Lagging in the polls, Donald Trump will once again venture out of the White House on Saturday to address a rally being held despite the rising number of Covid-19 cases in the United States, this time in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
But not everybody in the Granite State will be rolling out the welcome mat for the US president, with critics questioning the wisdom of holding the rally at a time when the country’s coronavirus infections are increasing by more than 50,000 a day.
Mr Trump's first campaign outing since the pandemic hit the US – in Tulsa, Oklahoma on June 20 – did not go so well.
The president was greeted by acres of empty seats in the 19,000-capacity arena and several Trump staffers tested positive for the virus after the rally, as did at least one reporter covering the event. Some health experts fear as many as 1,000 people could have been infected.
The Trump campaign has sought to reassure people that precautions will be in place at the New Hampshire rally, which is being held outdoors at Pease Air Force Base.
At the same time, those attending the rally have been told they must sign legal waivers indemnifying the campaign of responsibility should they contract Covid-19.
Hand sanitiser will be provided as well as masks which attendees are being encouraged, but not compelled, to wear.
Chris Sununu, New Hampshire's Republican governor, said he would wear a mask when greeting Mr Trump, but would not attend the rally. "I'm not going to put myself in a crowd of thousands of people," he said. "I try to be extra cautious."
Covid-19 has claimed more than 380 lives in New Hampshire. Nevertheless it is among a handful of states where the number of coronavirus cases has declined and locals would like to keep it that way.
"My concern is residents and businesses have sacrificed a great deal to manage the virus to the point that we are starting to recover," said Valerie Rochon, president of the Greater Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce.
"This has come at great cost. We have lost restaurants and businesses, but we have kept deaths down and we have kept infections down. We are one of the few states which are not spiking.
"Any rally coming into a state which has worked so hard to avoid a spike is not a great idea. I am very concerned that people coming to the rally will not take precautions. They will not wear masks, use hand sanitiser or socially distance,” she said.
"If businesses will have to close down again because of another shutdown, some will not come back – they have told me that."
Mr Trump sees things rather differently, despite the country recording more than 3.1 million confirmed cases and over 134,000 deaths.
He is desperate to reopen the economy, which he sees as the key to winning the election in November. At times Mr Trump appears to have been at odds with the country's leading epidemiologist, Anthony Fauci, who has taken a far more pessimistic view of how the US is faring in the battle against Covid-19.
The president has even refused to wear a mask in public, flouting the advice given by the administration's health experts, the same experts who have counselled against mass gatherings – such as political rallies.
Chris Galdieri, associate professor of politics at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire, said going ahead with the Portland rally could be problematic for the Trump campaign.
"The optics run the risk of being terrible," he said.
"New Hampshire is one of a small number of states where the spread of the disease is slowing down.
"The campaign says it will encourage people to wear masks, but nobody will be thrown out – especially after there were all those empty seats in Tulsa."
The latest polls show Mr Trump trailing former vice president Joe Biden, the presumptive presidential candidate, by up to nine points. Alarmingly for the president, he is also lagging in key battleground states such as Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan.
"If you look at the electoral map, he is in real trouble,” Mr Galdieri said.
"His campaign is trying to do something different and get New Hampshire's four electoral college votes.
"The campaign is trying to keep him happy and a big part of what it is trying to do is manage his moods. If he can be put before a friendly crowd, he will feel better and more amenable to taking advice."
Trump loyalists, like Al Baldasaro, the co-chair of the president's campaign in New Hampshire, had no misgivings about the rally.
"Everybody is very excited about the president coming to New Hampshire, showing that he cares about us.
"It's only when there is a Trump rally that the Democrats are concerned about the threat of coronavirus.
"They weren't worried about hundreds of people coming together for Black Lives Matter demonstrations."
Daryl Abbas, a Republican member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives, said that holding the rally was a matter of principle, upholding the right of free speech enshrined in the US Constitution's First Amendment.
"I don't work for the campaign, but I think it is very important for our democracy for candidates to promote themselves and to state what they stand for.
"If people are unable to exercise their First Amendment rights, it would be very detrimental to our country.
"The campaign is recommending people wear masks and it wants people to be safe. Nobody is obliged to turn up, it's their freedom of choice.
"Even though I don't support vice president Biden, I would like to see him hold rallies: it is important to our democracy."
The question remains how viable it is to expect social distancing at a rally, even if it is held outdoors.
Jason Sullivan, a lawyer in Portsmouth, said it was a difficult call.
"I can see both sides. But there is the First Amendment of freedom of speech and assembly.
"There isn't an asterisk in the Constitution saying ‘except in the case of coronavirus’. People are adults and it is up to them whether or not they want to go."
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Coronavirus around the world
Specs
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Meatless Days
Sara Suleri, with an introduction by Kamila Shamsie
Penguin
Company profile
Name: Infinite8
Based: Dubai
Launch year: 2017
Number of employees: 90
Sector: Online gaming industry
Funding: $1.2m from a UAE angel investor
How tumultuous protests grew
- A fuel tax protest by French drivers appealed to wider anti-government sentiment
- Unlike previous French demonstrations there was no trade union or organised movement involved
- Demonstrators responded to online petitions and flooded squares to block traffic
- At its height there were almost 300,000 on the streets in support
- Named after the high visibility jackets that drivers must keep in cars
- Clashes soon turned violent as thousands fought with police at cordons
- An estimated two dozen people lost eyes and many others were admitted to hospital
Profile of Hala Insurance
Date Started: September 2018
Founders: Walid and Karim Dib
Based: Abu Dhabi
Employees: Nine
Amount raised: $1.2 million
Funders: Oman Technology Fund, AB Accelerator, 500 Startups, private backers
The Dictionary of Animal Languages
Heidi Sopinka
Scribe
MATCH INFO
Manchester City 4 (Gundogan 8' (P), Bernardo Silva 19', Jesus 72', 75')
Fulham 0
Red cards: Tim Ream (Fulham)
Man of the Match: Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City)
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
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PAKISTAN SQUAD
Pakistan - Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Azhar Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Hafeez, Haris Sohail, Faheem Ashraf, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali, Aamer Yamin, Rumman Raees.
THE BIO:
Sabri Razouk, 74
Athlete and fitness trainer
Married, father of six
Favourite exercise: Bench press
Must-eat weekly meal: Steak with beans, carrots, broccoli, crust and corn
Power drink: A glass of yoghurt
Role model: Any good man
SQUADS
South Africa:
JP Duminy (capt), Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock (wkt), AB de Villiers, Robbie Frylinck, Beuran Hendricks, David Miller, Mangaliso Mosehle (wkt), Dane Paterson, Aaron Phangiso, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Tabraiz Shamsi
Bangladesh
Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Imrul Kayes, Liton Das (wkt), Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim (wkt), Nasir Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Shafiul Islam, Soumya Sarkar, Taskin Ahmed
Fixtures
Oct 26: Bloemfontein
Oct 29: Potchefstroom
FIGHT%20CARD
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Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
The biog
Favourite hobby: taking his rescue dog, Sally, for long walks.
Favourite book: anything by Stephen King, although he said the films rarely match the quality of the books
Favourite film: The Shawshank Redemption stands out as his favourite movie, a classic King novella
Favourite music: “I have a wide and varied music taste, so it would be unfair to pick a single song from blues to rock as a favourite"
War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
How Alia's experiment will help humans get to Mars
Alia’s winning experiment examined how genes might change under the stresses caused by being in space, such as cosmic radiation and microgravity.
Her samples were placed in a machine on board the International Space Station. called a miniPCR thermal cycler, which can copy DNA multiple times.
After the samples were examined on return to Earth, scientists were able to successfully detect changes caused by being in space in the way DNA transmits instructions through proteins and other molecules in living organisms.
Although Alia’s samples were taken from nematode worms, the results have much bigger long term applications, especially for human space flight and long term missions, such as to Mars.
It also means that the first DNA experiments using human genomes can now be carried out on the ISS.
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
T20 SQUADS
Australia: Aaron Finch (c), Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey, Ashton Agar, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Chris Lynn, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Ben McDermott, D’Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell Starc, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa.
Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed (c), Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Sahibzada Farhan, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Hussain Talat, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan Shinwari, Hassan Ali, Imad Wasim, Waqas Maqsood, Faheem Ashraf.
THE BIO
Occupation: Specialised chief medical laboratory technologist
Age: 78
Favourite destination: Always Al Ain “Dar Al Zain”
Hobbies: his work - “ the thing which I am most passionate for and which occupied all my time in the morning and evening from 1963 to 2019”
Other hobbies: football
Favorite football club: Al Ain Sports Club
Score
Third Test, Day 1
New Zealand 229-7 (90 ov)
Pakistan
New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
