US President Donald Trump on Thursday accepted the Republican Party nomination for a second term, presenting himself as the "law and order" candidate guarding against chaos and violence in American cities.
Mr Trump's live speech from the White House, less than 70 days away from the November 3 vote, closes a Republican convention better described as the "Trump Show".
The convention takes place amid health and economic crises, social unrest and renewed protests for racial justice.
For several days, protests and violence have rocked the Wisconsin city of Kenosha, after a 29-year-old African-American man, Jacob Blake, was shot seven times in the back by a white police officer, leaving him paralysed.
The tensions in Kenosha erupted on Tuesday night when a 17-year-old police admirer shot dead two protesters and injured a third. The teen has been charged with homicide.
Mr Trump seized on the Kenosha unrest to shift the tone of the convention, which opened with attempts to portray a softer image of Mr Trump, but ended with harsh warnings of continued violence and lawlessness, with Republicans making the case that Mr Trump is the only one who can end the unrest.
Demonstrations took place outside Mr Trump's closing address, with new fencing set up along the White House perimeter to keep the protesters at bay.
The chants of protesters, air horns and sirens could be heard during his speech, delivered from the White House lawn to a crowd of more than 1,000 people that did not wear masks.
"We will defeat the virus, end the pandemic," Mr Trump told a crowd that disregarded the safety measures recommended by medical experts. The president promised a vaccine by the year's end while lauding his response to the virus. But in reality, the virus spread untamed as the US was slow to react, leading to the world's highest number of Covid-19 infections and deaths.
In an attempt to garner minority votes during a time of widespread racial unrest, the president made the unsupported claim that he has done more for the African American community than any president since Abraham Lincoln.
He later boasted about threatening Black Lives Matter protesters with 10 years in prison for toppling statues of controversial figures in America's history with slavery.
Mr Trump's speech was thin on policy, but heavy on falsehoods and attacks against Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden, calling him "the destroyer of American greatness."
"No one will be safe in Biden's America," he said.
Striking back, Mr Biden issued a statement asking, "how safe do you feel in Donald Trump's America?"
The president's personal attorney and former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani also took aim at Mr Biden, telling the convention that he will "bring this lawlessness to your city."
Though some of the speakers, unlike on previous nights, offered notes of sympathy to the families of African-American men killed by police, Mr Giuliani took aim at the Black Lives Matter movement, suggesting that it, along with Antifa, was part of the extremist voices pushing Mr Biden to “execute their pro-criminal, anti-police policies” and had “hijacked the protests into vicious, brutal riots.”
Mr Biden is being pulled in different directions on his policing platform. The left wing of his party is calling to "defund" the police, while the moderates are worried about losing voters who fear social unrest. The former vice president has promised to invest in a programme that will provide grants to hire more officers of colour and train law enforcement to better engage with their communities.
Ivanka Trump took to the podium on the final night to defend her father, saying "my dad’s communication style is not to everyone’s taste and I know that his tweets can feel a bit unfiltered."
"But the results speak for themselves," she said, touting the president's jobs record despite millions of Americans being plunged into unemployment in the past months.
She received a small standing ovation when she referred to the UAE and Israel's Abraham Accords as the "biggest breakthrough in a quarter-century."
Mr Trump also thanked the UAE and Israel in his address.
The latest protests for racial justice and against police brutality raise challenges for Mr Trump and Mr Biden.
The president has played to his base by expressing his strong support for law enforcement and has yet to mention Blake by name.
Mr Biden said the video of Blake's shooting made him "sick" and "systemic racism" in American society must be eliminated.
In Mr Biden's closing address at the Democratic convention last week, he asked “Will we be the generation that finally wipes out the stain of racism from our national character?”
Mr Biden's running mate Kamala Harris offered counter-programming to the final night of the convention. She delivered a speech a half mile from the White House, declaring, “Donald Trump doesn’t understand the presidency.”
“He thinks it’s all about him,” she said, adding that “It’s about all of us. … Donald Trump has failed at the most basic and important job of a president of the United States: He failed to protect the American people, plain and simple.”
Mr Biden also accused the president of stoking the fire.
"He's rooting for more violence, not less," he told MSNBC. "And he's clear about that. And what's he doing? He's pouring more gasoline on the fire."
The national polls and those in several battleground states give Mr Biden the edge but Mr Trump claims they do not reflect the true nature of the race.
He says he will produce another surprise like he did in 2016.
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
The specs
Engine: 2.2-litre, turbodiesel
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Power: 160hp
Torque: 385Nm
Price: Dh116,900
On sale: now
How does ToTok work?
The calling app is available to download on Google Play and Apple App Store
To successfully install ToTok, users are asked to enter their phone number and then create a nickname.
The app then gives users the option add their existing phone contacts, allowing them to immediately contact people also using the application by video or voice call or via message.
Users can also invite other contacts to download ToTok to allow them to make contact through the app.
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.”
The specs: 2018 Ducati SuperSport S
Price, base / as tested: Dh74,900 / Dh85,900
Engine: 937cc
Transmission: Six-speed gearbox
Power: 110hp @ 9,000rpm
Torque: 93Nm @ 6,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 5.9L / 100km
MWTC info
Tickets to the MWTC range from Dh100 and can be purchased from www.ticketmaster.ae or by calling 800 86 823 from within the UAE or 971 4 366 2289 from outside the country and all Virgin Megastores. Fans looking to attend all three days of the MWTC can avail of a special 20 percent discount on ticket prices.
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
T20 World Cup Qualifier
Final: Netherlands beat PNG by seven wickets
Qualified teams
1. Netherlands
2. PNG
3. Ireland
4. Namibia
5. Scotland
6. Oman
T20 World Cup 2020, Australia
Group A: Sri Lanka, PNG, Ireland, Oman
Group B: Bangladesh, Netherlands, Namibia, Scotland
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Scores in brief:
- New Medical Centre 129-5 in 17 overs bt Zayed Cricket Academy 125-6 in 20 overs.
- William Hare Abu Dhabi Gymkhana 188-8 in 20 overs bt One Stop Tourism 184-8 in 20 overs
- Alubond Tigers 138-7 in 20 overs bt United Bank Limited 132-7 in 20 overs
- Multiplex 142-6 in 17 overs bt Xconcepts Automobili 140 all out in 20 overs
Recipe: Spirulina Coconut Brothie
Ingredients
1 tbsp Spirulina powder
1 banana
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk (full fat preferable)
1 tbsp fresh turmeric or turmeric powder
½ cup fresh spinach leaves
½ cup vegan broth
2 crushed ice cubes (optional)
Method
Blend all the ingredients together on high in a high-speed blender until smooth and creamy.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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
Fund-raising tips for start-ups
Develop an innovative business concept
Have the ability to differentiate yourself from competitors
Put in place a business continuity plan after Covid-19
Prepare for the worst-case scenario (further lockdowns, long wait for a vaccine, etc.)
Have enough cash to stay afloat for the next 12 to 18 months
Be creative and innovative to reduce expenses
Be prepared to use Covid-19 as an opportunity for your business
* Tips from Jassim Al Marzooqi and Walid Hanna
MATCH INFO
Newcastle United 3
Gayle (23'), Perez (59', 63')
Chelsea 0
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
