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Republican nominee and former US president Donald Trump on Sunday hosted an inflammatory event at New York City's Madison Square Garden, with eight days left to the election, in which he is racing against Democrat Kamala Harris.
"I'm here today with a message of hope for all Americans with your vote in this election: I will end inflation. I will stop the invasion of criminals coming into our country, and I will bring back the American dream," Mr Trump told the crowd.
"Our country will be bigger, better, bolder, richer, safer and stronger than ever before."
Mr Trump followed speeches by running mate Ohio Senator JD Vance, Tesla and SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, and several other speakers who engaged in hateful rhetoric about women, threats against opponents and disparaging language on people of colour.
The former president described migrants as "vicious and blood-thirsty criminals". Earlier, a comedian crudely called Puerto Rico a "floating island of garbage" and mocked Palestinians as rock throwers.
Mr Trump added that the election will decide whether "we will have four more years of gross incompetence and failure, or whether we will begin the four greatest years in the history of our country".
Thousands queued for several blocks in several lines to enter the arena during the afternoon, with most wearing the signature “Make America Great Again” hats. Some entered security pens and chanted “USA,” and “fight for Trump".
“To be honest, I'll be very surprised if he doesn't win, and disappointed also, unfortunately, but I don't see it happening,” Ed, visiting from south Florida, told The National.
“This energy, you cannot … You can't create this. It's very organic.”
Traders sold Trump-themed memorabilia and merchandise before the rally, as New York police officers queued up along the pavement and manned barricades to oversee security and smooth movement of those attending and pedestrians.
It is not entirely clear why Mr Trump chose to campaign in New York, a largely Democratic state where he is not likely to win. FiveThirtyEight's compilation of polls shows Ms Harris ahead with 53.9 per cent of the state's projected vote while Mr Trump holds 39.4 per cent.
There are, however, pockets of Republican voters in some New York City neighbourhoods, in Long Island, in upstate New York counties and in nearby New Jersey.
Patrick, a resident of the Canarsie neighbourhood of Brooklyn, was in line with two family members.
“Everybody's very down right now with what's going on with the price of food and all so this is just an optimism,” he told The National, describing the crowd outside the arena. “Very optimistic, hopeful, you know, to try to see the event that will hopefully see the economy go back to where it was four years ago. That's what we're hoping for.”
Mr Trump is a former New York City resident and a couple of buildings in the city, such as Trump Tower, bear his name – or used to.
“I'm not expecting him to win New York, but it will be something that he will make people realise that, you know, he made a push and an impact on New York and changed their thought process about the future of the country,” Ed said.
Ms Harris has also been campaigning in Republican strongholds, holding a rally in Houston, Texas, on Friday.
Madison Square Garden often hosts musical performances and sporting events in its 20,000-seat space. Former US presidents including Franklin Roosevelt and John F Kennedy have held events at the Garden. But the arena also hosted a far-right, pro-Nazi rally in 1939.
Although the campaign event was announced earlier this month, it comes after Mr Trump was accused last week of expressing admiration for Adolf Hitler by former staff members, and was called a fascist by Ms Harris and President Joe Biden.
Mr Trump could be hoping to follow in the footsteps of Grover Cleveland, who accepted the Democratic Party's nomination at the Garden in 1892, three years after leaving the White House.
Mr Cleveland won the election, making him the first and only US president to serve two non-consecutive terms. Mr Trump could become the second if he wins on November 5.
“Hopefully things will go back to normal and we can have peace between the left and the right – and we can,” Ed said.
“Stop this craziness of calling him all these terrible names and all that … I mean, really, how terrible can he really be?”
On the Middle East
During his speech, Mr Trump reiterated claims that the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 last year would never have happened if he had been in the White House.
Mr Trump continues to try to win over probable Democratic support among Arab and Jewish communities as American voters express frustration over the Biden administration's support for Israel with the wars in Gaza and Lebanon.
He made reference to the endorsement he received this weekend by members of Michigan's Muslim community, claiming that he is polling high with the Muslim population.
"And these people, by the way, they're great. They just want peace. They want to have peace. And it's great."
He also said: "Kamala Harris is a train who has destroyed everything in her path to make her president would be a gamble with the lives of millions and millions of people. She would get us into World War Three."
Patrick expressed hope for a Trump administration in which “Americans [are] put first, and not always the globalism coming first”. He described the Middle East conflict as “very sad on both ends”, with “a lot of people suffering”.
He believes that Mr Trump will being bring peace to the region. “I think they would bring on peace. I really do. I think they boot out the terrorists and help the people of Palestine, at the same time making sure that Israel was safe. That's what I think would happen. Seems like common sense to me.”
When Mr Giuliani took the stage at the event, he claimed that Palestinians are taught to kill at two years old.
“They won’t let a Palestinian in Jordan, they won't let a Palestinian in Egypt. And Harris wants to bring them to you,” he told the crowd.
“They may have good people. I’m sorry, I don’t take a risk with people that are taught to kill Americans at two. I'm on the side of Israel, you're on the side of Israel and Donald Trump is on the side of Israel. They're on the side of the terrorists.”
More than 42,800 people have been killed during Israel's military assault in Gaza, local health officials report, after a Hamas-led October 7 attack that Israel's government says killed about 1,200 people last year.
Lebanon's Health Ministry has also reported that more than 2,500 people have been killed in Israel's strikes on the country as it targets Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants.
Ed echoed Patrick's sentiment, pointing to the global role of the US and Mr Trump's “aura” in making decisions as a leader.
“Most sides want peace, maybe not you know the radicals of Hamas … but he will come in from a perspective of strength,” he said.
“He's going to make people have to sit in a room and figure it out.”
What is Reform?
Reform is a right-wing, populist party led by Nigel Farage, a former MEP who won a seat in the House of Commons last year at his eighth attempt and a prominent figure in the campaign for the UK to leave the European Union.
It was founded in 2018 and originally called the Brexit Party.
Many of its members previously belonged to UKIP or the mainstream Conservatives.
After Brexit took place, the party focused on the reformation of British democracy.
Former Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson became its first MP after defecting in March 2024.
The party gained support from Elon Musk, and had hoped the tech billionaire would make a £100m donation. However, Mr Musk changed his mind and called for Mr Farage to step down as leader in a row involving the US tycoon's support for far-right figurehead Tommy Robinson who is in prison for contempt of court.
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.”
Five expert hiking tips
Always check the weather forecast before setting off
Make sure you have plenty of water
Set off early to avoid sudden weather changes in the afternoon
Wear appropriate clothing and footwear
Take your litter home with you
Western Region Asia Cup T20 Qualifier
Sun Feb 23 – Thu Feb 27, Al Amerat, Oman
The two finalists advance to the Asia qualifier in Malaysia in August
Group A
Bahrain, Maldives, Oman, Qatar
Group B
UAE, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia
UAE group fixtures
Sunday Feb 23, 9.30am, v Iran
Monday Feb 25, 1pm, v Kuwait
Tuesday Feb 26, 9.30am, v Saudi
UAE squad
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T20 World Cup Qualifier fixtures
Tuesday, October 29
Qualifier one, 2.10pm – Netherlands v UAE
Qualifier two, 7.30pm – Namibia v Oman
Wednesday, October 30
Qualifier three, 2.10pm – Scotland v loser of qualifier one
Qualifier four, 7.30pm – Hong Kong v loser of qualifier two
Thursday, October 31
Fifth-place playoff, 2.10pm – winner of qualifier three v winner of qualifier four
Friday, November 1
Semi-final one, 2.10pm – Ireland v winner of qualifier one
Semi-final two, 7.30pm – PNG v winner of qualifier two
Saturday, November 2
Third-place playoff, 2.10pm
Final, 7.30pm
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3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
What is graphene?
Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
