Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden says the Good Friday Agreement must be respected. AFP
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden says the Good Friday Agreement must be respected. AFP
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden says the Good Friday Agreement must be respected. AFP
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden says the Good Friday Agreement must be respected. AFP

No go for BoJo: Team Biden shuns Boris Johnson


Jamie Prentis
  • English
  • Arabic

Concerns are growing in the British government about the prospect of Joe Biden winning the US presidential election after it emerged none of the Democratic nominees’ foreign policy advisers had met UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s team.

Plans for pre-election talks with Mr Biden’s top foreign policy aide fell apart, with the former US vice-president choosing not to meet other governments during the run up to the vote on November 3. Mr Biden’s team is being cautious after widespread controversy about alleged Russian interference in the 2016 US election – which continues to dog current President Donald Trump – the Financial Times reported.

Mr Biden is leading Mr Trump in most national polls and has a narrow advantage in many key battlegrounds.

Mr Johnson has a good relationship with Mr Trump and the biggest fear is of a post-Brexit trade deal being derailed by a new president who was not supportive of the UK leaving the European Union.

Kim Darroch, the UK’s former ambassador to Washington, said recently that the prime minister would be Mr Trump’s best friend in Europe if he is re-elected, with the president’s support for Brexit raising hopes a quick trade deal could be agreed.

Mr Biden said last month that any Brexit deal must respect the Good Friday Agreement and ensure there is no hard border on the island of Ireland.

On Sunday, a senior British minister said the government would “absolutely protect and abide” by the Good Friday Agreement.

“We have always worked very closely with whoever is the president of the US. We as a country have a long, special relationship to build on, on a wide range of issues across history,” Brandon Lewis, Northern Ireland Secretary, told the BBC.

But Britain’s finance chief under former prime minister David Cameron has warned that a Biden administration could be hard work for the current UK government.

George Osborne said: “There’s no doubt that the Brexit government here will face a challenge with a Biden administration. Of course the US-UK alliance is long, enduring, it exists at many levels and there’s no doubt that a British prime minister will always be welcome in Washington. But Joe Biden … he knows the Brexiteers associated themselves with Trump.

“He knows they’re not his fellow travellers and they will find it hard to pivot, I think, towards a Biden administration and there’ll be some very specific things, like whether the UK does a trade deal with the US, where Joe Biden has already indicated that it’s going to be hard work for a British government,” he told CNN.

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Winners

Best Men's Player of the Year: Kylian Mbappe (PSG)

Maradona Award for Best Goal Scorer of the Year: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)

TikTok Fans’ Player of the Year: Robert Lewandowski

Top Goal Scorer of All Time: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)

Best Women's Player of the Year: Alexia Putellas (Barcelona)

Best Men's Club of the Year: Chelsea

Best Women's Club of the Year: Barcelona

Best Defender of the Year: Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus/Italy)

Best Goalkeeper of the Year: Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG/Italy)

Best Coach of the Year: Roberto Mancini (Italy)

Best National Team of the Year: Italy 

Best Agent of the Year: Federico Pastorello

Best Sporting Director of the Year: Txiki Begiristain (Manchester City)

Player Career Award: Ronaldinho

RESULTS

1.45pm: Handicap (TB) Dh80,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winners: Hyde Park, Royston Ffrench (jockey), Salem bin Ghadayer (trainer)

2.15pm: Conditions (TB) Dh100,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner: Shamikh, Ryan Curatolo, Nicholas Bachalard

2.45pm: Conditions (TB) Dh100,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Hurry Up, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.

3.15pm: Shadwell Jebel Ali Mile Group 3 (TB) Dh575,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Blown by Wind, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer

3.45pm: Handicap (TB) Dh72,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Mazagran, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.

4.15pm: Handicap (TB) Dh64,000 (D) 1,950m
Winner: Obeyaan, Adrie de Vries, Mujeeb Rehman

4.45pm: Handicap (TB) Dh84,000 (D) 1,000m
Winner: Shanaghai City, Fabrice Veron, Rashed Bouresly.

Brief scores:

Toss: Sindhis, elected to field first

Pakhtoons 137-6 (10 ov)

Fletcher 68 not out; Cutting 2-14

Sindhis 129-8 (10 ov)

Perera 47; Sohail 2-18

MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW

Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman

Director: Jesse Armstrong

Rating: 3.5/5

How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE

When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.

David Haye record

Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Global state-owned investor ranking by size

1.

United States

2.

China

3.

UAE

4.

Japan

5

Norway

6.

Canada

7.

Singapore

8.

Australia

9.

Saudi Arabia

10.

South Korea

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Produced: Lionsgate Films, Shanghai Ryui Entertainment, Street Light Entertainment
Directed: Roland Emmerich
Cast: Ed Skrein, Woody Harrelson, Dennis Quaid, Aaron Eckhart, Luke Evans, Nick Jonas, Mandy Moore, Darren Criss
Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Sunday's games

All times UAE:

Tottenham Hotspur v Crystal Palace, 4pm

Manchester City v Arsenal, 6.15pm

Everton v Watford, 8.30pm

Chelsea v Manchester United, 8.30pm

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Akeed

Based: Muscat

Launch year: 2018

Number of employees: 40

Sector: Online food delivery

Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception 

NBA Finals results

Game 1: Warriors 124, Cavaliers 114
Game 2: Warriors 122, Cavaliers 103
Game 3: Cavaliers 102, Warriors 110
Game 4: In Cleveland, Sunday (Monday morning UAE)

Tearful appearance

Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday. 

Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow. 

She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.

A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.