Vice President JD Vance arrives to board Air Force Two after touring the US military's Pituffik Space Base in Greenland. AFP
Vice President JD Vance arrives to board Air Force Two after touring the US military's Pituffik Space Base in Greenland. AFP
Vice President JD Vance arrives to board Air Force Two after touring the US military's Pituffik Space Base in Greenland. AFP
Vice President JD Vance arrives to board Air Force Two after touring the US military's Pituffik Space Base in Greenland. AFP

JD Vance shrugs off demand for firings after Signal chat scandal


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US Vice President JD Vance on Friday shrugged off demands for firings after top national security officials added a journalist to a chat group discussing planned strikes on Yemen.

This week, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic magazine said he had been inadvertently added to a group chat on the unsecured commercial app Signal, along with Mr Vance, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and other members of President Donald Trump's Cabinet ahead of strikes against the Houthi rebel group this month.

“If you think you're going to force the President of the United States to fire anybody, you've got another thing coming,” Mr Vance told reporters on a visit to Greenland. “We are standing behind our entire national security team.”

There were a number of sensitive details related to timing and weapons used in the strikes revealed in the chat, and there have been calls from Democratic politicians that members of the Cabinet involved should resign.

Mr Waltz, who assumed “full responsibility” for the incident, said that he was enlisting Trump adviser Elon Musk to discover how the journalist was added to the Signal group chat. “We made a mistake. We’re moving forward,” he said.

During his visit to Greenland, Mr Vance also accused Denmark of not doing a good job keeping the semi-autonomous territory safe.

Mr Trump has repeatedly expressed a desire for the US to annex Greenland, which is rich in minerals and lies in a prime naval location in the Arctic.

A view of ice cubes drifting in the sea in front of the old town of Nuuk, Greenland. Reuters
A view of ice cubes drifting in the sea in front of the old town of Nuuk, Greenland. Reuters

During a visit to the US military base at Pituffik in the north of the Arctic island, Mr Vance said Washington has no immediate plans to expand its military presence on the ground but will invest in resources including additional naval ships.

He pledged respect for Greenland's sovereignty but also suggested the territory would come to see the benefit of partnering with the US.

Denmark has not kept pace and devoted the resources necessary to keep this base, to keep our troops, and in my view, to keep the people of Greenland safe from a lot of very aggressive incursions from Russia, from China and other nations,” Mr Vance said. He gave no details of the alleged incursions.

As Greenlanders expressed deep unease about the visit, Mr Vance vowed the people of Greenland would have “self-determination” and the US would respect its sovereignty.

His remarks came hours after a new broad government coalition that aims to keep ties with Denmark for now was presented in the capital, Nuuk.

Greenland's new Prime Minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, said the US visit signalled a “lack of respect”, while Danish leaders expressed their commitment to Greenland.

Polls have shown that nearly all Greenlanders oppose becoming part of the US. Anti-American protesters, some wearing “Make America Go Away” caps and holding “Yankees Go Home” banners, have staged some of the largest demonstrations seen in Greenland.

Protesters hold a banner reading 'Yankee Go Home' during a march to the US consulate during a demonstration in Nuuk, Greenland. AFP / Denmark OUT
Protesters hold a banner reading 'Yankee Go Home' during a march to the US consulate during a demonstration in Nuuk, Greenland. AFP / Denmark OUT
Red flags
  • Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
  • Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
  • Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
  • Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
  • Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.

Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching

In numbers: China in Dubai

The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000

Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000

Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent

GAC GS8 Specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh149,900

England's all-time record goalscorers:
Wayne Rooney 53
Bobby Charlton 49
Gary Lineker 48
Jimmy Greaves 44
Michael Owen 40
Tom Finney 30
Nat Lofthouse 30
Alan Shearer 30
Viv Woodward 29
Frank Lampard 29

How to help

Call the hotline on 0502955999 or send "thenational" to the following numbers:

2289 - Dh10

2252 - Dh50

6025 - Dh20

6027 - Dh100

6026 - Dh200

What is Diwali?

The Hindu festival is at once a celebration of the autumn harvest and the triumph of good over evil, as outlined in the Ramayana.

According to the Sanskrit epic, penned by the sage Valmiki, Diwali marks the time that the exiled king Rama – a mortal with superhuman powers – returned home to the city of Ayodhya with his wife Sita and brother Lakshman, after vanquishing the 10-headed demon Ravana and conquering his kingdom of Lanka. The people of Ayodhya are believed to have lit thousands of earthen lamps to illuminate the city and to guide the royal family home.

In its current iteration, Diwali is celebrated with a puja to welcome the goodness of prosperity Lakshmi (an incarnation of Sita) into the home, which is decorated with diyas (oil lamps) or fairy lights and rangoli designs with coloured powder. Fireworks light up the sky in some parts of the word, and sweetmeats are made (or bought) by most households. It is customary to get new clothes stitched, and visit friends and family to exchange gifts and greetings.  

 

Tour de France

When: July 7-29

UAE Team Emirates:
Dan Martin, Alexander Kristoff, Darwin Atapuma, Marco Marcato, Kristijan Durasek, Oliviero Troia, Roberto Ferrari and Rory Sutherland

Company%20Profile
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Ferrari 12Cilindri specs

Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12

Power: 819hp

Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm

Price: From Dh1,700,000

Available: Now

Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
  • Flexible work arrangements
  • Pension support
  • Mental well-being assistance
  • Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
  • Financial well-being incentives 
The%20specs
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Cryopreservation: A timeline
  1. Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
  2. Ovarian tissue surgically removed
  3. Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
  4. Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
  5. Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
The specs

AT4 Ultimate, as tested

Engine: 6.2-litre V8

Power: 420hp

Torque: 623Nm

Transmission: 10-speed automatic

Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)

On sale: Now

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Teams

Punjabi Legends Owners: Inzamam-ul-Haq and Intizar-ul-Haq; Key player: Misbah-ul-Haq

Pakhtoons Owners: Habib Khan and Tajuddin Khan; Key player: Shahid Afridi

Maratha Arabians Owners: Sohail Khan, Ali Tumbi, Parvez Khan; Key player: Virender Sehwag

Bangla Tigers Owners: Shirajuddin Alam, Yasin Choudhary, Neelesh Bhatnager, Anis and Rizwan Sajan; Key player: TBC

Colombo Lions Owners: Sri Lanka Cricket; Key player: TBC

Kerala Kings Owners: Hussain Adam Ali and Shafi Ul Mulk; Key player: Eoin Morgan

Venue Sharjah Cricket Stadium

Format 10 overs per side, matches last for 90 minutes

Timeline October 25: Around 120 players to be entered into a draft, to be held in Dubai; December 21: Matches start; December 24: Finals

The specs

BMW M8 Competition Coupe

Engine 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8

Power 625hp at 6,000rpm

Torque 750Nm from 1,800-5,800rpm

Gearbox Eight-speed paddleshift auto

Acceleration 0-100kph in 3.2 sec

Top speed 305kph

Fuel economy, combined 10.6L / 100km

Price from Dh700,000 (estimate)

On sale Jan/Feb 2020
 

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Ticket prices

General admission Dh295 (under-three free)

Buy a four-person Family & Friends ticket and pay for only three tickets, so the fourth family member is free

Buy tickets at: wbworldabudhabi.com/en/tickets

UAE and Russia in numbers

UAE-Russia ties stretch back 48 years

Trade between the UAE and Russia reached Dh12.5 bn in 2018

More than 3,000 Russian companies are registered in the UAE

Around 40,000 Russians live in the UAE

The number of Russian tourists travelling to the UAE will increase to 12 percent to reach 1.6 million in 2023

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The%20Sandman
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The currency conundrum

Russ Mould, investment director at online trading platform AJ Bell, says almost every major currency has challenges right now. “The US has a huge budget deficit, the euro faces political friction and poor growth, sterling is bogged down by Brexit, China’s renminbi is hit by debt fears while slowing Chinese growth is hurting commodity exporters like Australia and Canada.”

Most countries now actively want a weak currency to make their exports more competitive. “China seems happy to let the renminbi drift lower, the Swiss are still running quantitative easing at full tilt and central bankers everywhere are actively talking down their currencies or offering only limited support," says Mr Mould.

This is a race to the bottom, and everybody wants to be a winner.

Specs

Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE

When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.

The biog

Family: wife, four children, 11 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren

Reads: Newspapers, historical, religious books and biographies

Education: High school in Thatta, a city now in Pakistan

Regrets: Not completing college in Karachi when universities were shut down following protests by freedom fighters for the British to quit India 

 

Happiness: Work on creative ideas, you will also need ideals to make people happy

Updated: May 08, 2025, 6:57 PM`