Colin Kaepernick is an African-American sportsman at the centre of a row about racism. His signature protest, which he began in 2016 while playing for the San Francisco 49ers, was to kneel when the US national anthem was played before NFL games. Mr Kaepernick’s stand − or rather his refusal to stand − is just a small symbol of the deep and bitter cultural divisions that exist within US society. Similar fissures have also made Washington DC the world’s most dysfunctional major capital.
Across the globe, we have been watching another peculiarly American phenomenon – the televised, real-life drama of US President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Unless compelling contrary evidence appears, which I very much doubt will happen, I wholeheartedly believe his accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, who says that Mr Kavanaugh sexually molested her in a Washington DC suburb when they were teenagers.
Lawyers always ask, in Latin, "cui bono?" – who stands to benefit? Ms Ford has nothing to gain by volunteering to so publicly re-live her trauma. Judge Kavanaugh, however, clearly benefits from angrily denying everything – at risk is a top job for life. For justice to be served, the Supreme Court nomination should be put on hold. But this is unlikely to happen. The reason is brutal power politics. November's Congressional elections loom and Republicans desperately want Mr Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court. They are willing to overlook serious allegations, which, if proved true, will render him unfit to sit as a judge anywhere. Democrats scent blood and want to frustrate a president they loathe.
This, in other words, is not about justice. It’s about power. The Kaepernick story is, at its heart, the same.
Mr Kaepernick is protesting against America’s original sin – that of racism. Many more African-American males meet violent deaths at the hands of US police officers than their white counterparts, many more young black men are caught up in the criminal justice system, and once in that system many claim that they are treated more harshly, too. As part of the wider Black Lives Matter movement, “taking a knee” is a peaceful and, you might also argue, respectful protest. It also forms part of a tradition of black athletes using their public platforms to advance political issues that affect their community.
During the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, where they won gold and bronze medals respectively, the US sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos famously bowed their heads and raised gloved fists in a black power salute. In an interview to commemorate that event, Mr Smith told me that this display of pride and defiance had cost him dearly. He received death threats and his athletics career was placed in jeopardy.
“It had to be done,” Mr Smith said. “No one else had the platform that I had to do what was necessary … Did I want to do it? No. But I had to.”
Mr Kaepernick has also received threats to his career in ways similar to Tommie Smith 50 years ago. But things are changing. The sportswear company Nike, celebrating the 30th anniversary of the "Just Do It" slogan, controversially signed Kaepernick as a brand ambassador. Mr Trump and others protested. Some even burned or cut up their Nike clothing and shoes. Nike's sales went up and the company's shares hit new highs.
Underneath all this theatre is a serious point. Mr Kaepernick has exposed once more the profound racial and political faultlines in American society. Ms Ford has done the same for the issues of power and gender politics. To some Americans, both are heroes, willing to put themselves on the firing line in the brave hope of making a better America.
To others, Mr Kaepernick and Ms Ford are simply tools of the political left, trying to discredit or weaken the Trump presidency. This is a sour continuation of the culture wars fought in America since the 1960s, but both sides need to be careful. Republican politicians already face a widening gender gap with declining appeal among women voters. Democrats face the risk of a backlash based around issues of race. As Steve Bannon, the right-wing ideologue who was once Donald Trump's key political strategist, put it: "The Democrats, the longer they talk about identity politics, I got 'em. I want them to talk about racism every day. If the left is focused on race and identity, and we go with economic nationalism, we can crush the Democrats."
Mr Bannon makes an important point. The issues that energise Democratic voters move die-hard Republicans in the opposite direction, and vice-versa. Optimistic Americans once spoke of their country as a melting pot, in which different cultures came together. The motto on US currency says "E pluribus unum" − out of many, one. But from football fields to Senate hearings, the opposite is true.
Americans may believe they are “one nation under God”, revering the same flag, anthem and constitution. But the flag, anthem and constitution mean very different things for these two wildly divergent camps. In 1935, the African-American poet Langston Hughes wrote: “America never was America to me.” Despite this initial sentiment, he ended optimistically, hoping that one day “America will be.” For many today, it’s been a long time coming.
Gavin Esler is a journalist, author and television presenter
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Vidaamuyarchi
Director: Magizh Thirumeni
Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra
Rating: 4/5
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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.
What is hepatitis?
Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver, which can lead to fibrosis (scarring), cirrhosis or liver cancer.
There are 5 main hepatitis viruses, referred to as types A, B, C, D and E.
Hepatitis C is mostly transmitted through exposure to infective blood. This can occur through blood transfusions, contaminated injections during medical procedures, and through injecting drugs. Sexual transmission is also possible, but is much less common.
People infected with hepatitis C experience few or no symptoms, meaning they can live with the virus for years without being diagnosed. This delay in treatment can increase the risk of significant liver damage.
There are an estimated 170 million carriers of Hepatitis C around the world.
The virus causes approximately 399,000 fatalities each year worldwide, according to WHO.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
Rankings
ATP: 1. Novak Djokovic (SRB) 10,955 pts; 2. Rafael Nadal (ESP) 8,320; 3. Alexander Zverev (GER) 6,475 ( 1); 5. Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG) 5,060 ( 1); 6. Kevin Anderson (RSA) 4,845 ( 1); 6. Roger Federer (SUI) 4,600 (-3); 7. Kei Nishikori (JPN) 4,110 ( 2); 8. Dominic Thiem (AUT) 3,960; 9. John Isner (USA) 3,155 ( 1); 10. Marin Cilic (CRO) 3,140 (-3)
WTA: 1. Naomi Osaka (JPN) 7,030 pts ( 3); 2. Petra Kvitova (CZE) 6,290 ( 4); 3. Simona Halep (ROM) 5,582 (-2); 4. Sloane Stephens (USA) 5,307 ( 1); 5. Karolina Pliskova (CZE) 5,100 ( 3); 6. Angelique Kerber (GER) 4,965 (-4); 7. Elina Svitolina (UKR) 4,940; 8. Kiki Bertens (NED) 4,430 ( 1); 9. Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) 3,566 (-6); 10. Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) 3,485 ( 1)
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
The National in Davos
We are bringing you the inside story from the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, a gathering of hundreds of world leaders, top executives and billionaires.
From Europe to the Middle East, economic success brings wealth - and lifestyle diseases
A rise in obesity figures and the need for more public spending is a familiar trend in the developing world as western lifestyles are adopted.
One in five deaths around the world is now caused by bad diet, with obesity the fastest growing global risk. A high body mass index is also the top cause of metabolic diseases relating to death and disability in Kuwait, Qatar and Oman – and second on the list in Bahrain.
In Britain, heart disease, lung cancer and Alzheimer’s remain among the leading causes of death, and people there are spending more time suffering from health problems.
The UK is expected to spend $421.4 billion on healthcare by 2040, up from $239.3 billion in 2014.
And development assistance for health is talking about the financial aid given to governments to support social, environmental development of developing countries.
Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
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Company name: Play:Date
Launched: March 2017 on UAE Mother’s Day
Founder: Shamim Kassibawi
Based: Dubai with operations in the UAE and US
Sector: Tech
Size: 20 employees
Stage of funding: Seed
Investors: Three founders (two silent co-founders) and one venture capital fund
Seemar’s top six for the Dubai World Cup Carnival:
1. Reynaldothewizard
2. North America
3. Raven’s Corner
4. Hawkesbury
5. New Maharajah
6. Secret Ambition