President Donald Trump invited reporters into the Oval office to hear a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok on Friday.
Mr Hamdok thanked Mr Trump for removing Sudan from the state sponsor of terrorism list. Mr Netanyahu praised a recent deal between Sudan and Israel.
A statement from the three countries noted that Mr Netanyahu, Mr Hamdok and Mr Trump "agreed to the normalisation of relations between Sudan and Israel and to end the state of belligerence between their nations".
Delegations will negotiate co-operation agreements in agriculture technology, aviation, migration issues and other areas within "the coming weeks".
"We are expanding their circle of peace so rapidly with your leadership," said Mr Netanyahu.
The development came minutes after the White House officially informed Congress of his intent to remove Sudan from its state sponsor of terrorism list.
“This follows on Sudan’s recent agreement to resolve certain claims of United States victims of terror and their families,” White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said.
“Yesterday, in fulfilment of that agreement, the transitional government of Sudan transferred $445 million into an escrow account for these victims and their families.”
Mr Trump announced the agreement on Twitter earlier this week. The Trump administration had lobbied Sudan for weeks to follow the United Arab Emirates' lead in normalising relations with Israel.
An Israeli delegation visited Sudan earlier this week, and an Israeli official hinted that Sudan and Israel could make a normalisation announcement before US election day on November 3.
Sudan becomes the third Arab League member to move towards normalising relations with Israel this year, after the UAE and Bahrain.
The UAE welcomed Sudan's decision as "historic" and "an important step to enhance security, and prosperity in the region", the Foreign Ministry said in a statement carried by the official WAM news agency.
A potential normalisation deal with Israel could bolster Sudan’s odds of convincing the US Congress not to block Mr Trump’s efforts to remove Khartoum from the terrorism blacklist.
Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok thanked Mr Trump for initiating the process to remove Sudan from the list and noted that Khartoum is working with Congress to conclude the process.
"This truly changes the region. It changes the lives of our peoples for the better and allows us to focus on the task of building our nations, building our future," Mr Netanyahu said via a phonecall to the two other leaders.
Mr Trump said that more Arab states are also looking to recognise Israel including regional power Saudi Arabia.
"We have at least five more that want to come in and we'll have many more than that soon," Mr Trump said in a room packed with smiling aides, few of them wearing masks despite the Covid-19 pandemic.
Mr Trump’s executive action to delist Sudan triggers a 45-day review period on Capitol Hill, during which lawmakers could potentially block Khartoum’s removal from the list.
“It is essential that Congress act now to pass the legislation required to ensure that the American people rapidly realise the full benefits of this policy breakthrough,” said Ms McEnany.
Several legislators, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer from New York, have voiced scepticism of the deal. They have held up legislation on Capitol Hill that would restore Sudan’s sovereign immunity. Mr Schumer and his allies fear that passing the legislation could hinder lawsuits from 9/11 victims seeking to sue Khartoum for its previous support of Al Qaeda.
In New York, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, spoke to his Sudanese counterpart Omer Mohamed Ahmed Siddig to discuss co-operation on technology, trade, farming and tourism in the wake of the latest normalisation deal.
"A third peace agreement in just over a month, and with a country that fought Israel and symbolised the Arab refusal to recognize our existence, is a tremendous achievement that proves conclusively that we are living in a historical period that will change the Middle East forever,” Mr Erdan said in a statement.
The breakthrough is expected to be discussed at UN Security Council talks on Monday.
The United States first designated Sudan as a state sponsor of terror in 1993. The $335 million that Sudan deposited into the escrow account would go to the families of the victims from the 1998 Al Qaeda attacks on the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, as well as the terrorist group's 2000 attack on the USS Cole. Sudan's former government under Omar Al Bashir harboured Al Qaeda members complicit in the bombings.
Critics of keeping Sudan on the list note that the Sudanese military removed Mr Al Bashir last year after months of popular protests against his decades-long rule. They also note that removing Sudan from the list would unlock foreign assistance that it does not currently have access to as it grapples with a democratic transition, the Covid-19 pandemic and a severe economic crisis.
Iran, Syria and North Korea are the only three countries that will remain designated as state sponsors of terror after Sudan’s formal removal.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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RESULT
Argentina 0 Croatia 3
Croatia: Rebic (53'), Modric (80'), Rakitic (90' 1)
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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If you go...
Etihad Airways flies from Abu Dhabi to Kuala Lumpur, from about Dh3,600. Air Asia currently flies from Kuala Lumpur to Terengganu, with Berjaya Hotels & Resorts planning to launch direct chartered flights to Redang Island in the near future. Rooms at The Taaras Beach and Spa Resort start from 680RM (Dh597).
Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
- Pension support
- Mental well-being assistance
- Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
- Financial well-being incentives
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Zayed Sustainability Prize
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The biog
Name: Fareed Lafta
Age: 40
From: Baghdad, Iraq
Mission: Promote world peace
Favourite poet: Al Mutanabbi
Role models: His parents
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Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
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Normcore explained
Something of a fashion anomaly, normcore is essentially a celebration of the unremarkable. The term was first popularised by an article in New York magazine in 2014 and has been dubbed “ugly”, “bland’ and "anti-style" by fashion writers. It’s hallmarks are comfort, a lack of pretentiousness and neutrality – it is a trend for those who would rather not stand out from the crowd. For the most part, the style is unisex, favouring loose silhouettes, thrift-shop threads, baseball caps and boyish trainers. It is important to note that normcore is not synonymous with cheapness or low quality; there are high-fashion brands, including Parisian label Vetements, that specialise in this style. Embraced by fashion-forward street-style stars around the globe, it’s uptake in the UAE has been relatively slow.
The specs: 2018 Maxus T60
Price, base / as tested: Dh48,000
Engine: 2.4-litre four-cylinder
Power: 136hp @ 1,600rpm
Torque: 360Nm @ 1,600 rpm
Transmission: Five-speed manual
Fuel consumption, combined: 9.1L / 100km
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
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8.50pm: Calandogan
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GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
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What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
The years Ramadan fell in May
Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
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A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
- 2018: Formal work begins
- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The biog
Hobby: Playing piano and drawing patterns
Best book: Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins
Food of choice: Sushi
Favourite colour: Orange
BLACKBERRY
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