US Secretary of State Antony Blinken highlighted the Biden administration’s emphasis on great power competition with China and Russia, criticising their human rights records on Monday.
The administration's sharp emphasis on China, coupled with a recent White House downsizing of its National Security Council team devoted to the Middle East, indicate that President Joe Biden hopes to focus more on Asia.
It suggests that he wants to avoid the protracted Middle East military conflicts that have plagued his predecessors. Yet, he warned that Iran's unremitting efforts to build a nuclear bomb pose "a real problem".
"Based on public reports, the time that it would take Iran to produce enough fissile material for a nuclear weapon is down to, we think, a few months," Mr Blinken told MSNBC News.
"The agreement, the infamous JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action], pushed that to beyond a year. So that’s a real problem, and it’s a problem that could get more acute, because if Iran continues to lift some of these restraints imposed by the agreement, that could get down to a matter of weeks."
He warned that Iran is getting closer to the point where it would be either a threshold nuclear power or a nuclear power.
"That is profoundly against our interests," Mr Blinken said.
China posed the most significant challenge to the US of any other country in Asia, Mr Blinken said.
“But it’s a complicated one. There are adversarial aspects to the relationship. There are certainly competitive ones and there are still some co-operative ones, too," he said.
“But whether we’re dealing with any of those aspects to the relationship, we have to be able to approach China from a position of strength, not weakness.
"And that strength I think comes from having strong alliances – something China does not have – actually engaging in the world and showing up in these international institutions.”
Mr Blinken's remarks came after National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan downsized the National Security Council staff for the Middle East while expanding staff for Asia, which Politico reported last week.
Under the new structure, the Indo-Pacific director Kurt Campbell oversees three deputies: Laura Rosenberger for China, Sumona Guha for South Asia and Andrea Kendall-Taylor for Russia and Central Asia.
Meanwhile, the Middle East director Brett McGurk only has one deputy: Barbara Leaf, the former ambassador to the UAE.
Former presidents Donald Trump and Barack Obama had also hoped to direct more attention on Asia and less on military quagmires in the Middle East.
Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton famously called this policy the US “pivot to Asia".
And under Mr Trump, the Pentagon’s national defence strategy called for a primary focus on “great power competition” with China and Russia.
But he and Mr Obama found it difficult to make that vision a reality as the US was drawn further into Middle East military conflicts after the Arab uprisings, the rise of ISIS in Iraq and Syria, and US support for the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen.
Tension in the Arabian Gulf also increased sharply after Mr Trump’s maximum-pressure campaign against Iran and his withdrawal from Mr Obama’s nuclear deal.
Mr Blinken repeated that Mr Biden would re-enter the nuclear deal should Iran return to its obligations under the accord.
He confirmed that the Biden administration was reviewing the US-Saudi relationship “to make sure that partnership is being conducted in a way that’s consistent with our interests and also with our values".
And while Mr Blinken called Saudi Arabia “an important partner for us in counter-terrorism", he said in his Senate confirmation hearing last month that Mr Biden intended to end US support for the campaign against Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
China does not have military presence in the Middle East comparable to the US, but Beijing has a large presence throughout the region as part of its Belt and Road Initiative.
Beijing imports about 40 per cent of its crude oil supplies from the Middle East.
Mr Blinken said that the US should make sure “that our military is postured so that it can deter Chinese aggression”, while calling Beijing out for a myriad human rights breaches.
His criticism of Russia also focused on human rights, namely Moscow's detention of opposition leader Alexei Navalny and the suppression of protesters supporting him.
Mr Blinken said the Biden administration was “deeply disturbed by his violent crackdown against people exercising their rights to protest peacefully against their government".
He said the US government was reviewing whether to place more sanctions on Russia over Mr Navalny’s detention, interference in US elections, the SolarWinds hack and placing bounties on American troops in Afghanistan.
The Biden administration's first test of its commitment to Asia and emphasis on human rights came on Monday after Myanmar's military staged a coup against democratically elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other senior politicians.
The coup prompted a statement from Mr Biden, who threatened to reinstate US sanctions on Myanmar.
'O'
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The lowdown
Badla
Rating: 2.5/5
Produced by: Red Chillies, Azure Entertainment
Director: Sujoy Ghosh
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Amrita Singh, Tony Luke
RACE CARD
6.30pm: Handicap (TB) $68,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
7.05pm: Meydan Sprint – Group 2 (TB) $163,000 (Turf) 1,000m
7.40pm: Curlin Stakes – Listed Handicap (TB) $88,000 (D) 2,200m
8.15pm: UAE Oaks – Group 3 (TB) $125,000 (D) 1,900m
8.50pm: Zabeel Mile – Group 2 (TB) $163,000 (T) 1,600m
9.25pm: Balanchine – Group 2 (TB) $163,000 (T) 1,800m
10pm: Al Shindagha Sprint – Group 3 (TB) $130,000 (D) 1,200m
Bugatti Chiron Super Sport - the specs:
Engine: 8.0-litre quad-turbo W16
Transmission: 7-speed DSG auto
Power: 1,600hp
Torque: 1,600Nm
0-100kph in 2.4seconds
0-200kph in 5.8 seconds
0-300kph in 12.1 seconds
Top speed: 440kph
Price: Dh13,200,000
Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport - the specs:
Engine: 8.0-litre quad-turbo W16
Transmission: 7-speed DSG auto
Power: 1,500hp
Torque: 1,600Nm
0-100kph in 2.3 seconds
0-200kph in 5.5 seconds
0-300kph in 11.8 seconds
Top speed: 350kph
Price: Dh13,600,000
Dr Afridi's warning signs of digital addiction
Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.
Neglecting personal, social, or academic responsibilities.
Losing interest in other activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed.
Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.
Experiencing sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns.
What are the guidelines?
Under 18 months: Avoid screen time altogether, except for video chatting with family.
Aged 18-24 months: If screens are introduced, it should be high-quality content watched with a caregiver to help the child understand what they are seeing.
Aged 2-5 years: Limit to one-hour per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing whenever possible.
Aged 6-12 years: Set consistent limits on screen time to ensure it does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or social interactions.
Teenagers: Encourage a balanced approach – screens should not replace sleep, exercise, or face-to-face socialisation.
Source: American Paediatric Association
EA Sports FC 26
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3/5
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How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
Credits
Produced by: Colour Yellow Productions and Eros Now
Director: Mudassar Aziz
Cast: Sonakshi Sinha, Jimmy Sheirgill, Jassi Gill, Piyush Mishra, Diana Penty, Aparshakti Khurrana
Star rating: 2.5/5
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
What is Reform?
Reform is a right-wing, populist party led by Nigel Farage, a former MEP who won a seat in the House of Commons last year at his eighth attempt and a prominent figure in the campaign for the UK to leave the European Union.
It was founded in 2018 and originally called the Brexit Party.
Many of its members previously belonged to UKIP or the mainstream Conservatives.
After Brexit took place, the party focused on the reformation of British democracy.
Former Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson became its first MP after defecting in March 2024.
The party gained support from Elon Musk, and had hoped the tech billionaire would make a £100m donation. However, Mr Musk changed his mind and called for Mr Farage to step down as leader in a row involving the US tycoon's support for far-right figurehead Tommy Robinson who is in prison for contempt of court.
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
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
Springtime in a Broken Mirror,
Mario Benedetti, Penguin Modern Classics
Company%20profile
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More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Guide to intelligent investing
Investing success often hinges on discipline and perspective. As markets fluctuate, remember these guiding principles:
- Stay invested: Time in the market, not timing the market, is critical to long-term gains.
- Rational thinking: Breathe and avoid emotional decision-making; let logic and planning guide your actions.
- Strategic patience: Understand why you’re investing and allow time for your strategies to unfold.
500 People from Gaza enter France
115 Special programme for artists
25 Evacuation of injured and sick
