Live updates: Follow the latest news on Israel-Gaza
As Houthi attacks escalated in the Red Sea, the White House announced in mid-December that a 20-country “coalition of the willing” would use its naval muscle to protect shipping.
The response from America’s western allies, however, has been lukewarm, casting doubt on whether the naval “highway patrol” will be as potent as the Pentagon hoped.
Italy has distanced its Red Sea frigate from the US operation, while Spain is unwilling to take part despite Washington saying it would and Germany is still weighing up whether to offer two ships armed with air defence rockets.
EU countries are now considering whether to launch their own Red Sea mission, officials in Spain and Germany have said, as the bloc increasingly tries to display military clout independently of Washington.
“It is important that we as the EU are able to act as quickly as possible in view of the ongoing attacks,” said a German Foreign Ministry representative, who said Berlin was ready for a European mission even as it debates the US option.
Among container carriers, major players such as Switzerland’s MSC are not sufficiently reassured by the US-led Operation Prosperity Guardian to send ships back into the Red Sea.
The cool response reflects wariness in Europe about using up military resources, submitting to US command and the ongoing danger to Red Sea shipping.
It also comes with European countries increasingly pushing to contain the Middle East conflict, while US President Joe Biden continues to back Israel in its war with Hamas.
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militants have vowed to attack Red Sea shipping until Israel ends its bombardment of Gaza, prompting mariners to take a detour around Africa that adds to costs and journey times.
The Red Sea route is used by roughly a third of container ship cargo and costs per unit have risen about 15 to 25 per cent since the Houthi escalation, according to estimates by freight platform Xeneta.
The US operation is meant to reassure commercial shipping and “assist as necessary”, the Pentagon said. The US, UK and France say their navies have shot down drones coming from Yemen.
Taking part … or not
The US claimed that “more than 20 nations have signed on” including Britain, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, the Seychelles and Spain.
Some have confirmed their support, including the UK, which deployed Royal Navy Type 45 destroyer HMS Diamond, while the Dutch and Canadian militaries sent personnel to help the mission. Australia is also sending staff to Bahrain.
But the claim Spain was involved soon foundered, when its defence ministry said it “will not participate” and Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez rejected an alternative plan to sail under the umbrella of an EU anti-piracy mission.
Mr Sanchez said he is open to creating a new EU task force for the Red Sea, as the bloc increasingly tries to assert strategic independence from Washington. Any such agreement would take time and need consensus from all 27 member states.
Italy too played down its participation. While the missile-equipped frigate Fasan Virginio has been sent to the Red Sea, defence chiefs issued a memo insisting it was not part of Operation Prosperity Guardian.
Although the announcement followed talks with US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, the vessel was already in the Middle East and its deployment to the Red Sea came at the “specific request” of Italian shipowners, the ministry said.
France says its frigate Languedoc has shot down drones and prevented the hijacking of a Norwegian oil tanker, but it too clarified that its sailors “remain under national command” even as it welcomed the US announcement.
French President Emmanuel Macron has been one of the most vocal European leaders in pushing for strategic autonomy from the US after the wars in Afghanistan and Ukraine exposed Europe’s reliance on Washington.
The Pentagon did not reveal whether it expected Germany to join the Red Sea mission, but its three Sachsen-class frigates are regarded in Berlin as potentially suitable because they were built with an emphasis on air defence.
However, one is in the shipyard for repairs, another is just returning from a Nato mission in the Baltic Sea and German officials are debating whether to deploy them or focus more on logistical help.
“It would achieve nothing to just deploy destroyers and frigates, but you always need logistics, leadership, intelligence and other capabilities that can be made available,” a defence ministry spokesman said.
Shipping industry cautious
Reaction from the shipping industry has also been mixed. Denmark’s Maersk called the US mission “most welcome” and said it would enable ships to return to the Red Sea.
Switzerland’s MSC, by contrast, said on Tuesday it would continue to reroute vessels via the Cape after container ship MSC United VIII was forced into “evasive manoeuvres” when it came under attack en route to Pakistan.
Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd said on Wednesday it would continue to avoid the Suez Canal because “the situation remains too dangerous”. French company CMA-CGM said it was planning a “gradual increase” in Red Sea traffic.
Shipping expert Lars Jensen said in an online post that the decision on whether or not to sail for the Suez Canal was “increasingly a competitive parameter amongst the carriers”.
Using the Red Sea may lower costs and have political advantages but “it is also a risk”, he said.
“A sudden deterioration would mean that carriers who are sticking to round-Africa will continue to offer stable, but longer, services to their customers whereas carriers now using the Red Sea would once more create major disruptions to their customers’ supply chains.”
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The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Anti-semitic attacks
The annual report by the Community Security Trust, which advises the Jewish community on security , warned on Thursday that anti-Semitic incidents in Britain had reached a record high.
It found there had been 2,255 anti-Semitic incidents reported in 2021, a rise of 34 per cent from the previous year.
The report detailed the convictions of a number of people for anti-Semitic crimes, including one man who was jailed for setting up a neo-Nazi group which had encouraged “the eradication of Jewish people” and another who had posted anti-Semitic homemade videos on social media.
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
How to increase your savings
- Have a plan for your savings.
- Decide on your emergency fund target and once that's achieved, assign your savings to another financial goal such as saving for a house or investing for retirement.
- Decide on a financial goal that is important to you and put your savings to work for you.
- It's important to have a purpose for your savings as it helps to keep you motivated to continue while also reducing the temptation to spend your savings.
- Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
Innotech Profile
Date started: 2013
Founder/CEO: Othman Al Mandhari
Based: Muscat, Oman
Sector: Additive manufacturing, 3D printing technologies
Size: 15 full-time employees
Stage: Seed stage and seeking Series A round of financing
Investors: Oman Technology Fund from 2017 to 2019, exited through an agreement with a new investor to secure new funding that it under negotiation right now.
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
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
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Three ways to limit your social media use
Clinical psychologist, Dr Saliha Afridi at The Lighthouse Arabia suggests three easy things you can do every day to cut back on the time you spend online.
1. Put the social media app in a folder on the second or third screen of your phone so it has to remain a conscious decision to open, rather than something your fingers gravitate towards without consideration.
2. Schedule a time to use social media instead of consistently throughout the day. I recommend setting aside certain times of the day or week when you upload pictures or share information.
3. Take a mental snapshot rather than a photo on your phone. Instead of sharing it with your social world, try to absorb the moment, connect with your feeling, experience the moment with all five of your senses. You will have a memory of that moment more vividly and for far longer than if you take a picture of it.
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The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
McLaren GT specs
Engine: 4-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: seven-speed
Power: 620bhp
Torque: 630Nm
Price: Dh875,000
On sale: now
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
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Joe Root's Test record
Tests: 53; Innings: 98; Not outs: 11; Runs: 4,594; Best score: 254; Average: 52.80; 100s: 11; 50s: 27
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Scores
Oman 109-3 in 18.4 overs (Aqib Ilyas 45 not out, Aamir Kaleem 27) beat UAE 108-9 in 20 overs (Usman 27, Mustafa 24, Fayyaz 3-16, Bilal 3-23)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Racecard
6.35pm: The Madjani Stakes – Group 2 (PA) Dh97,500 (Dirt) 1,900m
7.10pm: Evidenza – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,200m
7.45pm: The Longines Conquest – Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (D) 2,000m
8.20: The Longines Elegant – Conditions (TB) Dh82,500 (D)
8.35pm: The Dubai Creek Mile – Listed (TB) Dh132,500 (D) 1,600m
9.30pm: Mirdif Stakes – Conditions (TB) Dh120,000 (D) 1,400m
10.05pm: The Longines Record – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,900m
KEY%20DATES%20IN%20AMAZON'S%20HISTORY
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Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
Kandahar%20
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57%20Seconds
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Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
The specs
Engine: 2.9-litre, V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: seven-speed PDK dual clutch automatic
Power: 375bhp
Torque: 520Nm
Price: Dh332,800
On sale: now
The years Ramadan fell in May
