.
“How much more American blood will be shed before Congress does its job?” Mr Trump said in a speech broadcast on all major US television networks, after describing the gory details of murders he claimed were committed by illegal immigrants.
He insisted Mexico would still pay for the wall indirectly through “the great new trade deal we have made”.
The amended North American Free Trade Agreement has not been ratified by Congress and emphasises lower tariffs, rather than specific clauses for funding a border wall.
Although his nine-minute speech contained no concessions to Democrats, the president said he still hoped to secure congressional approval for his steel wall.
“Hopefully, we can rise above partisan politics to support national security,” he said.
Mr Trump claimed the situation “could be solved in a 45-minute meeting.”
After his speech, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the president had chosen fear over facts.
“We all agree that we need to secure our borders,” Ms Pelosi said. “But the women and children at the border are not a security threat, they are a humanitarian challenge.”
Mr Trump’s decision to shut down the government over the issue showed a disregard for the families of federal employees who were missing their salaries, she said.
“President Trump has chosen to hold hostage critical services for the health, safety and well-being of the American people, and withhold the paycheques of 800,000 innocent workers across the nation, many of them veterans,” Ms Pelosi said.
Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer described the shutdown as irresponsible.
“American democracy doesn’t work that way,” Mr Schumer said. “We don’t govern by temper tantrum.
“No president should pound the table and demand he gets his way or else the government shuts down, hurting millions of Americans who are treated as leverage.”
Mr Trump will visit the border on Thursday.
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What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
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THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
Porsche Taycan Turbo specs
Engine: Two permanent-magnet synchronous AC motors
Transmission: two-speed
Power: 671hp
Torque: 1050Nm
Range: 450km
Price: Dh601,800
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Bharat
Director: Ali Abbas Zafar
Starring: Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Sunil Grover
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
How to help
Donate towards food and a flight by transferring money to this registered charity's account.
Account name: Dar Al Ber Society
Account Number: 11 530 734
IBAN: AE 9805 000 000 000 11 530 734
Bank Name: Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank
To ensure that your contribution reaches these people, please send the copy of deposit/transfer receipt to: juhi.khan@daralber.ae
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
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- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
