Tag: UAE

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Weekly Summaries

13th – 19th of December

Drastic Changes for the E.U.

Last week, the E.U. proposed some very drastic changes, which involve taking away the unfettered movement of people between E.U. countries. This is a hallmark sign of the E.U., but it could become a distant memory if both all national government and the E.U. Parliament approve of the change. If this would be the case, member countries could re-introduce border checks as frequently as they wish. The European Commission justified the proposal by stating that it would “help member countries better respond to troubles stemming from migration and the pandemic,” according to the New York Times.

Other News

  • Storms across 6 U.S. states killed at least 90 people. One of the tornadoes will become the “longest tornado in U.S.,” according to Kentucky’s governor.
  • The first official visit by an Israeli leader to the UAE took place on Tuesday the 14th of December. Israel’s prime minister Naftali Bennett met with the crown prince of the United Arab Emirates, Mohammed bin Zayed.
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Weekly Summaries

1st of November – 7th of November

Elections in Japan

The governing Liberal Democrats won the elections, but it was closer than usual. The new prime minister, Fumio Kishida, was chosen by his party, the Liberal Democrats, only last month but was still able to lead them to a victory. The other candidate for the representative of the Liberal Democrats was Sanae Takaichi, who would have become Japan’s first female leader. In the end, the Liberal Democrats won 261 seats, easily making the 233 seats necessary to have a majority, but lost 23 seats compared to the 2017 elections. Interestingly, the Liberal Democrats’ main opposition party, the Constitutional Democratic Party, also lost seats, according to the New York Times. Prime minister Kishida is a former foreign minister but faces some charisma in the issues and is in fact often said to be “boring” by the Japanese press.

Other News

  • In pro-democracy protests after the coup in Sudan last week, three people were killed and more than 100 were injured.
  • 4 countries, the U.A.E., Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait called back their diplomats from Lebanon’s capital city, Beirut. The move comes after Lebanon’s information minister referred to the Yemen war as a “Saudi and Emirati aggression,” according to the New York Times.
  • The chief executive of the British bank Barclays stepped down after there was an inquiry by regulators into his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.
  • A building collapsed at a construction site in Lagos, Nigeria, killing at least four people and trapping more than 100.
  • In Virginia, USA, a Republican governor, Glenn Youngkin, was elected last week. He is the first Republican governor to be elected in Virginia in more than a decade.
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Weekly Summaries

14th of September – 20th of September

Signing of the Abraham Accords

This Tuesday, President Trump, the Israelian Prime Minister, and the foreign ministers of the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain gathered to sign agreements – the “Abraham Accords” – which will normalize the diplomatic relations between Israel and the UAE and Israel and Bahrain. This will include the establishment of embassies.

Protests in Belarus

Last Sunday, tens of thousands of people gathered not only in the capital city  Minsk but also in other cities throughout the country. Just like on the past few Sundays, there was a heavy police presence, and possibly even soldiers. Then, on Monday the 14th of September President Putin and President Lukashenko met for the first time since the protests in Belarus first started. President Putin of Russia later said that the goal at the meetings was to establish a “strategic partnership and alliance” between the two countries.

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Weekly Summaries

10th of August – 16th of August

Israel and UAE agree on diplomatic agreement

On Thursday the 13th of August, Israel and the United Arab Emirates reached an agreement to normalize relations between the two countries. Additionally, Israel also agreed to stop annexing more Palestinian territories for now to establish better relations with the rest of the Arab world. The agreement is historic because if it is fulfilled it will make the UAE the third Arab country to establish normal diplomatic relations with Israel (after Jordan and Egypt).