Reverend Jesse Jackson enters the Glynn County Courthouse in Brunswick, Georgia, during the trial over the death of Ahmaud Arbery, on November 15, 2021. AP
Reverend Jesse Jackson enters the Glynn County Courthouse in Brunswick, Georgia, during the trial over the death of Ahmaud Arbery, on November 15, 2021. AP
Reverend Jesse Jackson enters the Glynn County Courthouse in Brunswick, Georgia, during the trial over the death of Ahmaud Arbery, on November 15, 2021. AP
Reverend Jesse Jackson enters the Glynn County Courthouse in Brunswick, Georgia, during the trial over the death of Ahmaud Arbery, on November 15, 2021. AP

Tension mounts over high-profile attendees as Ahmaud Arbery death trial continues


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Trial evidence entered a second week on Monday in the case of three white men charged with murder in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery after they spotted the 25-year-old black man running through their neighbourhood.

Father and son Greg and Travis McMichael armed themselves and pursued Arbery in a pickup truck after he ran past their house on February 23, 2020.

Their neighbour, William “Roddie” Bryan, joined the chase, initially telling police that he ran Arbery off the road with his own vehicle before taking mobile phone video of Travis McMichael shooting Arbery three times with a shotgun.

Tensions rose when a lawyer for one of the three white men charged with murdering Arbery failed in an attempt to have the judge remove civil rights leader Reverend Jesse Jackson from the courtroom.

The lawyer, Kevin Gough, made a similarly unsuccessful attempt last week to get the court to prevent any more "black pastors" from attending the trial after the Reverend Al Sharpton, another civil rights leader, was seen sitting with Arbery's parents in the public gallery.

After the jury was sent out, Mr Gough stood in the Glynn County Superior Court and said he objected to what he called "an icon in the civil rights movement" sitting between Arbery's parents.

"How many pastors does the Arbery family have?" he said, referring to a similar objection he had made on Thursday to Mr Sharpton's visit.

"The seats in the public gallery of a courtroom are not like courtside seats at a Lakers game."

Mr Gough said the presence of civil rights leaders might influence jurors hearing the high-profile case.

Mr Jackson quietly listened to Mr Gough, holding the hands of Arbery's father, Marcus Arbery Sr, and mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones. When Mr Gough, who wore no Covid-19 mask, complained that Mr Jackson's mask was not covering his mouth and nose, Ms Cooper-Jones reached and lifted Mr Jackson's mask back up.

Judge Timothy Walmsley was audibly exasperated as he rejected the motion by Mr Gough, saying his ruling last week that he would not issue any blanket bans on who could enter a public courtroom would still stand. He said he was not aware that Jackson was in the room until Mr Gough made his motion.

The judge said it was odd that Mr Gough kept objecting to black pastors showing up and that he was "done talking about it."

"At this point, I'm not exactly sure what you're doing," the judge said.

"It's almost as if you're just trying to keep continuing this for purposes other than just bringing it to the court's attention and I find that objectionable."

Mr Jackson said outside the courthouse during a break in proceedings that he planned to attend all week, calling it "a constitutional right and a moral obligation."

Mr Sharpton has said he will be joined by more than 100 black pastors at the courthouse on Thursday.

Earlier on Monday, Georgia Bureau of Investigation Agent Jason Seacrist returned to the witness stand on Monday and was questioned by a defence lawyer about his interviews with Mr Bryan.

Lawyer Kevin Gough pressed Mr Seacrist about his client's claims that Arbery tried to enter Mr Bryan's vehicle during the chase.

Investigators said they found Arbery's fingerprints on the vehicle near one of the door handles.

“Is it fair to say the first identifiable crime Mr Bryan personally witnessed that day would be Mr Arbery trying to get in his truck?” Mr Gough asked.

Mr Seacrist replied: “Unless you discount the fact that somebody was trying to chase Mr Arbery down while he was legally running, jogging in the road.”

Mr Bryan and the McMichaels have been charged with murder and other crimes.

Prosecutors say the men chased Arbery for five minutes to keep him from exiting the Satilla Shores subdivision outside the port city of Brunswick in southern Georgia. The chase ended when Arbery, trailed by Bryan, tried to run around the McMichaels' vehicle as it idled in the road ahead.

The video shows Travis McMichael confronting Arbery and then shooting him as he throws punches and grapples for the gun.

The McMichaels told police they suspected Arbery was a burglar after security cameras recorded him several times entering an unfinished home five doors from their own house. Defence lawyers say Travis McMichael opened fire in self-defence.

Scorline

Iraq 1-0 UAE

Iraq Hussein 28’

Director: Laxman Utekar

Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna

Rating: 1/5

German intelligence warnings
  • 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
  • 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
  • 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250 

Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution

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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026

1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years

If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.

2. E-invoicing in the UAE

Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption. 

3. More tax audits

Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks. 

4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime

Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.

5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit

There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.

6. Further transfer pricing enforcement

Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes. 

7. Limited time periods for audits

Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion. 

8. Pillar 2 implementation 

Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.

9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services

Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations. 

10. Substance and CbC reporting focus

Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity. 

Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer

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 

How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
  • The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
  • The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
  • The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
  • The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
  • The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
What is graphene?

Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.

It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.

It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.

It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.

Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.

The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.

Winners

Ballon d’Or (Men’s)
Ousmane Dembélé (Paris Saint-Germain / France)

Ballon d’Or Féminin (Women’s)
Aitana Bonmatí (Barcelona / Spain)

Kopa Trophy (Best player under 21 – Men’s)
Lamine Yamal (Barcelona / Spain)

Best Young Women’s Player
Vicky López (Barcelona / Spain)

Yashin Trophy (Best Goalkeeper – Men’s)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City / Italy)

Best Women’s Goalkeeper
Hannah Hampton (England / Aston Villa and Chelsea)

Men’s Coach of the Year
Luis Enrique (Paris Saint-Germain)

Women’s Coach of the Year
Sarina Wiegman (England)

GOLF’S RAHMBO

- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)

Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
Director: Venkat Prabhu
Rating: 2/5
Retirement funds heavily invested in equities at a risky time

Pension funds in growing economies in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East have a sharply higher percentage of assets parked in stocks, just at a time when trade tensions threaten to derail markets.

Retirement money managers in 14 geographies now allocate 40 per cent of their assets to equities, an 8 percentage-point climb over the past five years, according to a Mercer survey released last week that canvassed government, corporate and mandatory pension funds with almost $5 trillion in assets under management. That compares with about 25 per cent for pension funds in Europe.

The escalating trade spat between the US and China has heightened fears that stocks are ripe for a downturn. With tensions mounting and outcomes driven more by politics than economics, the S&P 500 Index will be on course for a “full-scale bear market” without Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts, Citigroup’s global macro strategy team said earlier this week.

The increased allocation to equities by growth-market pension funds has come at the expense of fixed-income investments, which declined 11 percentage points over the five years, according to the survey.

Hong Kong funds have the highest exposure to equities at 66 per cent, although that’s been relatively stable over the period. Japan’s equity allocation jumped 13 percentage points while South Korea’s increased 8 percentage points.

The money managers are also directing a higher portion of their funds to assets outside of their home countries. On average, foreign stocks now account for 49 per cent of respondents’ equity investments, 4 percentage points higher than five years ago, while foreign fixed-income exposure climbed 7 percentage points to 23 per cent. Funds in Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan are among those seeking greater diversification in stocks and fixed income.

• Bloomberg

MATCH INFO

Iceland 0 England 1 (Sterling pen 90 1)

Man of the match Kari Arnason (Iceland)

The specs

Engine: 3.0-litre 6-cyl turbo

Power: 435hp at 5,900rpm

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On sale: now

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Jewel of the Expo 2020

252 projectors installed on Al Wasl dome

13.6km of steel used in the structure that makes it equal in length to 16 Burj Khalifas

550 tonnes of moulded steel were raised last year to cap the dome

724,000 cubic metres is the space it encloses

Stands taller than the leaning tower of Pisa

Steel trellis dome is one of the largest single structures on site

The size of 16 tennis courts and weighs as much as 500 elephants

Al Wasl means connection in Arabic

World’s largest 360-degree projection surface

Desert Warrior

Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley

Director: Rupert Wyatt

Rating: 3/5

Gulf rugby

Who’s won what so far in 2018/19

Western Clubs Champions League: Bahrain
Dubai Rugby Sevens: Dubai Hurricanes
West Asia Premiership: Bahrain

What’s left

UAE Conference

March 22, play-offs:
Dubai Hurricanes II v Al Ain Amblers, Jebel Ali Dragons II v Dubai Tigers

March 29, final

UAE Premiership

March 22, play-offs: 
Dubai Exiles v Jebel Ali Dragons, Abu Dhabi Harlequins v Dubai Hurricanes

March 29, final

Updated: November 15, 2021, 6:47 PM