When US Vice President Kamala Harris was sworn into office a year ago, women across the globe were watching, many of them wearing her trademark string of pearls, Converse high-tops and purple, a nod to the suffragette movement.
The first woman, the first black person and the first South Asian to ever take the oath, many saw themselves represented in Ms Harris, who is one heartbeat away from the highest office in the land.
The former senator assumed office alongside her boss, President Joe Biden, weeks after a mob of Donald Trump supporters staged an insurrection at the Capitol building. The country was in the grip of the Covid-19 pandemic and millions were out of work.
“It’s tough for any vice president to shine — even in the best of times. And these aren’t the best of times,” Roy Neel, chief of staff for former vice president Al Gore, told The Associated Press.
“You not only serve at the pleasure of the president … but there’s a limit to how much you can do to take the lead role on the major issue of the day, whatever that is, and to go out and look like you’re killing it.”
Ms Harris's first year has not been an easy one. As Mr Biden’s second in command, she was given the task of pushing for voting rights, immigration reform and women's rights.
She has also become a go-to for Mr Biden's international diplomacy, particularly in Latin America.
But her lack of international presence makes her an easy target, with her tiebreaking role in the Senate often tethering her to Washington.
Despite enabling diplomatic rapprochement with President Emmanuel Macron following a submarine deal between the US, Australia and the UK that angered France, her international reputation was tarnished following a series of embarrassing incidents in Central America and on the US-Mexico border.
To all this, she was also told to tout elements of Mr Biden's centrepiece “Build Back Better” agenda, which includes ways to address climate change and the country's infrastructure issues.
While Mr Biden did secure a $1.9 trillion economic stimulus bill aimed at hastening the US recovery from the pandemic, the Build Back Better plan appears dead in the water amid infighting in the Democratic Party.
“She’s been given more responsibilities than most vice presidents,” a former White House staffer told The National. “She has plenty of time to accomplish great things, which people tend to forget.”
Compared to an American football game, Ms Harris has three quarters left. A lot can happen, but only if she stops getting tackled.
Yet, Mr Biden has confidence in Ms Harris, saying at a White House press conference on Wednesday that "she's going to be my running mate" in his 2024 presidential run if he chooses to try for re-election.
Voting rights
In the past 20 years, Georgia’s voter population grew by almost two million, 48 per cent of the growth attributed to the state’s black voting population, analysis from Pew Research Centre shows.
Former president Donald Trump lost the reliably red state in the 2020 presidential elections and in a recorded call, asked an election official to find enough votes to overturn the results.
And on January 5, 2021, all eyes were on the Peach State and a Senate run-off, when a special election brought Democrat underdogs Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock into Congress, turning the state blue and also causing the Senate to be split 50/50 — giving Ms Harris the tiebreaking vote.
Two months later, the state’s Republican Governor Brian Kemp signed legislation making it harder to vote by mail and gave his party sweeping controls over state elections.
A Trump loyalist, Mr Kemp said that it was evident that “significant reforms” were needed even though a historic statewide audit proved to the contrary.
In promoting voting rights, Ms Harris faces a growing white-nationalist movement, Mr Trump peddling false claims of voter fraud, Georgia as well as other states enacting voter laws that will make it harder for some people to vote, and a Senate stacked against her.
“Today, our freedom to vote is under assault,” Ms Harris said.
“In Georgia and across our nation, anti-voter laws are being passed that could make it more difficult for as many as 55 million Americans to vote — 55 million Americans. That is one out of six people in our country.”
Though it passed the House, the administration’s voting rights legislation appears to be destined to fail.
Gaffes shade victories
After taking office, Ms Harris’s victory celebration quickly came to a screeching halt, as illegal entries at the US-Mexico border, which began spiking before the Biden-Harris victory, skyrocketed post-inauguration.
The administration decided to take a tough stance.
While visiting President Alejandro Giammattei of Guatemala in June, Ms Harris gave a speech that incorporated many topics, including migration, anti-corruption initiatives and human trafficking. The sound byte heard around the world, however, was: “Do not come here”.
The gaffe overshadowed big wins on securing billions in investments from companies in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.
Then came the photo at the Mexico-Texas border of a mounted patrol officer appearing to whip a man along with images of about 14,000 Haitian migrants sleeping under bridges.
This, along with a record number of would-be migrants being turned away over the past year, has infuriated many in the administration’s own base.
The domino effect
A lot of the roles Mr Biden expects Ms Harris to fill are seemingly based on gender, race, ethnic and social background, such as women's issues.
A stacked Supreme Court shows little to no sign of protecting Roe v Wade as states enact abortion bans and otherwise restrictive laws pertaining to women's reproductive health.
A divided Senate refusing to debate voting rights and no movement on the filibuster leaves a lot of room for Republicans to take back the Senate in this year's midterm elections, leading to the possible erosion of everything Ms Harris and Mr Biden have tried to build.
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
Analysis
Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more
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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
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
The Prison Letters of Nelson Mandela
Edited by Sahm Venter
Published by Liveright
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Background: Chemical Weapons
Crops that could be introduced to the UAE
1: Quinoa
2. Bathua
3. Amaranth
4. Pearl and finger millet
5. Sorghum
The Buckingham Murders
Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu
Director: Hansal Mehta
Rating: 4 / 5
Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
The biog
Hometown: Cairo
Age: 37
Favourite TV series: The Handmaid’s Tale, Black Mirror
Favourite anime series: Death Note, One Piece and Hellsing
Favourite book: Designing Brand Identity, Fifth Edition
Like a Fading Shadow
Antonio Muñoz Molina
Translated from the Spanish by Camilo A. Ramirez
Tuskar Rock Press (pp. 310)
MATCH INFO
Watford 1 (Deulofeu 80' p)
Chelsea 2 (Abraham 5', Pulisic 55')
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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
INFO
What: DP World Tour Championship
When: November 21-24
Where: Jumeirah Golf Estates, Dubai
Tickets: www.ticketmaster.ae.
Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.
Based: Riyadh
Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany
Founded: September, 2020
Number of employees: 70
Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions
Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds
Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
Game Of Thrones Season Seven: A Bluffers Guide
Want to sound on message about the biggest show on television without actually watching it? Best not to get locked into the labyrinthine tales of revenge and royalty: as Isaac Hempstead Wright put it, all you really need to know from now on is that there’s going to be a huge fight between humans and the armies of undead White Walkers.
The season ended with a dragon captured by the Night King blowing apart the huge wall of ice that separates the human world from its less appealing counterpart. Not that some of the humans in Westeros have been particularly appealing, either.
Anyway, the White Walkers are now free to cause any kind of havoc they wish, and as Liam Cunningham told us: “Westeros may be zombie land after the Night King has finished.” If the various human factions don’t put aside their differences in season 8, we could be looking at The Walking Dead: The Medieval Years.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
THE SPECS
2020 Toyota Corolla Hybrid LE
Engine: 1.8 litre combined with 16-volt electric motors
Transmission: Automatic with manual shifting mode
Power: 121hp
Torque: 142Nm
Price: Dh95,900
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
So what is Spicy Chickenjoy?
Just as McDonald’s has the Big Mac, Jollibee has Spicy Chickenjoy – a piece of fried chicken that’s crispy and spicy on the outside and comes with a side of spaghetti, all covered in tomato sauce and topped with sausage slices and ground beef. It sounds like a recipe that a child would come up with, but perhaps that’s the point – a flavourbomb combination of cheap comfort foods. Chickenjoy is Jollibee’s best-selling product in every country in which it has a presence.
Famous left-handers
- Marie Curie
- Jimi Hendrix
- Leonardo Di Vinci
- David Bowie
- Paul McCartney
- Albert Einstein
- Jack the Ripper
- Barack Obama
- Helen Keller
- Joan of Arc
The biog
Name: Salem Alkarbi
Age: 32
Favourite Al Wasl player: Alexandre Oliveira
First started supporting Al Wasl: 7
Biggest rival: Al Nasr
The essentials
What: Emirates Airline Festival of Literature
When: Friday until March 9
Where: All main sessions are held in the InterContinental Dubai Festival City
Price: Sessions range from free entry to Dh125 tickets, with the exception of special events.
Hot Tip: If waiting for your book to be signed looks like it will be timeconsuming, ask the festival’s bookstore if they have pre-signed copies of the book you’re looking for. They should have a bunch from some of the festival’s biggest guest authors.
Information: www.emirateslitfest.com
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