Latest updates: Follow our full coverage on the US election
Former US president and Republican party nominee Donald Trump claimed that a dozen more countries, even Iran, would have joined the Abraham Accords if efforts to expand efforts to encourage Middle East states to normalise relations with Israel had continued under his leadership.
“We did the Abraham Accords,” he said. “Nobody thought that was even possible. I think even Iran would have been in because Iran was desperate to make a deal.”
Mr Trump told Al Arabiya that the Abraham Accords was one of his greatest accomplishments. The agreements, signed at the White House in September 2020, normalised relations between Israel and the UAE and Bahrain, and later Morocco.
“We would have had 12 to 15 countries within a period of, I mean literally, within a period of a year,” Mr Trump said.
He did not name the other countries he said would have eventually signed on to the accords.
President Joe Biden's administration has been hopeful about the potential to normalise relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, but this has been stalled amid the Gaza war.
When asked about the war in Gaza, Mr Trump said: “I want to see it all stop. I want to see the Middle East get back to peace, and real peace, peace that's going to be a lasting peace.”
The Trump campaign is trying to appeal to the Arab-American community, whose members have expressed frustration over the Biden administration's – and Vice President Kamala Harris's – continued support for Israel amid the war in Gaza, where more than 42,600 people have been killed.
“I don't want to see people killed, everyone's being killed in the Middle East,” Mr Trump said. “I don't want to see that.”
Mr Trump has used “Palestinian” as a slur, expressed strong support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and called for a reinstatement of the Muslim ban he introduced in 2017.
He repeated his claim that the Hamas-led October 7 attacks on southern Israel, which killed about 1,200 people and resulted in the taking of about 250 hostages, would not have happened if he was in office.
Mr Trump also said Mr Netanyahu should carry out a retaliatory strike against Iran soon, after Tehran launched about 200 ballistic missiles across Israel last month.
He also spoke about the impending birth of his grandchild, who will be half Arab. His daughter, Tiffany Trump, is married to Michael Boulos, who is Lebanese.
Mr Trump was asked about how he would make Lebanon safe for his growing family to visit.
“If I win, we're going to have peace in the Middle East, and soon,” he said without providing details.
MATCH DETAILS
Barcelona 0
Slavia Prague 0
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
Also on December 7 to 9, the third edition of the Gulf Car Festival (www.gulfcarfestival.com) will take over Dubai Festival City Mall, a new venue for the event. Last year's festival brought together about 900 cars worth more than Dh300 million from across the Emirates and wider Gulf region – and that first figure is set to swell by several hundred this time around, with between 1,000 and 1,200 cars expected. The first day is themed around American muscle; the second centres on supercars, exotics, European cars and classics; and the final day will major in JDM (Japanese domestic market) cars, tuned vehicles and trucks. Individuals and car clubs can register their vehicles, although the festival isn’t all static displays, with stunt drifting, a rev battle, car pulls and a burnout competition.
Cricket World Cup League 2 Fixtures
Saturday March 5, UAE v Oman, ICC Academy (all matches start at 9.30am)
Sunday March 6, Oman v Namibia, ICC Academy
Tuesday March 8, UAE v Namibia, ICC Academy
Wednesday March 9, UAE v Oman, ICC Academy
Friday March 11, Oman v Namibia, Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Saturday March 12, UAE v Namibia, Sharjah Cricket Stadium
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Chirag Suri, Muhammad Waseem, CP Rizwan, Vriitya Aravind, Asif Khan, Basil Hameed, Rohan Mustafa, Kashif Daud, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Karthik Meiyappan, Akif Raja, Rahul Bhatia
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
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
