Mohamed Abushahab, the UAE's ambassador to the UN, speaks during a Security Council meeting. AP
Mohamed Abushahab, the UAE's ambassador to the UN, speaks during a Security Council meeting. AP
Mohamed Abushahab, the UAE's ambassador to the UN, speaks during a Security Council meeting. AP
Mohamed Abushahab, the UAE's ambassador to the UN, speaks during a Security Council meeting. AP

UAE rejects ‘baseless allegations' made by Sudan at UN


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The UAE has rejected “baseless allegations” made by Sudan’s ambassador to the UN, who accused the Emirates of fuelling the civil war in his country.

Lana Nusseibeh, Assistant Minister for Political Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the UAE had submitted a letter to the UN Security Council in which it stressed the spread of disinformation and false narratives aims to deflect responsibility and undermine international efforts to address the humanitarian crisis in Sudan, Wam reported.

The UAE said it remains committed to engaging with all stakeholders to support any process that aims to set Sudan on a political path to a lasting settlement and the formation of a civilian-led government.

Last week, Sudan's UN ambassador said the war “wouldn't have begun without the support of the UAE”, accusing the country of providing military, logistical and political support to the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary.

“The UAE sponsored the aggression, sponsored the war,” Al Harith Idriss Al Harith Mohamed said.

In the letter sent to the UN Security Council, the UAE’s ambassador to the UN Mohamed Abushahab said his country “unequivocally rejects the baseless allegations” made by the Sudanese representative.

The accusations “run counter to the long-standing brotherly relations between our two countries and regrettably appear to be nothing more than an attempt to divert attention from the conflict and the dire humanitarian situation caused by the ongoing fighting”, the letter added.

Sudan's bloody civil war began last April when a power struggle between two rival generals devolved into open conflict.

The war has pitted the Sudanese armed forces, led by Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan, against the RSF, led by Gen Mohamed Dagalo.

The UN estimates between 10,000 and 15,000 people have been killed, with about eight million displaced.

A UN report published in February accused both sides of committing horrific abuse, including using “explosive weapons with wide-area effects, such as missiles fired from fighter jets, unmanned aerial vehicles, anti-aircraft weapons and artillery shells in densely populated areas”.

International efforts led by the US and Saudi Arabia to broker a truce have failed and the two sides have refused to return to the negotiating table.

The UAE has called for dialogue between the two factions.

“Since the outbreak of the conflict in Sudan, the United Arab Emirates has consistently expressed its firm belief that there can be no military solution to the conflict," Mr Abushahab said in the letter.

“We are therefore deeply concerned that the parties to the conflict have not heeded the repeated calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities and efforts to seek a sustainable resolution to the conflict through dialogue.”

Timeline

2012-2015

The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East

May 2017

The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts

September 2021

Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act

October 2021

Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence 

December 2024

Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group

May 2025

The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan

July 2025

The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan

August 2025

Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision

October 2025

Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange

November 2025

180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE

The President's Cake

Director: Hasan Hadi

Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem 

Rating: 4/5

The Settlers

Director: Louis Theroux

Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz

Rating: 5/5

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Dust and sand storms compared

Sand storm

  • Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
  • Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
  • Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
  • Travel distance: Limited 
  • Source: Open desert areas with strong winds

Dust storm

  • Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
  • Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
  • Duration: Can linger for days
  • Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
  • Source: Can be carried from distant regions
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The full list of 2020 Brit Award nominees (winners in bold):

British group

Coldplay

Foals

Bring me the Horizon

D-Block Europe

Bastille

British Female

Mabel

Freya Ridings

FKA Twigs

Charli xcx

Mahalia​

British male

Harry Styles

Lewis Capaldi

Dave

Michael Kiwanuka

Stormzy​

Best new artist

Aitch

Lewis Capaldi

Dave

Mabel

Sam Fender

Best song

Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber - I Don’t Care

Mabel - Don’t Call Me Up

Calvin Harrison and Rag’n’Bone Man - Giant

Dave - Location

Mark Ronson feat. Miley Cyrus - Nothing Breaks Like A Heart

AJ Tracey - Ladbroke Grove

Lewis Capaldi - Someone you Loved

Tom Walker - Just You and I

Sam Smith and Normani - Dancing with a Stranger

Stormzy - Vossi Bop

International female

Ariana Grande

Billie Eilish

Camila Cabello

Lana Del Rey

Lizzo

International male

Bruce Springsteen

Burna Boy

Tyler, The Creator

Dermot Kennedy

Post Malone

Best album

Stormzy - Heavy is the Head

Michael Kiwanuka - Kiwanuka

Lewis Capaldi - Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent

Dave - Psychodrama

Harry Styles - Fine Line

Rising star

Celeste

Joy Crookes

beabadoobee

The End of Loneliness
Benedict Wells
Translated from the German by Charlotte Collins
Sceptre

MATCH INFO

Newcastle United 3
Gayle (23'), Perez (59', 63')

Chelsea 0

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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House-hunting

Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove

  1. Edinburgh, Scotland 
  2. Westminster, London 
  3. Camden, London 
  4. Glasgow, Scotland 
  5. Islington, London 
  6. Kensington and Chelsea, London 
  7. Highlands, Scotland 
  8. Argyll and Bute, Scotland 
  9. Fife, Scotland 
  10. Tower Hamlets, London 

 

Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
  • Priority access to new homes from participating developers
  • Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
  • Flexible payment plans from developers
  • Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
  • DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Tearful appearance

Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday. 

Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow. 

She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.

A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.

In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe

Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010

Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille

Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm

Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year

Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”

Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners

TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013 

Uefa Nations League: How it Works

The Uefa Nations League, introduced last year, has reached its final stage, to be played over five days in northern Portugal. The format of its closing tournament is compact, spread over two semi-finals, with the first, Portugal versus Switzerland in Porto on Wednesday evening, and the second, England against the Netherlands, in Guimaraes, on Thursday.

The winners of each semi will then meet at Porto’s Dragao stadium on Sunday, with the losing semi-finalists contesting a third-place play-off in Guimaraes earlier that day.

Qualifying for the final stage was via League A of the inaugural Nations League, in which the top 12 European countries according to Uefa's co-efficient seeding system were divided into four groups, the teams playing each other twice between September and November. Portugal, who finished above Italy and Poland, successfully bid to host the finals.

The National's picks

4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young

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Updated: April 22, 2024, 4:05 PM