Trump to visit Middle East this week for summit with Gulf leaders
US President Donald Trump is headed to the Middle East this week to hold a summit with Gulf state leaders. It is his first official foreign trip and it highlights the Trump administration's growing focus on economic cooperation with Gulf nations. It is also taking place amid turbulent geopolitical tensions in the region. Nick Harper has more.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNA
an hour ago
- CNA
‘FIRE' paints an attractive picture of achieving financial freedom early in life, but retirement shouldn't be the end goal
Over the past decade, the FIRE movement (Financial Independence, Retire Early) has been gaining widespread popularity online, inspiring and motivating more people to manage their money better in order to retire sooner. Some fantasise about how they can 'fire' their boss once they retire early. Others dream of being able to stop working entirely to spend time on family or passion projects. There's nothing wrong with FIRE as a goal, but true financial freedom can look very different from the picture this ethos paints. NO LONGER TRAPPED BY OUR NEXT PAY CHEQUE The relationship between our work and finances is a tightly entwined one – most of us need our next pay cheque in order to cover our living expenses and bills, so we keep working. As such, it can be easy to equate the idea of 'financial freedom' with that of 'freedom from work'. But in reality, financial independence and early retirement are two distinct, different things. Not everyone wants to stop working. Studies show that purpose and productivity are essential for our long-term happiness – even post-retirement. Many who reach financial independence continue working, not because they have to but because they want to. But what financial freedom really gives us is the power to make decisions about how we work without worrying too much about financial repercussions. It allows us to choose roles that align with our values, take breaks when needed, or say no to toxic work environments. When we're no longer trapped by the need to rely heavily on our next pay cheque, we gain the freedom to work for our own growth and purpose. WHAT IS YOUR VERSION OF FIRE? The original FIRE ethos called for saving aggressively (usually more than half your income) and investing wisely so you can retire early. It sounded great in theory, but for most, it often required high income and extreme frugality. Today, the FIRE movement has evolved to encompass varying definitions of financial independence. It is no longer about reaching an end goal, but more about the type of lifestyle we desire and the level our finances will need to hit in order to support our aspirations. For instance, 'Lean FIRE' refers to a minimalist lifestyle where you retire with a lower budget. There's also 'Barista FIRE', describing a point where withdrawing from your savings and investments can cover your major expenses and bills, while you supplement the shortfall with part-time or passion-based work (such as being a barista). These newer variations of FIRE may seem like dilutions or compromises – but in reality, they are just as true to the core essence of financial freedom. True financial freedom empowers us with choice rather than demanding retirement. It should mean more options, not less. This shift in mindset can be liberating. Instead of chasing a retirement date or age, we can focus on building a lifestyle where money supports flexibility, purpose, and well-being rather than escape. Perhaps you might decide to stay in your current job, but negotiate fewer work hours that would allow you to care for your children or ailing parents. You might explore part-time roles, start a small business, or pull a Jeremy Tan and pursue advocacy for change (even if it's not as an independent candidate in a general election). ARE WE LOOKING FOR ESCAPE, OR A BETTER BALANCE? Out of all the people I know who've successfully achieved financial independence, the happiest ones are those who never quit working – but it's not because they particularly love slogging. A friend downsized his role to two days a week to spend more time looking after his mother after her cancer diagnosis. Another stopped chasing yearly pay increments and started mentoring juniors instead, finding deeper fulfilment in growing the next generation than a fatter pay cheque. Clearly, the real problem isn't work itself – many people find meaning, identity, and purpose through their work. Rather, it is the lack of control over what, how, when, and why we work that has us dissatisfied. Financial freedom can still mean not working at all, but it's important for us to understand that this isn't the only version of true freedom. Maybe it'll mean a smaller pay cheque, but while it may look to others like you're settling for less, you're in fact gaining more in time, autonomy, and peace of mind. Ironically, when we do work that we're passionate about – work that energises us instead of draining us – we are much more likely to stay the course. WE DON'T HAVE TO WAIT Even so, I get why FIRE remains so popular not just in Singapore but around the world. Trying to achieve financial security is getting trickier and trickier, especially in a world where inflation only seems to keep climbing and job stability is quickly vanishing in the face of repeated layoffs and the proliferation of artificial intelligence. That's why the FIRE movement appeals to millions of people around the world, because it seems to offer a solution. A way to regain control. But the core tenet of financial independence was never about never working again – it about never needing to work out of fear or survival. So instead of running towards an arbitrary finish line, consider the path you're on instead. Is there a way to redesign the way work fits into your life now? We don't have to wait until we retire, whether it's early or not.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
‘Return to your country': Kabul tells Afghans rebuffed by Washington
Since Mr Trump returned to the White House in January, Afghans have gradually seen their chances of migrating to the United States or staying there shrink. PHOTO: REUTERS KABUL - The Taliban government on June 7 urged Afghans hoping to emigrate to the United States to instead return to Afghanistan, after Washington tightened entry conditions. US President Donald Trump this week announced a travel ban targeting 12 countries, including Afghanistan, which his proclamation said lacked 'competent' central authorities for processing passports and vetting. Commenting on the ban on June 7, Prime Minister Mohammad Hassan Akhund urged Afghans to return to their country, saying they would be protected even if they worked with US-led forces in the two-decade fight against the Taliban insurgency. 'For those who are worried that America has closed its doors to Afghans... I want to tell them, 'Return to your country, even if you have served the Americans for 20 or 30 years for their ends, and ruined the Islamic system',' he said in a speech marking the Eid al-Adha holiday, broadcast by state media. 'You will not face abuse or trouble,' he said, making reassurances that the Taliban Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada had 'granted amnesty for all'. After surging to power in 2021, Taliban authorities announced a general amnesty for Afghans who worked with the Western-backed forces and government. However, the United Nations has recorded reports of extrajudicial killings, detentions and abuses. In the past four years, the Taliban government has imposed a strict view of Islamic law and restrictions on women which the UN says amount to 'gender apartheid'. Afghans fled in droves to neighbouring countries during decades of conflict, but the chaotic withdrawal of US-led troops saw a new wave clamouring to escape Taliban government curbs and fears of reprisal for working with Washington. The US has not had a working embassy in Afghanistan since 2021 and Afghans must apply for visas in third countries, principally Pakistan, which has recently ramped up campaigns to expel Afghans. Since Mr Trump returned to the White House in January, Afghans have gradually seen their chances of migrating to the US or staying there shrink. Trump administration orders have disrupted refugee pathways and revoked legal protections temporarily shielding Afghans from deportation starting in July. AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
CNA
5 hours ago
- CNA
Israel admits to supporting anti-Hamas armed group in Gaza
JERUSALEM: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted that Israel is supporting an armed group in Gaza that opposes the militant group Hamas, following comments by a former minister that Israel had transferred weapons to it. Israeli and Palestinian media have reported that the group Israel has been working with is part of a local Bedouin tribe led by Yasser Abu Shabab. The European Council on Foreign Relations (EFCR) think tank describes Abu Shabab as the leader of a "criminal gang operating in the Rafah area that is widely accused of looting aid trucks". Knesset member and ex-defence minister Avigdor Lieberman had told the Kan public broadcaster that the government, at Netanyahu's direction, was "giving weapons to a group of criminals and felons". "What did Lieberman leak? ... That on the advice of security officials, we activated clans in Gaza that oppose Hamas. What is bad about that?" Netanyahu said in a video posted to social media on Thursday (Jun 5). "It is only good, it is saving lives of Israeli soldiers." Michael Milshtein, an expert on Palestinian affairs at the Moshe Dayan Center in Tel Aviv, told AFP that the Abu Shabab clan was part of a Bedouin tribe that spans across the border between Gaza and Egypt's Sinai peninsula. Some of the tribe's members, he said, were involved in "all kinds of criminal activities, drug smuggling, and things like that". Army spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin on Friday confirmed the military supported arming local militias in Gaza but remained tight-lipped on the details. "I can say that we are operating in various ways against Hamas governance," Defrin said during a televised press conference when questioned on the subject, without elaborating further. "GANGSTER" Milshtein said that Abu Shabab had spent time in prison in Gaza and that his clan chiefs had recently denounced him as an Israeli "collaborator and a gangster". "It seems that actually the Shabak (Israeli security agency) or the (military) thought it was a wonderful idea to turn this militia, gang actually, into a proxy, to give them weapons and money and shelter" from army operations, Milshtein said. He added that Hamas killed four members of the gang days ago. The ECFR said Abu Shabab was "reported to have been previously jailed by Hamas for drug smuggling. His brother is said to have been killed by Hamas during a crackdown against the group's attacks on United Nations aid convoys". Israel regularly accuses Hamas, with which it has been at war for nearly 20 months, of looting aid convoys in Gaza. Hamas said the group had "chosen betrayal and theft as their path" and called on civilians to oppose them. Hamas, which has ruled Gaza for nearly two decades, said it had evidence of "clear coordination between these looting gangs, collaborators with the occupation (Israel), and the enemy army itself in the looting of aid and the fabrication of humanitarian crises that deepen the suffering of" Palestinians. The Popular Forces, as Abu Shabab's group calls itself, said on Facebook it had "never been, and will never be, a tool of the occupation". "Our weapons are simple, outdated and came through the support of our own people," it added. Milshtein called Israel's decision to arm a group such as Abu Shabab "a fantasy, not something that you can really describe as a strategy".
