Beyond the Headlines: How will Joe Biden change US policy in the Middle East?


Sulaiman Hakemy
  • English
  • Arabic

For nearly four years, US President Donald Trump has torn up America’s foreign policy handbook – for better and for worse.

The implications, both at home and abroad, have been staggering. Most recently, the Trump administration was lauded for facilitating the Abraham Accord, the normalisation of relations with Israel by the UAE and Bahrain. In exchange, Israel’s government agreed to halt its plan to annex Palestinian land. But Mr Trump’s days in the White House are now numbered. By the end of January 2021, a new administration will take the reins of US foreign policy.

This week on Beyond the Headlines, we hear from Sanam Vakil, deputy director of Chatham House’s Middle East and North Africa Programme, and Nasser Saidi, Lebanon’s former minister of economy and former vice governor of the Lebanese central bank, about what will change for the Middle East and what will remain the same when Joe Biden takes his seat in the Oval Office.

Family reunited

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was born and raised in Tehran and studied English literature before working as a translator in the relief effort for the Japanese International Co-operation Agency in 2003.

She moved to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies before moving to the World Health Organisation as a communications officer.

She came to the UK in 2007 after securing a scholarship at London Metropolitan University to study a master's in communication management and met her future husband through mutual friends a month later.

The couple were married in August 2009 in Winchester and their daughter was born in June 2014.

She was held in her native country a year later.

Which honey takes your fancy?

Al Ghaf Honey

The Al Ghaf tree is a local desert tree which bears the harsh summers with drought and high temperatures. From the rich flowers, bees that pollinate this tree can produce delicious red colour honey in June and July each year

Sidr Honey

The Sidr tree is an evergreen tree with long and strong forked branches. The blossom from this tree is called Yabyab, which provides rich food for bees to produce honey in October and November. This honey is the most expensive, but tastiest

Samar Honey

The Samar tree trunk, leaves and blossom contains Barm which is the secret of healing. You can enjoy the best types of honey from this tree every year in May and June. It is an historical witness to the life of the Emirati nation which represents the harsh desert and mountain environments

The specs

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Power: 640hp

Torque: 760nm

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Price: Not announced yet

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