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Apple debuts $17,000 watch, some waiting for killer app

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Apple CEO Tim Cook introduces the Apple Watch during an Apple event in San Francisco, California March 9, 2015.

Apple CEO Tim Cook introduces the Apple Watch during an Apple event in San Francisco, California March 9, 2015.

by Edwin Chan and Alexei Oreskovic, Reuters

San Francisco: Apple Inc (AAPL.O) launched its long-awaited watch on Monday, including yellow or rose gold models with sapphire faces costing up to $17,000, but some investors questioned whether Chief Executive Tim Cook’s first product would be a breakaway hit.

Apple’s first new device since Cook became CEO will be available for order on April 10 and in stores on April 24, including chic boutiques in Paris, London and Tokyo.

In a nod to both fashion and technology, Cook shared the stage with model Christy Turlington Burns, who used it to train for a marathon, and Apple engineers who showed how to send drawings, pictures and even heartbeats with the watch.

Apple shares barely budged, however. Investors and analysts agreed that Apple would sell millions to fans but questioned whether it had a “killer app” that would engage a broader audience. Apple in September gave a sneak peek of the watch which included many features shown on Monday.

“I think there’s a niche market for these kind of Apple tech people who love Apple and will buy anything they come out with. But I just don’t know if it’s going to be the power product that everyone’s looking for,” said Daniel Morgan, senior portfolio manager at Synovus Trust Company in Atlanta, Georgia, who described Wall Street as “scratching its head”.

Members of the style establishment, in Paris for shows from the glittering likes of Chanel, Givenchy and Hermes mostly said they saw the watch as a gadget, not this season’s must-have accessory.

The Edition price tag which is inexpensive compared with a Patek Philippe Nautilus at just over $42,000 on 11main.com, inspired plenty of jibes on social media, including many who questioned whether it would become outdated and compared the price to a car’s. “Wonder what kind of gas mileage it gets,” asked Twitter user Christopher Caruso.

Nevertheless many made clear they wanted it. “My birthday is gonna rock this year… 🙂 #applewatch,” wrote Jay Runquist.

The Apple Watch sport will start at $349 for the smaller, 38-mm model. The standard version of the watch will start at $549 and the high-end “Edition” watch will be priced from $10,000, said Cook, who loved the Dick Tracy ability to hold phone calls by watch.

“I have been wanting to do this since I was five years old,” said Cook.

The different models reflect different materials. A $17,000 Edition in the smaller, 38-mm size, has a case made from a customized version of 18-karat rose GOLD, which is especially hard, along with a sapphire display. It comes with a magnetic charging case.

A $349 Sport model the same size has an aluminum case, a ‘sport band’ and a magnetic charging cable, and no case.

All the watches share digital faces that can look like traditional time pieces, show the heart beat of a friend, and display photos and interfaces for apps.

“Apple’s been very good at personalizing its products,” said Angelo Zino, an analyst at S&P Capital IQ, who said the “intimacy” of the watch was appealing. He saw 10 million in sales this year.

In the presentation, Cook described the watch handling many functions currently associated with the iPhone, which tethers wirelessly to the watch and connects it to the Internet.

The watch will track exercise and remind wearers of events with a tap on the wrist.

Cook also laid out other product successes and launched a new MacBook notebook computer that starts at $1,299 and weighs as little as 2 pounds.

Every major car brand had committed to delivering Apple’s CarPlay entertainment system, and the new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus have 99 percent customer satisfaction rates, he said. The Apple Pay payment system is now accepted at 700,000 locations, and Time Warner Inc’s (TWX.N) HBO in April will debut its streaming HBO NOW service on Apple TV.

Apple also is offering researchers new development tools, called ResearchKit, to help medical researchers design apps for clinical trials, the company said.

(additional reporting by Alexandria Sage, Piya Sinha-Roy, Ellen Wulfhorst; writing by Peter Henderson; Editing by Bernard Orr)

Obama declares Venezuela a national security threat

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Washington slaps seven officials with sanctions as US president signs executive order calling Caracas security threat.

Barack Obama, Oslo, Norway Photo: Sandy Young/Getty Images

Barack Obama, Oslo, Norway Photo: Sandy Young/Getty Images

by Al Jazeera

US President Barack Obama has issued an executive order declaring Venezuela a national security threat, and slapped sanctions on seven officials.

According to a White House statement issued on Monday, the new set of targeted sanctions excludes the Venezuelan people and any trade relations with the oil-rich nation and are instead specifically aimed at government officials the US accuses of violating human rights.

“Venezuelan officials past and present who violate the human rights of Venezuelan citizens and engage in acts of public corruption will not be welcome here, and we now have the tools to block their assets and their use of US financial systems,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said in the statement.

“We are deeply concerned by the Venezuelan government’s efforts to escalate intimidation of its political opponents. Venezuela’s problems cannot be solved by criminalising dissent,” the statement said.

Venezuela’s foreign ministry recalled its top diplomat in the US for “immediate” consultations after the announcement and said it would respond shortly to the new US moves.

“We will soon make public Venezuela’s response to these declarations,” Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez told reporters.

The head of the National Assembly, Diosdado Cabello, called the latest set of sanctions an “embarrassment”, and an immoral attempt by the US to oust President Nicolas Maduro’s government.

During a political event for the ruling party, PSUV, Cabello also urged the general populace to be prepared for an armed US-led attack.

“These emergency resolutions are used by the North American empire every time they are going to attack a country. They say they feel threatened. What weapons do we possibly have to threaten the United States?” he said.

Diplomatic spat

The latest US action marks another downturn in relations between Washington and Caracas. Just last week Maduro announced measures to limit the number of US diplomats in Venezuela, reducing a staff of nearly 100 to just 17 individuals.

In addition to reducing embassy staff, Venezuela is now requiring US citizens to have a visa before entering the country.

The two countries have not had full diplomatic representation since 2008, when late socialist leader Hugo Chavez expelled then-US Ambassador Patrick Duddy. Washington at the time responded by expelling Venezuelan envoy Bernardo Alvarez.

‘Undermining democratic processes’

The White House said that the executive order targeted people whose actions undermined democratic processes or institutions, had committed acts of violence or abuse of human rights, were involved in prohibiting or penalising freedom of expression, or were government officials involved in public corruption.

The new sanctions were the third set imposed on Venezuelans since December.

The seven individuals named in the order would have their property and interests in the US blocked or frozen and they would be denied entry into the US. American citizens would also be prohibited from doing business with them.

The White House called on Venezuela to release all political prisoners, including “dozens of students,” and warned against blaming Washington for its problems.

“We’ve seen many times that the Venezuelan government tries to distract from its own actions by blaming the United States or other members of the international community for events inside Venezuela,” Earnest said in the statement.

“These efforts reflect a lack of seriousness on the part of the Venezuelan government to deal with the grave situation it faces.”

Al Jazeera’s Virginia Lopez, reporting from Caracas, said the US sanctions were being seen by many there as a mistake.

“Many think that the measures could actually feed a strong anti-US sentiment among Chavistas who had been disillusioned by Maduro’s inability to tackle the country’s economic foes, resulting in renewed support for the Maduro government, she said.

Assembly speaker Cabello called upon this sentiminet as he rallied supporters.

“These types of measures only help to galvanise us. All they do is give the Veneuzlean people an increased consciousness. These are only threats from an empire that has power, but that lacks scruples,”he added.

Jayalalithaa case: HC asks Subramanian Swamy to make written submission

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Subramanian Swamy (Photo credit: Jagran)

Subramanian Swamy (Photo credit: Jagran)

Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court on Monday directed BJP leader Subramanian Swamy to make written submissions on March 11 in former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s appeal against her conviction in the disproportionate assets case.

As the Court began its proceedings in the case, Swamy’s assistant Pawan Chandrashekhar Shetty sought a week’s time to make written submissions, but Justice C R Kumaraswamy declined the plea and asked him to do it on March 11.

The judge had in his February five order said that the court would decide on Swamy’s prayer to allow him to make written submissions after the completion of arguments.

Swamy had filed an application seeking permission to implead himself in the case.

The Special Bench has been set up after the Supreme Court had on December 18 last directed the Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court to constitute it to decide Jayalalithaa’s appeal within three months.

A Supreme Court bench, headed by Chief Justice H L Dattu, had granted bail to Jayalalithaa on the condition that hearing in the High Court on her appeal against conviction should be completed in three months from December 18.

The special court had held Jayalalithaa and three others guilty of corruption and awarded four years jail term and slapped a fine of Rs 100 crore on her. It had also imposed a fine of Rs 10 crore each on the three other convicts.

Apart from Jayalalithaa, her close confidante Sasikala and her relatives Sudhakaran, erstwhile foster son of the AIADMK leader, and Elavarasi were also convicted.

(Agencies)

Opposition rejects Land Bill, dubs govt move 'pro-corporate'

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india-parliament

New Delhi: Opposition in Lok Sabha today tore into the controversial Land Acquisition Bill, saying its “draconian” and “anti-poor” provisions would have a deleterious effect on India’s food security.

The Opposition members, ranging from the Congress and Trinamool Congress (TMC) to the Left, BJD and AIADMK, launched a tirade against the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Bill 2015, which was moved for consideration and passing by Rural Development Minister Birender Singh.

Several opposition members particularly opposed the NDA government’s move to do away with Section 2 and 3A of the existing land acquisition law which provided for social impact assessment before land transfer and safeguarding the interest of farmers.

Participating in the discussion, Jyotiraditya Scindia (Congress) said the law in its present form would allow private entities to take away multi-crop land, which will put at stake food security of the people of the country.

“Is the government trying to reduce this country to an importer of foodgrains? If this bill gets passed, farmers will give up all expectations from this country,” Scindia said.

Kalyan Banerjee (TMC) accused the government of taking away farmers’ rights and said his government will oppose the Bill “tooth and nail” to safeguard their interests.

“This government is for the corporates, this government is anti-poor, anti-farmers and will sell the country to industrialists,” Banerjee said.

Opposing the “draconian” provision, C N Jayadevan (CPI-M) said the rehabilitation and compensation as provided in the Bill would adversely affect the interest of farmers. The government has a clear intention to have a “pro-corporate and anti-farmer” land acquisition law, he said.

The Land Acquisition Bill, which seeks to replace an Ordinance issued in December to amend the Land Act 2013, was introduced in the Lok Sabha on February 24.

Along with the Bill, the House today took up a statutory resolution, moved by NDA partner Swabhimani Paksha and Opposition parties like Congress, CPI(M), TMC, RSP and BJD, disapproving it.

The amendments, among other things, seek to exempt social impact SURVEYS FOR land acquisition for five purposes including industrial corridor, rural infrastructure and housing for poor.

As the Minister moved the Bill for consideration, Leader of Congress Mallikarjun Kharge demanded that he should explain some provisions of the Bill before a discussion could be initiated. Singh, however, said he would speak only when he replies to the debate.

During the discussion, K N Ramachandran (AIADMK) dubbed some of the amendments as “ultra-reformist” and said his party had strong reservations against exempting land acquisition by private hospitals and private educational institutions.

Tathagata Satpathy (BJD) said the amendments were detrimental to the interests of the poor who would lose their land without compensation.

Accusing the government of not discussing with the opposition parties before going ahead with the amendments to the Land Act, Scindia said the NDA government’s slogan of ‘sabka sath, sabka vikas’ (support of all, development for all) has “fallen flat on the face as it was now ignoring the interest of farmers”.

65 per cent of India’s population was dependent on agriculture, but the government is only thinking about the corporates, the Congress leader said.

Citing earlier instances of several BJP members opposing dilution of the consent clause and no social impact assessment when the UPA was in power, Scindia said these members are now doing a “U-turn” and supporting the amendments to the Bill.

“Through the amendments, you have made the Bill look like a body ripping it of its flesh and blood,” he said, appealing to the members to vote against the amendments when the Bill comes up for passage tomorrow.

Under the amended law, the mandatory “consent” clause and Social Impact Assessment (SIA) will not be applicable if the land is acquired for five purposes.

The measure to replace the ordinance makes significant changes in the Land Acquisition Act including removal of consent clause for acquiring land for five areas — industrial corridors, PPP projects, rural infrastructure, affordable housing and defence.

The amendments bring 13 legislations, including those relating to defence and national security, to provide higher compensation and rehabilitation and resettlement benefits to farmers whose land is being acquired, under the Centre’s purview.

(PTI)

Student denied internship in Germany over 'rape problem' in India

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Leipzig University

New Delhi: A professor from Leipzig University in Germany denied internship to an Indian male student citing the “rape problem” in India, but later offered an apology when Germany’s ambassador to India intervened and suggested the professor needed to “learn more about the diverse, dynamic and fascinating” country.

The screenshots of email replies to the Indian student by professor Annette Beck-Sickinger of Leipzig’s Institute of Biochemistry had gone viral on various social networking websites with many questioning their authenticity.

“Unfortunately I don’t accept any Indian male students for internships. We hear a lot about the rape problem in India which I cannot support. I have many female students in my group, so I think this attitude is something I cannot support (sic),” read the screenshot of an email sent by the professor.

“Many female professors in Germany decided to no longer accept male students for these reasons, and currently other European female association are joining. Of course, we cannot change or influence the Indian society, but only take our consequences here in Europe,” read another email Beck-Sickinger wrote to the student.

But soon after the German embassy in India on Monday uploaded a letter by Germany’s ambassador to India Michael Steiner on its website, there was no doubt about the authenticity of the emails.

In a scathing letter to the professor, Steiner wrote: “I would encourage you to learn more about the diverse, dynamic and fascinating country and the many welcoming and open-minded people of India so that you could correct a simplistic image, which — in my opinion — is particularly unsuitable for a professor and teacher.”

Later, Beck-Sickinger said she was sorry about the emails.

“Of course I have nothing against male Indians and I have accepted several Indian students in the past,” The Huffington Post reported her as saying.

“However my lab is full and I currently cannot take any student. This led to an unpleasant discussion with one of the Indian students,” she said.

(IANS)

Assam youth beaten up in Delhi; hospitalised

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North East Racism

New Delhi: A 21-year-old student from Assam was allegedly beaten up by some residents of south Delhi’s Amar Colony, police said Monday.

According to police, the student was identified as Arbazuddin Ahmed. He was trying to break the lock of someone else’s house, mistaking it to be his own, apparently in an inebriated state.

Police said the youth hails from Guwahati in Assam and was living in Delhi for the last two years. He has suffered fractures in his limbs and jaw in the attack.

“The incident took place on March 5 when Arbazuddin came back home and tried to open the lock of a house which was not his. When the key didn’t work, he tried to break the door and get in,” a senior police official said.

“Meanwhile, hearing the sounds, the owner of the house and neighbours woke up. Thinking that he was a thief, they thrashed him,” he said.

Following a call from the locals around 1.30 a.m. that they had caught a thief, a police team was rushed to the spot and took him to the hospital.

“His address was found to be in the same locality. Both the houses were on the first floor and the youth probably went into the wrong house apparently in an inebriated condition,” police said.

(IANS)

Boko Haram declares allegiance to Islamic State

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Video purportedly by leader of Nigeria group posted after female Islamists suicide bombers kill at least 50 in coordinated attacks in Maiduguri

The main gate to the Monday Market, Maiduguri, where a suicide bomb attack took place on Saturday. Photograph: Tunji Omirin/AFP/Getty Images

The main gate to the Monday Market, Maiduguri, where a suicide bomb attack took place on Saturday. Photograph: Tunji Omirin/AFP/Getty Images

by Daniel Boffey, The Guardian

Nigeria’s militant Islamist group Boko Haram has sworn allegiance to Islamic State, which rules a self-declared caliphate in parts of Iraq and Syria, according to a video posted online. The pledge came in an Arabic audio message with English subtitles alleged to have come from Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau and posted Saturday on Twitter, according to the SITE Intelligence monitoring service.

“We announce our allegiance to the Caliph of the Muslims … and will hear and obey in times of difficulty and prosperity, in hardship and ease, and to endure being discriminated against, and not to dispute about rule with those in power, except in case of evident infidelity regarding that which there is a proof from Allah,” said the message.

The video script identified the caliph as Ibrahim ibn Awad ibn Ibrahim al-Awad al-Qurashi, who is better known as Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of Islamic State and self-proclaimed caliph of the Muslim world. Baghdadi has already accepted pledges of allegiance from other jihadist groups in the Middle East, Afghanistan, Pakistan and north Africa.

Boko Haram has been waging a six-year military campaign to carve out an Islamic state in northern Nigeria.

Earlier on Saturday, four bomb blasts killed at least 50 people in the northeastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri in the worst attacks there since Boko Haram militants tried to seize the town in two major assaults earlier this year. Female suicide bombers believed to be acting for the group launched a series of attacks in markets, while another detonation was reported at a bus station.

In a fifth incident, a car bomb exploded at a military checkpoint 75km outside the city, wounding a soldier and two members of a civilian defence unit. The attacker in this incident had wanted to reach Maiduguri, a police officer at the scene said. In total, it is believed 58 people have been killed in the incidents and 143 wounded, but both figures were expected to rise.

Maiduguri was once the base of the Islamist group, which has been conducting a campaign of violence pushing for Islamic rule in Nigeria. At least 13,000 people have so far been killed in the campaign. After being pushed from the city last year, the militants retreated to the nearby Sambisa forest, from where they launched attacks on villages and towns in the region, taking over swaths of territory.

Last month experts warned Boko Haram was likely to increase its attacks on civilian targets in response to the successful campaign by government forces to retake several of the group’s former strongholds.

The first attack on Saturday occurred at the city’s Baga fish market at around 11.20am, according to Abubakar Gamandi, head of the fisherman’s union in Borno state. “A female suicide bomber exploded as soon as she stepped out of a motorised rickshaw,” said Gamandi, who was at the scene. “Eighteen people were killed.” A market trader, Idi Idrisa, said: “I saw many bodies and several badly injured”.

About an hour later a second explosion rocked the Post Office shopping area near the market, leaving many casualties. A further series of bombs then rocked what is known locally as the Monday market, the biggest in Maiduguri, killing at least 15.

A trader there told the BBC that two other female bombers seemed to have targeted the market. One had a bomb strapped to her body that detonated as she was being scanned at the entrance gate, he said. Another woman was said to have exploded a bomb she was carrying in a bag a few feet away.

A fourth bombing came shortly after 1pm at the nearby busy Borno Express bus terminal, where witnesses said about 12 people were left either dead or injured. A survivor of the first blast said it occurred when a boy aged about 16 moved into a crowd by the gates holding what looked like a remote control. Security officials were about to stop the teenager when there was a blast. The witness said he was blown over by the impact and when he came to he saw at least six bodies.

A vigilante leader in Borno, Danlami Ajaokuta, whose civilian fighters have been working with the military in the region to fight Boko Haram, said security forces had ordered the closure of all businesses in the city given the apparently coordinated nature of the bombings and the fear there could be more. The state’s justice commissioner, Kaka Shehu, confirmed the attacks but declined to discuss casualties.

Last week, President Goodluck Jonathan said the tide has “definitely turned” against militant Islamists as Nigerian troops and their regional allies recapture territory.

Boko Haram has recently launched attacks on villages in Cameroon and Niger, as Nigeria’s neighbours are forming a multinational force to confront the spreading Islamist uprising.

Chad’s President Idris Déby last week said his forces knew the whereabouts of Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau and warned him to surrender or face death. Shekau’s fighters are massing at a headquarters in the northeastern town of Gwoza, in apparent preparation for a showdown with multinational forces, according to witnesses who escaped the town. An intelligence officer told Associated Press that they were aware of the movement, but that the military is acting with care as many civilians are still trapped in the town and Boko Haram is laying land mines around it.

Nigeria’s presidential and parliamentary elections have now been postponed by six week to 28 March to give troops time to push back the militants. Shekau has vowed to disrupt the vote and widespread unrest, especially near polling stations, could prove disastrous. Hundreds of thousands of people displaced by the conflict are living in Maiduguri, swelling the city’s population to well over two million.

PDP defends decision to release Masarat Alam

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masarat-alam

Jammu: Defending the decision of releasing Hurriyat leader, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Firdous Ahmad Tak, on Monday said no illegal procedure was followed while releasing Masarat Alam.

Tak said the issue will not affect his party’s alliance with the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP).

“The decision will not affect the alliance and that the PDP will find a solution if any problem arises between the two parties,” Tak said.

He said that PDP believes reconciliation is a part of agenda and that the state government is allowed to take decisions for peace in the region.

The PDP leader said the Congress is trying to exert pressure on BJP over the matter when the truth is that Alam was released on legal basis.

(ANI)

Cricket World Cup 2015: England knocked out by Bangladesh

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rubel_hossain

by Stephan Shemilt, BBC Sport

England were knocked out of the World Cup in dismal fashion as Bangladesh claimed a stunning 15-run win.

Set 276 to win, England were bowled out for 260 despite Jos Buttler’s 52-ball 65, while Rubel Hossain claimed 4-53.

Bangladesh had earlier posted 275-7 in Adelaide thanks to 103 from Mahmudullah and Mushfiqur Rahim’s 89.

England go out in the first round for the third time in five World Cups, while Bangladesh advance past the first round for only the second occasion.

Bangladesh’s victory also secured Sri Lanka’s place in the last eight, alongside Pool A winners New Zealand and Australia.

England, meanwhile, face a dead rubber against Afghanistan in Sydney on Friday.

A fourth England defeat in five games is the latest episode in 23 years of World Cup failure and the continuation of a horrendous 18 months in all formats.

In losing to every Test-playing side in Pool A – their only win has come against Scotland – England have put in their worst showing since a first-round exit on home soil in 1999. Even then, they managed to beat defending champions Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka, along with Australia and New Zealand, are three sides to have dished out heavy defeats to England in this tournament, but all three are ahead of Eoin Morgan’s side in the world rankings.

Bangladesh lie above only Zimbabwe, Ireland and Afghanistan, yet have now beaten England in three of their past four meetings.

One of those was with home advantage in the last World Cup, but this time England wilted when chasing a manageable target on a blameless surface.

They seemed in control when Ian Bell and the recalled Alex Hales were compiling a second-wicket stand of 54, only for the Bangladesh pacemen to return and drag England to a standstill.

Hales flat-footedly wafted Mashrafe Mortaza behind and Bell, who had looked fluent, was stifled before edging a Hossain lifter on 63.

In the same over, Morgan pulled to long leg for a fifth duck in 11 ODI innings and, when James Taylor flashed Taskin Ahmed to slip, England had lost three wickets for 11 runs.

Joe Root looked calm before edging Mortaza behind to leave Buttler and the tail requiring 113 from 14 overs.

The wicketkeeper’s clean striking dragged England back in it, with 38 required from 28 balls.

However Taskin returned to find another edge and, when Chris Jordan was run out from the next ball, the game looked gone.

Woakes continued the chase in the company of Stuart Broad and, after Tamim Iqbal put down a simple chance to reprieve the Warwickshire man with only 18 required, England had another chance.

But in the next over Hossain bowled Broad and James Anderson in the space of three balls to start delirious celebrations of Bangladesh’s most famous win.

That they had pulled off such an upset was largely thanks to the brilliance of Mahmudullah, who made Bangladesh’s first World Cup hundred, and the impetus of Mushfiqur.

Despite 12 of the 15 previous games held in Australia being won by the side batting first, England opted to field and the decision looked a good one when Bangladesh were reduced to 8-2 and 99-4.

But Mahmudullah, happy to throw his hands through the ball, and Mushfiqur, excellent square of the wicket, steadied then took advantage of England’s occasional errors in length to build a stand of 141.

Fielding and death bowling improved on the rest of the tournament left England with a target that was within their grasp.

But the desperate attempt at a run chase was entirely in keeping with the rest of their World Cup campaign.

Tony Blair accused of seeking $45m UAE contract while working as peace envoy

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Tony Blair is accused of ‘relentlessly cashing in on contacts,’ earning up to $90m from consultancy while working on Israel-Palestine talks

Blair is highest-earning former UK leader in history thanks to consulting work with Gulf states, new book alleges (Photo: Marc Müller/cc)

Blair is highest-earning former UK leader in history thanks to consulting work with Gulf states, new book alleges (Photo: Marc Müller/cc)

by Middle East Eye

Multi-million dollar deals with various states in the Middle East have helped Tony Blair amass a fortune thought to be worth an estimated $90m, claims a book published this month.

Blair accepted the job of Middle East peace envoy with the Quartet (the United Nations, the US, the EU and Russia) on the same day as he stepped down from office in 2007.

The Quartet was established with the aim of finding a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and as Special Envoy Blair has travelled extensively in the region, most recently to Gaza last month.

His trips to the region have also seen him strike lucrative deals with the region’s governments for consultancy work.

One of the biggest of these, revealed by the Sunday Times, was a proposed contract with the UAE worth up to $45m.

Tony Blair Associates, an umbrella organisation founded to coordinate the diplomat’s various consultancy groups, offered its services to the UAE’s Foreign Affairs Ministry in a five-year commercial partnership.

A 25-document about the September 2014 deal obtained by the Sunday Times states that “there is nowhere in the world right now where we could not work or provide the necessary contacts either politically or commercially, should we want to”.

Blair has worked in partnership with various governments whose human rights records have been criticised by international monitors. In 2013, he offered public relations advice to the president of Guinea after security forces shot protesters during anti-government clashes, killing nine people.

The contract with the UAE was proposed while Blair was working as Middle East peace envoy. He is now facing calls to step down from the position of envoy over allegations of a conflict of interest.

Andrew Bridgen, a Conservative MP who has called for former prime ministers to be bound by tighter regulations, accused Blair of “relentlessly cashing in his contacts” while the Middle East is “on fire”.

“This is damaging to Britain’s reputation, and he should now stand down as the Middle East peace envoy.”

Blair’s office responded to the allegations by saying that the document was “out of date” and insisting that he would never engage in paid work that caused a conflict of interest with his work as peace envoy.

“The UAE is not a member of the Quartet. Tony Blair has undertaken other paid work in the Gulf, but not in respect of anything that is linked to what he does unpaid for the Quartet.”

The UAE does not recognise the state of Israel, one of the parties in the Quartet’s peace efforts, and the countries have no official diplomatic or economic ties.

However, a recent investigation by Middle East Eye revealed that an Israeli-owned company has become responsible for a huge surveillance system that protects critical infrastructure in the Gulf kingdom.

Blair’s other work with Gulf States includes a $40m four-year contract for consultancy work with the Emir of Kuwait and a deal to provide the government of Abu Dhabi, the largest emirate in the UAE, with “global strategic advice” at a cost of up to $1.5m a year.

According to Blair Inc, a book by Francis Beckett and David Hencke, to be released this month, he also arranged a covert contract in 2010 with Saudi oil company PetroSaudi.

The deal, according to the book, saw Blair arrange introductions to contacts in China, and was reportedly worth $60,000 a month. He also supposedly earned 2 percent commission on any deal resulting from the introductions.

Blair has also said he is “happy to help” Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, though he denies working as a formal advisor to Sisi’s government, which launched a military takeover of the country in 2013.

An alleged leak that emerged last week claimed to feature Egyptian officials arranging for a visit by an Emirati delegation, who were “bringing along Tony Blair”.

The purported leak, said to have been recorded in early 2014, appears to indicate that Blair and the Emirati officials spoke with high-level Egyptian politicians, including the president, the head of intelligence and the foreign minister, in “unofficial meetings”.

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