US right-wing commentator Charlie Kirk shot dead in Utah


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Charlie Kirk, a popular right-wing commentator who co-founded the conservative youth organisation Turning Point USA, was shot dead on Wednesday at a speaking event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.

US President Donald Trump described the killing as a “dark moment for America” and said Mr Kirk, 31, was a “martyr for truth and freedom”.

“For years those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world's worst mass murderers and criminals,” Mr Trump said in a video posted on Truth Social.

“This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we're seeing in our country today.”

  • A police mugshot shows Tyler Robinson, the suspect in the fatal shooting of U. S. conservative commentator Charlie Kirk during an event at Utah Valley University, in Orem, Utah, U. S. , in this photo released by the Utah Department of Public Safety. REUTERS
    A police mugshot shows Tyler Robinson, the suspect in the fatal shooting of U. S. conservative commentator Charlie Kirk during an event at Utah Valley University, in Orem, Utah, U. S. , in this photo released by the Utah Department of Public Safety. REUTERS
  • FBI Director Kash Patel speaks during a press conference announcing details on the suspect in the shooting of U. S. conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot during an event at Utah Valley University, in Orem, Utah, U. S. REUTERS
    FBI Director Kash Patel speaks during a press conference announcing details on the suspect in the shooting of U. S. conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot during an event at Utah Valley University, in Orem, Utah, U. S. REUTERS
  • Utah Governor Spencer Cox gestures as he speaks during a press conference announcing details on the suspect in the shooting of U. S. conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot during an event at Utah Valley University, in Orem, Utah, U. S. REUTERS
    Utah Governor Spencer Cox gestures as he speaks during a press conference announcing details on the suspect in the shooting of U. S. conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot during an event at Utah Valley University, in Orem, Utah, U. S. REUTERS
  • FBI Director Kash Patel speaks during a press conference announcing details on the suspect in the shooting of U. S. conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot during an event at Utah Valley University, in Orem, Utah, U. S. REUTERS
    FBI Director Kash Patel speaks during a press conference announcing details on the suspect in the shooting of U. S. conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot during an event at Utah Valley University, in Orem, Utah, U. S. REUTERS
  • The FBI has released images of a person of interest in the investigation into the shooting of right-wing US commentator Charlie Kirk. AFP
    The FBI has released images of a person of interest in the investigation into the shooting of right-wing US commentator Charlie Kirk. AFP
  • US Vice President JD Vance, right, his wife Usha Vance, centre, and Mr Kirk's widow, Erika Frantzve, arrive in Phoenix, Arizona. His body has been moved to the city. AP
    US Vice President JD Vance, right, his wife Usha Vance, centre, and Mr Kirk's widow, Erika Frantzve, arrive in Phoenix, Arizona. His body has been moved to the city. AP
  • The casket carrying Mr Kirk's body is removed from the aircraft. He was shot at Utah Valley University. Reuters
    The casket carrying Mr Kirk's body is removed from the aircraft. He was shot at Utah Valley University. Reuters
  • FBI director Kash Patel, centre, visits the scene of the deadly shooting, in Orem, Utah. Reuters
    FBI director Kash Patel, centre, visits the scene of the deadly shooting, in Orem, Utah. Reuters
  • Mr Kirk, a right-wing youth activist and influencer, speaks at Utah Valley University minutes before he was shot dead. AFP
    Mr Kirk, a right-wing youth activist and influencer, speaks at Utah Valley University minutes before he was shot dead. AFP
  • A woman takes cover behind a planter after the shooting, in Orem, Utah. Reuters
    A woman takes cover behind a planter after the shooting, in Orem, Utah. Reuters
  • Law enforcement officials on the campus after the shooting. AP
    Law enforcement officials on the campus after the shooting. AP
  • A vigil for Mr Kirk at the Utah State Capitol in Salt Lake City. Reuters
    A vigil for Mr Kirk at the Utah State Capitol in Salt Lake City. Reuters
  • A well-wisher unfurls an American flag in Scottsdale, Arizona. AP
    A well-wisher unfurls an American flag in Scottsdale, Arizona. AP
  • A vigil in Scottsdale. AP
    A vigil in Scottsdale. AP
  • A banner is installed outside Mr Kirk's Turning Point USA headquarters in Phoenix. AP
    A banner is installed outside Mr Kirk's Turning Point USA headquarters in Phoenix. AP
  • Mr Kirk and and his wife watch The Village People perform in January in Washington, DC. Getty Images
    Mr Kirk and and his wife watch The Village People perform in January in Washington, DC. Getty Images

Mr Trump issued a presidential proclamation ordering flags to fly at half-mast until Sunday “as a mark of respect for the memory of Charlie Kirk”.

Bystanders told the Deseret News that Mr Kirk was shot during a question session with students. Videos posted online showed people running away. One video showed Mr Kirk being shot, with blood pouring down his neck as he sat under a tent with the slogans “Prove Me Wrong” and “The American Comeback” written on it.

A representative for the university told The New York Times that Mr Kirk had been shot by a gunman from a building about 180 metres away.

There was confusion over the manhunt, with FBI director Kash Patel initially writing on social media that the “subject” had been detained, before taking it back an hour later.

No one was in custody overnight as authorities sought a new person of interest in the assassination, the Utah Department of Public Safety said.

Vice President JD Vance described Mr Kirk as a “genuinely good guy and a young father”.

Mr Kirk was a strong advocate for the Trump administration, rallying donors and voters, especially younger men, during Mr Trump's election campaign last year.

His killing is the latest in a wave of political violence that has swept America in recent years. The attacks include the assassination of a Minnesota state legislator and her husband at their house in June, the firebombing of a Colorado parade to demand Hamas releases hostages in Gaza, and a fire at the house of Pennsylvania’s governor, who is Jewish, in April.

Mr Trump was also the target of an assassination attempt on the campaign trail in July last year. The attack killed a person who was attending the rally and injured Mr Trump and two others.

California Governor Gavin Newsom described the attack on Mr Kirk, who was well known for his podcast and university campus debates, as “vile and reprehensible”.

Gothia Cup 2025

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76 nations

26 UAE teams

15 Lebanese teams

2 Kuwaiti teams

Key changes

Commission caps

For life insurance products with a savings component, Peter Hodgins of Clyde & Co said different caps apply to the saving and protection elements:

• For the saving component, a cap of 4.5 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 90 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term). 

• On the protection component, there is a cap  of 10 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 160 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).

• Indemnity commission, the amount of commission that can be advanced to a product salesperson, can be 50 per cent of the annualised premium for the first year or 50 per cent of the total commissions on the policy calculated. 

• The remaining commission after deduction of the indemnity commission is paid equally over the premium payment term.

• For pure protection products, which only offer a life insurance component, the maximum commission will be 10 per cent of the annualised premium multiplied by the length of the policy in years.

Disclosure

Customers must now be provided with a full illustration of the product they are buying to ensure they understand the potential returns on savings products as well as the effects of any charges. There is also a “free-look” period of 30 days, where insurers must provide a full refund if the buyer wishes to cancel the policy.

“The illustration should provide for at least two scenarios to illustrate the performance of the product,” said Mr Hodgins. “All illustrations are required to be signed by the customer.”

Another illustration must outline surrender charges to ensure they understand the costs of exiting a fixed-term product early.

Illustrations must also be kept updatedand insurers must provide information on the top five investment funds available annually, including at least five years' performance data.

“This may be segregated based on the risk appetite of the customer (in which case, the top five funds for each segment must be provided),” said Mr Hodgins.

Product providers must also disclose the ratio of protection benefit to savings benefits. If a protection benefit ratio is less than 10 per cent "the product must carry a warning stating that it has limited or no protection benefit" Mr Hodgins added.

Six large-scale objects on show
  • Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
  • The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
  • A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
  • Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
  • A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
  • Torrijos Palace dome
Profile of Tarabut Gateway

Founder: Abdulla Almoayed

Based: UAE

Founded: 2017

Number of employees: 35

Sector: FinTech

Raised: $13 million

Backers: Berlin-based venture capital company Target Global, Kingsway, CE Ventures, Entrée Capital, Zamil Investment Group, Global Ventures, Almoayed Technologies and Mad’a Investment.

PROFILE OF SWVL

Started: April 2017

Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh

Based: Cairo, Egypt

Sector: transport

Size: 450 employees

Investment: approximately $80 million

Investors include: Dubai’s Beco Capital, US’s Endeavor Catalyst, China’s MSA, Egypt’s Sawari Ventures, Sweden’s Vostok New Ventures, Property Finder CEO Michael Lahyani

Squads

Sri Lanka Tharanga (c), Mathews, Dickwella (wk), Gunathilaka, Mendis, Kapugedera, Siriwardana, Pushpakumara, Dananjaya, Sandakan, Perera, Hasaranga, Malinga, Chameera, Fernando.

India Kohli (c), Dhawan, Rohit, Rahul, Pandey, Rahane, Jadhav, Dhoni (wk), Pandya, Axar, Kuldeep, Chahal, Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar, Thakur.

How to apply for a drone permit
  • Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
  • Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
  • Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
  • Submit their request
What are the regulations?
  • Fly it within visual line of sight
  • Never over populated areas
  • Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
  • Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
  • Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
  • Should have a live feed of the drone flight
  • Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
How the bonus system works

The two riders are among several riders in the UAE to receive the top payment of £10,000 under the Thank You Fund of £16 million (Dh80m), which was announced in conjunction with Deliveroo's £8 billion (Dh40bn) stock market listing earlier this year.

The £10,000 (Dh50,000) payment is made to those riders who have completed the highest number of orders in each market.

There are also riders who will receive payments of £1,000 (Dh5,000) and £500 (Dh2,500).

All riders who have worked with Deliveroo for at least one year and completed 2,000 orders will receive £200 (Dh1,000), the company said when it announced the scheme.

David Haye record

Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4

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Crazy Rich Asians

Director: Jon M Chu

Starring: Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeon, Gemma Chan

Four stars

The Specs:

The Specs:

Engine: 2.9-litre, V6 twin-turbo

Transmission: 8-speed automatic

Power: 444bhp

Torque: 600Nm

Price: AED 356,580 incl VAT

On sale: now.

What is the FNC?

The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning. 
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval. 
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
 

The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EPowertrain%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESingle%20electric%20motor%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E201hp%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E310Nm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESingle-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBattery%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E53kWh%20lithium-ion%20battery%20pack%20(GS%20base%20model)%3B%2070kWh%20battery%20pack%20(GF)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETouring%20range%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E350km%20(GS)%3B%20480km%20(GF)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh129%2C900%20(GS)%3B%20Dh149%2C000%20(GF)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
TICKETS

For tickets for the two-day Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) event, entitled Dubai Invasion 2019, on September 27 and 28 go to www.meraticket.com.

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Key findings of Jenkins report
  • Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
  • Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
  • Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
  • Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
Avatar: Fire and Ash

Director: James Cameron

Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana

Rating: 4.5/5

Adele: The Stories Behind The Songs
Caroline Sullivan
Carlton Books

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Stamp duty timeline

December 2014: Former UK finance minister George Osbourne reforms stamp duty, replacing the slab system with a blended rate scheme, with the top rate increasing to 12 per cent from 10 per cent:
Up to £125,000 - 0%; £125,000 to £250,000 – 2%; £250,000 to £925,000 – 5%; £925,000 to £1.5m: 10%; Over £1.5m – 12%

April 2016: New 3% surcharge applied to any buy-to-let properties or additional homes purchased.

July 2020: Rishi Sunak unveils SDLT holiday, with no tax to pay on the first £500,000, with buyers saving up to £15,000.

March 2021: Mr Sunak decides the fate of SDLT holiday at his March 3 budget, with expectations he will extend the perk unti June.

April 2021: 2% SDLT surcharge added to property transactions made by overseas buyers.

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Liverpool’s fixtures until end of 2019

Saturday, November 30, Brighton (h)

Wednesday, December 4, Everton (h)

Saturday, December 7, Bournemouth (a)

Tuesday, December 10, Salzburg (a) CL

Saturday, December 14, Watford (h)

Tuesday, December 17, Aston Villa (a) League Cup

Wednesday, December 18, Club World Cup in Qatar

Saturday, December 21, Club World Cup in Qatar

Thursday, December 26, Leicester (a)

Sunday, December 29, Wolves (h)

The specs

Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder MHEV

Power: 360bhp

Torque: 500Nm

Transmission: eight-speed automatic

Price: from Dh282,870

On sale: now

COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: BorrowMe (BorrowMe.com)

Date started: August 2021

Founder: Nour Sabri

Based: Dubai, UAE

Sector: E-commerce / Marketplace

Size: Two employees

Funding stage: Seed investment

Initial investment: $200,000

Investors: Amr Manaa (director, PwC Middle East) 

The%20specs
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TO A LAND UNKNOWN

Director: Mahdi Fleifel

Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa

Rating: 4.5/5

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.
SUNDAY'S ABU DHABI T10 MATCHES

Northern Warriors v Team Abu Dhabi, 3.30pm
Bangla Tigers v Karnataka Tuskers, 5.45pm
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Updated: September 11, 2025, 8:59 AM