US President Donald Trump just wanted to enjoy a round of gold at his luxury Scottish golf resort before jetting off to Helsinki for a major summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but protesters had other ideas.
What was supposed to be a leisurely round of 18 holes was met with dozens of protesters telling the president to “go home”, while at one point a paraglider flew over the course trailing a sign that read “Well below par”.
Mr Trump had arrived in the UK on Thursday for a four-day visit to the UK, the final two of which he was scheduled to spend at Trump Turnberry, his extravagant Scottish golf resort.
But with most of the major political appointments having been held on Friday, Mr Trump headed to Scotland for what he called “two days of meetings, calls and hopefully, some golf – my primary form of exercise!”
The golf resort may be hemorrhaging money, but it remains a jewel in the Trump crown, and a rather expensive demonstration of Donald Trump’s Scottish lineage.
The protesters did not appear to put off President Trump, who at one point walked to the edge of the fairway trailed by a dozen buggies loaded with secret service agents in order to wave at the demonstrators.
_________
Read more:
Unhindered by the standard logic of decision-making, Trump involves himself in Brexit
Comment: Trump's Nato performance was an exercise in destruction. But look to Helsinki for his true intentions
Kremlin denied US election meddling just before indictments
_________
Off the greens, a diplomatic spat risked flaring up early on Saturday, after it was revealed that Mr Trump’s Ambassador for International Religious Freedom, Sam Brownback, had complained to the British ambassador in Washington over the treatment of Tommy Robinson, a far-right activist recently jailed for contempt of court.
Mr Brownback reportedly told UK Ambassador Sir Kim Darroch that the US might be compelled to publicly criticise the government’s handling of the case if they didn’t treat Mr Robinson more sympathetically.
Activists labelled the revelation an “extraordinary interference”.
Mr Trump also drew criticism for "berating" a number of British business leaders in a dinner at Blenheim palace on Thursday night, according to reports in The Telegraph.
Before his arrival the president drew censure, even from some of his UK supporters, after he directly criticised Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit negotiations efforts, going so far to as to say she had “wrecked Brexit”, and that the current deal would “probably kill” the prospects of a special trade deal with the US.
He later rowed back, calling the article in The Sun newspaper 'fake news' before proceeding to heap praise on Boris Johnson, Mrs May's bitter rival and former foreign secretary, tipping him as a future prime minister in a press conference at Chequers.
The visit was largely scheduled to avoid central London, where more than 100,000 protesters gathered yesterday to demonstrate against the president’s visit. An inflatable balloon depicting Mr Trump wearing a nappy was raised outside parliament square in Westminster.
Yet the President was not without his supporters, with International Trade Secretary Liam Fox labelling the demonstrators “an embarrassment to themselves”.
He will travel to Helsinki late on Sunday for the hastily-convened summit with President Putin.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League last-16, second leg:
Real Madrid 1 (Asensio 70'), Ajax 4 (Ziyech 7', Neres 18', Tadic 62', Schone 72')
Ajax win 5-3 on aggregate
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
Result
Arsenal 4
Monreal (51'), Ramsey (82'), Lacazette 85', 89')
West Ham United 1
Arnautovic (64')
Four%20scenarios%20for%20Ukraine%20war
%3Cp%3E1.%20Protracted%20but%20less%20intense%20war%20(60%25%20likelihood)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E2.%20Negotiated%20end%20to%20the%20conflict%20(30%25)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E3.%20Russia%20seizes%20more%20territory%20(20%25)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E4.%20Ukraine%20pushes%20Russia%20back%20(10%25)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cem%3EForecast%20by%20Economist%20Intelligence%20Unit%3C%2Fem%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh132,000 (Countryman)
