US President Joe Biden is spending less than a day in Northern Ireland before his three-day homecoming in the south — so he can hardly complain if he has not made a huge splash in Belfast.
“Indifferent,” was one local’s take on the visit. “Which president is that?” asked another. The signs on bus stops, to be fair, spoke only of “a presidential visit”.
With a late-evening arrival on Tuesday, heavy rain forecast and a single engagement behind an Ulster University security cordon on Wednesday, few in Belfast will see much of Mr Biden.
“Maybe when president [Bill] Clinton came over, more people would have come out,” said pastor Paul Donnelly, 56.
“I don’t think President Biden has got that same type of appeal.”
Four suspected pipe bombs have been recovered from a cemetery in Creggan near Derry in Northern Ireland, police said on Tuesday, after a weekend of security warnings.
The presidential visit has led to road closures and a large armed police presence in Belfast’s city centre. Small protests are planned by those who oppose Mr Biden’s foreign policy.
Petrol bombs thrown in Derry on Monday were a reminder of the lingering threat. Football fans were disgruntled when the massive police operation for Mr Biden forced a Tuesday fixture to be postponed.
“Frankly I expect there are many people who will be much more interested in the football than anything the US President says,” said Ron McDowell of the Traditional Unionist Voice party.
Beyond these practical grumbles, there is a feeling that the impasse in Northern Irish politics puts a dampener on a trip billed as celebrating the “tremendous progress” since the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.
Although the violence of The Troubles has largely subsided, power-sharing has been fraught and the Northern Ireland Assembly has not sat for over a year during the latest breakdown in relations.
“If the assembly had been working, he [Mr Biden] would have stayed, he would have talked to them,” said retired consultant Hugh Neeson, 73.
“But what’s the point? They’re not there.”
In the mainly Protestant camp that supports Northern Ireland’s union with Britain, many are wary of the Catholic Mr Biden and suspect he favours a united Ireland. The phrase “Sleepy Joe” has crossed loyalist lips.
For those who celebrate Mr Biden’s Irish roots, his stay in the Republic will be the main event — with flags and posters awaiting him in the south — and not his brief stop in Belfast.
While the Republic speaks of “welcoming a great Irish-American President home”, the UK government has had to deny that Mr Biden’s brief stop in Belfast was a snub.
Ulster University president Prof Paul Bartholomew, who said the Belfast campus being visited by Mr Biden “reflects the hope and promise of the agreement”, was one of the few getting excited.
“It can be a bit pompous, can't it?” Nitai Prabhu, 67, a member of a Hindu temple in Belfast, said of the presidential trip.
Like others who remembered the days of explosions and army barracks in Belfast, he said times had at least changed since the height of The Troubles.
The arrival of foreign students and migrants to Northern Ireland “gives you a bit of a different perspective from the Catholic and Protestant considerations”, he said.
One 32-year-old local who asked not to be named said some of his earliest memories were of barricades around Belfast’s city centre that were meant to stop bombs coming in.
Although metal fences known as “peace walls” still divide parts of Belfast, people come and go in the centre as they would on any UK high street.
“There’s definitely a normality that there never was before. Most people are just absorbed with their everyday cares,” said Mr Donnelly.
“There’s economic benefits now that there weren’t, say, 40 years ago. People can tolerate each other when there’s mutual prosperity.”
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
MATCH INFO
Jersey 147 (20 overs)
UAE 112 (19.2 overs)
Jersey win by 35 runs
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
Profile
Name: Carzaty
Founders: Marwan Chaar and Hassan Jaffar
Launched: 2017
Employees: 22
Based: Dubai and Muscat
Sector: Automobile retail
Funding to date: $5.5 million
FROM%20THE%20ASHES
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Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
RESULT
Copa del Rey, semi-final second leg
Real Madrid 0
Barcelona 3 (Suarez (50', 73' pen), Varane (69' OG)
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20IPHONE%2014
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Ordinary Virtues: Moral Order in a Divided World by Michael Ignatieff
Harvard University Press
The years Ramadan fell in May
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
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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
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The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick
Hometown: Cologne, Germany
Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)
Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes
Favourite hobby: Football
Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk
Andor
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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
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
Cultural fiesta
What: The Al Burda Festival
When: November 14 (from 10am)
Where: Warehouse421, Abu Dhabi
The Al Burda Festival is a celebration of Islamic art and culture, featuring talks, performances and exhibitions. Organised by the Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development, this one-day event opens with a session on the future of Islamic art. With this in mind, it is followed by a number of workshops and “masterclass” sessions in everything from calligraphy and typography to geometry and the origins of Islamic design. There will also be discussions on subjects including ‘Who is the Audience for Islamic Art?’ and ‘New Markets for Islamic Design.’ A live performance from Kuwaiti guitarist Yousif Yaseen should be one of the highlights of the day.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: SimpliFi
Started: August 2021
Founder: Ali Sattar
Based: UAE
Industry: Finance, technology
Investors: 4DX, Rally Cap, Raed, Global Founders, Sukna and individuals
JAPANESE GRAND PRIX INFO
Schedule (All times UAE)
First practice: Friday, 5-6.30am
Second practice: Friday, 9-10.30am
Third practice: Saturday, 7-8am
Qualifying: Saturday, 10-11am
Race: Sunday, 9am-midday
Race venue: Suzuka International Racing Course
Circuit Length: 5.807km
Number of Laps: 53
Watch live: beIN Sports HD
Bert van Marwijk factfile
Born: May 19 1952
Place of birth: Deventer, Netherlands
Playing position: Midfielder
Teams managed:
1998-2000 Fortuna Sittard
2000-2004 Feyenoord
2004-2006 Borussia Dortmund
2007-2008 Feyenoord
2008-2012 Netherlands
2013-2014 Hamburg
2015-2017 Saudi Arabia
2018 Australia
Major honours (manager):
2001/02 Uefa Cup, Feyenoord
2007/08 KNVB Cup, Feyenoord
World Cup runner-up, Netherlands
The Transfiguration
Director: Michael O’Shea
Starring: Eric Ruffin, Chloe Levine
Three stars
Best Foreign Language Film nominees
Capernaum (Lebanon)
Cold War (Poland)
Never Look Away (Germany)
Roma (Mexico)
Shoplifters (Japan)
Summer special
