TEL AVIV // American presidential candidate Mitt Romney declared Jerusalem to be the capital of Israel yesterday and said the United States had "a solemn duty and a moral imperative" to prevent Iran from achieving nuclear weapons capability.
With one eye on the election campaign in the United States, where he is expected to be the Republican nominee, and with the Old City as the backdrop, Mr Romney told an audience in Jerusalem: "Make no mistake, the ayatollahs in Tehran are testing our moral defences. They want to know who will object, and who will look the other way.
"My message to the people of Israel and the leaders of Iran is one and the same: I will not look away, and neither will my country."
However, Mr Romney backtracked on an earlier pledge by an aide that he would support any military decision by Israel to attack Iran over its nuclear programme. Instead, he said merely: "We recognise Israel's right to defend itself.
With the US presidential race entering its final 100 days, both Mr Romney and Barack Obama aim to appeal to Jewish voters and evangelicals in the US by showing a similar aggressive stance to Israel's on Iran's nuclear ambitions.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has urged tougher action and is reported to be endorsing an Israeli military attack on Tehran.
Iranian officials have insisted their nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes.
Mr Romney's declaration that the disputed city of Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, made in a TV interview earlier in the day, risks angering the Palestinians and Muslim countries. While Israel views Jerusalem as its capital, the US and other nations maintain their embassies in Tel Aviv.
While Christian evangelicals are a key part of the Republican base, Jewish voters - historically a Democratic bloc - could also prove critical in the election in hotly contested states such as Florida. There they make up just 3.4 per cent of the electorate but typically turn out in highly disproportionate numbers. Also, donations by Jews and Jewish or pro-Israel groups have accounted for more than half of Democratic campaign funds.
Mr Romney may be aiming to capitalise on a possible erosion of support for Mr Obama among Jews, which stood at 78 per cent in the 2008 election. On Friday, a Gallup poll said 68 per cent of Jewish voters favoured Mr Obama while 25 per cent backed Mr Romney.
On Iran, Dan Senor, the senior national security aide to Mr Romney, told reporters yesterday: "If Israel has to take action on its own, in order to stop Iran from developing the capability, the governor would respect that decision."
Mr Romney's visit came as Haaretz newspaper reported that Tom Donilon, the US national security adviser, briefed Mr Netanyahu in July on American contingency plans for an assault on Iran. An Israeli official yesterday denied the report.
While the Israeli premier has insisted that he does not meddle in the US elections, Mr Netanyahu has publicly spoken of his close friendship with Mr Romney and analysts say he is unofficially endorsing the former Massachusetts governor.
Mr Netanyahu supports Mr Romney because of the likelihood that he would back a tougher approach on Iran and an expansion of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, according to experts. The Obama administration has opposed an Israeli strike, and says more time must be given for diplomacy and sanctions to work.
Mr Netanyahu yesterday tacitly condemned the policy of Mr Obama. Before his meeting with Mr Romney, the Israeli prime minister said "all the sanctions and diplomacy so far have not set back the Iranian programme by one iota".
Mr Romney's meetings in Israel are especially critical to bolster his foreign policy credentials after a serious of gaffes on his first stop in London when he criticised Britain's preparedness for the Olympic Games, and was ridiculed by his hosts.
Mr Romney is due to hold a fund-raiser in Jerusalem's luxurious King David Hotel today for 50 wealthy backers, with the cost of attending speculated by Israeli media to be US$50,000 (Dh183,600) per couple.
The participants include Sheldon Adelson, a US Jewish billionaire with pro-settler views who has pledged to spend $100 million to prevent Mr Obama from being reelected. Mr Adelson is also a backer of Mr Netanyahu, and funds Israel's Yisrael Hayom newspaper, which gives favourable coverage to the prime minister.
foreign.desk@thenational.ae
* Additional reporting by the Associated Press
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The biog
Hometown: Cairo
Age: 37
Favourite TV series: The Handmaid’s Tale, Black Mirror
Favourite anime series: Death Note, One Piece and Hellsing
Favourite book: Designing Brand Identity, Fifth Edition
Muguruza's singles career in stats
WTA titles 3
Prize money US$11,128,219 (Dh40,873,133.82)
Wins / losses 293 / 149
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Start-up hopes to end Japan's love affair with cash
Across most of Asia, people pay for taxi rides, restaurant meals and merchandise with smartphone-readable barcodes — except in Japan, where cash still rules. Now, as the country’s biggest web companies race to dominate the payments market, one Tokyo-based startup says it has a fighting chance to win with its QR app.
Origami had a head start when it introduced a QR-code payment service in late 2015 and has since signed up fast-food chain KFC, Tokyo’s largest cab company Nihon Kotsu and convenience store operator Lawson. The company raised $66 million in September to expand nationwide and plans to more than double its staff of about 100 employees, says founder Yoshiki Yasui.
Origami is betting that stores, which until now relied on direct mail and email newsletters, will pay for the ability to reach customers on their smartphones. For example, a hair salon using Origami’s payment app would be able to send a message to past customers with a coupon for their next haircut.
Quick Response codes, the dotted squares that can be read by smartphone cameras, were invented in the 1990s by a unit of Toyota Motor to track automotive parts. But when the Japanese pioneered digital payments almost two decades ago with contactless cards for train fares, they chose the so-called near-field communications technology. The high cost of rolling out NFC payments, convenient ATMs and a culture where lost wallets are often returned have all been cited as reasons why cash remains king in the archipelago. In China, however, QR codes dominate.
Cashless payments, which includes credit cards, accounted for just 20 per cent of total consumer spending in Japan during 2016, compared with 60 per cent in China and 89 per cent in South Korea, according to a report by the Bank of Japan.
The End of Loneliness
Benedict Wells
Translated from the German by Charlotte Collins
Sceptre
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
A cryptocurrency primer for beginners
Cryptocurrency Investing for Dummies – by Kiana Danial
There are several primers for investing in cryptocurrencies available online, including e-books written by people whose credentials fall apart on the second page of your preferred search engine.
Ms Danial is a finance coach and former currency analyst who writes for Nasdaq. Her broad-strokes primer (2019) breaks down investing in cryptocurrency into baby steps, while explaining the terms and technologies involved.
Although cryptocurrencies are a fast evolving world, this book offers a good insight into the game as well as providing some basic tips, strategies and warning signs.
Begin your cryptocurrency journey here.
Available at Magrudy’s , Dh104
Jebel Ali card
1.45pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,400m
2.15pm: Handicap Dh90,000 1,400m
2.45pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,000m
3.15pm: Handicap Dh105,000 1,200m
3.45pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,600m
4.15pm: Handicap Dh105,000 1,600m
4.45pm: Handicap Dh80,000 1,800m
The National selections
1.45pm: Cosmic Glow
2.15pm: Karaginsky
2.45pm: Welcome Surprise
3.15pm: Taamol
3.45pm: Rayig
4.15pm: Chiefdom
4.45pm: California Jumbo
Business Insights
- As per the document, there are six filing options, including choosing to report on a realisation basis and transitional rules for pre-tax period gains or losses.
- SMEs with revenue below Dh3 million per annum can opt for transitional relief until 2026, treating them as having no taxable income.
- Larger entities have specific provisions for asset and liability movements, business restructuring, and handling foreign permanent establishments.
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Company Profile
Founders: Tamara Hachem and Yazid Erman
Based: Dubai
Launched: September 2019
Sector: health technology
Stage: seed
Investors: Oman Technology Fund, angel investor and grants from Sharjah's Sheraa and Ma'an Abu Dhabi
Expo details
Expo 2020 Dubai will be the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia
The world fair will run for six months from October 20, 2020 to April 10, 2021.
It is expected to attract 25 million visits
Some 70 per cent visitors are projected to come from outside the UAE, the largest proportion of international visitors in the 167-year history of World Expos.
More than 30,000 volunteers are required for Expo 2020
The site covers a total of 4.38 sqkm, including a 2 sqkm gated area
It is located adjacent to Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai South
