When politics is a sideshow at the beginning of a brave new world

The loud orange tornado blew into the small mountain village of Davos, Switzerland last week and, as usual, demonstrated that political spin and wind can be combined to produce high levels of disruption. Nothing was safe. Other world leaders were blown aside and the carefully prepared programme narratives the architects of the World Economic Forum spent a year crafting were knocked to pieces.

Mr Trump has that effect. When you combine the most powerful job in the world with one of the most unpredictable public personalities in modern history it is hard to tear your eyes away from the resulting spectacle. Big shots crowded the Congress Hall theatre in which he spoke. He was given an adulatory reception by the WEF organisers including an introduction by forum founder Dr Klaus Schwab that referred to the "biased" coverage Mr Trump has received in the press. And in an instant, when he took the stage, Mr Trump's narcissistic view of the world and reality as depicted in the media came into brief alignment.

But, in retrospect, Mr Trump actually neither said nor did anything of importance in Davos. He had some bilateral meetings of no note. He alienated the Palestinians and effectively reiterated that the US policy in that area of the world is essentially all-in behind the Israelis. He had a meeting with British prime minister Theresa May designed to show the US-UK relationship is on solid footing even as new reports suggested he has told her he won't visit the country without a promise that there will be no protests against him. (And of course, as soon as that story broke, the British press was abuzz with reports that if Mr Trump does visit the UK he will be met by the biggest protests in its history.)

What is more, while Mr Trump commanded the spotlight, there were other more important stories unfolding that were by any measure far more important than even the colorful antics of a man who looks increasingly likely to be the U.S. president for a very short period of time.

The New York Times, shortly after the event, delivered the message with a headline "At Davos, the Real Star May Have Been China, Not Trump." The thrust of the article is that while Mr Trump was generating headlines the Chinese were busily meeting with world leaders and advancing their now rather aggressive strategy of forging international ties both as part of their Belt and Road initiative, which the Chairman of Siemens called "the new WTO" in the same article, and through a wide ranging series of other meetings that suggest the Chinese government has very different ideas about diplomacy and overseas investment than the American president does.

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A comment by another attending chief executive underscored even more starkly the contrast between what the media chose to cover and what was really important at this year’s summit in the Swiss Alps. Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google, the most highly-valued publicly traded company in the world, said, “AI is probably the most important thing humanity has ever worked on. I think of it as something more profound than electricity or fire.”

Somehow this seems more urgently important than Mr Trump's tired "America first" rhetoric and his litany of lies and distortions designed to enhance his faltering image. He is, to use a term his allies used disparagingly of his political enemies during the 2016 American campaign, a snowflake flittering briefly down to earth and then melting upon contact with bigger realities. The advent of the age of artificial intelligence is a watershed in the history of mankind. Within just a few years it seems certain that machines will possess ample intelligence to displace almost half of all US jobs within the next two decades.

That’s a big deal. But it may be the least of the dislocations that will be caused by machines that can think like or even better than humans. We’re already confronting ethical challenges that have yet to be fully debated or understood, like who is liable when a machine like an autonomous vehicle makes a decision to save one life rather than another, a driver versus a pedestrian, for example? Or what are the rules of war when the battle is between smart machines and people? Or what happens when the rich corner the market on the benefits of the most powerful AI to win market share and inequality grows. Or what happens when innovation outstrips the ability of regulators to keep up? To even understand the implications of changes? Should progress be allowed to go on unfettered? Do we want to even see what happens if machines become smarter than people? Even just some people? Who will decide? Who has the philosophical gravitas or moral authority or in depth knowledge to judge?

Geopolitically and in terms of new technologies we are at once in a millennium watershed. That is risky territory, but it is even riskier if we allow ourselves to be too distracted by the sideshow of today’s passing personalities. If last week’s World Economic Forum had a message, that was it. We ignore it at our peril.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

The smuggler

Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.

Khouli conviction

Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.

For sale

A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.

- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico

- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000

- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950

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The biog

Age: 30

Position: Senior lab superintendent at Emirates Global Aluminium

Education: Bachelor of science in chemical engineering, post graduate degree in light metal reduction technology

Favourite part of job: The challenge, because it is challenging

Favourite quote: “Be the change you wish to see in the world,” Gandi

Mia Man’s tips for fermentation

- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut

- Keep your hands and kitchen tools clean. Sanitize knives, cutting boards, tongs and storage jars with boiling water before you start.

- Mold is bad: the colour pink is a sign of mold. If yogurt turns pink as it ferments, you need to discard it and start again. For kraut, if you remove the top leaves and see any sign of mold, you should discard the batch.

- Always use clean, closed, airtight lids and containers such as mason jars when fermenting yogurt and kraut. Keep the lid closed to prevent insects and contaminants from getting in.

Milestones on the road to union

1970

October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.

December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.

1971

March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.

July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.

July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.

August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.

August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.

September 3: Qatar becomes independent.

November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.

November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.

November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.

November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties

December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.

December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.

December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.

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

The White Lotus: Season three

Creator: Mike White

Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell

Rating: 4.5/5

Our legal columnist

Name: Yousef Al Bahar

Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994

Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

The specs

Engine: 0.8-litre four cylinder

Power: 70bhp

Torque: 66Nm

Transmission: four-speed manual

Price: $1,075 new in 1967, now valued at $40,000

On sale: Models from 1966 to 1970

A MINECRAFT MOVIE

Director: Jared Hess

Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa

Rating: 3/5

NO OTHER LAND

Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal

Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham

Rating: 3.5/5

Election pledges on migration

CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"

SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"

The Outsider

Stephen King, Penguin

The rules on fostering in the UAE

A foster couple or family must:

be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
not be younger than 25 years old
not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially

Key facilities

Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
Premier League-standard football pitch
400m Olympic running track
NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
600-seat auditorium
Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
Specialist robotics and science laboratories
AR and VR-enabled learning centres
Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills

Jigra

Director: Vasan Bala

Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh

Rated: 3.5/5

Like a Fading Shadow

Antonio Muñoz Molina

Translated from the Spanish by Camilo A. Ramirez

Tuskar Rock Press (pp. 310)

At a glance

Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.

Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year

Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month

Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30

Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse

Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth

Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances

Three ways to boost your credit score

Marwan Lutfi says the core fundamentals that drive better payment behaviour and can improve your credit score are:

1. Make sure you make your payments on time;

2. Limit the number of products you borrow on: the more loans and credit cards you have, the more it will affect your credit score;

3. Don't max out all your debts: how much you maximise those credit facilities will have an impact. If you have five credit cards and utilise 90 per cent of that credit, it will negatively affect your score.

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