In a little over 200 days in office, US President Donald Trump has put to bed global conflicts, met with “the most dangerous man in the world”, held court with European leaders in Washington and upended the global economic order. His critics claim his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin put Ukraine, Europe and America on the back foot. But can someone please explain to me the alternative? It would be to continue with an open-ended war of attrition that hurts everyone and helps no one. Will he now get Mr Putin to the table with his Ukrainian counterpart, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy? Maybe not. But surely, they are closer to a resolution to this conflict now than in the past three years.
Here’s why. It’s difficult to argue at this point that the Russian President can be stared down, stopped by sanctions or made to care about international ostracism. The question is, and has been from day one, about leverage. Mr Putin has it despite everything the West has thrown his way. That’s because no one was willing to fight for Ukraine except the Ukrainians. And of course, Mr Putin knew that from the beginning. With a weak president in the White House and Europe held hostage by its dependence on Russian energy, there was never a better time for him to make a move. Even now, the Russian war machine is running full throttle: scooping up territory in Ukraine, destroying infrastructure, killing and maiming. And despite a slowdown, this year the Russian economy will grow. Again.
Everyone is acutely aware of the limits of western interventionist measures. Unprecedented rounds of economic sanctions may have curtailed Russia’s external revenues, but they needed to do much more to end the war. Only going after India and China for their role in buying Russian crude, a move Mr Trump is now considering, could be more effective in denting Moscow’s war machine.
The truth is Russia can take the pain, but Ukraine cannot. No one will rebuild Ukraine’s damaged cities until the war is over. The West has proven beyond doubt that it will not fight for Ukraine, and unlike Russia, they are a country running low on manpower. One wonders, at this point, if anyone is bothering to think ahead. You cannot lose so many working-age citizens to fighting or flight and imagine a swift return to productivity afterwards. International institutions from the European Development Bank to Goldman Sachs are ready to swoop in the day a peace deal gets done; surely that’s a better outcome for Ukraine than an ongoing battle for territory that has already been lost.
Meanwhile, Mr Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and Mr Trump’s refusal to write a blank cheque for Europe have done more to promote continental cohesion and build up European institutions than seven decades of US bankrolling ever did. And Europe has much to gain by its belief that Mr Putin is its greatest existential threat; a military build-up means gaining a greater share of the international military industrial complex. That means jobs. Could Europe dig itself out of its perpetual economic slump? Look what a war footing did for Russia.
The truth is Russia can take the pain, but Ukraine cannot
And as for Mr Putin, what would be the point of stopping now? The moment he does he is shut out of the mainstage with a weaker economy and a worrying access to nuclear weapons. Right now, he can still get a sit-down with the US President and make the entire European bloc, 750 million people, dance to his tune. Plus, with Mr Trump and his Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, still holding off on sanctions that they say could be an impediment to peace, he’s got a longer runway. For the White House, there’s no sense in not giving the process a go before slapping on more sanctions; and for Mr Putin, the longer he can drag this all out the better.
In truth, it’s unclear what, if anything, could get the Kremlin to move forward on making peace; there’s already a personal relationship with the man in the White House and he knows Mr Trump is just a phone call away. It’s difficult to imagine the Russian President will walk away without real territorial gains and he’s not going to go for a Ukraine that is part of Nato. Plus, Mr Trump and his team will consider peace now just as big a win as peace at the end of his tenure in the White House. Mr Putin knows Mr Trump has a famously short attention span and much bigger problems back at home to tackle.
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Suggested picnic spots
Abu Dhabi
Umm Al Emarat Park
Yas Gateway Park
Delma Park
Al Bateen beach
Saadiyaat beach
The Corniche
Zayed Sports City
Dubai
Kite Beach
Zabeel Park
Al Nahda Pond Park
Mushrif Park
Safa Park
Al Mamzar Beach Park
Al Qudrah Lakes
Gran Gala del Calcio 2019 winners
Best Player: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus)
Best Coach: Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta)
Best Referee: Gianluca Rocchi
Best Goal: Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria vs Napoli)
Best Team: Atalanta
Best XI: Samir Handanovic (Inter); Aleksandar Kolarov (Roma), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli), Joao Cancelo (Juventus*); Miralem Pjanic (Juventus), Josip Ilicic (Atalanta), Nicolo Barella (Cagliari*); Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria), Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Duvan Zapata (Atalanta)
Serie B Best Young Player: Sandro Tonali (Brescia)
Best Women’s Goal: Thaisa (Milan vs Juventus)
Best Women’s Player: Manuela Giugliano (Milan)
Best Women’s XI: Laura Giuliani (Milan); Alia Guagni (Fiorentina), Sara Gama (Juventus), Cecilia Salvai (Juventus), Elisa Bartoli (Roma); Aurora Galli (Juventus), Manuela Giugliano (Roma), Valentina Cernoia (Juventus); Valentina Giacinti (Milan), Ilaria Mauro (Fiorentina), Barbara Bonansea (Juventus)
The specs: Macan Turbo
Engine: Dual synchronous electric motors
Power: 639hp
Torque: 1,130Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Touring range: 591km
Price: From Dh412,500
On sale: Deliveries start in October
Fanney Khan
Producer: T-Series, Anil Kapoor Productions, ROMP, Prerna Arora
Director: Atul Manjrekar
Cast: Anil Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai, Rajkummar Rao, Pihu Sand
Rating: 2/5
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
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Teams in the EHL
White Bears, Al Ain Theebs, Dubai Mighty Camels, Abu Dhabi Storms, Abu Dhabi Scorpions and Vipers
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
Director: Scott Cooper
Starring: Jeremy Allen White, Odessa Young, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
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Coming soon
Torno Subito by Massimo Bottura
When the W Dubai – The Palm hotel opens at the end of this year, one of the highlights will be Massimo Bottura’s new restaurant, Torno Subito, which promises “to take guests on a journey back to 1960s Italy”. It is the three Michelinstarred chef’s first venture in Dubai and should be every bit as ambitious as you would expect from the man whose restaurant in Italy, Osteria Francescana, was crowned number one in this year’s list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
Akira Back Dubai
Another exciting opening at the W Dubai – The Palm hotel is South Korean chef Akira Back’s new restaurant, which will continue to showcase some of the finest Asian food in the world. Back, whose Seoul restaurant, Dosa, won a Michelin star last year, describes his menu as, “an innovative Japanese cuisine prepared with a Korean accent”.
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
The highly experimental chef, whose dishes are as much about spectacle as taste, opens his first restaurant in Dubai next year. Housed at The Royal Atlantis Resort & Residences, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal will feature contemporary twists on recipes that date back to the 1300s, including goats’ milk cheesecake. Always remember with a Blumenthal dish: nothing is quite as it seems.
Mubadala World Tennis Championship 2018 schedule
Thursday December 27
Men's quarter-finals
Kevin Anderson v Hyeon Chung 4pm
Dominic Thiem v Karen Khachanov 6pm
Women's exhibition
Serena Williams v Venus Williams 8pm
Friday December 28
5th place play-off 3pm
Men's semi-finals
Rafael Nadal v Anderson/Chung 5pm
Novak Djokovic v Thiem/Khachanov 7pm
Saturday December 29
3rd place play-off 5pm
Men's final 7pm
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
yallacompare profile
Date of launch: 2014
Founder: Jon Richards, founder and chief executive; Samer Chebab, co-founder and chief operating officer, and Jonathan Rawlings, co-founder and chief financial officer
Based: Media City, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: 120 employees
Investors: 2014: $500,000 in a seed round led by Mulverhill Associates; 2015: $3m in Series A funding led by STC Ventures (managed by Iris Capital), Wamda and Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority; 2019: $8m in Series B funding with the same investors as Series A along with Precinct Partners, Saned and Argo Ventures (the VC arm of multinational insurer Argo Group)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
