Students from South Plantation High School carrying placards and shouting slogans walk on the street during a protest in support of gun control, following a mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in Plantation, Florida, February 21, 2018. Carlos Garcia Rawlins / Reuters
Students from South Plantation High School carrying placards and shouting slogans walk on the street during a protest in support of gun control, following a mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in Plantation, Florida, February 21, 2018. Carlos Garcia Rawlins / Reuters
Students from South Plantation High School carrying placards and shouting slogans walk on the street during a protest in support of gun control, following a mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in Plantation, Florida, February 21, 2018. Carlos Garcia Rawlins / Reuters
Students from South Plantation High School carrying placards and shouting slogans walk on the street during a protest in support of gun control, following a mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas H

White House determined to put weapons in schools


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President Donald Trump's administration will step up aid to states that want to arm school employees under a plan to increase campus safety after the killing of 17 people in Florida.

The controversial idea to put weapons in schools, which has drawn little support from educators, is part of a "pragmatic plan to dramatically increase school safety and to take steps to do so right away," Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said on Sunday in a conference call with reporters.

"We are committed to working quickly because there's no time to waste," said Ms DeVos, who will chair a federal commission on school safety.

Among other measures, the Trump administration is urging states to pass temporary "risk protection orders," as Florida recently did, with technical assistance coming from Washington, said Andrew Bremberg, a presidential assistant who heads the Domestic Policy Council.

These court-issued orders allow for law enforcement officers to remove guns from people who pose a demonstrated threat, "to temporarily prevent such individuals from purchasing new firearms, all while still protecting due process rights," he said.

The moves come during a national gun control debate revived by survivors of last month's massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where 14 students and three staff were gunned down by a man with a semi-automatic rifle.

Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader, on Twitter dismissed the administration's measures as "baby steps designed not to upset @NRA," the powerful National Rifle Association gun lobby.

"The administration will be working with states to provide rigorous firearms training to specifically qualified volunteer school personnel," Mr Bremberg said.

A senior administration official added that there are already "a multitude of programmes that exist across the country where school personnel are trained in conjunction with state or local law enforcement."

The administration is "working with the Department of Justice to continue and increase the amount of help" for such initiatives, the official said.

Lily Eskelsen Garcia, president of the National Education Association (NEA), the largest professional union in the United States, has said that parents and educators "overwhelmingly reject the idea of arming school staff."

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Read more:

Trump accuses FBI over Florida school shooting

Authorities accused of missing warning signs over Florida school shootings

Hugs, tears and police: Florida high school reopens after shooting

NRA-linked companies duck for cover

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The NRA has long argued for more armed security in US schools, a plan that Mr Trump has advocated.

On Wednesday, Florida legislators approved funding for a programme to allow some teachers and school employees to be armed.

The measure came in a bill that raises the minimum age to purchase all firearms from 18 to 21, bans modification devices that allow a semi-automatic weapon to fire faster, and increases mental health funding.

Mr Bremberg said the White House also wants more of a focus on mental health care, and will conduct "a full audit and review" of the FBI tip line, after criticism of the federal law enforcement agency for missing warning signs about the Florida shooter.

Separately, the senior administration official said "the first step" is for Congress to take action.

Mr Trump is urging the House of Representatives and Senate to pass bills that would strengthen criminal background checks for gun purchases, and which would implement violence prevention programmes.

The safety commission to be chaired by Ms DeVos will include teachers and other experts. They will examine "the issue of age for purchasing firearms" and related matters before making recommendations to the president, the senior administration official said.

Late last month Mr Trump had seemed to support tougher measures, including "very strong" background checks and raising to 21 the age for buying certain guns.

"We really need to focus on prevention and identifying risks early on, and that starts with addressing social and emotional well-being and increasing access and consistency and transparency to mental health services," Ms DeVos said.

Mr Schumer said America's gun violence epidemic "demands giant steps be taken. @SenateDems will push to go further: passing universal #backgroundchecks, actual fed legislation on protection orders & a debate on #AssaultWeaponsBan."

Mass shootings are the most high-profile type of firearms violence in the United States, which sees more than 30,000 gun-related deaths each year.

RESULT

Kolkata Knight Riders 169-7 (20 ovs)
Rajasthan Royals 144-4 (20 ovs)

Kolkata win by 25 runs

Next match

Sunrisers Hyderabad v Kolkata Knight Riders, Friday, 5.30pm

The%20specs%3A%202024%20Mercedes%20E200
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While you're here
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Mamo 

 Year it started: 2019 Founders: Imad Gharazeddine, Asim Janjua

 Based: Dubai, UAE

 Number of employees: 28

 Sector: Financial services

 Investment: $9.5m

 Funding stage: Pre-Series A Investors: Global Ventures, GFC, 4DX Ventures, AlRajhi Partners, Olive Tree Capital, and prominent Silicon Valley investors. 

 
Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
ELIO

Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett

Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina

Rating: 4/5

Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.

The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo

Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm

Transmission: 6-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km

Price: Dh133,900

On sale: 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

The specs
  • Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
  • Power: 640hp
  • Torque: 760nm
  • On sale: 2026
  • Price: Not announced yet
Ovo's tips to find extra heat
  • Open your curtains when it’s sunny 
  • Keep your oven open after cooking  
  • Have a cuddle with pets and loved ones to help stay cosy 
  • Eat ginger but avoid chilli as it makes you sweat 
  • Put on extra layers  
  • Do a few star jumps  
  • Avoid alcohol   
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
  • Priority access to new homes from participating developers
  • Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
  • Flexible payment plans from developers
  • Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
  • DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Monster

Directed by: Anthony Mandler

Starring: Kelvin Harrison Jr., John David Washington 

3/5

 

LILO & STITCH

Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders

Director: Dean Fleischer Camp

Rating: 4.5/5

UAE tour of the Netherlands

UAE squad: Rohan Mustafa (captain), Shaiman Anwar, Ghulam Shabber, Mohammed Qasim, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Chirag Suri, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Mohammed Naveed, Amjad Javed, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
Fixtures:
Monday, 1st 50-over match
Wednesday, 2nd 50-over match
Thursday, 3rd 50-over match

Specs

Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request

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MATCH INFO

Manchester United v Brighton, Sunday, 6pm UAE

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