Best photos of May 3: Long Distance Heritage Race in Dubai to 80th VE Day anniversary in London
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
Director: Kangana Ranaut, Krish Jagarlamudi
Producer: Zee Studios, Kamal Jain
Cast: Kangana Ranaut, Ankita Lokhande, Danny Denzongpa, Atul Kulkarni
Rating: 2.5/5
Director: Louis Theroux
Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz
Rating: 5/5
Reform is a right-wing, populist party led by Nigel Farage, a former MEP who won a seat in the House of Commons last year at his eighth attempt and a prominent figure in the campaign for the UK to leave the European Union.
It was founded in 2018 and originally called the Brexit Party.
Many of its members previously belonged to UKIP or the mainstream Conservatives.
After Brexit took place, the party focused on the reformation of British democracy.
Former Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson became its first MP after defecting in March 2024.
The party gained support from Elon Musk, and had hoped the tech billionaire would make a £100m donation. However, Mr Musk changed his mind and called for Mr Farage to step down as leader in a row involving the US tycoon's support for far-right figurehead Tommy Robinson who is in prison for contempt of court.
Global events: Much of the UK's economic woes were blamed on 'increased global uncertainty', which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump's tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise '£6.5bn per year' for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
%3Cp%3EHigh%20fever%20(40%C2%B0C%2F104%C2%B0F)%3Cbr%3ESevere%20headache%3Cbr%3EPain%20behind%20the%20eyes%3Cbr%3EMuscle%20and%20joint%20pains%3Cbr%3ENausea%3Cbr%3EVomiting%3Cbr%3ESwollen%20glands%3Cbr%3ERash%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
- Number of children under five will fall from 681 million in 2017 to 401m in 2100
- Over-80s will rise from 141m in 2017 to 866m in 2100
- Nigeria will become the world's second most populous country with 791m by 2100, behind India
- China will fall dramatically from a peak of 2.4 billion in 2024 to 732 million by 2100
- an average of 2.1 children per woman is required to sustain population growth
UK
Innovator Founder Visa is aimed at those who can demonstrate relevant experience in business and sufficient investment funds to set up and scale up a new business in the UK. It offers permanent residence after three years.
Germany
Investing or establishing a business in Germany offers you a residence permit, which eventually leads to citizenship. The investment must meet an economic need and you have to have lived in Germany for five years to become a citizen.
Italy
The scheme is designed for foreign investors committed to making a significant contribution to the economy. Requires a minimum investment of €250,000 which can rise to €2 million.
Switzerland
Residence Programme offers residence to applicants and their families through economic contributions. The applicant must agree to pay an annual lump sum in tax.
Canada
Start-Up Visa Programme allows foreign entrepreneurs the opportunity to create a business in Canada and apply for permanent residence.
The Land between Two Rivers: Writing in an Age of Refugees
Tom Sleigh, Graywolf Press
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
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Ministry of InteriorMinistry of DefenceGeneral Intelligence DirectorateAir Force Intelligence AgencyPolitical Security DirectorateSyrian National Security BureauMilitary Intelligence DirectorateArmy Supply BureauGeneral Organisation of Radio and TVAl Watan newspaperCham Press TV
Sama TV
FA Cup semi-finals
Saturday: Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur, 8.15pm (UAE)
Sunday: Chelsea v Southampton, 6pm (UAE)
Matches on Bein Sports
The flights
Fly Etihad or Emirates from the UAE to Moscow from 2,763 return per person return including taxes.
Where to stay
Trips on the Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian cost from US$16,995 (Dh62,414) per person, based on two sharing.
Updated: May 03, 2025, 11:08 AM
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Middle East Eye
39 minutes ago
- Middle East Eye
Francesca Albanese: David Cameron could be criminally liable for threatening ICC
On Monday, Middle East Eye revealed that former British Foreign Secretary David Cameron privately threatened to defund and withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC) if it issued arrest warrants for Israeli leaders. Cameron, then foreign secretary in Rishi Sunak's Conservative government, made the threat in April 2024 in a heated phone call with Karim Khan, the British chief prosecutor of the court. Since then, 10 British MPs have commented on the revelation. Some have called for a parliamentary investigation, while others have urged the Labour government to distance itself from Cameron's actions. On Tuesday afternoon, Humza Yousaf, who was Scotland's first minister when Cameron made the threat, said that it was "shameful that Lord Cameron allegedly threatened the ICC for having the audacity to do their job". Now, legal experts say there is a serious risk that Cameron, who sits as a Tory peer in the House of Lords, could be criminally liable. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Francesca Albanese, the prominent legal scholar and UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, weighed in on Tuesday evening in an exclusive interview with MEE. Albanese, an expert in international law, was careful to note that she is not conversant with all the details of the Cameron story. She caveated her comments by saying, "if this occurred and there is evidence". The UN rapporteur explained that if Cameron acted as MEE's sources said he did, the former foreign secretary and prime minister has committed a "criminal offence under the Rome Statute". The Rome Statute criminalises those who attempt to prevent war crimes from being prosecuted. Article 70 awards the ICC jurisdiction over those responsible for "impeding, intimidating or corruptly influencing an official of the Court for the purpose of forcing or persuading the official not to perform, or to perform improperly, his or her duties". According to MEE's sources in The Hague, Cameron told the ICC prosecutor that if the ICC issued warrants for Israeli leaders, the UK would "defund the court and withdraw from the Rome Statute". Cameron did not respond to multiple requests for comment. 'The court can take action' "A threat against the ICC, direct or indirect, is an obstruction of justice," Albanese told MEE. "It's an action aimed at preventing the court from carrying out an investigation. So it's a violation of the principle of judicial independence. "It's incredibly serious that someone in a position of power might have had the audacity to do that." Exclusive: David Cameron threatened to withdraw UK from ICC over Israel war crimes probe Read More » Albanese pointed out that "any form of intimidation, retaliation, or interference with court officials is an offence in itself". Significantly, she said that the "court can take action against a person who misbehaves or obstructs proceedings." Cameron could also face potential repercussions under British domestic law. Section 54 (1) of the International Criminal Court Act 2001 notes: "A person intentionally committing any of the acts mentioned in article 70.1 (offences against the administration of justice in relation to the ICC) may be dealt with as for the corresponding domestic offence committed in relation to a superior court in England and Wales." Albanese said that if Cameron was still in politics, "there would be condemnations from other states, probably diplomatic or retaliatory measures. "Now, I don't know the UK system enough, but in normal systems, had he still been in office, there could have been an investigation, legal challenges by civil society - surely something that will happen. "And again, I don't know. One needs to see the UK legislation, but surely there could be something that is along these general principles." 'Cameron must be investigated' In the call on 23 April, Cameron told Khan that applying for warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant would be "like dropping a hydrogen bomb". He said Khan was "on the brink of making a huge mistake" and that "the world is not ready for this". According to MEE's sources, the foreign secretary spoke aggressively and repeatedly shouted over Khan, who had to ask to be able to complete his points. 'Any form of intimidation, retaliation, or interference with court officials is an offence' - Francesca Albanese Labour MP Naz Shah called the news "shocking" and said she would be "raising this matter directly" with the Foreign Office. Labour MP Zarah Sultana said on social media platform X that "David Cameron - and every UK minister complicit in arming and enabling Israel's genocide in Gaza - must be investigated for war crimes." Independent MP Ayoub Khan told MEE: "I urge the relevant parliamentary standards committees to investigate this matter with the seriousness it deserves." Emily Thornberry, a senior Labour MP and the chair of parliament's foreign affairs select committee, said: "I've always believed that when making difficult decisions, international law must always be our guide." Approached by MEE for a response to the exchange with Cameron, Khan said on Monday: "I have no comment to make at this time."
Gulf Today
3 hours ago
- Gulf Today
'The Day of The Jackal' author Frederick Forsyth dies aged 86
Prolific British thriller writer Frederick Forsyth, who instantly became a global bestselling author when his book "The Day of the Jackal" was published in 1971, died on Monday aged 86, his literary agents Curtis Brown said. Forsyth famously penned his most famous work about a fictional assassination attempt on French president Charles de Gaulle by right-wing extremists in just 35 days after falling on hard times. "The Jackal" went on to be made into a hit film starring Edward Fox as the assassin. A Netflix remake last year with Eddie Redmayne in the lead role was released last year. "We mourn the passing of one of the world's greatest thriller writers," his agent Jonathan Lloyd said. Forsyth died at home surrounded by his family following a brief illness, according to Curtis Brown. The former journalist and pilot wrote over 25 books including "The Odessa File" (1972) and "The Dogs of War" (1974) and sold over 75 million copies worldwide. Many of his novels were also turned into films. "Only a few weeks ago I sat with him as we watched a new and moving documentary of his life ... and was reminded of an extraordinary life, well lived," said Lloyd. "After serving as one of the youngest ever RAF pilots, he turned to journalism, using his gift for languages in German, French and Russian to become a foreign correspondent in Biafra (in Nigeria)," he said. 'Spectacular luck' "Appalled at what he saw and using his experience during a stint as a secret service agent, he wrote his first and perhaps most famous novel, 'The Day Of The Jackal'," he added. A sequel to "The Odessa File", entitled "Revenge Of Odessa", on which he worked with thriller writer Tony Kent, is due to be published in August, his publisher Bill Scott-Kerr said. "His journalistic background brought a rigour and a metronomic efficiency to his working practice and his nose for and understanding of a great story kept his novels both thrillingly contemporary and fresh," Scott-Kerr added. Forsyth attributed much of his success to "luck", recalling how a bullet narrowly missed him while he was covering the bloody Biafra civil war between 1967 and 1970. "I have had the most spectacular luck all through my life," he told The Times last November in an interview. "Right place, right time, right person, right contact, right promotion -- and even just turning my head away when that bullet went past," he said. Asked why he had decided to give up writing -- although he later went back to it -- he told AFP in 2016 he'd "run out of things to say". "I can't just sit at home and do a nice little romance from within my study, I have to go out and check out places like Modagishu, Guinea Bissau, both hellholes in different ways," he said. Forsyth had two sons by his first wife. His second wife, Sandy, died last year. Conservative MP David Davis paid tribute to his friend as a "fabulous wordsmith". He told Sky News that Forsyth "was a great believer in the old values -- he believed in honour and patriotism and courage and directness and straightforwardness, and a big defender of our armed forces". Agence France-Presse
Arabian Post
13 hours ago
- Arabian Post
Bangladesh Is Finally Going For National Elections By April 2026
By Nitya Chakraborty The interim Chief Adviser of Bangladesh Government Dr. Muhammad Yunus has finally announced the holding of national elections in the country in the first half of April next year defying the demand of the main opposition party BNP to hold it in December this year. The final dates will be notified by the Election Commission. The EC will also be notifying the norms as also the criteria for the eligibility of the candidates for contesting the polls Chief Adviser Dr. Yunus is currently in London on a four day official visit to United Kingdom. He will be meeting the British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer as also other leading ministers of the Labour government. He is expected to have a meeting with Tarique Rahman, the working chairman of the BNP and the son of the BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia. Tarique is the main strategist of the Bangladesh's main opposition party. His discussions with Dr. Yunus have special importance in view of the impending elections. As regards the stand of the opposition parties in Bangladesh, all the parties are preparing for the elections though the BNP still maintains that December is the best time since the months of February and March are not convenient in view of annual school examinations, Ramzan as also the possibility of sudden storms and incessant rains during those months. The Election Commission will take the final view on dates after looking at the representations. For all parties, now one thing is certain that the national elections are taking place anytime between December and April and they would have to be fully ready for that. The EC will notify the lists of the parties eligible for taking part in the elections, but already, the trend is clear. Excepting the Awami League which has been barred by the law, all other parties including Jamaat El Islami are eligible to participate in the elections. There may be more than thirty political parties but the main parties presently are the frontrunner BNP, the newly set up the National Citizens Party (NCP) and Jamaat-El-Islami. Other smaller parties and loose fringe left combinations are there but they have not much influence in electoral terms in the present volatile Bangladesh. To take the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) first. The BNP has been functioning in the parliamentary domain just few years after the founding of Bangladesh in 1971. The BNP's present chairperson Khaleda Zia was three times Prime Minister. She was out of the country for medical treatment. She came back last month and is now presiding over the strategy meetings though she has been asked by the doctors not to take strain of campaigning. So she is not campaigning much but guiding the local leadership in consultations with her son Tarique who is based in London. Tarique will be back to Dhaka as soon as the pending cases against him are disposed of in courts in Bangladesh. BNP has governing experience for a long period. The party has contacts with the bureaucrats as also a major section of the Bangladesh army. BNP can be called a centre-right party in Bangladesh. The party is flexible and the top leadership understands the importance of having friendly relations with such a powerful neighbour like India. BNP took a vehement anti-India position during Sheikh Hasina's tenure as the BNP thought that India was making use of Hasina to serve its interests and Hasina was sacrificing national interests to Indian government so that all her excesses are ignored by New Delhi. BNP leaders now express the view that they will like to have normal relations with India if they come back to power after the national elections. The second visible political party is the NCP. The NCP was founded in the last week of February this year. Only more than three months have passed. The party has still to set up all its units in districts at village levels. The party as a whole has no governing experience. Most of their top leaders were the vanguard of the anti-discrimination movement which toppled Sheikh Hasina from power on August 5 last year. The NCP is an unwieldy combination of diverse forces from the secularist to fundamentalists, from pro-Chinese to libertarians. They have some experienced trade union workers as also peasant leaders. But basically, the NCP is led by young radicals who are dreamers and talk of a new Golden Bangladesh to be built on the basis equity. The NCP is totally anti-India. The leadership feels that Indian government was fully responsible for all excesses of Awami League and along with Sheikh Hasina, Indian government led by Narendra Modi is also guilty. In fact NCP was most vocal in mentioning Indian role in Hasina's tenure to the international delegations which studied the anti-Hasina students movement. The NCP has now speeded up formation of its core committees for election purposes. The NCP is very much with Dr. Yunus in most of the programmes. The NCP looks at BNP as its main rival. NCP is also suspicious of Army role. As regards Jamaat El Islami, the party has lot of dedicated workers. The party has lot of funds now after the Yunus regime withdrew earlier ban on foreign donations to it. The Jamaat on its own remains an insignificant force in elections. Earlier, it aligned with BNP and got some recognition, but right now, BNP and Jamaat are at loggerheads. Jamaat is supporting Dr. Yunus just like NCP. A section of Jamaat wants an understanding with the NCP but that may not fructify as the top leadership of NCP is against any dealing with Jamaat. What is the political ambition of Dr. Yunus? This is also important. Dr. Yunus is 85 years old now. Despite giving threat of submitting resignation twice during his tenure, the Nobel Laureate is enjoying his time, say the sources. He will not mind being nominated President after the elections. But that depends on which combination comes to power after elections and what type of dealings take place. NCP and Jamaat will like Dr. Yunus to remain in political limelight, but will BNP agree? Dr. Yunus had connections earlier with Biden administration as he was known as a good friend of Clintons. But after the coming of Trump in the White House, Dr, Yunus lost that weight. He is now trying to establish fresh contacts with Trump advisers taking advantage of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's latest embarrassing position vis a vis US administration over May 10 ceasefire. How does India stand in this scenario? With Awami League not in the race for national elections, India has hardly any party among the contestants in which it can take interest. As regards Awami League, the leaders say that they will challenge the ban decision, but that may not make any impact as the law has been amended. AL leadership can draw global attention for holding fair elections with its participation with India's help, but the possibility of success is remote. Two international teams including members from the EU submitted reports accusing Sheikh Hasina regime of election frauds and excesses during July movement including unwarranted killings. For the time being, Awami League leadership has very few options. Among the big nations, the U.S. is right now not interested in Bangladesh since it is too involved with other pressing issues. China is positioned against Awami League and it is presently doing very good business with the present Bangladesh regime. China has friends in both BNP and NCP. China's ambassador in Dhaka receives maximum visitors from the political parties now. China has its ambitions far more than the business in Bangladesh. The plan involves reactivating abandoned airports as also naval base in Chittagong. But China is not in a hurry. Beijing wants to win people's hearts through setting up a cluster of factories creating jobs and then working for its geo-political goals in Bangladesh which affect India. How will Narendra Modi government plan to meet the challenge in Bangladesh? That is the big question. (IPA Service)
