The retirement of US Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy is expected to inflame partisan tensions and shape the outcome of the midterm elections as Republicans and Democrats battle over President Donald Trump's nominee to replace him.
All sides mobilised quickly after Mr Kennedy, 81, a singular voice whose votes have decided issues on abortion, affirmative action, gay rights, guns, campaign finance and voting rights, sent shockwaves through Washington on Wednesday by announcing his retirement plans after serving for 30 years in the top court.
Mr Trump said he would start the effort to replace Mr Kennedy "immediately" and would pick from a list of 25 names that he updated last year. Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell declared that the Senate "will vote to confirm Justice Kennedy's successor this fall", while Democrats are calling for the vote to be held after the November elections, which they hope will give them a majority in the House and Senate.
With Mr Kennedy retiring on July 31, Republicans have a longed-for opportunity to tip the balance of the court. It already has four justices chosen by Democratic presidents and four picked by Republicans, so Mr Trump's nominee could shift the ideological balance toward conservatives for years to come.
Republicans also have a chance to make judicial nominees a top campaign issue, which could help motivate conservatives and evangelicals to vote in November. The playbook worked in 2016, when Republicans rallied around Mr McConnell's successful block of then-president Barack Obama's nominee to the court, Merrick Garland.
If Republicans unite behind Mr Trump's selection, there is little that Democrats can do to stop it. Republicans changed the Senate rules last year so that Supreme Court nominees cannot be filibustered, meaning only 51 votes will be required to confirm.
Last year, Mr Trump's first nominee to the court, Neil Gorsuch, was confirmed 54-45, with three Democrats voting in favour. Those Democrats — senators Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Joe Donnelly of Indiana and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota — are facing difficult re-election races and could find it difficult to oppose the president's second pick.
But while Republicans are aiming for speedy action, Democrats quickly argued that any decision should be put on hold until after midterm elections, citing Mr McConnell's 2016 moves. Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer has said it would be the "height of hypocrisy" to vote sooner.
He said the voices of millions of Americans heading to the polls this fall "deserve to be heard".
Mr McConnell refused to consider Mr Garland because it was a presidential election year. He said the seat should be left open for the next president to fill.
Chuck Grassley, the chairman of the senate judiciary committee, told reporters that the 2016 delay on Supreme Court confirmations only applied to presidential election years. He noted that Justice Elena Kagan was confirmed in 2010, a midterm election year.
Another flashpoint in the court debate will be abortion rights, which puts a spotlight on key female Republican senators, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. Both have supported abortion access. The abortion issue could also prove difficult for Heller of Nevada, the most endangered Senate Republican running for re-election this fall, whose views have shifted against abortion rights.
Mr Schumer said the Senate should reject "on a bipartisan basis any justice who would overturn Roe v Wade or undermine key healthcare protections".
Speaking at the White House, Mr Trump deflected a question on whether he should wait until after the midterm elections to announce a successor to Mr Kennedy, saying he had not "really thought about that. I think you want to go as quickly as possible".
The president stressed his confidence in the picks on his list, saying: "You see the kind of quality we're looking at when you look at that list."
Some possible nominees include Thomas Hardiman, who serves alongside Mr Trump's sister on the Philadelphia-based 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals, and Raymond Kethledge, a federal appeals court judge who clerked for Mr Kennedy. Also of interest are Amul Thapar, a federal appeals court judge from Kentucky who is close to Mr McConnell; Brett Kavanaugh, a former clerk for Mr Kennedy who serves on the federal appeals court in Washington, DC; and Amy Coney Barrett, who serves on the federal appeals court in Chicago.
Among Mr Trump's counsellors is Leonard Leo, who is taking a leave of absence as executive vice president of the Federalist Society to serve as an outside adviser to the process. Mr Leo said on Wednesday that it was important to first focus on Mr Kennedy's legacy and demonstrate appreciation. From there, he said, the "White House will begin to winnow the president's list to a manageable short list".
"The president has been very clear over and over what his standards are," Mr Leo said.
Senators are bracing for the tough days ahead.
Republican Ben Sasse of Nebraska, a member of the judiciary committee, bluntly talked of the "blood sport" likely to be triggered by the nomination fight.
"Americans ought to aim higher," he said.
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
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League quarter-final, second leg (first-leg score):
Manchester City (0) v Tottenham Hotspur (1), Wednesday, 11pm UAE
Match is on BeIN Sports
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
if you go
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct from the UAE to Seoul from Dh3,775 return, including taxes
The package
Ski Safari offers a seven-night ski package to Korea, including five nights at the Dragon Valley Hotel in Yongpyong and two nights at Seoul CenterMark hotel, from £720 (Dh3,488) per person, including transfers, based on two travelling in January
The info
Visit www.gokorea.co.uk
The Dictionary of Animal Languages
Heidi Sopinka
Scribe
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
if you go
The flights
Etihad, Emirates and Singapore Airlines fly direct from the UAE to Singapore from Dh2,265 return including taxes. The flight takes about 7 hours.
The hotel
Rooms at the M Social Singapore cost from SG $179 (Dh488) per night including taxes.
The tour
Makan Makan Walking group tours costs from SG $90 (Dh245) per person for about three hours. Tailor-made tours can be arranged. For details go to www.woknstroll.com.sg
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
