For Ron Thompson, life is a balance of risks and rewards. His father caught black lung disease from working in coal mine shafts for decades, yet he wants Pennsylvania's energy sector to expand and create much-needed jobs.
The 51-year-old, who runs an electrical engineering business, mourns the loss of coal, iron and steel jobs in the Keystone State and worries that over-regulating the lucrative "fracking" sector would cost his children their pay cheques.
"We became the number one producer of natural gas and oil in the world under [President Donald] Trump's policies," Mr Thompson told The National.
"It's very important to me that the fracking, oil and gas industry comes back. Because friends of mine, their livelihoods and their families depend on it."
Fracking is a key issue in the November 3 election. Mr Trump, a Republican, says his Democratic rival Joe Biden would outlaw the practice – a largely bogus claim – in his bid to win battleground Pennsylvania and keep the White House.
Four years ago, Mr Trump won a surprise victory in Pennsylvania by a slim 44,000-vote margin – one of three north-eastern rust belt states that turned away from the Democrats under then-candidate Hillary Clinton.
Mr Trump was back in western Pennsylvania this week, where he needs the same blue-collar workers to turn out again on November 3 so he can beat Mr Biden, who is well ahead in statewide and national polls.
"One of the most important issues for Pennsylvania is the survival of your fracking industry," Mr Trump told thousands of fans at a rally outside Johnstown, in a historical coal-mining area, on Tuesday night.
"Joe Biden has repeatedly pledged to abolish fracking. He's a liar."
Fracking — or hydraulic fracturing — involves injecting high-pressure liquid into bedrock to extract oil or gas as it escapes through fissures. The process has opened a years-long oil and gas boom in the US south-west, High Plains and north-east.
Environmentalists say it comes at a cost. In Pennsylvania, the industry has grown to include more than 10,000 wells, leading to contaminated drinking water, dangerous gas pipelines through suburbs and noisy and polluting oil trucks.
Mr Biden insists that he would not ban fracking, saying he would only halt new gas and oil permits – including fracking – on federal lands. The vast majority of oil and gas does not come from federal lands.
In a televised debate this month, Vice President Mike Pence accused his opponent, Mr Biden's running mate Kamala Harris, of planning to ban fracking a total of five times. She pointedly refuted each suggestion.
"Joe Biden will not end fracking, he has been very clear about that," Ms Harris said.
Instead, Mr Biden's environmental policy calls for spending $2 trillion over four years to insulate more buildings, boost clean energy and eliminate fossil fuel emissions from the power sector by 2035.
Mr Biden's plan falls short of the Green New Deal proposed by congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other leftist Democrats that calls for drastic cuts to carbon emissions in power stations, transport and farming.
Those policies go down badly in rural Pennsylvania. Mr Thompson worries that the Democratic candidate is in cahoots with the global solar and wind energy firms that stand to profit from the end of hydrocarbons.
"We have the regulations in place to do it cleanly, environmentally safe," said Mr Thompson. "There's a great balance between the two, but to just kill it, and to kill the livelihoods and the strength of an economy, would be crazy."
Tim Lenhart, 62, a former corrections officer from nearby Meyersdale, another former coal-mining town, agreed. Without fracking, the US would import more Middle Eastern fuel, so "why depend on other countries for resources we have right here?"
Mr Trump's pro-fracking message resonates with blue-collar voters in rural Pennsylvania, but polls put him about 6 percentage points behind Mr Biden, who fares better in such big cities as Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
Nationwide, Mr Biden leads Mr Trump by about 10 percentage points, polling suggests. Close-call races in high-value states like Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio and Georgia are likely to determine who wins next month.
Mr Trump's upset victory in 2016 came after Mrs Clinton neglected working-class white voters on the campaign trail. Mr Biden, however, courts ordinary Americans and is from Scranton, a Pennsylvania industrial city.
David Masur, the Philadelphia-based director of PennEnvironment, which campaigns against fracking, said Mr Trump was out of step with urban Pennsylvanian voters who see ever more damage from fracking on their doorsteps.
"I empathise with the economic anxiety that's felt in rust belt communities and was decades in the making," said Mr Masur.
"But Trump is riding this fracking train into the ground, ostracising voters in the populated south-east corner of the state, where people care deeply about the environment."
Yahya Al Ghassani's bio
Date of birth: April 18, 1998
Playing position: Winger
Clubs: 2015-2017 – Al Ahli Dubai; March-June 2018 – Paris FC; August – Al Wahda
New schools in Dubai
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
BRIEF SCORES:
Toss: Nepal, chose to field
UAE 153-6: Shaiman (59), Usman (30); Regmi 2-23
Nepal 132-7: Jora 53 not out; Zahoor 2-17
Result: UAE won by 21 runs
Series: UAE lead 1-0
The specs: 2019 Haval H6
Price, base: Dh69,900
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 197hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 315Nm @ 2,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km
'Manmarziyaan' (Colour Yellow Productions, Phantom Films)
Director: Anurag Kashyap
Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Vicky Kaushal
Rating: 3.5/5
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Ways to control drones
Countries have been coming up with ways to restrict and monitor the use of non-commercial drones to keep them from trespassing on controlled areas such as airports.
"Drones vary in size and some can be as big as a small city car - so imagine the impact of one hitting an airplane. It's a huge risk, especially when commercial airliners are not designed to make or take sudden evasive manoeuvres like drones can" says Saj Ahmed, chief analyst at London-based StrategicAero Research.
New measures have now been taken to monitor drone activity, Geo-fencing technology is one.
It's a method designed to prevent drones from drifting into banned areas. The technology uses GPS location signals to stop its machines flying close to airports and other restricted zones.
The European commission has recently announced a blueprint to make drone use in low-level airspace safe, secure and environmentally friendly. This process is called “U-Space” – it covers altitudes of up to 150 metres. It is also noteworthy that that UK Civil Aviation Authority recommends drones to be flown at no higher than 400ft. “U-Space” technology will be governed by a system similar to air traffic control management, which will be automated using tools like geo-fencing.
The UAE has drawn serious measures to ensure users register their devices under strict new laws. Authorities have urged that users must obtain approval in advance before flying the drones, non registered drone use in Dubai will result in a fine of up to twenty thousand dirhams under a new resolution approved by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai.
Mr Ahmad suggest that "Hefty fines running into hundreds of thousands of dollars need to compensate for the cost of airport disruption and flight diversions to lengthy jail spells, confiscation of travel rights and use of drones for a lengthy period" must be enforced in order to reduce airport intrusion.
RESULTS
6.30pm: Handicap (rated 100 ) US$175,000 1,200m
Winner: Baccarat, William Buick (jockey), Charlie Appleby (trainer)
7.05pm: Handicap (78-94) $60,000 1,800m
Winner: Baroot, Christophe Soumillon, Mike de Kock
7.40pm: Firebreak Stakes Group 3 $200,000 1,600m
Winner: Heavy Metal, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer
8.15pm: Handicap (95-108) $125,000 1,200m
Winner: Yalta, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer
8.50pm: Balanchine Group 2 $200,000 1,800m
Winner: Promising Run, Pat Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor
9.25pm: Handicap (95-105) $125,000 1,800m
Winner: Blair House, James Doyle, Charlie Appleby
10pm: Handicap (95-105) $125,000 1,400m
Winner: Oh This Is Us, Tom Marquand, Richard Hannon
One in nine do not have enough to eat
Created in 1961, the World Food Programme is pledged to fight hunger worldwide as well as providing emergency food assistance in a crisis.
One of the organisation’s goals is the Zero Hunger Pledge, adopted by the international community in 2015 as one of the 17 Sustainable Goals for Sustainable Development, to end world hunger by 2030.
The WFP, a branch of the United Nations, is funded by voluntary donations from governments, businesses and private donations.
Almost two thirds of its operations currently take place in conflict zones, where it is calculated that people are more than three times likely to suffer from malnutrition than in peaceful countries.
It is currently estimated that one in nine people globally do not have enough to eat.
On any one day, the WFP estimates that it has 5,000 lorries, 20 ships and 70 aircraft on the move.
Outside emergencies, the WFP provides school meals to up to 25 million children in 63 countries, while working with communities to improve nutrition. Where possible, it buys supplies from developing countries to cut down transport cost and boost local economies.
LAST-16 EUROPA LEAGUE FIXTURES
Wednesday (Kick-offs UAE)
FC Copenhagen (0) v Istanbul Basaksehir (1) 8.55pm
Shakhtar Donetsk (2) v Wolfsburg (1) 8.55pm
Inter Milan v Getafe (one leg only) 11pm
Manchester United (5) v LASK (0) 11pm
Thursday
Bayer Leverkusen (3) v Rangers (1) 8.55pm
Sevilla v Roma (one leg only) 8.55pm
FC Basel (3) v Eintracht Frankfurt (0) 11pm
Wolves (1) Olympiakos (1) 11pm
The National in Davos
We are bringing you the inside story from the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, a gathering of hundreds of world leaders, top executives and billionaires.
if you go
The flights
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.
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Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, second leg result:
Ajax 2-3 Tottenham
Tottenham advance on away goals rule after tie ends 3-3 on aggregate
Final: June 1, Madrid
