Voters are gearing up to head to the polls for the US presidential election.
Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump, respectively the Democratic and Republican nominees, are vying for the White House.
Election season started in mid-September, with absentee or mail-in ballots sent to eligible voters and in-person polling places opening up for early voting.
The National takes a look at the major players and important dates in this year's presidential election.
When is the US election 2024 and when will results be announced?
Election day is Tuesday, November 5, and the candidate who wins 270 electoral votes or more becomes president.
Results could be announced on election day itself, in the days afterwards or even a number of weeks after due to the complexities of vote counting in the US.
During the 2020 election, TV networks did not announce the results until 4 days later.
After state election officials certify ballot tallies, the electors meet in their individual states and certify them to officially cast their votes. They will send their votes and results to Congress on December 17, a little more than a month after the election.
US presidential election candidates
Kamala Harris: The US Vice President is running for office after her boss President Joe Biden, 81, ended his re-election bid in July.
Mr Biden, the oldest president in US history, stepped aside amid low polls, concerns over his fitness to serve, as well as backlash over his administration's support for Israel during the war in Gaza.
Ms Harris, 60, inherited his Democratic campaign apparatus and hit the election trail, beating fundraising records and garnering a wide pool of support within weeks.
Donald Trump: The former president, who narrowly escaped an assassination attempt in July, is making his third bid for the White House, handily winning the nomination at the Republican National Convention in July.
Mr Trump was convicted on 34 counts in a hush-money case and also faces dozens of other charges across several court cases. He has been accused of mishandling classified documents and leading a conspiracy to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
After Mr Biden left the race due in part to his age, Mr Trump, 78, has also faced concerns.
Who are the vice presidential candidates?
Tim Walz: Ms Harris chose the Minnesota Governor and former congressman as her running mate.
The former teacher and American football coach also served in the National Guard for decades.
JD Vance: The junior senator from Ohio is Mr Trump's running mate.
The author of Hillbilly Elegy is also a veteran and founded a venture capital firm before becoming a politician.
Mr Biden – and now Ms Harris – have faced challenges from a small but vocal movement encouraging Democrats to vote “uncommitted” in the primaries in response to support for Israel during the war in Gaza.
Who is running on third-party tickets?
For the Independent Party: Lawyer Robert F Kennedy Jr, a nephew of former president John F Kennedy, was running for office, with his campaign focused on ending “forever wars”, ensuring tax civil liberties and tax fairness, and anti-vaccine activism.
However in August, he suspended his long-shot presidential campaign and announced his decision to endorse Republican candidate Mr Trump in the election.
Ivy League professor and academic Cornel West is running as a progressive.
For the Green Party, Jill Stein, who ran for president in 2012 and 2016, is running for her party's nomination again. She has a large amount of support among Arab Americans.
Key dates in the 2024 US election
What is the Electoral College?
The US president is not elected by popular vote, but rather by a majority of electors, in a unique system called the Electoral College.
Each state has a specific number of electors based on the census, depending on the number of senators and congressional districts.
A presidential candidate needs the support of 270 out of 538 electors in the Electoral College to win the election.
When is the certification of the election?
After the electors hold meetings in their states and send in formal certifications, members of Congress will meet at the Capitol in Washington to certify the results on January 6, 2025.
When is the inauguration?
Inauguration day is on January 20, 2025.
The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
What are the main cyber security threats?
Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
Gulf Under 19s final
Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B
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.”
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The specs: Volvo XC40
Price: base / as tested: Dh185,000
Engine: 2.0-litre, turbocharged in-line four-cylinder
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 250hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 350Nm @ 1,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 10.4L / 100km
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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Ain Dubai in numbers
126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure
1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch
16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.
9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.
5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place
192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.
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Building boom turning to bust as Turkey's economy slows
Deep in a provincial region of northwestern Turkey, it looks like a mirage - hundreds of luxury houses built in neat rows, their pointed towers somewhere between French chateau and Disney castle.
Meant to provide luxurious accommodations for foreign buyers, the houses are however standing empty in what is anything but a fairytale for their investors.
The ambitious development has been hit by regional turmoil as well as the slump in the Turkish construction industry - a key sector - as the country's economy heads towards what could be a hard landing in an intensifying downturn.
After a long period of solid growth, Turkey's economy contracted 1.1 per cent in the third quarter, and many economists expect it will enter into recession this year.
The country has been hit by high inflation and a currency crisis in August. The lira lost 28 per cent of its value against the dollar in 2018 and markets are still unconvinced by the readiness of the government under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to tackle underlying economic issues.
The villas close to the town centre of Mudurnu in the Bolu region are intended to resemble European architecture and are part of the Sarot Group's Burj Al Babas project.
But the development of 732 villas and a shopping centre - which began in 2014 - is now in limbo as Sarot Group has sought bankruptcy protection.
It is one of hundreds of Turkish companies that have done so as they seek cover from creditors and to restructure their debts.
The specs
Engine: 5.0-litre supercharged V8
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Power: 575bhp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: Dh554,000
On sale: now
Need to know
When: October 17 until November 10
Cost: Entry is free but some events require prior registration
Where: Various locations including National Theatre (Abu Dhabi), Abu Dhabi Cultural Center, Zayed University Promenade, Beach Rotana (Abu Dhabi), Vox Cinemas at Yas Mall, Sharjah Youth Center
What: The Korea Festival will feature art exhibitions, a B-boy dance show, a mini K-pop concert, traditional dance and music performances, food tastings, a beauty seminar, and more.
For more information: www.koreafestivaluae.com
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
