US President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden participate with Moderator Chris Wallace in the first 2020 presidential election debate. EPA
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump wave as they leave the stage. Reuters
US President Donald Trump leaves after the first presidential debate at the Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio. AFP
Joe Biden, 2020 Democratic presidential nominee, speaks during the first US presidential debate. Bloomberg
President Donald Trump stands on stage with first lady Melania Trump. AP Photo
President Donald Trump watches as first lady Melania Trump arrives on stage followed by Jill Biden, wife of Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden. AP Photo
Democratic Presidential candidate and former US Vice President Joe Biden and US President Donald Trump take part in the first presidential debate. AFP
US President Donald Trump speaks during the first Presidential Debate at the Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio, 29 September 2020. EPA, pool
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden participates in the first 2020 presidential election debate at Samson Pavilion in Cleveland. EPA
Janet Brown, the Executive Director of the Commission on Presidential Debates, addresses the audience at the start of the first 2020 presidential campaign debate between US President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. Reuters
UFC fighter Colby Covington awaits the start of Donald Trump's first 2020 presidential campaign debate with Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, having been invited as a special guest by Trump. Reuters
Moderator and Fox News anchor Chris Wallace speaks before the first presidential debate. AFP
Eric Trump and Senior Advisor to the President Ivanka Trump arrive for the first presidential debate at the Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio on September 29, 2020. AFP
Debate moderator and Fox News anchor Chris Wallace arrives for the first presidential debate. AFP
Daughter and Senior Advisor to the US President Ivanka Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, sons of the US President, are seen ahead of the first presidential debate. AFP
Tuesday night's first presidential debate marked the end of an era. It was an era that brought the outrageousness of talk radio and heavily packaged news media glitz into the American political arena.
It was an era in which the sound bite came to dominate. As recently as 1968, the average answer on a news programme was 43 seconds. Today it is down to nine seconds. That’s just enough time for a candidate to say: “I have a plan for dealing with Covid. Vote for me!”
The limits of this kind of political spectacle and political discourse have long been known, but now the ritual looks stale as did the participants.
Two men in their 70s and a moderator who is also in his 70s (but looks young for his age) staged a “debate”. All of these elderly gentlemen have made the bulk of their careers in the era of sound bites and talk radio. They offered nothing new to voters.
Not a mind in America will have been changed by what they saw. Although many will be in despair at the talking over, interrupting, and sheer bad manners that characterised the evening.
Donald Trump sounded like his Twitter feed, alternating between aggrievement and accusation. He could have been any right-wing talk radio host in America shouting into the microphone. Joe Biden tried to find a balance between looking presidential (something the pundits traditionally judge candidates on in these quadrennial charades) and fighting back.
Moderator Chris Wallace of Fox News, whose father was one of the most fearsome political interviewers of television’s Golden Age, tried to ride herd on the discussion but finally had to give up. Fifty minutes in, Mr Wallace started interrupting loudly, in the hopes of regaining control: “Why should I be any different than the two of you?”
Mr Trump whined he (Mr Biden) has been interrupting. Mr Wallace said pointedly: “Less than you.”
Did anyone hear that? Probably not.
Against the right-wing talk radio ranting, Mr Biden tried to get off some well-rehearsed zingers. Talking about Mr Trump's lamentable record on Covid-19 – 200,000 Americans have died, far more than in any other country – Mr Biden recalled the President's comments about the death toll: "It is what it is." Then the Democrat added: "It is what it is because you are who you are."
The 90 minutes was mostly noise but there were two clear moments of signal. The first came a little over an hour into the “debate” when Mr Wallace asked: “Are you willing tonight to condemn white supremacists and militia groups and to say they need to stand down and not add to violence in a number of these cities?”
“Which groups,” Mr Trump demanded.
He went on, almost everything I see is from the left wing not the right wing. Mr Wallace persisted.
“Who?” Mr Trump asked again. The Proud Boys, Mr Wallace answered. Mr Trump took a second, then said to the Proud Boys: “Stand back and stand by.” Within minutes, the well-armed group, one of several who have been in the streets threatening demonstrators during the season of unrest since the murder of George Floyd, put up a meme with that quote.
The other bit of signal amid the noise was the President’s repeated claim that there would be widespread fraud because of the anticipated record mail-in vote. Mr Trump was laying out his case for not accepting the result of the election.
These two clear signals herald the new era in American politics. First, no president in modern times has ever spoken directly to vigilantes or given a sense that they are a force he is willing to engage with and even command.
And make no mistake, the Proud Boys and other groups are not militias. Militia implies a governmental role. The Second Amendment, America’s charter for gun ownership and written in the days before the country had a standing army, says “a well-regulated militia, being necessary”. But these groups are not regulated. They are vigilantes looking to provoke a fight, maybe even a civil war.
Second, no president has ever trashed the election process so comprehensively in advance of polling day.
“Who won, who lost?” is not the question this year. Minds are made up. For many their minds were made up on November 9, 2016, the morning after last Election Day. Very little that has happened since has changed voting intentions.
In the snap polling that is part of the ritual of these debates, CNN found 60 per cent of viewers thought Mr Biden had won. That seems right to me. Mr Trump supporters represent around 40 per cent of the electorate. They are unswayable. They will never forsake their guy.
That is why I say we are entering a new era. The traditional tools of persuasion no longer work. Slogans masquerading as a governing philosophy are outmoded. All people can do is shout them at their opponents and hope their core supporters stay motivated enough to vote.
But when the President of the United States questions the vote’s legitimacy in advance, does this also herald a new era, one in which democracy itself is discarded?
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023 More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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.”
Air Astana flies direct from Dubai to Almaty from Dh2,440 per person return, and to Astana (via Almaty) from Dh2,930 return, both including taxes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Ritz-Carlton Almaty cost from Dh1,944 per night including taxes; and in Astana the new Ritz-Carlton Astana (www.marriott) costs from Dh1,325; alternatively, the new St Regis Astana costs from Dh1,458 per night including taxes.
When to visit
March-May and September-November
Visas
Citizens of many countries, including the UAE do not need a visa to enter Kazakhstan for up to 30 days. Contact the nearest Kazakhstan embassy or consulate.
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Agolico BMC
Andy Schleck Cycles-Immo Losch
Aromitalia Basso Bikes Vaiano
Cogeas Mettler Look
Doltcini-Van Eyck Sport
Hitec Products – Birk Sport
Kazakhstan National Team
Kuwait Cycling Team
Macogep Tornatech Girondins de Bordeaux
Minsk Cycling Club
Pannonia Regional Team (Fehérvár)
Team Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Team Ciclotel
UAE Women’s Team
Under 23 Kazakhstan Team
Wheel Divas Cycling Team
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
