Less than a month ago, Humza Yousaf was on the cover of Time magazine talking about his pride and the challenges of being Western Europe’s first Muslim head of government.
Since then, he has faced setbacks on the political front, including a bad loss to the Labour party in a by-election. Gaza has not only been searingly personal for him, it demonstrated just how his background does indeed bring a vastly different lived experience to the corridors of power.
Mr Yousaf is Scotland’s First Minister, and his parents-in-law are currently in Gaza. The couple live in Dundee and were visiting with family who live there, including the family matriarch aged in her 90s and their son, who is a doctor.
As Mr Yousaf posted on social media to circulate videos of his mother-in-law Elizabeth, he was asking the UK government of Rishi Sunak to use its friendly ties with Israel to address the plight of those trapped in Gaza.
Scotland is not an independent country and Mr Yousaf has no foreign affairs powers. But his letters and calls have had no reply from the UK government.
If someone in a position of power feels so excluded from a voice, how many other millions are helpless and desolate as a result of how the government is shaping its response to the siege of Gaza?
It is worth noting that Mr Yousaf is also the only government leader who has condoled personally with the family of a victim of the Hamas attacks on October 7. He told mourners for Bernard Cowen at Giffnock Newton Mearns Synagogue: “Your grief is my grief.”
While Mr Sunak did say on Friday that the safety of civilians should be “paramount in our minds”, his government has consistently messaged its support for Israel’s right to defend itself. Its priorities are pretty clear. As retired ambassador Richard Dalton said last week, ministers had departed from the playbook for UK foreign policy over decades of conflict and jettisoned previous balances. In other words, its determination to avoid false equivalence is new and overriding.
How the international actors establish themselves will have a lasting legacy as this crisis will play out
Mr Yousaf is not only experiencing personal pain but the loneliness of a politician shunned and not given a hearing.
In this, however, he is not alone. Beyond the UK, the European landscape is much the same. Mr Yousaf represents a stream of opinion that is passionate about the humanitarian needs for restraint.
European leaders such as French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen have expressed absolute support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s response to the Hamas attacks for “weeks to come”.
One commissioner rushed to declare that the EU would cut off aid funds for all Palestinians, leading to absolute furore among the member states who had not been consulted. One Irish diplomat told me last week she’d been aghast at the announcement. “I just wondered where that was coming from,” she confided. “It wasn’t from the members, and it certainly wasn’t our position.”
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell was quick to react to the aborted proposal of cutting aid. He issued a statement on co-signed by the EU and the GCC, calling for “restraint and the release of hostages, allowing access to food, water and medicines according to international humanitarian law”. He also stressed the need for sustained financial support for the UN relief agency for Palestinians.
A separate justification from European Council President Charles Michel for the bloc’s stance reinforced the impression that policy is being driven by self-interest and not wider considerations of international law and humanitarian violations.
“Look, if there would be more difficulties at the regional level, we would have immediately huge difficulties on the European soil because of the refugees,” Mr Michel said in an interview. “And we know how it can be used by some political groups within the EU to fuel some controversies and to make the EU more fragmented.”
The problem for the Europeans in pursuing its approach is that the bloc could be discounted as a paper tiger in this crisis and those to come. For Middle East diplomats who spend a great deal of time listening to European requests, the demands for fairness are only travelling in one direction.
For a long time, there has been clearcut expectations of what America would do. To a similar extent, there is not much of a surprise in the Russian and Chinese positions. Europe’s fluidity makes it something of a swing factor in the international response, something that practically enhances its importance.
How the international actors establish themselves will have a lasting legacy as this crisis will play out.
Europe is divided and these divisions are already detectable. In fact, they have already robbed the Europeans of that vital whiff of combined heft.
Mr Yousaf has said he does not know if he will see his relatives again. Everybody knows now that he has done his utmost. That platform that he spoke about to Time Magazine has allowed him to bring his voice to the public. Across Europe, there are many others who represent the views that align with his own heartfelt experience.
As the head of an autonomous authority, and not a national government, Mr Yousaf is constrained by the constitutional limits of his position. But that has not diminished his voice.
The struggle between the two streams will continue to shape how Europe reacts. It has already limited the push to place a sole focus on Israel’s defence needs. And it will keep the pressure on the European leaders in the days and weeks to come.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Akeed
Based: Muscat
Launch year: 2018
Number of employees: 40
Sector: Online food delivery
Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
Torque: 385 and 650Nm
Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000
Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
Moral education needed in a 'rapidly changing world'
Moral education lessons for young people is needed in a rapidly changing world, the head of the programme said.
Alanood Al Kaabi, head of programmes at the Education Affairs Office of the Crown Price Court - Abu Dhabi, said: "The Crown Price Court is fully behind this initiative and have already seen the curriculum succeed in empowering young people and providing them with the necessary tools to succeed in building the future of the nation at all levels.
"Moral education touches on every aspect and subject that children engage in.
"It is not just limited to science or maths but it is involved in all subjects and it is helping children to adapt to integral moral practises.
"The moral education programme has been designed to develop children holistically in a world being rapidly transformed by technology and globalisation."
Bio
Born in Dubai in 1994
Her father is a retired Emirati police officer and her mother is originally from Kuwait
She Graduated from the American University of Sharjah in 2015 and is currently working on her Masters in Communication from the University of Sharjah.
Her favourite film is Pacific Rim, directed by Guillermo del Toro
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How does ToTok work?
The calling app is available to download on Google Play and Apple App Store
To successfully install ToTok, users are asked to enter their phone number and then create a nickname.
The app then gives users the option add their existing phone contacts, allowing them to immediately contact people also using the application by video or voice call or via message.
Users can also invite other contacts to download ToTok to allow them to make contact through the app.
No.6 Collaborations Project
Ed Sheeran (Atlantic)
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
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Two products to make at home
Toilet cleaner
1 cup baking soda
1 cup castile soap
10-20 drops of lemon essential oil (or another oil of your choice)
Method:
1. Mix the baking soda and castile soap until you get a nice consistency.
2. Add the essential oil to the mix.
Air Freshener
100ml water
5 drops of the essential oil of your choice (note: lavender is a nice one for this)
Method:
1. Add water and oil to spray bottle to store.
2. Shake well before use.
Titanium Escrow profile
Started: December 2016
Founder: Ibrahim Kamalmaz
Based: UAE
Sector: Finance / legal
Size: 3 employees, pre-revenue
Stage: Early stage
Investors: Founder's friends and Family
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.
Ruwais timeline
1971 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company established
1980 Ruwais Housing Complex built, located 10 kilometres away from industrial plants
1982 120,000 bpd capacity Ruwais refinery complex officially inaugurated by the founder of the UAE Sheikh Zayed
1984 Second phase of Ruwais Housing Complex built. Today the 7,000-unit complex houses some 24,000 people.
1985 The refinery is expanded with the commissioning of a 27,000 b/d hydro cracker complex
2009 Plans announced to build $1.2 billion fertilizer plant in Ruwais, producing urea
2010 Adnoc awards $10bn contracts for expansion of Ruwais refinery, to double capacity from 415,000 bpd
2014 Ruwais 261-outlet shopping mall opens
2014 Production starts at newly expanded Ruwais refinery, providing jet fuel and diesel and allowing the UAE to be self-sufficient for petrol supplies
2014 Etihad Rail begins transportation of sulphur from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais for export
2017 Aldar Academies to operate Adnoc’s schools including in Ruwais from September. Eight schools operate in total within the housing complex.
2018 Adnoc announces plans to invest $3.1 billion on upgrading its Ruwais refinery
2018 NMC Healthcare selected to manage operations of Ruwais Hospital
2018 Adnoc announces new downstream strategy at event in Abu Dhabi on May 13
Source: The National
Who has been sanctioned?
Daniella Weiss and Nachala
Described as 'the grandmother of the settler movement', she has encouraged the expansion of settlements for decades. The 79 year old leads radical settler movement Nachala, whose aim is for Israel to annex Gaza and the occupied West Bank, where it helps settlers built outposts.
Harel Libi & Libi Construction and Infrastructure
Libi has been involved in threatening and perpetuating acts of aggression and violence against Palestinians. His firm has provided logistical and financial support for the establishment of illegal outposts.
Zohar Sabah
Runs a settler outpost named Zohar’s Farm and has previously faced charges of violence against Palestinians. He was indicted by Israel’s State Attorney’s Office in September for allegedly participating in a violent attack against Palestinians and activists in the West Bank village of Muarrajat.
Coco’s Farm and Neria’s Farm
These are illegal outposts in the West Bank, which are at the vanguard of the settler movement. According to the UK, they are associated with people who have been involved in enabling, inciting, promoting or providing support for activities that amount to “serious abuse”.
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Women%E2%80%99s%20T20%20World%20Cup%20Qualifier
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20results%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EIreland%20beat%20UAE%20by%20six%20wickets%0D%3Cbr%3EZimbabwe%20beat%20UAE%20by%20eight%20wickets%0D%3Cbr%3EUAE%20beat%20Netherlands%20by%2010%20wickets%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFixtures%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EUAE%20v%20Vanuatu%2C%20Thursday%2C%203pm%2C%20Zayed%20Cricket%20Stadium%0D%3Cbr%3EIreland%20v%20Netherlands%2C%207.30pm%2C%20Zayed%20Cricket%20Stadium%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EGroup%20B%20table%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E1)%20Ireland%203%203%200%206%20%2B2.407%0D%3Cbr%3E2.%20Netherlands%203%202%201%204%20%2B1.117%0D%3Cbr%3E3)%20UAE%203%201%202%202%200.000%0D%3Cbr%3E4)%20Zimbabwe%204%201%203%202%20-0.844%0D%3Cbr%3E5)%20Vanuatu%203%201%202%202%20-2.180%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE squad to face Ireland
Ahmed Raza (captain), Chirag Suri (vice-captain), Rohan Mustafa, Mohammed Usman, Mohammed Boota, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Waheed Ahmad, Zawar Farid, CP Rizwaan, Aryan Lakra, Karthik Meiyappan, Alishan Sharafu, Basil Hameed, Kashif Daud, Adithya Shetty, Vriitya Aravind
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
