Pro-Palestinian demonstrators take part in a protest against the continuing war in Gaza outside Union Station in Washington on February 1. EPA
Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed since the militant group Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip on October 7. EPA
Israeli has responded with a military onslaught in the Palestinian enclave. EPA
The rally in the US capital drew protesters from far and wide. EPA
Meanwhile, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin has said Joe Biden's administration must do more to address the issue of the besieged Palestinian people. EPA
Mr Austin said in regular talks with Israel he has stressed the need to protect civilian lives and provide humanitarian aid to the Palestinians. EPA
Demonstrators block a junction near the US Capitol as President Joe Biden attends the National Prayer Breakfast. Getty Images
Protesters in Washington call for a ceasefire in Gaza. Reuters
Pro-Palestine demonstrators shut down interstate ramps on the street on Capitol Hill, Washington. Reuters
Gaza protests in Washington. The National
A person participates in the protest in Washington. The National
Metropolitan Police Department officers as members of the anti-Zionist Jews group Neturei Karta join pro-Palestinians people blocking a street close to the US Capitol in Washington DC. AFP
Members of the anti-Zionist Jews group Neturei Karta join pro-Palestinians people blocking a street close to the US Capitol in Washington. AFP
Raghida Dergham is the founder and executive chairwoman of the Beirut Institute, and a columnist for The National
February 04, 2024
The US’s focus on securing a humanitarian pause in Gaza carries implications for America’s domestic political front, particularly for President Joe Biden’s re-election bid this year.
The state of Michigan could play a pivotal role, underscoring the significance of the Arab vote, despite its modest size. On a strategic level, the Biden administration’s investment in transitional arrangements is accompanied by diligent efforts towards fostering a US-Iran detente and US-Arab co-ordination. The administration hopes these efforts will culminate in a grand settlement in the Middle East.
Former president Donald Trump, who will almost certainly be Mr Biden’s opponent in the November election, is banking on the incumbent’s struggle to retain the Arab vote in Michigan in the hope that this would open a pathway for his return to the White House. Mr Trump also expects Mr Biden to fail to secure a grand bargain, because its core foundation involves appeasing Iran, as opposed to imposing a deal on American terms (which Mr Trump believes is the best way to resolve conflicts).
The coming weeks hold critical importance for both candidates. Securing a ceasefire in Gaza will become a key issue for both campaigns, alongside the dynamics of the US-Iran relationship and the Israel-Hezbollah equation.
It may appear simplistic to argue that Michigan could be a key gateway to the White House and that the Arab vote within the state holds this key. But this is becoming increasingly plausible, with Mr Biden having appeared to have lost at least some of the support of the traditionally Democratic-leaning Arab and Muslim base in the state, owing mostly to his stance on the Israel-Gaza war.
The “Abandon Biden” campaign is uninterested in the administration’s strikes on Houthi targets, aimed at safeguarding international navigation, or its response against the Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria in retaliation to the targeting of American soldiers last week. The campaign’s primary concern lies in Mr Biden’s support to Israel, including the provision of weaponry that has played a role in the killing of more than 27,000 Palestinians, and his rejection of calls for a permanent ceasefire.
US President Joe Biden is welcomed by Israeli Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv last October. Reuters
Biden finds himself in what could be termed the 'Obama moment'
The Michigan Arab community’s dissatisfaction with Mr Biden has emerged at a time when he needs their support, which was pivotal in securing his 2020 victory. This will be music to Mr Trump’s ears.
The former president’s political messaging centres on his supposed ability to find solutions through the application of coercive tools. According to his campaign team, he is a man of peace, while Mr Biden has demonstrated a proclivity for war during his tenure.
The man who co-authored the book The Art of the Dealdoesn’t conceal his readiness for reaching difficult agreements.
Mr Trump suggests he has a roadmap for resolving the conflict in Ukraine, which could anger his opponents at home and Nato allies abroad, as it would be seen as the alliance abandoning Ukraine against Russia. But Mr Trump’s pragmatism puts him in a position to propose a deal to Moscow that would include halting the war in exchange for a re-evaluation of Nato’s supposed commitment to bring Kyiv into the alliance. In the eyes of the Trump team, this doesn’t amount to abandonment but a pragmatic solution to end the war.
The Biden campaign is likely to highlight the incumbent’s success in containing wars, preventing their escalation and steering the US clear of their pitfalls. The Gaza war serves as a live example, where the Biden administration has so far deterred Iran on the one hand and restrained Hezbollah in Lebanon on the other, thereby averting a regional war. Additionally, it has resisted Israel’s eagerness to embroil Washington in a direct conflict with Iran.
But the Biden administration’s problem is its perceived weakness and inability to deter direct attacks on American bases and interests, as well as to halt the ongoing bloodshed in Gaza, beyond seeking temporary humanitarian ceasefires. To date, the administration has been unsuccessful in securing a major deal and the lasting settlement that it is pursuing.
Mr Biden finds himself in what could be termed the “Obama moment” – when former president Barack Obama opted at the 11th hour to not strike Syria despite having declared a red line to halt Damascus’s prohibited chemical weapons programme in 2012.
Having been Mr Obama’s vice president at the time, Mr Biden is keen to avoid escalatory rhetoric. But the resemblance between the two men’s leadership styles lies in their inability to take decisive action. Indeed, there is an impression that Mr Biden failed to respond swiftly enough after suffering blows from Iran-affiliated groups and to reaffirm that the US does not tolerate targeting its soldiers and bases – including on the Tower 22 military base near the Jordan-Syria border. Instead, Mr Biden seems to have accepted Tehran’s claims that it isn’t involved in the operations conducted by its proxies.
Members of an Iraqi Shiite militant group attend a funeral for the group members who were killed by a US air strike, in Baghdad on Sunday. AP
The Biden administration’s response to the Tower 22 attack is likely to rely on conducting strikes on targets affiliated with Iran inside Iraq and Syria over the next several days. But this might be designed to avoid direct confrontation with Tehran, which Washington does not desire. However, it is not a resolute strategy and does not convey the message that this is a great power that does not tolerate transgressions by Iran or its proxies.
The Iranian regime does not seek war with the US or Israel. It is buying time to complete its nuclear weapons programme and avoid further domestic economic pressures. It may, therefore, seek to co-operate with the Biden administration to find solutions and even facilitate a major deal.
There is little doubt, then, that the fear of war is fundamental to both powers’ current policies.
The country that stands to benefit from this awkward situation is Lebanon, where Hezbollah is a valuable asset for Iran and the key to a major settlement if ceasefire efforts in Gaza prove successful.
Local reports suggest Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian has informed relevant parties that Tehran is seeking a diplomatic solution to the Lebanon-Israel border disputes, and that it does not object to American mediation to delineate the land boundaries.
I am given to understand that US special envoy Amos Hochstein could unveil a deal between the two countries immediately after the impending Gaza ceasefire. The plan aims to implement UN Resolution 1701 and prepare the Lebanese army for deployment in the south.
Simultaneously, negotiations could be launched between Lebanon and Israel through the UN regarding the removal of disputes along the Blue Line separating Lebanon and Israel, and diplomatic solutions could be explored to settle the Shebaa Farms and Kafr Shuba disputes, which would necessarily involve Syria given that these territories claimed by Lebanon fall within the zone supervised by the UN Disengagement Observer Force maintaining the ceasefire between Syria and Israel since their 1973 war.
All of this, of course, requires Iran’s consent and approval.
Currently, however, all eyes are on the humanitarian tragedy that continues to unfold in Gaza – as well as any action the Biden administration will take in its dealings with Iranian entanglements and challenges.
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
Thalassaemia is part of a family of genetic conditions affecting the blood known as haemoglobin disorders.
Haemoglobin is a substance in the red blood cells that carries oxygen and a lack of it triggers anemia, leaving patients very weak, short of breath and pale.
The most severe type of the condition is typically inherited when both parents are carriers. Those patients often require regular blood transfusions - about 450 of the UAE's 2,000 thalassaemia patients - though frequent transfusions can lead to too much iron in the body and heart and liver problems.
The condition mainly affects people of Mediterranean, South Asian, South-East Asian and Middle Eastern origin. Saudi Arabia recorded 45,892 cases of carriers between 2004 and 2014.
A World Health Organisation study estimated that globally there are at least 950,000 'new carrier couples' every year and annually there are 1.33 million at-risk pregnancies.
Squads
Pakistan: Sarfaraz Ahmed (c), Babar Azam (vc), Abid Ali, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail, Mohammad Hasnain, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Shadab Khan, Usman Shinwari, Wahab Riaz
Bitcoin is the most popular virtual currency in the world. It was created in 2009 as a new way of paying for things that would not be subject to central banks that are capable of devaluing currency. A Bitcoin itself is essentially a line of computer code. It's signed digitally when it goes from one owner to another. There are sustainability concerns around the cryptocurrency, which stem from the process of "mining" that is central to its existence.
The "miners" use computers to make complex calculations that verify transactions in Bitcoin. This uses a tremendous amount of energy via computers and server farms all over the world, which has given rise to concerns about the amount of fossil fuel-dependent electricity used to power the computers.
UAE Tour 2020
Stage 1: The Pointe Palm Jumeirah - Dubai Silicon Oasis, 148km Stage 2: Hatta - Hatta Dam, 168km Stage 3: Al Qudra Cycle Track - Jebel Hafeet, 184km Stage 4: Zabeel Park - Dubai City Walk, 173km Stage 5: Al Ain - Jebel Hafeet, 162km Stage 6: Al Ruwais - Al Mirfa, 158km Stage 7: Al Maryah Island - Abu Dhabi Breakwater, 127km
RACE CARD
5pm: Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 1,400m
5.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh70,000 1,000m
6pm: Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 2,000m
6.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 2,000m
7pm: Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 1,600m
7.30pm: Al Ain Mile Group 3 (PA) Dh350,000 1,600m
8pm: Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 1,600m
Chennai Knights, Lahore Sikandars, Pakhtoon Blasters, Abu Dhabi Stars, Abu Dhabi Dragons, Pakhtoon Warriors and Hyderabad Nawabs.
Squad rules
All teams consist of 15-player squads that include those contracted in the diamond (3), platinum (2) and gold (2) categories, plus eight free to sign team members.
Tournament rules
The matches are of 25 over-a-side with an 8-over power play in which only two fielders allowed outside the 30-yard circle. Teams play in a single round robin league followed by the semi-finals and final. The league toppers will feature in the semi-final eliminator.
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
How the UAE gratuity payment is calculated now
Employees leaving an organisation are entitled to an end-of-service gratuity after completing at least one year of service.
The tenure is calculated on the number of days worked and does not include lengthy leave periods, such as a sabbatical. If you have worked for a company between one and five years, you are paid 21 days of pay based on your final basic salary. After five years, however, you are entitled to 30 days of pay. The total lump sum you receive is based on the duration of your employment.
1. For those who have worked between one and five years, on a basic salary of Dh10,000 (calculation based on 30 days):
a. Dh10,000 ÷ 30 = Dh333.33. Your daily wage is Dh333.33
b. Dh333.33 x 21 = Dh7,000. So 21 days salary equates to Dh7,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service. Multiply this figure for every year of service up to five years.
2. For those who have worked more than five years
c. 333.33 x 30 = Dh10,000. So 30 days’ salary is Dh10,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service.
Note: The maximum figure cannot exceed two years total salary figure.
