US President Joe Biden this weekend aimed to deter Iran-backed militias from continuing attacks against American forces with his second strike against them since taking office.
But, on Monday, the Biden administration was forced to contend with a barrage of rocket attacks on US soldiers in Syria, condemnation from the Iraqi government as well as ongoing scrutiny from Capitol Hill over the White House's legal authority to launch the strikes without congressional authorisation.
"The United States selected these targets because Iran-backed militias used them to conduct at least five [drone] attacks against US facilities in Iraq since April," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told The National during a press briefing on Monday.
"The president has been clear that there will be serious consequences if Iranian leaders continue to arm, fund and train militia groups to attack our people."
Explosives-laden drones attacked the American consulate in Erbil on Saturday and the US retaliated the following day. US air strikes killed four fighters from Iran-backed militias in three separate attacks in Iraq and a fourth in Syria near the border.
Previous US strikes against Iranian assets in Iraq only occurred after militia attacks had killed American service members or military contractors. And while the drone attack in Erbil did not result in US casualties, it marked a series of intensified militia strikes against American interests in recent months.
Michael Knights, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy who advocates more strikes on the Iran-supported militias to increase deterrence, said they had launched 19 strikes on US sites in Iraq since April – including the five drone attacks Ms Psaki alluded to.
This is a significant increase from the opening months of the Biden administration, when Iran-backed militias launched five attacks on US forces from January through March.
The use of armed drones to launch attacks has become a source of growing concern at the Pentagon because of their ability to strike targets with greater precision.
"Almost all the drone attacks have happened in June," Mr Knights told The National. "The US has been preparing to retaliate against drones for a while and it just so happens that the approximate trigger is the latest Erbil attack.
“But they did not prep and execute this attack in 12 hours. They obviously had a preset retaliation that would be ready to go anywhere when the next drone attack came in and it happened to be Erbil. The last time Erbil was struck, we hit back, too.”
After a series of rocket attacks on US forces in Erbil killed a Filipino military contractor, Mr Biden retaliated with an air strike on Iran-backed militias in Syria.
Because the February strike was not focused on the militias in Iraq, Mr Biden was able to avoid condemnation from Baghdad. But that appears to have changed with this weekend’s strike.
“They could tell drone capabilities are being developed on the Iraqi side of the border, precisely because the US was not striking inside Iraq,” said Mr Knights. “It was creating a sanctuary.”
But after the strike this weekend, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry issued a statement objecting to its status as a proxy battleground between the US and Iran and called for de-escalation.
Despite Baghdad's outrage and the rocket attacks on US forces in Syria on Monday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Biden administration's strikes were "designed to limit the risk of escalation, but also to send a clear and unambiguous deterrent message".
Some members of Mr Biden's fellow Democrats in Congress have already begun to question the legality of the strike under US law, noting the lack of congressional authorisation – just as they did following his strike in February.
Democrat Chris Murphy of Connecticut, chairman of the House’s Middle East panel, issued a statement noting that “repeated retaliatory strikes against Iranian proxy forces are starting to look like what would qualify as a pattern of hostilities under the War Powers Act", which would require the White House to obtain congressional approval for future attacks against Iran-backed militias.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a statement calling Mr Biden’s strike “defensive” as well as “targeted and proportional" but noted that she expects a formal notification on the strike as well as additional briefings from the administration.
Under US law, Congress must authorise military action abroad except in cases of imminent self-defence – though presidents from both parties have frequently launched strikes in countries such as Libya and Syria without congressional approval.
Ms Psaki told The National that Mr Biden launched the strikes "aligned with domestic law and international law". But she refused to specify whether the attack was retaliatory in nature or a response to imminent hostilities.
"What constitutes imminent hostilities is so open, you can drive a truck through the interpretation of that," Eugene Gholz, an associate professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame, told The National.
“Maybe that’s occasionally legitimate because it’s self-defence, but you could say, taking a step back, that we created this situation where we were going to be in a position of needing to defend ourselves.”
US forces are stationed in Iraq and Syria as part of a mission to fight the remnants of ISIS.
But in recent years, members of Congress have become increasingly proactive in challenging the White House on the legal basis for military action amid efforts to rein in the president’s war-making powers.
Most recently, the House of Representatives passed a bill to repeal the 2002 Iraq war authorisation that allowed for former president George W Bush's invasion.
Former presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump both cited the 2002 authorisation to launch military action in Iraq, including Mr Trump's strike last year tat eliminated Iran's Maj Gen Qassem Suleimani.
The Biden administration has backed the repeal, noting that it would not require the withdrawal of troops from Iraq as they are stationed there under a 2001 military authorisation that Congress passed after the September 11 attacks.
Though it backs the repeal of the Iraq war authorisation, the White House has refused to line up behind congressional efforts to end the 2001 military authorisation without a replacement.
The Biden administration is set to brief the Senate on the Iraq war authorisation repeal early next month, potentially raising some awkward questions about the recent strikes.
“This really is a trial run for this stuff,” said Mr Knights. “There’s a tremendous amount of sensitivity both in the region and in the US about ongoing strikes in Iraq.”
Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S E Performance: the specs
Engine: 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 plus rear-mounted electric motor
Power: 843hp at N/A rpm
Torque: 1470Nm N/A rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.6L/100km
On sale: October to December
Price: From Dh875,000 (estimate)
BLACK%20ADAM
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Jaume%20Collet-Serra%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dwayne%20Johnson%2C%20Sarah%20Shahi%2C%20Viola%20Davis%2C%20Pierce%20Brosnan%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
THE BIO
Ms Al Ameri likes the variety of her job, and the daily environmental challenges she is presented with.
Regular contact with wildlife is the most appealing part of her role at the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi.
She loves to explore new destinations and lives by her motto of being a voice in the world, and not an echo.
She is the youngest of three children, and has a brother and sister.
Her favourite book, Moby Dick by Herman Melville helped inspire her towards a career exploring the natural world.
In 2018, the ICRC received 27,756 trace requests in the Middle East alone. The global total was 45,507.
There are 139,018 global trace requests that have not been resolved yet, 55,672 of these are in the Middle East region.
More than 540,000 individuals approached the ICRC in the Middle East asking to be reunited with missing loved ones in 2018.
The total figure for the entire world was 654,000 in 2018.
How to get exposure to gold
Although you can buy gold easily on the Dubai markets, the problem with buying physical bars, coins or jewellery is that you then have storage, security and insurance issues.
A far easier option is to invest in a low-cost exchange traded fund (ETF) that invests in the precious metal instead, for example, ETFS Physical Gold (PHAU) and iShares Physical Gold (SGLN) both track physical gold. The VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF invests directly in mining companies.
Alternatively, BlackRock Gold & General seeks to achieve long-term capital growth primarily through an actively managed portfolio of gold mining, commodity and precious-metal related shares. Its largest portfolio holdings include gold miners Newcrest Mining, Barrick Gold Corp, Agnico Eagle Mines and the NewMont Goldcorp.
Brave investors could take on the added risk of buying individual gold mining stocks, many of which have performed wonderfully well lately.
London-listed Centamin is up more than 70 per cent in just three months, although in a sign of its volatility, it is down 5 per cent on two years ago. Trans-Siberian Gold, listed on London's alternative investment market (AIM) for small stocks, has seen its share price almost quadruple from 34p to 124p over the same period, but do not assume this kind of runaway growth can continue for long
However, buying individual equities like these is highly risky, as their share prices can crash just as quickly, which isn't what what you want from a supposedly safe haven.
Profile
Company: Justmop.com
Date started: December 2015
Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan
Sector: Technology and home services
Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai
Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month
Funding: The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups.
Results
1.30pm Handicap (PA) Dh50,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winner Al Suhooj, Saif Al Balushi (jockey), Khalifa Al Neyadi (trainer)
2pm Handicap (TB) 68,000 (D) 1,950m
Winner Miracle Maker, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer
2.30pm Maiden (TB) Dh60,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner Mazagran, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar
3pm Handicap (TB) Dh84,000 (D) 1,800m
Winner Tailor’s Row, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer
3.30pm Handicap (TB) Dh76,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner Alla Mahlak, Adrie de Vries, Rashed Bouresly
4pm Maiden (TB) Dh60,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner Hurry Up, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer
4.30pm Handicap (TB) Dh68,000 (D) 1,200m
If you go
The flights
The closest international airport for those travelling from the UAE is Denver, Colorado. British Airways (www.ba.com) flies from the UAE via London from Dh3,700 return, including taxes. From there, transfers can be arranged to the ranch or it’s a seven-hour drive. Alternatively, take an internal flight to the counties of Cody, Casper, or Billings
The stay
Red Reflet offers a series of packages, with prices varying depending on season. All meals and activities are included, with prices starting from US$2,218 (Dh7,150) per person for a minimum stay of three nights, including taxes. For more information, visit red-reflet-ranch.net.
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
The 12 breakaway clubs
England
Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur
Italy
AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus
Spain
Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid
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
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
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
Why seagrass matters
- Carbon sink: Seagrass sequesters carbon up to 35X faster than tropical rainforests
- Marine nursery: Crucial habitat for juvenile fish, crustations, and invertebrates
- Biodiversity: Support species like sea turtles, dugongs, and seabirds
- Coastal protection: Reduce erosion and improve water quality
Results
Stage 5:
1. Jonas Vingegaard (DEN) Team Jumbo-Visma 04:19:08
2. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates 00:00:03
3. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers
4. Sergio Higuita (COL) EF Education-Nippo 00:00:05
5. Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep 00:00:06
General Classification:
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates 17:09:26
2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers 00:00:45
3. Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep 00:01:12
4. Chris Harper (AUS) Team Jumbo-Visma 00:01:54
5. Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo 00:01:56
Tell-tale signs of burnout
- loss of confidence and appetite
- irritability and emotional outbursts
- sadness
- persistent physical ailments such as headaches, frequent infections and fatigue
- substance abuse, such as smoking or drinking more
- impaired judgement
- excessive and continuous worrying
- irregular sleep patterns
Tips to help overcome burnout
Acknowledge how you are feeling by listening to your warning signs. Set boundaries and learn to say ‘no’
Do activities that you want to do as well as things you have to do
Undertake at least 30 minutes of exercise per day. It releases an abundance of feel-good hormones
Find your form of relaxation and make time for it each day e.g. soothing music, reading or mindful meditation
Sleep and wake at the same time every day, even if your sleep pattern was disrupted. Without enough sleep condition such as stress, anxiety and depression can thrive.
Hurricanes 31-31 Lions
Wellington Hurricanes:
Tries: Gibbins, Laumape, Goosen, Fifita tries, Barrett
Conversions: Barrett (4)
Penalties: Barrett
British & Irish Lions:
Tries: Seymour (2), North
Conversions: Biggar (2)
Penalties: Biggar (4)
Without Remorse
Directed by: Stefano Sollima
Starring: Michael B Jordan
4/5
