Former British prime minister David Cameron attended Cabinet for the first time in seven years on Tuesday, after his surprise appointment as Foreign Secretary in Monday's reshuffle.
He attended his last Cabinet meeting 2,681 days ago – on July 12, 2016 – after announcing he was stepping down. He has replaced James Cleverly, who became Home Secretary following Suella Braverman's sacking on Monday.
Mr Cameron admitted such a return is “not usual” but said he wants to support Prime Minister Rishi Sunak through a “difficult job at a hard time”.
Welcoming Mr Cameron back on Tuesday, Mr Sunak said: “A warm welcome to those for whom it’s their first Cabinet and also a welcome to those for whom it may not be their first time.”
“Our purpose is nothing less than to make the long-term decisions that are going to change our country for the better.
“I know that this strong and united team is going to deliver that change for everybody.”
How can Cameron sit in the Cabinet?
Mr Sunak made him a life peer, meaning he will now sit in the House of Lords. This enables him to sit in Cabinet, as members must be in either the House of Commons or House of Lords.
This is not unusual in so far as most departments have ministers in the Lords to be able to answer questions in the upper house.
But it is the first time in a long time that a peer has held a such a high-profile Cabinet position.
It could take several weeks for his appointment to be confirmed, though, which means he is not Lord Cameron yet.
Has this ever happened before?
Yes, in 1970, former prime minister Alec Douglas-Home returned to Cabinet to become the Foreign Secretary.
But Mr Cameron’s appointment means it is the first time in more than four decades that a member of the upper chamber has held one of the so-called four great offices of state – prime minister, chancellor of the exchequer, foreign secretary and home secretary.
Peter Carrington was the last peer to do so – as foreign secretary from 1979 to 1982.
Peers have held other cabinet roles in recent years, including Nicky Morgan, who stayed on briefly as culture secretary under Boris Johnson after leaving the House of Commons in the 2019 election, and Peter Mandelson, who Gordon Brown ennobled in 2008 to return to the cabinet as Business Secretary.
In 2010 Mr Cameron made Baroness Warsi Conservative Party Chair and Minister without Portfolio, making her the first Muslim woman to serve in Cabinet.
If he is not an MP can he be questioned about foreign policy in Parliament?
No, but Mr Cameron has insisted he will be held to account in the House of Lords and select committees after the Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle raised concerns that MPs will not be able to question him in the House because he is a peer.
Outside parliament, he can still be questioned by journalists.
HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
Who is Mohammed Al Halbousi?
The new speaker of Iraq’s parliament Mohammed Al Halbousi is the youngest person ever to serve in the role.
The 37-year-old was born in Al Garmah in Anbar and studied civil engineering in Baghdad before going into business. His development company Al Hadeed undertook reconstruction contracts rebuilding parts of Fallujah’s infrastructure.
He entered parliament in 2014 and served as a member of the human rights and finance committees until 2017. In August last year he was appointed governor of Anbar, a role in which he has struggled to secure funding to provide services in the war-damaged province and to secure the withdrawal of Shia militias. He relinquished the post when he was sworn in as a member of parliament on September 3.
He is a member of the Al Hal Sunni-based political party and the Sunni-led Coalition of Iraqi Forces, which is Iraq’s largest Sunni alliance with 37 seats from the May 12 election.
He maintains good relations with former Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki’s State of Law Coaliton, Hadi Al Amiri’s Badr Organisation and Iranian officials.
Tips for used car buyers
- Choose cars with GCC specifications
- Get a service history for cars less than five years old
- Don’t go cheap on the inspection
- Check for oil leaks
- Do a Google search on the standard problems for your car model
- Do your due diligence. Get a transfer of ownership done at an official RTA centre
- Check the vehicle’s condition. You don’t want to buy a car that’s a good deal but ends up costing you Dh10,000 in repairs every month
- Validate warranty and service contracts with the relevant agency and and make sure they are valid when ownership is transferred
- If you are planning to sell the car soon, buy one with a good resale value. The two most popular cars in the UAE are black or white in colour and other colours are harder to sell
Tarek Kabrit, chief executive of Seez, and Imad Hammad, chief executive and co-founder of CarSwitch.com
Men's football draw
Group A: UAE, Spain, South Africa, Jamaica
Group B: Bangladesh, Serbia, Korea
Group C: Bharat, Denmark, Kenya, USA
Group D: Oman, Austria, Rwanda
DIVINE%20INTERVENTOIN
%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Elia%20Suleiman%2C%20Manal%20Khader%2C%20Amer%20Daher%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Elia%20Suleiman%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%204.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs: 2018 Maserati GranTurismo/GranCabrio
Price, base Dh485,000 (GranTurismo) and Dh575,000 (GranCabrio)
Engine 4.7L V8
Transmission Six-speed automatic
Power 460hp @ 7,000rpm
Torque 520Nm @ 4,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 14.3L (GranTurismo) and 14.5L (GranCabrio) / 100km
THE SPECS
Engine: AMG-enhanced 3.0L inline-6 turbo with EQ Boost and electric auxiliary compressor
Transmission: nine-speed automatic
Power: 429hp
Torque: 520Nm
Price: Dh360,200 (starting)
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Revibe%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hamza%20Iraqui%20and%20Abdessamad%20Ben%20Zakour%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Refurbished%20electronics%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%20so%20far%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410m%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFlat6Labs%2C%20Resonance%20and%20various%20others%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A