The Senate on Tuesday failed to block President Joe Biden’s proposed $650 million arms sale to Saudi Arabia.
Several key senators who supported blocking other sales to Riyadh under former president Donald Trump threw their support behind the White House this time.
Senators voted 30-67 against a bipartisan resolution introduced by Republican Rand Paul to block the sale, which the Biden administration says will be used to replenish Saudi Arabia’s stock of medium-range, air-to-air missiles used to intercept Houthi drone attacks.
A Saudi-backed coalition has battling the Iran-backed rebels since 2015 after a request from the internationally recognised Yemeni government.
Mr Paul's failed efforts to stop the sale were joined by independent Senator Bernie Sanders, Republican Mike Lee and a handful of other Democrats.
Mr Biden halted the Trump administration's sale shortly after taking office when he vowed to end military support to the Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
But the Biden administration proposed a much smaller sale to replenish Saudi missile stocks, classifying it as defensive, which convinced two key senators to support the transaction despite them leading efforts to block weapons for Riyadh under Mr Trump.
“This looks to me like a traditional defensive sale and these weapons are used in part to shoot down drones that are launched into Saudi territory from Yemen,” Chris Murphy, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Middle East panel, told The National.
Iran has stepped up its supply of drones and missiles to the Houthis in recent years, allowing the rebels to launch attacks similar to those used by Tehran’s proxies in Iraq and Syria.
Mr Young, the top Republican on the Middle East panel, echoed Mr Murphy’s assessment despite joining Mr Murphy in the tussle over Mr Trump’s 2019 sale.
“The circumstances have changed considerably,” Mr Young told The National. “We’ve seen some in the Houthi movement who have aligned themselves with the Iranians terrorising Saudis and also threatening the lives and welfare of American troops and civilians in the country as well.”
The Biden administration in September also notified Congress of a separate $500m sale to maintain and service Saudi Arabia’s fleet of helicopters.
The helicopters have reportedly been used on the Saudi-Yemeni border where the Houthis have launched drone attacks into the kingdom.
England World Cup squad
Eoin Morgan (capt), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler (wkt), Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Vince, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
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.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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ACL Elite (West) - fixtures
Monday, Sept 30
Al Sadd v Esteghlal (8pm)
Persepolis v Pakhtakor (8pm)
Al Wasl v Al Ahli (8pm)
Al Nassr v Al Rayyan (10pm)
Tuesday, Oct 1
Al Hilal v Al Shorta (10pm)
Al Gharafa v Al Ain (10pm)
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
ICC Women's T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier 2025, Thailand
UAE fixtures
May 9, v Malaysia
May 10, v Qatar
May 13, v Malaysia
May 15, v Qatar
May 18 and 19, semi-finals
May 20, final
The%20specs%20
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KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN MARITIME DISPUTE
2000: Israel withdraws from Lebanon after nearly 30 years without an officially demarcated border. The UN establishes the Blue Line to act as the frontier.
2007: Lebanon and Cyprus define their respective exclusive economic zones to facilitate oil and gas exploration. Israel uses this to define its EEZ with Cyprus
2011: Lebanon disputes Israeli-proposed line and submits documents to UN showing different EEZ. Cyprus offers to mediate without much progress.
2018: Lebanon signs first offshore oil and gas licencing deal with consortium of France’s Total, Italy’s Eni and Russia’s Novatek.
2018-2019: US seeks to mediate between Israel and Lebanon to prevent clashes over oil and gas resources.
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
- Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
- Tourism industry knowledge.
- Professional ethics.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Ain Issa camp:
- Established in 2016
- Houses 13,309 people, 2,092 families, 62 per cent children
- Of the adult population, 49 per cent men, 51 per cent women (not including foreigners annexe)
- Most from Deir Ezzor and Raqqa
- 950 foreigners linked to ISIS and their families
- NGO Blumont runs camp management for the UN
- One of the nine official (UN recognised) camps in the region
RESULTS
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The biog
Age: 59
From: Giza Governorate, Egypt
Family: A daughter, two sons and wife
Favourite tree: Ghaf
Runner up favourite tree: Frankincense
Favourite place on Sir Bani Yas Island: “I love all of Sir Bani Yas. Every spot of Sir Bani Yas, I love it.”
Sweet%20Tooth
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Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
AIDA%20RETURNS
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
