US Representative Ilhan Omar, one of the first Muslim women to serve in the US Congress, was stripped on Thursday of her seat on the Foreign Affairs Committee over previous anti-Semitic and anti-Israel rhetoric.
The Republican-controlled House voted along party lines, with 218 voting in favour of booting Ms Omar from the influential committee and 211 voting against.
Republican Max Miller of Ohio, who introduced the bill, said: “Congresswoman Omar has attempted to undermine the relationship between the United States and Israel, one of the most important strategic alliances we have.
“She has disqualified herself from serving on the Foreign Affairs Committee.”
Ms Omar, who fled civil war in Somalia as a child and spent several years in a refugee camp in Kenya before coming to the US, has come under fire for controversial statements made about Israel and the Jewish people.
In 2019, she was forced to apologise for a tweet in which she propagated an anti-Semitic trope.
But the third-term congresswoman has been a force in Washington since she arrived in 2017, helping to lead the progressive wing of the Democratic Party.
Her Democratic colleagues were visibly emotional as Mr Omar spoke during the removal hearing on Thursday.
‘“My leadership and voice will not be diminished if I am not on this committee for one term; my voice will get louder and stronger and my leadership will be celebrated around the world as it has been,” said Ms Omar.
“So take your votes or not — I am here to stay.”
Ms Omar's close ally, Rashida Tlaib, held back tears as she defended her colleague, saying: “Our country is failing you today through this chamber.”
Gregory Meeks, the ranking Democrat on the committee, slammed Republicans for the resolution.
“Today’s vote is not a reflection of Representative Omar, but on the rank hypocrisy of Republican leadership, which has used its power to exact revenge on their political opponents and, in the case of Omar, punish a member to satisfy the extreme Maga [Make America Great Again] wing of their party," he said in a statement.
It is rare but not unheard of for representatives to be stripped of their committee memberships.
Most recently, Republican Marjorie Taylor Green was stripped of her appointments over a series of incendiary comments, and Paul Gosar had his taken away after he shared a violent video depicting the killing of Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
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Publisher: Konami
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Rating: 4.5/5
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
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- George Sainsbury of the supermarket dynasty, sugar magnate William Park Lyle and actress Dame Gracie Fields were residents in the 1930s when the street was only known as ‘Millionaires’ Row’.
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- Other residents have included Iraqi businessman Nemir Kirdar, singer Ariana Grande, holiday camp impresario Sir Billy Butlin, businessman Asil Nadir, Paul McCartney’s former wife Heather Mills.
Hunting park to luxury living
- Land was originally the Bishop of London's hunting park, hence the name
- The road was laid out in the mid 19th Century, meandering through woodland and farmland
- Its earliest houses at the turn of the 20th Century were substantial detached properties with extensive grounds
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Men’s:
Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY)
Ali Farag (EGY)
Simon Rosner (GER)
Tarek Momen (EGY)
Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL)
Gregory Gaultier (FRA)
Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY)
Nick Matthew (ENG)
Women's:
Nour El Sherbini (EGY)
Raneem El Welily (EGY)
Nour El Tayeb (EGY)
Laura Massaro (ENG)
Joelle King (NZE)
Camille Serme (FRA)
Nouran Gohar (EGY)
Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG)
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Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
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CONCRETE COWBOY
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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UAE squad
Esha Oza (captain), Al Maseera Jahangir, Emily Thomas, Heena Hotchandani, Indhuja Nandakumar, Katie Thompson, Lavanya Keny, Mehak Thakur, Michelle Botha, Rinitha Rajith, Samaira Dharnidharka, Siya Gokhale, Sashikala Silva, Suraksha Kotte, Theertha Satish (wicketkeeper) Udeni Kuruppuarachchige, Vaishnave Mahesh.
UAE tour of Zimbabwe
All matches in Bulawayo
Friday, Sept 26 – First ODI
Sunday, Sept 28 – Second ODI
Tuesday, Sept 30 – Third ODI
Thursday, Oct 2 – Fourth ODI
Sunday, Oct 5 – First T20I
Monday, Oct 6 – Second T20I
MATCH INFO
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Real Madrid 2
Ronaldo (14'), Bale (72')
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Our family matters legal consultant
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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