UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has warned, correctly, that “the proliferation of hate and lies in the digital space is causing grave global harm now. It is fuelling conflict, death and destruction. It is threatening democracy and human rights”. We do indeed live in an age of disinformation, as Preslav Nakov wrote in these pages over the weekend.
Action is clearly necessary, and codes of conduct and AI fact-checking are welcome. But they can only do so much if politicians and governments do not set better examples themselves.
Let me present three statements made by prominent political leaders over the past few years, which I would argue were demonstrably false – a fact that the speakers ought to have known.
In 2016, one of Malaysia’s longstanding opposition figures, Lim Kit Siang, said that under then prime minister Najib Razak the country was headed towards becoming a “failed and rogue state”. That same year, leading figures in the Leave camp claimed before the Brexit referendum that if the UK stayed in the EU, 77 million Turks could come to Britain “without any checks at all”. Just a few days ago, US President Joe Biden said that China’s Belt and Road Initiative “turns out to be a debt and confiscation programme”.
Too many leaders are persuading people to take a black-and-white worldview
Mr Lim, or “Uncle Lim” as the now-retired politician is often fondly called, has won admiration for his independence and determination over a total of 29 years of leading Malaysia’s opposition – not always an easy task. But saying that the country was on the way to being a “failed and rogue state” when it had had years of good growth, low inflation and unemployment, and had been attracting record levels of foreign direct investment under the Najib administration, was utterly unjustifiable. The fact that the government changed after the general election two years later showed that it was also a properly functioning democracy. “Uncle Lim” knew better.
Anyone with the slightest understanding of the EU knows that Turkey will almost certainly never be allowed to join, and such is the scaremongering about mass Muslim immigration that there is no way EU officials would ever conceivably allow 77 million Turks (the entire population at the time) to enter the bloc without a visa, then grant them citizenship, after which they would all decide to move to the UK if it remained a member. Again, Leave campaigners were well aware of this.
Lastly, I think Mr Biden is a decent man, but he must know that the myth of the BRI as “debt-trap diplomacy” has been thoroughly debunked. No one has been forced to take loans. If one or two leaders have taken on unwise debts in bids to polish their own images, that has been their own choice. Most countries are very grateful for the financial support to build critical infrastructure that has not been as forthcoming from other powers. Indeed, it has recently been claimed by John Thornton – an American professor in China who is a former president of Goldman Sachs – that in 2013, when John Kerry was US secretary of state and Mr Biden was vice president, Mr Kerry had a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in which they both proposed constructing the BRI together; and that Mr Kerry later said that the failure to take that forward was the single biggest missed opportunity in his political life.
Mr Kerry is now Mr Biden’s climate envoy. Perhaps the two should have a word about the real nature of the BRI. Because politicians owe it to us to be straight, and careful, with the facts. Hyperbole may be permissible on the campaign trail, but distortion and outright misrepresentation should not be.
Unfortunately, there’s a long history of that, particularly in the US, as former senator Al Franken detailed as far back as 2003 in his book Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them. One example Mr Franken gave was when Democrats voted to extend a time-limited tax. Republicans would claim their opponents were voting to raise taxes, which was a false description of maintaining a levy that already existed. A lie? Mr Franken certainly thought so.
Another kind of deception is the omission of inconvenient facts. Bruno Macaes, the former secretary of state for European affairs in Portugal, recently tweeted that he “talked to a top foreign policy official from Taiwan a couple of weeks ago. No concern whatsoever about an invasion or blockade from China this decade”. Where, pray, has that voice been in the frenzied debate about Taiwan? Isn’t it of the utmost relevance?
But on Taiwan, as on the BRI, and maybe on Ukraine as well, we are being fed reductionist narratives by the “democracies versus autocracies” proponents that you are not allowed to challenge without being painted as a stooge or a puppet.
In western circles, for instance, the finger was universally pointed at Russia after the Nord Stream pipeline was blown up. Yet, citing leaked information online, The Washington Post reported last week that the Ukrainians had a plan to do this – and that the White House knew about this three months before the explosions.
Too many leaders are persuading people to take a black-and-white worldview by being economical with the truth or peddling falsehoods. And that includes those who should, and do, know better.
In Malaysia, where I live, we face this constantly, with people warning that Islam and the Malays are under threat, when in fact Malay Muslims are dominant in all state institutions and are making up an ever-increasing proportion of the population.
We are all diminished by this. AI fact checkers can certainly help a lot. But politicians in all parts could set a much better example by ensuring that what they say is properly based on the truth. It doesn’t seem too much to ask grown-up, experienced leaders to observe a rule that is one of the first we try to instil in our children.
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Company profile
Name: Thndr
Started: October 2020
Founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: pre-seed of $800,000
Funding stage: series A; $20 million
Investors: Tiger Global, Beco Capital, Prosus Ventures, Y Combinator, Global Ventures, Abdul Latif Jameel, Endure Capital, 4DX Ventures, Plus VC, Rabacap and MSA Capital
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The stats
Ship name: MSC Bellissima
Ship class: Meraviglia Class
Delivery date: February 27, 2019
Gross tonnage: 171,598 GT
Passenger capacity: 5,686
Crew members: 1,536
Number of cabins: 2,217
Length: 315.3 metres
Maximum speed: 22.7 knots (42kph)
RESULT
Bayern Munich 3 Chelsea 2
Bayern: Rafinha (6'), Muller (12', 27')
Chelsea: Alonso (45' 3), Batshuayi (85')
if you go
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct to Kolkata from Dh1,504 and Dh1,450 return including taxes, respectively. The flight takes four hours 30 minutes outbound and 5 hours 30 minute returning.
The trains
Numerous trains link Kolkata and Murshidabad but the daily early morning Hazarduari Express (3’ 52”) is the fastest and most convenient; this service also stops in Plassey. The return train departs Murshidabad late afternoon. Though just about feasible as a day trip, staying overnight is recommended.
The hotels
Mursidabad’s hotels are less than modest but Berhampore, 11km south, offers more accommodation and facilities (and the Hazarduari Express also pauses here). Try Hotel The Fame, with an array of rooms from doubles at Rs1,596/Dh90 to a ‘grand presidential suite’ at Rs7,854/Dh443.
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
Navdeep Suri, India's Ambassador to the UAE
There has been a longstanding need from the Indian community to have a religious premises where they can practise their beliefs. Currently there is a very, very small temple in Bur Dubai and the community has outgrown this. So this will be a major temple and open to all denominations and a place should reflect India’s diversity.
It fits so well into the UAE’s own commitment to tolerance and pluralism and coming in the year of tolerance gives it that extra dimension.
What we will see on April 20 is the foundation ceremony and we expect a pretty broad cross section of the Indian community to be present, both from the UAE and abroad. The Hindu group that is building the temple will have their holiest leader attending – and we expect very senior representation from the leadership of the UAE.
When the designs were taken to the leadership, there were two clear options. There was a New Jersey model with a rectangular structure with the temple recessed inside so it was not too visible from the outside and another was the Neasden temple in London with the spires in its classical shape. And they said: look we said we wanted a temple so it should look like a temple. So this should be a classical style temple in all its glory.
It is beautifully located - 30 minutes outside of Abu Dhabi and barely 45 minutes to Dubai so it serves the needs of both communities.
This is going to be the big temple where I expect people to come from across the country at major festivals and occasions.
It is hugely important – it will take a couple of years to complete given the scale. It is going to be remarkable and will contribute something not just to the landscape in terms of visual architecture but also to the ethos. Here will be a real representation of UAE’s pluralism.
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”
What vitamins do we know are beneficial for living in the UAE
Vitamin D: Highly relevant in the UAE due to limited sun exposure; supports bone health, immunity and mood.
Vitamin B12: Important for nerve health and energy production, especially for vegetarians, vegans and individuals with absorption issues.
Iron: Useful only when deficiency or anaemia is confirmed; helps reduce fatigue and support immunity.
Omega-3 (EPA/DHA): Supports heart health and reduces inflammation, especially for those who consume little fish.
Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut
Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”
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.
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
Director: Scott Cooper
Starring: Jeremy Allen White, Odessa Young, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 4/5
RESULTS
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Which honey takes your fancy?
Al Ghaf Honey
The Al Ghaf tree is a local desert tree which bears the harsh summers with drought and high temperatures. From the rich flowers, bees that pollinate this tree can produce delicious red colour honey in June and July each year
Sidr Honey
The Sidr tree is an evergreen tree with long and strong forked branches. The blossom from this tree is called Yabyab, which provides rich food for bees to produce honey in October and November. This honey is the most expensive, but tastiest
Samar Honey
The Samar tree trunk, leaves and blossom contains Barm which is the secret of healing. You can enjoy the best types of honey from this tree every year in May and June. It is an historical witness to the life of the Emirati nation which represents the harsh desert and mountain environments
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
World record transfers
1. Kylian Mbappe - to Real Madrid in 2017/18 - €180 million (Dh770.4m - if a deal goes through)
2. Paul Pogba - to Manchester United in 2016/17 - €105m
3. Gareth Bale - to Real Madrid in 2013/14 - €101m
4. Cristiano Ronaldo - to Real Madrid in 2009/10 - €94m
5. Gonzalo Higuain - to Juventus in 2016/17 - €90m
6. Neymar - to Barcelona in 2013/14 - €88.2m
7. Romelu Lukaku - to Manchester United in 2017/18 - €84.7m
8. Luis Suarez - to Barcelona in 2014/15 - €81.72m
9. Angel di Maria - to Manchester United in 2014/15 - €75m
10. James Rodriguez - to Real Madrid in 2014/15 - €75m
