• Senator Joe Biden with his sons Beau, left, and Hunter and his future wife Jill in an undated photo. AFP
    Senator Joe Biden with his sons Beau, left, and Hunter and his future wife Jill in an undated photo. AFP
  • US Senator Joseph Biden, D-Del., announces on September 23, 1987 that he is withdrawing from the race for the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination, as his wife Jill grasps his arm. AFP
    US Senator Joseph Biden, D-Del., announces on September 23, 1987 that he is withdrawing from the race for the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination, as his wife Jill grasps his arm. AFP
  • US Senator Joseph Biden, D-Del., speaks on July 13, 1989 before a House of Representatives panel about flag burning. Biden, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told House members that his bill to outlaw flag burning was the best way to overcome the Supreme Court ruling which protects the action as a form of free speech. Other lawmakers insisted that only a onstitutional amendment would suffice. AFP
    US Senator Joseph Biden, D-Del., speaks on July 13, 1989 before a House of Representatives panel about flag burning. Biden, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told House members that his bill to outlaw flag burning was the best way to overcome the Supreme Court ruling which protects the action as a form of free speech. Other lawmakers insisted that only a onstitutional amendment would suffice. AFP
  • Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) speaks to reporters in front of a Danish U.N. armoured personnel carrier at the airport in Sarajevo, Bosnia April 9, 1993. REUTERS
    Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) speaks to reporters in front of a Danish U.N. armoured personnel carrier at the airport in Sarajevo, Bosnia April 9, 1993. REUTERS
  • US Senator Joseph Biden, D-Del., speaks to reporters after meeting with US President Bill Clinton at the White House on February 10, 1995 to discuss Dr. Henry Foster's nomination for surgeon general. Calling Clinton's choice a "political blunder in teh extreme", Biden told reporters that the president should withdraw the nomination and move on. AFP
    US Senator Joseph Biden, D-Del., speaks to reporters after meeting with US President Bill Clinton at the White House on February 10, 1995 to discuss Dr. Henry Foster's nomination for surgeon general. Calling Clinton's choice a "political blunder in teh extreme", Biden told reporters that the president should withdraw the nomination and move on. AFP
  • US President George W. Bush answers reporter's questions prior to a bipartisan meeting with congressional leaders in the Cabinet Room of the White House, 25 July 2001. Listening are Senator Joe Biden D-DE and Senator John Warner (R-VA). AFP
    US President George W. Bush answers reporter's questions prior to a bipartisan meeting with congressional leaders in the Cabinet Room of the White House, 25 July 2001. Listening are Senator Joe Biden D-DE and Senator John Warner (R-VA). AFP
  • US Senators Ted Kennedy (L), D-MA, Joe Biden (C), D-DE, and Barbara Mikulski (R), D-MD, tour ground zero 20 September 2001 in New York, nine days after the destruction of the World Trade Center. AFP
    US Senators Ted Kennedy (L), D-MA, Joe Biden (C), D-DE, and Barbara Mikulski (R), D-MD, tour ground zero 20 September 2001 in New York, nine days after the destruction of the World Trade Center. AFP
  • Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon laughs with Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Senator Joe Biden during a meeting at the US Capitol 11 June 2002. AFP
    Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon laughs with Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Senator Joe Biden during a meeting at the US Capitol 11 June 2002. AFP
  • Colombian President Andres Pastrana is greeted 17 April, 2002, by Sen. Joe Biden, D-DE, chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee at the US Capitol in Washington, DC before Pastrana met with that committee. AFP
    Colombian President Andres Pastrana is greeted 17 April, 2002, by Sen. Joe Biden, D-DE, chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee at the US Capitol in Washington, DC before Pastrana met with that committee. AFP
  • Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri attends a meeting with Sen. Joe Biden, (D-DE), and other members of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee 17 April 2002 at the US Capitol in Washington, DC. AFP
    Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri attends a meeting with Sen. Joe Biden, (D-DE), and other members of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee 17 April 2002 at the US Capitol in Washington, DC. AFP
  • US Senator Joseph Biden Jr. (R-DE) hosts King Abdullah of Jordan and Queen Rania at a Senate Foreign Relations luncheon 08 May, 2002 during their visit to the US Capitol in Washington, DC. AFP
    US Senator Joseph Biden Jr. (R-DE) hosts King Abdullah of Jordan and Queen Rania at a Senate Foreign Relations luncheon 08 May, 2002 during their visit to the US Capitol in Washington, DC. AFP
  • Democratic presidential hopefuls US Senator Joe Biden, US Senator Barack Obama and US Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton arrive at the Democratic Party Presidential Primary Debate, 26 April 2007, at South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, South Carolina. AFP
    Democratic presidential hopefuls US Senator Joe Biden, US Senator Barack Obama and US Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton arrive at the Democratic Party Presidential Primary Debate, 26 April 2007, at South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, South Carolina. AFP
  • Demoratic Delaware Senator Joe Biden speaking with unidentified soldiers about the effectiveness and life-saving technology of the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle(rear) during a visit to Ramadi, Iraq, 06 September, 2007. AFP
    Demoratic Delaware Senator Joe Biden speaking with unidentified soldiers about the effectiveness and life-saving technology of the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle(rear) during a visit to Ramadi, Iraq, 06 September, 2007. AFP
  • Actress Angelina Jolie, Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, and Sen. Joseph Biden ,D-DE, take their seats before a Congressional briefing on Capitol Hill 28 September, 2005 in Washington, DC. AFP
    Actress Angelina Jolie, Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, and Sen. Joseph Biden ,D-DE, take their seats before a Congressional briefing on Capitol Hill 28 September, 2005 in Washington, DC. AFP
  • US Democratic presidential candidate Illinois Senator Barack Obama, his wife Michelle, running mate Delware Senator Joe Biden with his wife Jill greet people gathered on the lawn of the Old State Capitol on August 23, 2008 in Springfield, Illinois. AFP
    US Democratic presidential candidate Illinois Senator Barack Obama, his wife Michelle, running mate Delware Senator Joe Biden with his wife Jill greet people gathered on the lawn of the Old State Capitol on August 23, 2008 in Springfield, Illinois. AFP
  • US Vice President Joe R. Biden waits for a meeting with US President Barack Obama and Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in the Oval Office of the White House October 22, 2015 in Washington, DC. AFP
    US Vice President Joe R. Biden waits for a meeting with US President Barack Obama and Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in the Oval Office of the White House October 22, 2015 in Washington, DC. AFP
  • British Prime Minister David Cameron greets Joe Biden, the Vice President of the United States of America, at the UK ambassador's residence on July 20, 2010 in Washington, DC. AFP
    British Prime Minister David Cameron greets Joe Biden, the Vice President of the United States of America, at the UK ambassador's residence on July 20, 2010 in Washington, DC. AFP
  • US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Joseph Biden shakes hands with seven-year-old Gao Shan, the boy Biden proclaimed as the future president of China, during a visit to the village of Yanzikou, north of Beijing, 10 August 2001. AFP
    US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Joseph Biden shakes hands with seven-year-old Gao Shan, the boy Biden proclaimed as the future president of China, during a visit to the village of Yanzikou, north of Beijing, 10 August 2001. AFP
  • US President Barack Obama awards Vice President Joe Biden the Presidential Medal of Freedom during a tribute to Biden at the White House in Washington, DC, on January 12, 2017. AFP
    US President Barack Obama awards Vice President Joe Biden the Presidential Medal of Freedom during a tribute to Biden at the White House in Washington, DC, on January 12, 2017. AFP
  • U.S. President Barack Obama, front, embraces U.S. Vice President Joe Biden after his farewell address in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., on Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2017. Obama blasted "zero-sum" politics as he drew a sharp contrast with his successor in his farewell address Tuesday night, acknowledging that despite his historic election eight years ago his vision for the country will exit the White House with him. Bloomberg
    U.S. President Barack Obama, front, embraces U.S. Vice President Joe Biden after his farewell address in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., on Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2017. Obama blasted "zero-sum" politics as he drew a sharp contrast with his successor in his farewell address Tuesday night, acknowledging that despite his historic election eight years ago his vision for the country will exit the White House with him. Bloomberg
  • Cindi Leive, Dr. Jill Biden, and Joe Biden speak onstage during Glamour Celebrates 2017 Women Of The Year Live Summit at Brooklyn Museum on November 13, 2017 in New York City. Getty Images
    Cindi Leive, Dr. Jill Biden, and Joe Biden speak onstage during Glamour Celebrates 2017 Women Of The Year Live Summit at Brooklyn Museum on November 13, 2017 in New York City. Getty Images

US election profile: Joe Biden has waited a lifetime for this moment


Michael Goldfarb
  • English
  • Arabic

Some political leaders create their times, others have to wait for their time to come. Joe Biden, the Democratic President-elect, is a perfect example of the latter.

Mr Biden, who is about to turn 78, has just won a job he has been seeking for more than three decades and that no one, except maybe he and his family, thought he would ever attain.

His victory is testimony to a feeling rippling through the American body politic: a sense that something has been lost, something that many people want back. It’s a country that was decent and fair and not marinating in hatred.

Mr Biden remembers that America. He grew up in the glow of the country’s victory in the Second World War in Scranton, Pennsylvania, a small industrial city. It was a time of record economic expansion. Real wages growing. Peace, prosperity, stability.

His own family experienced economic ups and downs. His father had been prosperous but fell on hard times. In the America in which Mr Biden grew up losing a job was tough, but not a catastrophe. There were other jobs to be had. Full-time, 40 hours a week jobs. Although you might have to move to find one. Mr Biden’s father moved the family from Scranton about 200 kilometres south to Claymont, Delaware.

  • FILE PHOTO: Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden answers a question as President Donald Trump listens during the second and final presidential debate at the Curb Event Center at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S., October 22, 2020. Morry Gash/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
    FILE PHOTO: Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden answers a question as President Donald Trump listens during the second and final presidential debate at the Curb Event Center at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S., October 22, 2020. Morry Gash/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
  • Democratic presidential nominee and former Vice President Joe Biden waves to supporters before speaking at a Drive-In rally in Dallas, Pennsylvania. AFP
    Democratic presidential nominee and former Vice President Joe Biden waves to supporters before speaking at a Drive-In rally in Dallas, Pennsylvania. AFP
  • Joe Biden delivers remarks at an event in Cincinnati, Ohio. AFP
    Joe Biden delivers remarks at an event in Cincinnati, Ohio. AFP
  • President Barack Obama awards Vice President Joe Biden the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2017.
    President Barack Obama awards Vice President Joe Biden the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2017.
  • President-elect Barack Obama, his wife Michelle, vice president-elect Joe Biden and his wife Jill arrive for an election night party in Chicago, Illinois in 2008. AFP
    President-elect Barack Obama, his wife Michelle, vice president-elect Joe Biden and his wife Jill arrive for an election night party in Chicago, Illinois in 2008. AFP
  • Jill Biden hugs husband Joe Biden at the end of the final presidential debate at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. AFP
    Jill Biden hugs husband Joe Biden at the end of the final presidential debate at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. AFP
  • Joe Biden, accompanied by his granddaughter Natalie Biden, speaks to people outside a campaign victory centerin Fort Lauderdale, Florida. AP Photo
    Joe Biden, accompanied by his granddaughter Natalie Biden, speaks to people outside a campaign victory centerin Fort Lauderdale, Florida. AP Photo
  • Vice-President Joe Biden and his sons Hunter and Beau walk in the Inaugural Parade in 2009 in Washington, DC. Getty Images
    Vice-President Joe Biden and his sons Hunter and Beau walk in the Inaugural Parade in 2009 in Washington, DC. Getty Images
  • Rose Boehle of Davenport, Iowa, becomes emotional as she and one of her granddaughters speaks with Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden at a campaign rally in Iowa. AP Photo
    Rose Boehle of Davenport, Iowa, becomes emotional as she and one of her granddaughters speaks with Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden at a campaign rally in Iowa. AP Photo
  • Joe Biden delivers remarks during a Drive-In Presidential campaign event in Tampa, Florida. AFP
    Joe Biden delivers remarks during a Drive-In Presidential campaign event in Tampa, Florida. AFP

Unlike today, politics was not war by other means in the 1950s, when Mr Biden was in high school. He was a handsome kid and a star wide receiver on the football team as well as president of the senior class at Archmere Academy, a private Catholic school.

Dwight Eisenhower, a Republican, did not try to stop the winds of social change that blew in those glowing post-war years. He did not stand in the way as systems of legal prejudice – especially segregation of African Americans in the South – were finally being torn down. Other forms of social prejudice fell away as well.

Eisenhower was succeeded by John F Kennedy, the first Roman Catholic elected to the presidency. It is difficult to convey now how much prejudice there was then against the idea of a Catholic in the White House. Kennedy’s election would have been just another example of American society’s capacity for generosity to Joe Biden as he started university.

Biden seemed to fit the Kennedy template. Irish, handsome, charismatic. Like Kennedy he brought youthful vigour into politics.

Then Kennedy was assassinated. Since that horrendous event Democrats have been in a perpetual search for the next John F Kennedy.

Over the next decade Mr Biden became a lawyer, married and started a family. He dipped a toe into local politics. In 1972 he was encouraged to take the plunge and run for the US Senate against the popular Republican incumbent Caleb Boggs. No other Democrat was willing to take the risk. At the age of 29 Mr Biden felt the time was right. He had nothing to lose. He didn’t. His unexpected victory put a spotlight on him. Could he be the next JFK?

Mr Biden seemed to fit the Kennedy template. Irish, handsome, charismatic. Like Kennedy he brought youthful vigour into politics. He was liberal on most social issues and a robust cold warrior in international affairs.

He had also displayed incredible courage in a time of trial. Shortly after he was elected to the Senate, his wife and infant daughter were killed in a car crash, his young sons were severely injured. He fought back his grief, forged a career on Capitol Hill and still found time to get the train home to Delaware every night to put his sons to bed.

From the start of his Senate career, people expected him to run for president.

In 1987, remarried with a new daughter and his sons into adolescence, he announced his candidacy. But the wheels came off his campaign very quickly. It was discovered that a section of Mr Biden’s stump speech plagiarised one given by the UK Labour Party’s then leader, Neil Kinnock. Other examples of plagiarism quickly came to light and Mr Biden stood down.

His young staff were crushed, among them, 24-year-old Sam Lauter, who drove Senator Biden every evening to the station so he could get home to his kids. Today, Mr Lauter runs a successful public affairs consultancy in California. He recalls Mr Biden “was disappointed in himself. He didn’t blame anyone else. He didn’t wander around saying why did this happen to me. He said: this is my screw-up.”

Mr Biden made a realistic assessment of his situation. He was just 44, a three-term senator, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Time was on his side.

He threw himself into his Senate work becoming one of Washington’s most influential legislators.

As chair of the Judiciary Committee, he oversaw hearings into two of Ronald Reagan’s appointees to the Supreme Court, Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas. Both men were extremely conservative judges. Mr Biden led the rejection of Bork. The Thomas case was more controversial. Thomas, an African-American, was accused by law professor Anita Hill, also an African-American, of sexual harassment. Mr Biden invited her to testify before the committee, but other women who also had complained of Thomas’s behaviour were not allowed to testify. Many women saw this as hanging Hill out to dry. Thomas was confirmed.

Mr Biden’s other Senate power base was the Foreign Relations Committee. As Yugoslavia disintegrated, he was an early voice among Democrats for arming Bosnia’s Muslim population so they could protect themselves. In 1993, in Belgrade he met Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, who was arming Bosnia's Serbs and told him, "I think you're a damn war criminal and you should be tried as one.”

He was a pragmatic interventionist and pro-Nato voice during America’s brief period as global hegemon. But he was not a knee-jerk hawk.

“There will be other presidential campaigns, and I'll be there, out front," he told his family and senior staff when he quit the presidential race in 1987.

It would be 20 years and a new millennium before he made another bid. It didn't last long. The field for the 2008 nomination was headed by Hillary Clinton and a charismatic young African-American senator, Barack Obama. The party and America had changed. A white man in his mid-sixties was not what Democratic primary voters wanted, especially one who was seen to have treated Anita Hill so callously and who had voted in favour of the Iraq war. Mr Biden's campaign never caught fire and he dropped out after the Iowa caucuses. The New York Times called his run "the last, great ride of his White House ambitions".

America seemed to have entered a new epoch in its history, one that didn't value the belief system Joe Biden lives by.

When Mr Obama selected him as his running mate it seemed that Mr Biden's career had maxed out at vice president, "a heartbeat away" from the presidency.
Tragedy continued to stalk him. His older son, Beau, lawyer and decorated veteran of the Iraq War was on a track to rise high in politics, but he died of cancer in 2015. The younger son, Hunter, struggled with addiction issues.
In 2016, Biden considered running, it was a dying wish of his son, Beau, but President Obama dissuaded him. It was Hillary Clinton's time.

And then she lost to Donald Trump. America seemed to have entered a new epoch in its history, one that didn’t value the belief system Joe Biden lives by.

He believes strongly in American-led global alliances. Mr Trump does not. Mr Biden pursues consensual politics. Mr Trump thinks compromise is for losers. Mr Biden thinks that political leaders should be role models for civility. Mr Trump trashes civility every day on Twitter.

But four years of a norm-shattering presidency and one pandemic showed the majority of Democratic voters that “you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone”. Suddenly the Democrat with values embedded during the golden post-war years was the person Democratic voters wanted.

Mr Biden was forgiven his Anita Hill and Iraq vote transgressions and easily won the nomination. Stories that he made unwanted physical contact with female staffers gained no traction. Uncle Joe was an empathic guy. He was from another era and he was forgiven.

The polls showed that not just Democrats but a majority of voters want to go back to that time before President Trump, before politics was scorched earth combat, when civility was expected and consensus was occasionally possible. They want to go back to a time when America led alliances of democracies rather than broke them. This cuts across generations: people like me, a child of victory, and those born after the Golden Age, who can hardly believe such a country ever existed.

Looking back over the decades, Sam Lauter, who is still in touch with Mr Biden, although not as often as he used to be, says: “I’m not a real believer in fate but this is the kind of person we need right now.” Then he chuckles, “Joe was just Biden his time.”

Michael Goldfarb is the host of the FRDH podcast

Who are the Soroptimists?

The first Soroptimists club was founded in Oakland, California in 1921. The name comes from the Latin word soror which means sister, combined with optima, meaning the best.

The organisation said its name is best interpreted as ‘the best for women’.

Since then the group has grown exponentially around the world and is officially affiliated with the United Nations. The organisation also counts Queen Mathilde of Belgium among its ranks.

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BULKWHIZ PROFILE

Date started: February 2017

Founders: Amira Rashad (CEO), Yusuf Saber (CTO), Mahmoud Sayedahmed (adviser), Reda Bouraoui (adviser)

Based: Dubai, UAE

Sector: E-commerce 

Size: 50 employees

Funding: approximately $6m

Investors: Beco Capital, Enabling Future and Wain in the UAE; China's MSA Capital; 500 Startups; Faith Capital and Savour Ventures in Kuwait

Villains
Queens of the Stone Age
Matador

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE. 

Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026

1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years

If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.

2. E-invoicing in the UAE

Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption. 

3. More tax audits

Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks. 

4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime

Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.

5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit

There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.

6. Further transfer pricing enforcement

Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes. 

7. Limited time periods for audits

Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion. 

8. Pillar 2 implementation 

Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.

9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services

Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations. 

10. Substance and CbC reporting focus

Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity. 

Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer

UK's plans to cut net migration

Under the UK government’s proposals, migrants will have to spend 10 years in the UK before being able to apply for citizenship.

Skilled worker visas will require a university degree, and there will be tighter restrictions on recruitment for jobs with skills shortages.

But what are described as "high-contributing" individuals such as doctors and nurses could be fast-tracked through the system.

Language requirements will be increased for all immigration routes to ensure a higher level of English.

Rules will also be laid out for adult dependants, meaning they will have to demonstrate a basic understanding of the language.

The plans also call for stricter tests for colleges and universities offering places to foreign students and a reduction in the time graduates can remain in the UK after their studies from two years to 18 months.

Global institutions: BlackRock and KKR

US-based BlackRock is the world's largest asset manager, with $5.98 trillion of assets under management as of the end of last year. The New York firm run by Larry Fink provides investment management services to institutional clients and retail investors including governments, sovereign wealth funds, corporations, banks and charitable foundations around the world, through a variety of investment vehicles.

KKR & Co, or Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, is a global private equity and investment firm with around $195 billion of assets as of the end of last year. The New York-based firm, founded by Henry Kravis and George Roberts, invests in multiple alternative asset classes through direct or fund-to-fund investments with a particular focus on infrastructure, technology, healthcare, real estate and energy.

 

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Leap of Faith

Michael J Mazarr

Public Affairs

Dh67
 

The Pope's itinerary

Sunday, February 3, 2019 - Rome to Abu Dhabi
1pm: departure by plane from Rome / Fiumicino to Abu Dhabi
10pm: arrival at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport


Monday, February 4
12pm: welcome ceremony at the main entrance of the Presidential Palace
12.20pm: visit Abu Dhabi Crown Prince at Presidential Palace
5pm: private meeting with Muslim Council of Elders at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
6.10pm: Inter-religious in the Founder's Memorial


Tuesday, February 5 - Abu Dhabi to Rome
9.15am: private visit to undisclosed cathedral
10.30am: public mass at Zayed Sports City – with a homily by Pope Francis
12.40pm: farewell at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
1pm: departure by plane to Rome
5pm: arrival at the Rome / Ciampino International Airport

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Profile

Company: Justmop.com

Date started: December 2015

Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan

Sector: Technology and home services

Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai

Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month

Funding:  The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups. 

Evacuations to France hit by controversy
  • Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
  • Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
  • The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
  • Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
  • It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
  • Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
  • Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
From Zero

Artist: Linkin Park

Label: Warner Records

Number of tracks: 11

Rating: 4/5

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Sun jukebox

Rufus Thomas, Bear Cat (The Answer to Hound Dog) (1953)

This rip-off of Leiber/Stoller’s early rock stomper brought a lawsuit against Phillips and necessitated Presley’s premature sale to RCA.

Elvis Presley, Mystery Train (1955)

The B-side of Presley’s final single for Sun bops with a drummer-less groove.

Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two, Folsom Prison Blues (1955)

Originally recorded for Sun, Cash’s signature tune was performed for inmates of the titular prison 13 years later.

Carl Perkins, Blue Suede Shoes (1956)

Within a month of Sun’s February release Elvis had his version out on RCA.

Roy Orbison, Ooby Dooby (1956)

An essential piece of irreverent juvenilia from Orbison.

Jerry Lee Lewis, Great Balls of Fire (1957)

Lee’s trademark anthem is one of the era’s best-remembered – and best-selling – songs.

Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EHakbah%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2018%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENaif%20AbuSaida%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESaudi%20Arabia%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E22%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%24200%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Epre-Series%20A%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EGlobal%20Ventures%20and%20Aditum%20Investment%20Management%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

SPECS

Mini John Cooper Works Clubman and Mini John Cooper Works Countryman

Engine: two-litre 4-cylinder turbo

Transmission: nine-speed automatic

Power: 306hp

Torque: 450Nm

Price: JCW Clubman, Dh220,500; JCW Countryman, Dh225,500

White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogenChromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxideUltramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica contentOphiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on landOlivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour

The specs: 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor

Price, base / as tested Dh220,000 / Dh320,000

Engine 3.5L V6

Transmission 10-speed automatic

Power 421hp @ 6,000rpm

Torque 678Nm @ 3,750rpm

Fuel economy, combined 14.1L / 100km

Champion%20v%20Champion%20(PFL%20v%20Bellator)
%3Cp%3EHeavyweight%3A%20Renan%20Ferreira%20v%20Ryan%20Bader%20%3Cbr%3EMiddleweight%3A%20Impa%20Kasanganay%20v%20Johnny%20Eblen%3Cbr%3EFeatherweight%3A%20Jesus%20Pinedo%20v%20Patricio%20Pitbull%3Cbr%3ECatchweight%3A%20Ray%20Cooper%20III%20v%20Jason%20Jackson%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EShowcase%20Bouts%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EHeavyweight%3A%20Bruno%20Cappelozza%20(former%20PFL%20World%20champ)%20v%20Vadim%20Nemkov%20(former%20Bellator%20champ)%3Cbr%3ELight%20Heavyweight%3A%20Thiago%20Santos%20(PFL%20title%20contender)%20v%20Yoel%20Romero%20(Bellator%20title%20contender)%3Cbr%3ELightweight%3A%20Clay%20Collard%20(PFL%20title%20contender)%20v%20AJ%20McKee%20(former%20Bellator%20champ)%3Cbr%3EFeatherweight%3A%20Gabriel%20Braga%20(PFL%20title%20contender)%20v%20Aaron%20Pico%20(Bellator%20title%20contender)%3Cbr%3ELightweight%3A%20Biaggio%20Ali%20Walsh%20(pro%20debut)%20v%20Emmanuel%20Palacios%20(pro%20debut)%3Cbr%3EWomen%E2%80%99s%20Lightweight%3A%20Claressa%20Shields%20v%20Kelsey%20DeSantis%3Cbr%3EFeatherweight%3A%20Abdullah%20Al%20Qahtani%20v%20Edukondal%20Rao%3Cbr%3EAmateur%20Flyweight%3A%20Malik%20Basahel%20v%20Vinicius%20Pereira%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Who's who in Yemen conflict

Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government

Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council

Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south

Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory

The specs: 2018 Opel Mokka X

Price, as tested: Dh84,000

Engine: 1.4L, four-cylinder turbo

Transmission: Six-speed auto

Power: 142hp at 4,900rpm

Torque: 200Nm at 1,850rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L / 100km

Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere

Director: Scott Cooper

Starring: Jeremy Allen White, Odessa Young, Jeremy Strong

Rating: 4/5

Cricket World Cup League 2

UAE results
Lost to Oman by eight runs
Beat Namibia by three wickets
Lost to Oman by 12 runs
Beat Namibia by 43 runs

UAE fixtures
Free admission. All fixtures broadcast live on icc.tv

Tuesday March 15, v PNG at Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Friday March 18, v Nepal at Dubai International Stadium
Saturday March 19, v PNG at Dubai International Stadium
Monday March 21, v Nepal at Dubai International Stadium

Star%20Wars%3A%20Ahsoka%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Various%20%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Rosario%20Dawson%2C%20Natasha%20Liu%20Bordizzo%2C%20Lars%20Mikkelsen%20%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

The Case For Trump

By Victor Davis Hanson