Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid testifies in Netanyahu's corruption trial

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid testified in the trial of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which will determine whether the long-serving prime minister is guilty of corruption charges.

Mr Lapid gave evidence in a packed court relating to his 2013 stint as finance minister when Mr Netanyahu was also the prime minister.

Mr Netanyahu faces charges of breach of trust, bribery and fraud.

Questioning focused on whether Mr Netanyahu sought to give an improper tax break to receive gifts from Israeli film producer Arnon Milchan.

Mr Lapid said that Mr Milchan was allegedly lobbying the prime minister for a 10-year extension to tax breaks that Israelis returning from abroad currently receive.

Benjamin Netanyahu appears at the Jerusalem District Court in 2022. AP

The prosecution argues that Mr Netanyahu sought to pressure the former finance minister into accepting the legislation that would directly benefit Mr Milchan, and go against the advice of some in the Finance Ministry at the time, according to Mr Lapid.

The opposition leader said Mr Netanyahu had casually sought to lobby him for the law, which he refused to do.

Mr Netanyahu’s defence warned throughout Mr Lapid’s evidence that the opposition leader was using his platform for political messaging in front of several journalists.

Mr Lapid is at the forefront of a block of high-profile opposition lawmakers seeking to end the prime minister’s plans to drastically alter Israel’s judiciary. He has also been a vociferous critic of the new far-right government on many other issues.

Mr Milchan is due to give evidence via video link next week.

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Indoor cricket World Cup:
Insportz, Dubai, September 16-23

UAE fixtures:
Men
Saturday, September 16 – 1.45pm, v New Zealand
Sunday, September 17 – 10.30am, v Australia; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Monday, September 18 – 2pm, v England; 7.15pm, v India
Tuesday, September 19 – 12.15pm, v Singapore; 5.30pm, v Sri Lanka
Thursday, September 21 – 2pm v Malaysia
Friday, September 22 – 3.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 3pm, grand final

Women
Saturday, September 16 – 5.15pm, v Australia
Sunday, September 17 – 2pm, v South Africa; 7.15pm, v New Zealand
Monday, September 18 – 5.30pm, v England
Tuesday, September 19 – 10.30am, v New Zealand; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Thursday, September 21 – 12.15pm, v Australia
Friday, September 22 – 1.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 1pm, grand final

Another way to earn air miles

In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.

An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.

“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.

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GOLF’S RAHMBO

- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)

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