Democrats in the US Senate on Wednesday failed to pass legislation blocking the sale of F-35s to the UAE, paving the way for Washington and the Emirates to sign an official contract formalising the deal.
But president-elect Joe Biden has yet to take a position on the sale.
The long, drawn-out process could present several other obstacles for the UAE in the months and years ahead as the Biden administration examines key details of the $23 billion deal.
Washington and Abu Dhabi must next agree on a letter of offer and acceptance before US defence contractor Lockheed Martin can start the lengthy process of building the 50 F-35s.
Heidi Grant, director of the Pentagon’s Defence Security Co-operation Agency, which co-ordinates foreign arms sales, said last week that it would be possible for the Trump administration and the UAE to sign the letter before Mr Biden takes office on January 20.
That would be an unusually short time for such a major contract.
Bob Menendez, the Democratic senator who introduced the legislation to block the sale, indicated that much of his opposition was because of the pace at which the Trump administration made the offer.
“I am not opposed to these sales if they make sense or pose no threat to US or Israeli security in the short and long term,” Mr Menendez told the Senate before the vote on Wednesday.
“But these sales require careful and deliberate consideration within the interagency process and by this Congress.”
Emma Soubrier, a visiting scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, told The National that there was much discussion about the letter of offer and acceptance already, even though the month-long congressional review period does not officially end until Friday.
“LOAs can take months to actually establish depending on how on the same page people on both sides are already,” Ms Soubrier said.
“My understanding is the Trump administration has already tried to fast-track this deal.”
Others are more sceptical that the Trump administration and the UAE would be able to finalise the letter before Mr Biden took office.
"It seems unlikely that an LOA on the F-35s, for example, could happen by January 20," Jeff Abramson, a senior fellow at the Arms Control Association, told The National.
“That is a negotiation between the Emiratis and the US. How long that takes is variable. We just don’t know.”
But even if Mr Trump is unable to finalise the letter with the UAE before leaving office, Mr Biden’s foreign policy advisers have not ruled out proceeding with some form of the huge deal.
"The Obama-Biden administration made sure that our most advanced fighter plane would be available to Israel, but only to Israel in the Middle East, because we wanted to make sure that Israel was able to preserve its qualitative military advantage, and we have provided for the sale of some number of F-35s during our administration," Tony Blinken, Mr Biden's nominee to serve as secretary of state, said in October.
“And so, reports that the administration has committed to provide these planes to the UAE is something we would look at very, very carefully.”
Ms Soubrier said Mr Blinken’s remarks did not indicate that the Biden administration “would not actually approve” the sale later.
However, the exact details and cost of a major arms sale often differ, in this case between the Trump administration’s $23bn notification to Congress and the weapons delivery.
"When you look at actual data, figures of notifications, those figures are often a lot higher than what eventually gets delivered," Seth Binder, an advocacy officer at the Project on Middle East Democracy, told The National.
“In part, that’s because when they get down to the nuts and bolts of the LOA, they might narrow it back.
“The terms of the agreement might not follow to the tee exactly what the notifications look like.”
The notification presented to Congress includes the $10bn F-35 sale, another $10bn for precision-guided munitions and $3bn for reaper drones.
Israel’s endorsement of the sale could also bolster support for the arms deal in Washington, relieving some tension among sceptical Democrats when Mr Trump leaves office.
The Israeli ambassador to the US, Ron Dermer, while appearing on MSNBC with the UAE Minister of State and envoy to the US Yousef Al Otaiba, said he was “very comfortable” with the F-35 sale.
Although the Emirates have been looking to buy the F-35 fighter jets since the administration of George W Bush, the Trump administration opted to proceed with the sale after the UAE signed the Abraham Accord to normalise relations with Israel.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee said this week that it would not oppose the sale.
Other pro-Israel groups in Washington have openly endorsed it as long as Israel receives more US support to maintain its qualitative military edge in the region.
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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WHAT IS GRAPHENE?
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were experimenting with sticky tape and graphite, the material used as lead in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But when they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics.
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
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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What is tokenisation?
Tokenisation refers to the issuance of a blockchain token, which represents a virtually tradable real, tangible asset. A tokenised asset is easily transferable, offers good liquidity, returns and is easily traded on the secondary markets.
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Karwaan
Producer: Ronnie Screwvala
Director: Akarsh Khurana
Starring: Irrfan Khan, Dulquer Salmaan, Mithila Palkar
Rating: 4/5
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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
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERooh%20Afza%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E100ml%20contains%20414%20calories%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETang%20orange%20drink%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E100ml%20serving%20contains%20300%20calories%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECarob%20beverage%20mix%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E100ml%20serving%20contains%20about%20300%20calories%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EQamar%20Al%20Din%20apricot%20drink%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E100ml%20saving%20contains%2061%20calories%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EVimto%20fruit%20squash%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E100ml%20serving%20contains%2030%20calories%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
THE SPECS
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 275hp at 6,600rpm
Torque: 353Nm from 1,450-4,700rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Top speed: 250kph
Fuel consumption: 6.8L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: Dh146,999
How to join and use Abu Dhabi’s public libraries
• There are six libraries in Abu Dhabi emirate run by the Department of Culture and Tourism, including one in Al Ain and Al Dhafra.
• Libraries are free to visit and visitors can consult books, use online resources and study there. Most are open from 8am to 8pm on weekdays, closed on Fridays and have variable hours on Saturdays, except for Qasr Al Watan which is open from 10am to 8pm every day.
• In order to borrow books, visitors must join the service by providing a passport photograph, Emirates ID and a refundable deposit of Dh400. Members can borrow five books for three weeks, all of which are renewable up to two times online.
• If users do not wish to pay the fee, they can still use the library’s electronic resources for free by simply registering on the website. Once registered, a username and password is provided, allowing remote access.
• For more information visit the library network's website.
The specs
Engine: 0.8-litre four cylinder
Power: 70bhp
Torque: 66Nm
Transmission: four-speed manual
Price: $1,075 new in 1967, now valued at $40,000
On sale: Models from 1966 to 1970
