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.
What is graphene?
Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged like honeycomb.
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were "playing about" with sticky tape and graphite - the material used as "lead" in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But as they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment had led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
At the time, many believed it was impossible for such thin crystalline materials to be stable. But examined under a microscope, the material remained stable, and when tested was found to have incredible properties.
It is many times times stronger than steel, yet incredibly lightweight and flexible. It is electrically and thermally conductive but also transparent. The world's first 2D material, it is one million times thinner than the diameter of a single human hair.
But the 'sticky tape' method would not work on an industrial scale. Since then, scientists have been working on manufacturing graphene, to make use of its incredible properties.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. Their discovery meant physicists could study a new class of two-dimensional materials with unique properties.
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
Other must-tries
Tomato and walnut salad
A lesson in simple, seasonal eating. Wedges of tomato, chunks of cucumber, thinly sliced red onion, coriander or parsley leaves, and perhaps some fresh dill are drizzled with a crushed walnut and garlic dressing. Do consider yourself warned: if you eat this salad in Georgia during the summer months, the tomatoes will be so ripe and flavourful that every tomato you eat from that day forth will taste lacklustre in comparison.
Badrijani nigvzit
A delicious vegetarian snack or starter. It consists of thinly sliced, fried then cooled aubergine smothered with a thick and creamy walnut sauce and folded or rolled. Take note, even though it seems like you should be able to pick these morsels up with your hands, they’re not as durable as they look. A knife and fork is the way to go.
Pkhali
This healthy little dish (a nice antidote to the khachapuri) is usually made with steamed then chopped cabbage, spinach, beetroot or green beans, combined with walnuts, garlic and herbs to make a vegetable pâté or paste. The mix is then often formed into rounds, chilled in the fridge and topped with pomegranate seeds before being served.
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
Traits of Chinese zodiac animals
Tiger:independent, successful, volatile
Rat:witty, creative, charming
Ox:diligent, perseverent, conservative
Rabbit:gracious, considerate, sensitive
Dragon:prosperous, brave, rash
Snake:calm, thoughtful, stubborn
Horse:faithful, energetic, carefree
Sheep:easy-going, peacemaker, curious
Monkey:family-orientated, clever, playful
Rooster:honest, confident, pompous
Dog:loyal, kind, perfectionist
Boar:loving, tolerant, indulgent
Results
Male 51kg Round 1
Dias Karmanov (KAZ) beat Mabrook Rasea (YEM) by points 2-1.
Male 54kg Round 1
Yelaman Sayassatov (KAZ) beat Chen Huang (TPE) TKO Round 1; Huynh Hoang Phi (VIE) beat Fahad Anakkayi (IND) RSC Round 2; Qais Al Jamal (JOR) beat Man Long Ng (MAC) by points 3-0; Ayad Albadr (IRQ) beat Yashar Yazdani (IRI) by points 2-1.
Male 57kg Round 1
Natthawat Suzikong (THA) beat Abdallah Ondash (LBN) by points 3-0; Almaz Sarsembekov (KAZ) beat Ahmed Al Jubainawi (IRQ) by points 2-1; Hamed Almatari (YEM) beat Nasser Al Rugheeb (KUW) by points 3-0; Zakaria El Jamari (UAE) beat Yu Xi Chen (TPE) by points 3-0.
Men 86kg Round 1
Ahmad Bahman (UAE) beat Mohammad Al Khatib (PAL) by points 2-1
Men 63.5kg Round 1
Noureddin Samir (UAE) beat Polash Chakma (BAN) RSC Round 1.
Female 45kg quarter finals
Narges Mohammadpour (IRI) beat Yuen Wai Chan (HKG) by points.
Female 48kg quarter finals
Szi Ki Wong (HKG) beat Dimple Vaishnav (IND) RSC round 2; Thanawan Thongduang (THA) beat Nastaran Soori (IRI) by points; Shabnam Hussain Zada (AFG) beat Tzu Ching Lin (TPE) by points.
Female 57kg quarter finals
Nguyen Thi Nguyet (VIE) beat Anisha Shetty (IND) by points 2-1; Areeya Sahot (THA) beat Dana Al Mayyal (KUW) RSC Round 1; Sara Idriss (LBN) beat Ching Yee Tsang (HKG) by points 3-0.
Company Fact Box
Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019
Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO
Based: Amman, Jordan
Sector: Education Technology
Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed
Stage: early-stage startup
Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.
FIXTURES (all times UAE)
Sunday
Brescia v Lazio (3.30pm)
SPAL v Verona (6pm)
Genoa v Sassuolo (9pm)
AS Roma v Torino (11.45pm)
Monday
Bologna v Fiorentina (3.30pm)
AC Milan v Sampdoria (6pm)
Juventus v Cagliari (6pm)
Atalanta v Parma (6pm)
Lecce v Udinese (9pm)
Napoli v Inter Milan (11.45pm)
