US President Joe Biden said on Sunday that a ceasefire deal for Gaza was “still possible” and that his team is continuing to work to avoid regional escalation.
“The plan I put together, endorsed by the G7, endorsed by the UN Security Council, et cetera, is still viable,” Mr Biden said in an interview with CBS, his first since he ended his campaign for re-election last month.
“And I'm working literally every single day – and my whole team – to see to it that it doesn't escalate into a regional war. But it easily can.”
With a matter of months in the White House, Mr Biden appears focused on ending the conflict.
The US, Qatar and Egypt released a statement on Thursday calling on Hamas and Israel to return to the negotiating table on August 15.
The goal of the talks will be to “close all remaining gaps and commence implementation of the deal without further delay”, according to the statement.
Ahead of the joint statement's release, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said negotiations were in their “final stage”.
“President [Joe] Biden spoke today to President [Abdel Fattah] El Sisi of Egypt and to Emir [Sheikh] Tamim of Qatar,” Mr Blinken said.
“As the leaders discussed, the negotiations have now reached a final stage and they agreed on the urgency of bringing this process to closure. It's critical that all parties work to finalise an agreement as soon as possible.”
Fears of regional escalation are high as the Middle East braces for Iran's response to the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran – which has been blamed on Israel – less than two weeks ago.
While Iran has vowed to retaliate, it has said it would support any agreement accepted by Hamas.
“We have the legitimate right to self-defence,” Iran's mission to the UN said.
“However, we hope that our response will be timed and conducted in a manner not to the detriment of the potential ceasefire.”
Mr Biden's comments on his ceasefire hopes come after Israel bombed a school in Gaza where about 2,400 Palestinians were sheltering. The strike killed about 100 people.
Israel has said a Hamas had been using part of the school as a command and control centre.
The White House said on Saturday that it was “deeply concerned” over reports of civilian casualties.
“We know Hamas has been using schools as locations to gather and operate out of, but we have also said repeatedly and consistently that Israel must take measures to minimise civilian harm,” a National Security Council representative said in a statement.
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
Trump v Khan
2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US
2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks
2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit
2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”
2022: Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency
July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”
Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.
Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”
Key changes
Commission caps
For life insurance products with a savings component, Peter Hodgins of Clyde & Co said different caps apply to the saving and protection elements:
• For the saving component, a cap of 4.5 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 90 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• On the protection component, there is a cap of 10 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 160 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• Indemnity commission, the amount of commission that can be advanced to a product salesperson, can be 50 per cent of the annualised premium for the first year or 50 per cent of the total commissions on the policy calculated.
• The remaining commission after deduction of the indemnity commission is paid equally over the premium payment term.
• For pure protection products, which only offer a life insurance component, the maximum commission will be 10 per cent of the annualised premium multiplied by the length of the policy in years.
Disclosure
Customers must now be provided with a full illustration of the product they are buying to ensure they understand the potential returns on savings products as well as the effects of any charges. There is also a “free-look” period of 30 days, where insurers must provide a full refund if the buyer wishes to cancel the policy.
“The illustration should provide for at least two scenarios to illustrate the performance of the product,” said Mr Hodgins. “All illustrations are required to be signed by the customer.”
Another illustration must outline surrender charges to ensure they understand the costs of exiting a fixed-term product early.
Illustrations must also be kept updatedand insurers must provide information on the top five investment funds available annually, including at least five years' performance data.
“This may be segregated based on the risk appetite of the customer (in which case, the top five funds for each segment must be provided),” said Mr Hodgins.
Product providers must also disclose the ratio of protection benefit to savings benefits. If a protection benefit ratio is less than 10 per cent "the product must carry a warning stating that it has limited or no protection benefit" Mr Hodgins added.
