The US House of Representatives has navigated itself into uncharted territory after it voted to remove Kevin McCarthy as speaker, the first such move in the chamber's history.
Eight Republicans joined all present Democrats in a 216-210 vote to oust Mr McCarthy, ending the California politician's nine-month stint on the job.
Mr McCarthy, resigned that he would not have the support needed, said he would not run for the position again.
“My goals have not changed. My ability to fight is just in a different form,” he said.
Tuesday's stunning vote and Mr McCarthy's decision now creates a power vacuum in a divided Republican chamber that must decide on a new speaker.
What happens next?
The House on Wednesday began a week-long break as Republicans scrambled to find a leader after the shock vote. It is still unclear who Mr McCarthy's successor will be as leader of the House Republicans.
Patrick McHenry, a McCarthy ally, is serving as the acting speaker, and after a visibly frustrated gavel slam on Tuesday he declared the break until both parties can decide on a path forward.
The vacancy has left the House of Representatives at a standstill until a new speaker is elected. Mr McHenry has limited authority as acting speaker and is unable to bring forward legislation until a permanent leader is elected. He also does not have the power to issue subpoenas or sign off on any other official House business.
Matt Gaetz, the far-right congressman who brought the motion to oust Mr McCarthy, is among the growing number of Republicans who have hinted at support for candidates such as Majority Leader Steve Scalise or Whip Tom Emmer.
Representative Jim Jordan, a darling of the right-wing and chairman of the House Judiciary Committee leading President Joe Biden's impeachment inquiry, announced on Wednesday that he would be running for speaker.
Mr Scalise also announced that he is running for the speaker's gavel.
Under House rules, the speaker does not have to be a member of Congress, and some in Washington are suggesting a wild card could be played – for former president and Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump.
Fox News' Sean Hannity on Tuesday night reported that “some House Republicans have been in contact with and have started an effort to draft former president Donald Trump to be the next speaker and I have been told that Trump might be open to helping the Republican Party at least in the short term, if necessary”.
Mr Jordan even appeared to be open to the idea when asked about the prospect.
“He'd be great … I want him to be president … but if he wants to be speaker, that's fine too,” Mr Jordan told Fox News.
However, current House Republican Conference rules bar anyone indicted on felony charges that have punishments of more than two years in prison. Mr Trump is facing four felony indictments.
The conference could change the rules to allow a such nomination, but even then, it is not clear if Mr Trump would receive enough support.
Mr Biden said that whoever takes up the gavel should work to remove the “poisonous atmosphere” plaguing US politics.
“We have strong disagreements but we need to stop seeing each other as enemies,” he said in remarks from the White House.
Meanwhile, the Senate is still operating this week, with regularly scheduled hearings and business moving forward.
A government shutdown looms – again
Whoever is selected as the next House speaker will have to tackle a challenge that doomed Mr McCarthy's tenure: keeping the government open.
The US federal government is due to shut down on November 17 unless another bill is passed to fund it. But with House members out of town for the rest of the week and speaker elections not expected until next Wednesday, the timetable is further constrained to keep the government open.
“We cannot and should not again be faced with an 11th-hour decision of brinkmanship that threatens to shut down the government,” Mr Biden said.
“And we know what we have to do, and we have to get it done in a timely fashion.”
If the government does shut down, thousands of federal workers will go unpaid, federal agencies will be reduced to minimal staffing and processing visa and passport applications will be snarled. The US credit rating could also take a hit, Moody's has warned.
And many of the issues that dominated the last shutdown deal remain unresolved, including funding for Ukraine and deciding on spending levels for a number of agencies.
But the political calculus has changed little since last weekend, with a fractional group of Republicans threatening to torpedo any deal it does not like.
With such small margins, the next House speaker will suffer similar headaches as his or her predecessor.
Will the US continue to fund Ukraine?
Also under threat by the new House speaker vote is financial assistance to Ukraine.
The White House had sought as much as $24 billion in Ukraine funding in the latest round of government shutdown negotiations, but Congress kicked the can down the road on the issue as they stared down the remaining hours to keep the government open.
And the issue of funding Ukraine will be more complicated should Mr Scalise or Mr Jordan assume power.
“The most pressing issue on Americans’ minds is not Ukraine,” Mr Jordan told reporters. “It is the border situation and crime on the streets.”
Mr Scalise voted for a $300 million Ukraine funding bill last week, although whether he would support continuing to fund Kyiv as speaker remains unclear.
Mr Biden said he was concerned Republican turmoil could hurt Ukraine aid, calling it “critically important for the US and our allies that we keep our commitment”.
Gregory Meeks, a ranking member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, reaffirmed Democrats' position to continue supporting Ukraine.
He added the US should “make sure that Ukraine has everything it needs so that it will win this war”.
'Shakuntala Devi'
Starring: Vidya Balan, Sanya Malhotra
Director: Anu Menon
Rating: Three out of five stars
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.
Our legal advisor
Rasmi Ragy is a senior counsel at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Prosecutor in Egypt with more than 40 years experience across the GCC.
Education: Ain Shams University, Egypt, in 1978.
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
The past winners
2009 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)
2010 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)
2011 - Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)
2012 - Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus)
2013 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)
2014 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2015 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes)
2016 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2017 - Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
MATCH INFO
Chelsea 0
Liverpool 2 (Mane 50', 54')
Red card: Andreas Christensen (Chelsea)
Man of the match: Sadio Mane (Liverpool)
