Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not troubled that US President Joe Biden has not phoned him yet, Israel’s ambassador to Washington said on Saturday.
There has been speculation that the Democratic president could be signalling displeasure over the close ties Mr Netanyahu forged with former president Donald Trump, who called Mr Netanyahu two days after being inaugurated in 2017.
"The prime minister is not worried about the timing of the conversation," Ambassador Gilad Erdan told broadcaster N12's Meet The Press.
He said Mr Biden had urgent matters to contend with, such as the pandemic and its economic fallout.
On Friday, the White House denied Mr Biden was snubbing Mr Netanyahu by failing to include him in phone calls to foreign leaders since taking office on January 20, saying the two leaders would speak soon.
Mr Biden has already called numerous foreign leaders, including those from China, Mexico, Britain, India, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea and Russia.
David Makovsky, a former US Middle East negotiator now based at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a think tank, said on Twitter that when Mr Biden starts phoning Middle East leaders, Mr Netanyahu will probably be first among them.
While the right-wing Mr Netanyahu was in lock-step with Mr Trump over Middle East policy, he could be in for frostier relations with Mr Biden, although Mr Biden has long been regarded in Israel as a friend.
Mr Netanyahu may find the alliance tested if Washington restores US participation in the Iran nuclear deal that Mr Trump withdrew from and opposes Israeli settlement building on occupied land where Palestinians seek statehood.
Corruption trial
Mr Netanyahu faces growing political pressure on the home front, following an ongoing anti-corruption trial. Hundreds of protesters gathered outside his official residence in Jerusalem on Saturday demanding his resignation.
The protests that drew crowds of thousands of people from across the country throughout the summer have grown smaller in number as temperatures have dropped in Jerusalem in recent weeks.
Protesters say Mr Netanyahu should step down because of his corruption trial and what they say is mismanagement of the country’s coronavirus crisis.
They also say he cannot serve as prime minister when he is on trial for charges of fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in three separate cases.
Mr Netanyahu has denied wrongdoing.
Israel is preparing to hold new elections on March 23, and Mr Netanyahu’s prospects could yet be boosted on early signs that the mass vaccination programme is working and his hardline stance on a possible return to the Iran deal.
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
The Gentlemen
Director: Guy Ritchie
Stars: Colin Farrell, Hugh Grant
Three out of five stars
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
