The world has spoken and Trump doesn't like it

As rebukes go, the one delivered by the United Nations General Assembly to the United States and Israel was a stinging one. On Thursday, an overwhelming majority of 128 voted to oppose US president Donald Trump's decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital. They came in their droves to vote on the UNGA resolution, from Albania to Azerbaijan, from Botswana to Brazil and from Suriname to Switzerland. One by one, they all delivered their crushing verdict: Mr Trump's unilateral recognition of Israeli sovereignty over occupied Jerusalem was unlawful. Even allies of Washington, among them the United Kingdom, France and Germany, did not hold back in expressing "deep regret" over the US decision and backing the resolution stating the Holy City was a "final status issue to be resolved through negotiations in line with relevant UN resolutions".

Both the US and Israel have reacted with petulance and threats. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed the UNGA as a "theatre of the absurd" despite the fact Israel saw fit to vote on the resolution. Trump declared: "We don't care" and threatened to cut financial aid to any countries who failed to back him. US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said she would be taking down names of those who voted and sent out invites for a party solely for members who stood by the US.

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Palestinians will not accept any US peace plan, says Abbas

How countries voted on Jerusalem's status at the General Assembly

Trump threatens Jerusalem opponents with US funding cutoff

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What is clear is that the silent majority can be quiet no longer on an issue which has beleaguered the Middle East for too long. Israel has finally dragged the US, its longstanding patron and ally, into the pit of isolation it has long inhabited. Mr Trump has discovered the limits of his braggadocio, which failed to stop the world from formally censuring him. This is possibly the most devastating humiliation the US has suffered in a long time. Washington's ability to act as an honest broker in a peace process is irreparably damaged; as Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas said: "We will no longer accept any plan from the United States". US credibility in the Middle East and beyond has dropped to a new nadir and the UN vote signals the emergence of a new, post-American world order. As Dr Anwar Gargash, the UAE's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, tweeted, it was a "victory for international legitimacy and the Palestinian cause".

Perhaps the US feels it can thumb its nose at the world because resolutions passed in the UNGA, for all their symbolic power, are non-binding; only measures passed by the Security Council carry the force of international law. The existing system, in which the votes of countries that account for billions of people can be ignored, cannot be sustained. But even with its imperfections, the UN sent out a message, loud and clear: the status of Jerusalem is not for the US to decide.

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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.

UAE SQUAD

Khalid Essa (Al Ain), Ali Khaseif (Al Jazira), Adel Al Hosani (Sharjah), Mahmoud Khamis (Al Nasr), Yousef Jaber (Shabab Al Ahli Dubai), Khalifa Al Hammadi (Jazira), Salem Rashid (Jazira), Shaheen Abdelrahman (Sharjah), Faris Juma (Al Wahda), Mohammed Shaker (Al Ain), Mohammed Barghash (Wahda), Abdulaziz Haikal (Shabab Al Ahli), Ahmed Barman (Al Ain), Khamis Esmail (Wahda), Khaled Bawazir (Sharjah), Majed Surour (Sharjah), Abdullah Ramadan (Jazira), Mohammed Al Attas (Jazira), Fabio De Lima (Al Wasl), Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Khalfan Mubarak (Jazira), Habib Fardan (Nasr), Khalil Ibrahim (Wahda), Ali Mabkhout (Jazira), Ali Saleh (Wasl), Caio (Al Ain), Sebastian Tagliabue (Nasr).

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Coffee: black death or elixir of life?

It is among the greatest health debates of our time; splashed across newspapers with contradicting headlines - is coffee good for you or not?

Depending on what you read, it is either a cancer-causing, sleep-depriving, stomach ulcer-inducing black death or the secret to long life, cutting the chance of stroke, diabetes and cancer.

The latest research - a study of 8,412 people across the UK who each underwent an MRI heart scan - is intended to put to bed (caffeine allowing) conflicting reports of the pros and cons of consumption.

The study, funded by the British Heart Foundation, contradicted previous findings that it stiffens arteries, putting pressure on the heart and increasing the likelihood of a heart attack or stroke, leading to warnings to cut down.

Numerous studies have recognised the benefits of coffee in cutting oral and esophageal cancer, the risk of a stroke and cirrhosis of the liver.

The benefits are often linked to biologically active compounds including caffeine, flavonoids, lignans, and other polyphenols, which benefit the body. These and othetr coffee compounds regulate genes involved in DNA repair, have anti-inflammatory properties and are associated with lower risk of insulin resistance, which is linked to type-2 diabetes.

But as doctors warn, too much of anything is inadvisable. The British Heart Foundation found the heaviest coffee drinkers in the study were most likely to be men who smoked and drank alcohol regularly.

Excessive amounts of coffee also unsettle the stomach causing or contributing to stomach ulcers. It also stains the teeth over time, hampers absorption of minerals and vitamins like zinc and iron.

It also raises blood pressure, which is largely problematic for people with existing conditions.

So the heaviest drinkers of the black stuff - some in the study had up to 25 cups per day - may want to rein it in.

Rory Reynolds

Moon Music

Artist: Coldplay

Label: Parlophone/Atlantic

Number of tracks: 10

Rating: 3/5

The lowdown

Rating: 4/5

Visa changes give families fresh hope

Foreign workers can sponsor family members based solely on their income

Male residents employed in the UAE can sponsor immediate family members, such as wife and children, subject to conditions that include a minimum salary of Dh 4,000 or Dh 3,000 plus accommodation.

Attested original marriage certificate, birth certificate of the child, ejari or rental contract, labour contract, salary certificate must be submitted to the government authorised typing centre to complete the sponsorship process

In Abu Dhabi, a woman can sponsor her husband and children if she holds a residence permit stating she is an engineer, teacher, doctor, nurse or any profession related to the medical sector and her monthly salary is at least Dh 10,000 or Dh 8,000 plus accommodation.

In Dubai, if a woman is not employed in the above categories she can get approval to sponsor her family if her monthly salary is more than Dh 10,000 and with a special permission from the Department of Naturalization and Residency Dubai.

To sponsor parents, a worker should earn Dh20,000 or Dh19,000 a month, plus a two-bedroom accommodation

Tree of Hell

Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla

Director: Raed Zeno