Frustrated with Egypt’s worsening human rights record, the Trump administration has decided to withhold $290 million in aid payments in a move revealed just days before a high-level U.S. delegation headed by Jared Kushner visits Cairo.
Washington will deny Egypt $95.7 million in aid and delay a further $195 million because of its failure to make progress on respecting human rights and democratic norms, according to a State Department official.
The $195 million "will be in an account that can be accessed at any time; but these funds will be held in reserve until we see progress from Egypt on key priorities" the official told The National, confirming a report by Reuters.
The US provides Egypt with $1.5 billion a year in aid, of which $1.3 billion goes to the military.
The decision reflects US frustrations over Cairo’s crackdown on dissent and restrictions on civil liberties, notably a new law regulating non-governmental organisations, but its desire to continue the key strategic relationship and to cooperate on security matters.
“We remain concerned about Egypt’s lack of progress in key areas, including human rights and the new NGO law,” the official said.
There is “widespread frustration within Washington regarding the Sisi government's dismal human rights record and its ever-tightening repression,” Eric Trager, a Fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East policy and an expert on Egyptian politics, told The National.
President Trump was very supportive of the US-Egyptian relationship but Congress was much more sceptical, he said.
In 2013, Barack Obama withheld $260 million in aid to Egypt as well as delivery of Apache helicopters and Harpoon missiles, and F-16 warplanes.
Two years later in 2015, Mr Obama resumed the aid and US officials contended that the move did not bring the desired change in Egypt’s behaviour.
Mr Trager said he did not believe that withholding aid would be any more successful this time around. Egypt became more repressive after Obama’s action and the strategic partnership suffered, he said.
Mr Kushner, the president’s son in law, arrived in the Gulf this week to meet Saudi, Emirati and Qatari officials.
He will visit Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian territories before concluding his visit in Egypt on Friday.
He is accompanied by deputy national security adviser Dina Powell, who is Egyptian-born, and the envoy to the Peace Process Jason Greenblatt.
The White House, and Palestinian officials said the trip was intended to make progress on the Israeli-Palestinian stalled negotiations and offer a US vision to break the stalemate.
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
New schools in Dubai
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
The lowdown
Badla
Rating: 2.5/5
Produced by: Red Chillies, Azure Entertainment
Director: Sujoy Ghosh
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Amrita Singh, Tony Luke
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre
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BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
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SERIES INFO
Cricket World Cup League Two
Nepal, Oman, United States tri-series
Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu
Fixtures
Wednesday February 5, Oman v Nepal
Thursday, February 6, Oman v United States
Saturday, February 8, United States v Nepal
Sunday, February 9, Oman v Nepal
Tuesday, February 11, Oman v United States
Wednesday, February 12, United States v Nepal
Table
The top three sides advance to the 2022 World Cup Qualifier.
The bottom four sides are relegated to the 2022 World Cup playoff
1 United States 8 6 2 0 0 12 0.412
2 Scotland 8 4 3 0 1 9 0.139
3 Namibia 7 4 3 0 0 8 0.008
4 Oman 6 4 2 0 0 8 -0.139
5 UAE 7 3 3 0 1 7 -0.004
6 Nepal 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
7 PNG 8 0 8 0 0 0 -0.458
Famous left-handers
- Marie Curie
- Jimi Hendrix
- Leonardo Di Vinci
- David Bowie
- Paul McCartney
- Albert Einstein
- Jack the Ripper
- Barack Obama
- Helen Keller
- Joan of Arc
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- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
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In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
Match info:
Manchester City 2
Sterling (8'), Walker (52')
Newcastle United 1
Yedlin (30')
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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The biog
Name: Dhabia Khalifa AlQubaisi
Age: 23
How she spends spare time: Playing with cats at the clinic and feeding them
Inspiration: My father. He’s a hard working man who has been through a lot to provide us with everything we need
Favourite book: Attitude, emotions and the psychology of cats by Dr Nicholes Dodman
Favourit film: 101 Dalmatians - it remind me of my childhood and began my love of dogs
Word of advice: By being patient, good things will come and by staying positive you’ll have the will to continue to love what you're doing
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
THE%C2%A0SPECS
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