President Joe Biden inspected part of the US-Mexico border on Sunday, marking his first trip there since taking office two years ago — a visit that Republicans said was long overdue.
Authorities are struggling with record numbers of undocumented migrants crossing into America, and immigration will probably take centre stage in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election.
That is even more likely now that the Republicans hold control of the House of Representatives and have the power to launch investigations and hold hearings on the issue.
The trip to El Paso, Texas, was a brief stopover before Mr Biden's visit to Mexico City, where he and the leaders of Mexico and Canada will gather on Monday and Tuesday for a North American leaders' summit.
There are more crossings at El Paso than anywhere else along the 3,145km border with Mexico.
Mr Biden met border authorities to discuss immigration and other topics, including the increased smuggling of synthetic opioids, including fentanyl, that kill tens of thousands of Americans each year.
Local residents Rafael Rodriguez and his sister Lupe Rodriguez waved a Biden sign from the 2020 presidential election as he drove into the complex around the Bridge of The Americas, connecting El Paso to Juarez, Mexico.
“It was a good feeling to have the President wave at us,” said Mr Rodriguez, 66.
The retired El Paso native, who supported Mr Biden in the 2020 election, said the issue along the border must be “taken care of.”
Migrant crossings into the US from Mexico have soared since Mr Biden took office in January 2021, with authorities stopping people 2.38 million times in the fiscal year that ended last September.
It was the first time the number exceeded 2 million.
Outside Sacred Heart Church in downtown El Paso, where hundreds of migrants are camping, there was a frenzy of activity in the hours leading up to Mr Biden's visit.
El Paso police officers detained several migrants and tried to clean up the area around the red-brick building.
Ingrid Johanna Sagra, a Colombian migrant, had hoped Mr Biden might come to see the conditions she and others have been staying in.
"He should come and find a solution to all this here on the border," Ms Sagra said.
She crossed into the US with her husband and son, 7, but because her husband is from Venezuela, he was separated from the family and she fears will be deported to Mexico.
But Mr Biden did not go past Sacred Heart, much to the frustration of the migrants there.
“He knows that we are and he didn’t acknowledge us,” said Ibrahim Martinez, a migrant from Venezuela.
Mr Martinez said he was unsure where he would go now or what he would do. He just knows he cannot go back.
“We sold everything to come here,” he told The National.
Father Rafael Garcia, the priest at Sacred Heart, said Mr Biden should see the problem for himself.
"I think the more he can see first-hand, it's good," he said.
Joe Barraza, who came to the US when he was 6, said Mr Biden should have seen the migrants.
"This is where the problem is right here," Mr Barraza told The National. "This is ground zero, this is where he should be."
Different political approaches
Publicly, at least, the Democrats and the Republicans take a different tack on immigration, with the Democrats seeking to find legal pathways for people to come to America.
The Republicans take a tougher line, as was seen under the Trump administration, which detained immigrants, many of them children, en masse.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, was dismissive of Mr Biden's visit.
“All he’s going to do down there is rearrange the chairs on the deck of the Titanic," Mr Abbott told Fox News.
"He’s not going to achieve any solutions that will make the border safer, more secure and stop illegal immigration."
Mr Biden spent close to four hours speaking to local officials. While many here were happy that he had finally visited, they was a consensus the trip was too short.
"Not nearly long enough," said Richard Pineda, Director of the Sam Donaldson Centre for Communications Studies at the University of Texas El Paso.
Migrants in El Paso protest before US President Joe Biden's visit - in pictures
The challenge facing the US on its southern border “is something that is not unique to the United States", Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told ABC News.
"It’s gripping the hemisphere. And a regional challenge requires a regional solution."
Mr Biden announced a multifaceted approach to immigration along the southern border last week, which in part would include an expansion of a programme, known as Title 42.
The programme was enacted as a health emergency policy under the Trump administration but has also been used by the Biden government to block asylum seekers hoping to enter the US.
Under the new guidelines, migrants from Nicaragua, Cuba, Venezuela and Haiti will have an expanded legal pathway to apply for entry into the US if they pass background checks and have a financial sponsor in America.
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
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Dubai Bling season three
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
The 12 Syrian entities delisted by UK
Ministry of Interior
Ministry of Defence
General Intelligence Directorate
Air Force Intelligence Agency
Political Security Directorate
Syrian National Security Bureau
Military Intelligence Directorate
Army Supply Bureau
General Organisation of Radio and TV
Al Watan newspaper
Cham Press TV
Sama TV
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
MATCH INFO
Al Jazira 3 (O Abdulrahman 43', Kenno 82', Mabkhout 90 4')
Al Ain 1 (Laba 39')
Red cards: Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain)
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
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
Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
SERIES SCHEDULE
First Test, Galle International Stadium
July 26-30
Second Test, Sinhalese Sports Club Ground
August 3-7
Third Test, Pallekele International Cricket Stadium
August 12-16
First ODI, Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium
August 20
Second ODI, Pallekele International Cricket Stadium
August 24
Third ODI, Pallekele International Cricket Stadium
August 27
Fourth ODI, R Premadasa Stadium
August 31
Fifth ODI, R Premadasa Stadium
September 3
T20, R Premadasa Stadium
September 6
Scoreline:
Barcelona 2
Suarez 85', Messi 86'
Atletico Madrid 0
Red card: Diego Costa 28' (Atletico)
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
PRESIDENTS CUP
Draw for Presidents Cup fourball matches on Thursday (Internationals first mention). All times UAE:
02.32am (Thursday): Marc Leishman/Joaquin Niemann v Tiger Woods/Justin Thomas
02.47am (Thursday): Adam Hadwin/Im Sung-jae v Xander Schauffele/Patrick Cantlay
03.02am (Thursday): Adam Scott/An Byeong-hun v Bryson DeChambeau/Tony Finau
03.17am (Thursday): Hideki Matsuyama/CT Pan v Webb Simpson/Patrick Reed
03.32am (Thursday): Abraham Ancer/Louis Oosthuizen v Dustin Johnson/Gary Woodland
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Abu Dhabi GP schedule
Friday: First practice - 1pm; Second practice - 5pm
Saturday: Final practice - 2pm; Qualifying - 5pm
Sunday: Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (55 laps) - 5.10pm
Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
