Live updates: Follow the latest news on Israel-Gaza
The EU is seeking to unify its position on the Israel-Gaza war with an extraordinary meeting of 27 heads of state on Tuesday.
The virtual meeting comes after sharp criticism was directed against the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
“We felt the need to bring some order, that’s a fact. What we have seen last week was going in many directions and not reflecting the council position or member states’ position,” an EU official said on Monday.
This position was echoed among other European officials and diplomats, who have privately said that Ms von der Leyen had no mandate to represent the EU during her trip to Israel in the wake of attacks by militant group Hamas.
The surprise large-scale incursion killed over 1,400 Israelis. Israel has responded with a siege of Gaza and bombardment which has killed almost 2,800 Palestinians. In both cases, most of those killed were civilians.
“This is the time to stand in solidarity with Israel and its people. And this is why I am here,” said Ms von der Leyen in Israel on Friday as she stood alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“Hamas's despicable actions are the hallmark of terrorists. And I know that how Israel responds will show that it is a democracy,” she said.
Departure from agreed language
By not echoing the UN call to protect civilians and abide to international law, Ms von der Leyen departed from “agreed EU language,” one diplomat told The National. “That’s potentially damaging,” they said.
They said that even more care than usual should have been put in any EU statements on Israel and Palestine due to the “very volatile situation after Hamas’s horrific attack”.
Analysts have previously told The National that Ms von der Leyen’s initial failure to request that Israel respect international law gave the impression that she endorsed Israel’s siege and strikes on Gaza.
The siege has been sharply criticised by some EU countries. Ireland’s Foreign Affairs minister Micheal Martin said on Sunday that “even wars have rules”.
“There is no doubt about the brutal criminality of Hamas and their utter disregard for human life, including the lives of their fellow Palestinians. But we absolutely must distinguish between Hamas and Palestinian civilians in Gaza,” said Mr Martin.
French MEP Nathalie Loiseau, who chairs the European Parliament’s security and defence committee, wrote on X that she did not understand what Ms von der Leyen “has to do with the EU’s foreign policy, which she is not in charge of”.
In the past days, Ms von der Leyen’s office seems to have tried to rectify the impression that she is biased towards Israel.
A video published on social media on Sunday shows previously unpublished footage of Ms von der Leyen telling a crowd around her during her visit to Israel that “I’m very grateful that you said very clearly that Hamas are the terrorists but that we have to care for the Palestinian people in humanitarian needs”.
In parallel, the European council, where national leaders meet to discuss topics such as security and foreign policy, issued a statement over the weekend both condemning Hamas and supporting Israel’s right to defend itself “in line with humanitarian and international law.”
In his invitation for Tuesday’s meeting, which will be held virtually due to its last-minute nature, European Council President Charles Michel told the bloc’s heads of states that “it is of utmost importance that the European Council in line with the Treaties and our values, sets our common position and establishes a clear unified course of action that reflects the complexity of the unfolding situation.”
Mr Michel and Ms von der Leyen have a notoriously bad working relationship. Tensions resurfaced recently over a migration deal with Tunisia.
In an apparent swipe at Ms von der Leyen, the EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said at a press conference that the EU’s position on foreign policy was determined by the European Council and the Foreign Affairs Ministers Council, which he chairs.
Israel’s right to defend itself “has a limit”, he said, speaking from China on Sunday.
But many say the damage has already been done.
The apparent disunity between Ms von der Leyen and other EU institutions has further compounded the chaotic impression given by the European Commission in the wake of the Hamas attacks after it announced the suspension of aid to Palestinians before backtracking.
“The EU needs to speak with a strong voice, and there’s a real sense that what Ursula von der Leyen did is just really unhelpful,” said the diplomat.
In defence of Ms von der Leyen, the European Commission’s spokesman Eric Mamer on Monday said that she had every right to travel to Israel to show her solidarity.
“She has done so before and will continue to do it,” said Mr Mamer.
“I don’t remember anybody criticising the president for going to Ukraine after the outbreak of the war in March when she went to Bucha and saw the body bags after the Russian attack against Ukraine.”
Such comparisons do not hold, said the diplomat, who described Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year as a “black and white situation where there were no dissenting voices”.
The EU official said that the bloc should be “careful” when “expressing a position in a certain field”.
The focus now is on rebuilding unity and shifting the debate towards the need to provide humanitarian assistance to the region and pushing back against hate speech in Europe as antisemitic incidents are on the rise.
Discussions of calling for a ceasefire, which the EU, like the US, has not expressed so far, will also be on the agenda at Tuesday’s meeting.
Neither Mr Borrell nor Mr Michel plan to visit Israel soon. They will be travelling on Friday with Ms von der Leyen to Washington for an EU-US summit during which they will continue discussing the conflict in Israel and Palestine.
“We think it’s important to first have a clear policy,” said the official. “Then you work on travelling and the way you communicate.”
if you go
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct from the UAE to Seoul from Dh3,775 return, including taxes
The package
Ski Safari offers a seven-night ski package to Korea, including five nights at the Dragon Valley Hotel in Yongpyong and two nights at Seoul CenterMark hotel, from £720 (Dh3,488) per person, including transfers, based on two travelling in January
The info
Visit www.gokorea.co.uk
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Saturday
West Ham United v Tottenham Hotspur (3.30pm)
Burnley v Huddersfield Town (7pm)
Everton v Bournemouth (7pm)
Manchester City v Crystal Palace (7pm)
Southampton v Manchester United (7pm)
Stoke City v Chelsea (7pm)
Swansea City v Watford (7pm)
Leicester City v Liverpool (8.30pm)
Sunday
Brighton and Hove Albion v Newcastle United (7pm)
Monday
Arsenal v West Bromwich Albion (11pm)
The%20specs
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THE DETAILS
Solo: A Star Wars Story
Dir: Ron Howard
Starring: Alden Ehrenreich, Emilia Clarke, Woody Harrelson
3/5
Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
Four motivational quotes from Alicia's Dubai talk
“The only thing we need is to know that we have faith. Faith and hope in our own dreams. The belief that, when we keep going we’re going to find our way. That’s all we got.”
“Sometimes we try so hard to keep things inside. We try so hard to pretend it’s not really bothering us. In some ways, that hurts us more. You don’t realise how dishonest you are with yourself sometimes, but I realised that if I spoke it, I could let it go.”
“One good thing is to know you’re not the only one going through it. You’re not the only one trying to find your way, trying to find yourself, trying to find amazing energy, trying to find a light. Show all of yourself. Show every nuance. All of your magic. All of your colours. Be true to that. You can be unafraid.”
“It’s time to stop holding back. It’s time to do it on your terms. It’s time to shine in the most unbelievable way. It’s time to let go of negativity and find your tribe, find those people that lift you up, because everybody else is just in your way.”
Tonight's Chat on The National
Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.
Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster with a decades-long career in TV. He has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others. Karam is also the founder of Takreem.
Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.
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Company%20Profile
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Vaccine Progress in the Middle East
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
F1 drivers' standings
1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes 281
2. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari 247
3. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes 222
4. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull 177
5. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari 138
6. Max Verstappen, Red Bull 93
7. Sergio Perez, Force India 86
8. Esteban Ocon, Force India 56
UAE%20athletes%20heading%20to%20Paris%202024
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'Saand Ki Aankh'
Produced by: Reliance Entertainment with Chalk and Cheese Films
Director: Tushar Hiranandani
Cast: Taapsee Pannu, Bhumi Pednekar, Prakash Jha, Vineet Singh
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.
Based: Riyadh
Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany
Founded: September, 2020
Number of employees: 70
Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions
Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds
Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices
The specs
Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
Power: 320bhp
Torque: 605Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh219,000
On sale: Now
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
Price, base / as tested From Dh173,775 (base model)
Engine 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo, AWD
Power 249hp at 5,500rpm
Torque 365Nm at 1,300-4,500rpm
Gearbox Nine-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined 7.9L/100km
Pathaan
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Siddharth%20Anand%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Shah%20Rukh%20Khan%2C%20Deepika%20Padukone%2C%20John%20Abraham%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Monday's results
- UAE beat Bahrain by 51 runs
- Qatar beat Maldives by 44 runs
- Saudi Arabia beat Kuwait by seven wickets
The specs
Price, base / as tested Dh1,100,000 (est)
Engine 5.2-litre V10
Gearbox seven-speed dual clutch
Power 630bhp @ 8,000rpm
Torque 600Nm @ 6,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined 15.7L / 100km (est)
ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA
Starring: Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, Ramzi Maqdisi
Directors: Tarzan and Arab Nasser
Rating: 4.5/5
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
World record transfers
1. Kylian Mbappe - to Real Madrid in 2017/18 - €180 million (Dh770.4m - if a deal goes through)
2. Paul Pogba - to Manchester United in 2016/17 - €105m
3. Gareth Bale - to Real Madrid in 2013/14 - €101m
4. Cristiano Ronaldo - to Real Madrid in 2009/10 - €94m
5. Gonzalo Higuain - to Juventus in 2016/17 - €90m
6. Neymar - to Barcelona in 2013/14 - €88.2m
7. Romelu Lukaku - to Manchester United in 2017/18 - €84.7m
8. Luis Suarez - to Barcelona in 2014/15 - €81.72m
9. Angel di Maria - to Manchester United in 2014/15 - €75m
10. James Rodriguez - to Real Madrid in 2014/15 - €75m
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
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Mamo Year it started: 2019 Founders: Imad Gharazeddine, Asim Janjua Based: Dubai, UAE Number of employees: 28 Sector: Financial services Investment: $9.5m Funding stage: Pre-Series A Investors: Global Ventures, GFC, 4DX Ventures, AlRajhi Partners, Olive Tree Capital, and prominent Silicon Valley investors. The biog
Job: Fitness entrepreneur, body-builder and trainer
Favourite superhero: Batman
Favourite quote: We must become the change we want to see, by Mahatma Gandhi.
Favourite car: Lamborghini
Abu Dhabi traffic facts
Drivers in Abu Dhabi spend 10 per cent longer in congested conditions than they would on a free-flowing road
The highest volume of traffic on the roads is found between 7am and 8am on a Sunday.
Travelling before 7am on a Sunday could save up to four hours per year on a 30-minute commute.
The day was the least congestion in Abu Dhabi in 2019 was Tuesday, August 13.
The highest levels of traffic were found on Sunday, November 10.
Drivers in Abu Dhabi lost 41 hours spent in traffic jams in rush hour during 2019
ATP WORLD No 1
2004 Roger Federer
2005 Roger Federer
2006 Roger Federer
2007 Roger Federer
2008 Rafael Nadal
2009 Roger Federer
2010 Rafael Nadal
2011 Novak Djokovic
2012 Novak Djokovic
2013 Rafael Nadal
2014 Novak Djokovic
2015 Novak Djokovic
2016 Andy Murray
2017 Rafael Nadal
2018 Novak Djokovic
2019 Rafael Nadal
