CAIRO // Determined but facing formidable odds, Mohammed Morsi's actions in his first weeks as Egypt's president have been a gamble. From his three inauguration day speeches to his surprise decision to defy a military order dissolving parliament, Mr Morsi has taken huge - some say reckless - risks.
Critics claim he is on a power grab, while trying to help the Muslim Brotherhood realise its dream of an Islamist Egypt. Supporters say he is a revolutionary struggling against old regime institutions determined to keep things unchanged and deny him real power.
To bolster his revolutionary credentials, Mr Morsi's first order as president was to create a committee to investigate the killing of hundreds of protesters during the 18-day uprising that toppled the former president Hosni Mubarak last year. That was a nod to the non-Islamist groups who engineered the uprising in the hope that they would rally behind him in his battle with the military over restoring the powers of his office.
But that strategy has not worked.
The crowds gathering in Cairo's Tahrir Square on an almost daily basis to press for the reinstatement of the Islamist-dominated parliament and the restoration of the powers of the president are drawn almost exclusively from the ranks of the Muslim Brotherhood or allied Islamists.
Many in Egypt have decided to keep their distance from the Brotherhood following attacks, blamed on young members of the group, on politicians and lawyers who filed cases against Mr Morsi's order last week to recall parliament.
Mr Morsi's win in last month's presidential run-off - about a million votes more than those won by Mubarak's last prime minister, Ahmed Shafiq - followed a deeply polarised election in which voters cast ballots in favour of Mr Morsi or Mr Shafiq simply because they did not want the other to win. Many voted for Mr Morsi out of spite against the military, whose generals have been rumoured to favour Mr Shafiq, a career air force officer.
Mr Morsi's order to revoke the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces' decision to dissolve parliament drew a polite but firm response from the military. It stated its commitment to "legitimacy, the law and the constitution". The Supreme Constitutional Court, whose June 14 verdict led to the military's move against the legislature, said its verdict was final and binding.
In response, Mr Morsi's office issued a statement saying the president has nothing but respect for the judiciary and that his order to recall parliament, which convened for five minutes last week, was intended only to create a mechanism for implementing the court's verdict.
The upshot is that Mr Morsi is willing to do battle with the military and the country's highest tribunal, despite the risk of more upheavals.
Even if the legislature were reinstated, it would not sit for more than a few months. A constitutional declaration issued by the military on June 17 says parliamentary elections are to be held within two months of the adoption of the new constitution, now being drafted by a panel selected by the dissolved legislature.
It is also expected that the military, which has veto power over the process of drafting a new constitution, will include a clause providing for new presidential elections.
So why is Mr Morsi risking so much when the object of his efforts - the reinstatement of the Islamist-led legislature - will not last long even if he should succeed?
Perhaps Mr Morsi is trying - too hard and too soon - to assert his authority as well as shrug off his image as an "accidental" president whose loyalty is to the Brotherhood, his home for 40 years. Mr Morsi was in the race because the Brotherhood's first-choice candidate, its chief strategist and financier Khairat El Shater, was disqualified over a Mubarak-era conviction.
The Brotherhood wants the legislature back so its MPs - who control just under half of its 508 seats - can pass legislation to restore some of the credibility lost during the past six months when the group struggled to make quick improvements to the lives of poor Egyptians, or place the economy on a recovery path.
foreign.desk@thenational.ae
Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Globalization and its Discontents Revisited
Joseph E. Stiglitz
W. W. Norton & Company
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Is it worth it? We put cheesecake frap to the test.
The verdict from the nutritionists is damning. But does a cheesecake frappuccino taste good enough to merit the indulgence?
My advice is to only go there if you have unusually sweet tooth. I like my puddings, but this was a bit much even for me. The first hit is a winner, but it's downhill, slowly, from there. Each sip is a little less satisfying than the last, and maybe it was just all that sugar, but it isn't long before the rush is replaced by a creeping remorse. And half of the thing is still left.
The caramel version is far superior to the blueberry, too. If someone put a full caramel cheesecake through a liquidiser and scooped out the contents, it would probably taste something like this. Blueberry, on the other hand, has more of an artificial taste. It's like someone has tried to invent this drink in a lab, and while early results were promising, they're still in the testing phase. It isn't terrible, but something isn't quite right either.
So if you want an experience, go for a small, and opt for the caramel. But if you want a cheesecake, it's probably more satisfying, and not quite as unhealthy, to just order the real thing.
Asia Cup 2018 final
Who: India v Bangladesh
When: Friday, 3.30pm, Dubai International Stadium
Watch: Live on OSN Cricket HD
Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
The specs: 2018 Chevrolet Trailblazer
Price, base / as tested Dh99,000 / Dh132,000
Engine 3.6L V6
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power 275hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 350Nm @ 3,700rpm
Fuel economy combined 12.2L / 100km
11 cabbie-recommended restaurants and dishes to try in Abu Dhabi
Iqbal Restaurant behind Wendy’s on Hamdan Street for the chicken karahi (Dh14)
Pathemari in Navy Gate for prawn biryani (from Dh12 to Dh35)
Abu Al Nasar near Abu Dhabi Mall, for biryani (from Dh12 to Dh20)
Bonna Annee at Navy Gate for Ethiopian food (the Bonna Annee special costs Dh42 and comes with a mix of six house stews – key wet, minchet abesh, kekel, meser be sega, tibs fir fir and shiro).
Al Habasha in Tanker Mai for Ethiopian food (tibs, a hearty stew with meat, is a popular dish; here it costs Dh36.75 for lamb and beef versions)
Himalayan Restaurant in Mussaffa for Nepalese (the momos and chowmein noodles are best-selling items, and go for between Dh14 and Dh20)
Makalu in Mussaffa for Nepalese (get the chicken curry or chicken fry for Dh11)
Al Shaheen Cafeteria near Guardian Towers for a quick morning bite, especially the egg sandwich in paratha (Dh3.50)
Pinky Food Restaurant in Tanker Mai for tilapia
Tasty Zone for Nepalese-style noodles (Dh15)
Ibrahimi for Pakistani food (a quarter chicken tikka with roti costs Dh16)
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The Little Things
Directed by: John Lee Hancock
Starring: Denzel Washington, Rami Malek, Jared Leto
Four stars
Who are the Soroptimists?
The first Soroptimists club was founded in Oakland, California in 1921. The name comes from the Latin word soror which means sister, combined with optima, meaning the best.
The organisation said its name is best interpreted as ‘the best for women’.
Since then the group has grown exponentially around the world and is officially affiliated with the United Nations. The organisation also counts Queen Mathilde of Belgium among its ranks.
How green is the expo nursery?
Some 400,000 shrubs and 13,000 trees in the on-site nursery
An additional 450,000 shrubs and 4,000 trees to be delivered in the months leading up to the expo
Ghaf, date palm, acacia arabica, acacia tortilis, vitex or sage, techoma and the salvadora are just some heat tolerant native plants in the nursery
Approximately 340 species of shrubs and trees selected for diverse landscape
The nursery team works exclusively with organic fertilisers and pesticides
All shrubs and trees supplied by Dubai Municipality
Most sourced from farms, nurseries across the country
Plants and trees are re-potted when they arrive at nursery to give them room to grow
Some mature trees are in open areas or planted within the expo site
Green waste is recycled as compost
Treated sewage effluent supplied by Dubai Municipality is used to meet the majority of the nursery’s irrigation needs
Construction workforce peaked at 40,000 workers
About 65,000 people have signed up to volunteer
Main themes of expo is ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ and three subthemes of opportunity, mobility and sustainability.
Expo 2020 Dubai to open in October 2020 and run for six months
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
Famous left-handers
- Marie Curie
- Jimi Hendrix
- Leonardo Di Vinci
- David Bowie
- Paul McCartney
- Albert Einstein
- Jack the Ripper
- Barack Obama
- Helen Keller
- Joan of Arc
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
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Naga
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