DUBAI  –  The daughter of Dubai’s ruler appears to have announced her divorce on social media.

A post from the verified Instagram of Sheikha Mahra bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said she was ending her marriage, and reads: “I hereby declare our divorce.” The BBC has reached out to officials in the country to seek clarity on the matter.

There has been no public comment from Sheikha Mahra’s husband, Sheikh Mana bin Mohammed bin Rashid bin Mana Al Maktoum, or her father. The post, which begins “Dear Husband”, concluded – “I divorce you, I divorce you, and I divorce you,” seemingly using the Islamic practice known as triple talaq. The practice has been banned in many countries, but usually allows husbands to swiftly divorce their wives by saying “I divorce you” three times.

“Take care. Your ex-wife,” the post on Instagram added. All images of Sheikha Mahra’s husband appear to have been deleted from her account. Sheikh Mana’s account likewise seems stripped of pictures of his wife.

The couple married in April 2023 in a lavish ceremony, and their first child was born two months ago. Some comments from Instagram users have speculated that Sheikha Mahra’s account could have been hacked. There has been no official indication of this. At time of publication, the post declaring her divorce was listed as one day old. Dubai’s government and the UAE Embassy in London did not immediately respond to requests for comment. (BBC)…[+]

KYIV –  Germany plans to halve its military aid to Ukraine next year, despite concerns that US support for Kyiv could potentially diminish if Republican candidate Donald Trump returns to the White House.

German aid to Ukraine will be cut to €4 billion ($4.35 billion) in 2025 from around €8 billion in 2024, according to a draft of the 2025 budget seen by Reuters. Germany hopes Ukraine will be able to meet the bulk of its military needs with the $50 billion in loans from the proceeds of frozen Russian assets approved by the Group of Seven, and that funds earmarked for armaments will not be fully used.

“Ukraine’s financing is secured for the foreseeable future thanks to European instruments and the G7 loans,” German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said at a news conference. Washington pushed to “front load” the loans to give Ukraine a big lump sum now. Officials say EU leaders agreed to the idea in part because it reduces the chance of Ukraine being short of funds if Trump returns to the White House.

Alarm bells rang across Europe this week after Trump picked Senator JD Vance, who opposes military aid for Ukraine and warned Europe will have to rely less on the United States to defend the continent, as his candidate for vice president. Trump sparked fierce criticism from Western officials for suggesting he would not protect countries that failed to meet the transatlantic military alliance’s defense spending targets and would even encourage Russia to attack them.

Germany has faced criticism for repeatedly missing a NATO target of spending 2% of its economic output on defense. The stocks of Germany’s armed forces, already run down by decades of underinvestment, have been further depleted by arms supplies to Kyiv. So far, Berlin has donated three Patriot air defense units to Kyiv, more than any other country, bringing down the number of Patriot systems in Germany to nine.

Germany’s fractious coalition of left-leaning Social Democrats, pro-business liberals and ecologist Greens has struggled to comply with NATO’s spending target due to self-imposed rules that limit the amount of state borrowing they can take on. Although military aid to Ukraine will be cut, Germany will comply with the NATO target of spending 2% of GDP on defense in 2025, with a total of €75.3 billion.

Days after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced a “Zeitenwende” – German for historic turning point – with a €100 billion special fund to bring the military up to speed. From this special fund, there will be €22.0 billion more for defense, plus €53.3 billion in the regular budget, still less than that sought by Defense Minister Boris Pistorius. The defense budget is set to receive a meagre €1.3 billion more than in 2024, far below the €6.7 billion requested by Pistorius. (CNN)…[+]

USA – Bob Newhart, whose stammering, deadpan unflappability carried him to stardom as a standup comedian and later in television and movies, has died, according to a statement from his longtime publicist Jerry Digney. He was 94. Digney said Newhart died in Los Angeles on Thursday morning after a series of short illnesses. He called the star’s passing an “end of an era in comedy.” Over the course of five decades, Newhart’s popularity rarely waned, whether it was as the recording star of the comedy album “The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart” (the first comedy album to win the Grammy for album of the year), the lead in two top-rated television sitcoms, or a supporting actor in movies including “Catch-22” (in which he played the timid Maj. Major), “Cold Turkey” and “Elf.” He remains best known for the television shows, “The Bob Newhart Show” (1972-78) and “Newhart” (1982-90), both of which were built around his persona as a reasonable man put-upon by crazies. (CNN)…[+]