Protesters on horseback rally against the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, through central Houston, Texas. Reuters
A broken Statue of Liberty figure is seen between glass shatters outside a looted souvenir shop after a night of protest against the death of an African-American man George Floyd in Minneapolis in Manhattan in New York City. AFP
People, who gathered in protest against the death of George Floyd, peacefully march to the White House in Washington DC. EPA
Philonise Floyd, brother of George Floyd, who died in Minneapolis police custody, is surrounded by family members as he speaks at a protest rally against his brother’s death, in Houston, Texas. Reuters
George Floyd's daughter, Gianna Floyd, 6, is seen during a press conference at Minneapolis City Hall following the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Reuters
A Somali-American couple, alongside protesters calling for justice for the death of George Floyd, waits after curfew outside the Cup Foods in Minneapolis, Minnesota. AFP
Thousands of protesters turn out for a sit-in at the State capitol, more than a week after George Floyd's death while under arrest, in St Paul, Minnesota. EPA
A police officer kneels during a protest against the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, outside LAPD headquarters in Los Angeles, California. Reuters
Protesters during a 'Black Lives Matter' demonstration in New York City. AFP
A protester holds a placard during a demonstration after French medical experts exonerated the gendarmes involved in the arrest of Adama Traore, a young black man who died in police custody in 2016, outside the 'Tribunal de Paris' courthouse in Paris. AFP
Turkish leftist demonstrators clash with police at Kadikoy in Istanbul, as leftist groups gather in support of US protesters against the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody, and against police violence in Turkey. AFP
A woman stands in front of Police officers, in downtown Las Vegas, as they take part in a 'Black lives matter' rally in response to the recent death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died in police custody. AFP
People take part in a protest against the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, at Trump International Hotel in New York. Reuters
A demonstrator holds a sign during a rally following the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, in Boston, Massachusetts. Reuters
A demonstrator reacts during a rally following the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, in Boston, Massachusetts. Reuters
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responds to a question on racism during a news conference outside Rideau Cottage in Ottawa. Mr Trudeau said Canadians were watching what’s unfolding in the US with 'horror and consternation'. AP
Members of the National Guard take a knee as people protest against the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody, in Hollywood, Califronia. EPA
Black Lives Matter has been one of the great phenomena of 2020, with huge demonstrations taking place in support of the movement from North America and Europe to Australia. There were no protests in Malaysia, however, partly because the general view was that mass gatherings of any kind could be fatally foolish in the middle of a pandemic; the virus wasn't going to give you a pass because you believe your cause is just. But also because, as is the case in many Asian countries, there is little popular appetite for progressive politics of almost any kind.
That may turn out to be truer than expected in some western countries, too. A recent survey by the UK polling firm Opinium found that 55 per cent of British citizens thought the BLM protests had increased racial tension in the country, with only 17 per cent disagreeing. Remarkably, that view was shared by 44 per cent of minority ethnic people who were asked – not an overall majority, but far more than the just over 20 per cent who disagreed.
Whatever one thinks of BLM, in one very important way its impact in the UK has clearly been highly counter-productive. If this is also the case with many of the other "new" progressive causes – such as identity politics and gender fluidity – as I suspect it is, its proponents need to ask what has gone so badly wrong with their approach. They might also question why they have made at most negligible inroads into that vast majority of the globe who live in developing countries.
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton and ihs Ferrari counterpart Sebastian Vettel take the knee in support of the Black Lives Matter campaign in Bahrain. AP Photo
One answer, I would suggest, is that while many are open to reform, far fewer are keen on the idea of revolution, still less on revolutionary compulsion. Many of the new progressive causes – I am distinguishing them from more traditional left-wing concerns about poverty and economic inequality – spring from worthy sentiments. We should be inclusive and kind, and not discriminate on the grounds of difference. We should do far more to acknowledge the effects past injustices still have on many today.
In their execution, however, these campaigns in mainly western countries have been revolutionary and have sought to compel. Centuries-old norms, such as what it means to be a man or a woman, for instance, have been torn up, and feminists who argue that the old distinctions must be maintained have been subjected to vile abuse and threats. "Taking the knee" has become compulsory for figures in sports and politics, for fear of being condemned as racist should they wish to convey their support in another manner. (Thus removing real meaning from the gesture; for if the act is not carried out freely, why should it be deserving of praise?) The new progressives brook no nuance or dissent. They are Stalinist in their insistence that all should agree with and act according to their "truth".
Now, thinking that what you believe is right is also right for everyone else is nothing new. That is the essence of adherence to any system of “universal values”, and proponents of western liberal democracy – with all the suites of “rights” that entails – are just as committed to that principle. The latter, though, have generally been a little more diplomatic in promoting their worldview. While lecturing countries in Asia and Africa on human rights (their version of that concept, naturally), they still concede – at least a little – that countries differ on what liberties should be enshrined in law or where the parameters of acceptable behaviour should be set.
So, for example, western universalists may not agree with the Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam, published by the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation in 1990, but they would deal with the fact that it ends with lines that indicate a significantly different set of values: “All the rights and freedoms stipulated in this declaration are subject to the Islamic Sharia. The Islamic Sharia is the only source of reference for the explanation or clarification of any of the articles of this declaration.”
The new progressives’ approach, on the other hand, is simply to label anyone who disagrees with them as “bigoted”. Both in the West and in the rest of the world, this alienates liberals who might otherwise be quite sympathetic to where they are coming from, and it refuses to give any credit to the vast number of people who are fundamentally “small c” social conservatives.
The latter represent the overwhelming majority in all four of the Arabian Gulf and South-East Asian countries I have lived and worked in both as a child and as an adult. I have been lucky to learn much from these societies, and have gained enormous respect as a result for traditions, customs, ideas about cohesion, and attitudes towards religion and authority, that varied from my own. But the new progressives seem incapable of admitting that those with traditional values – who don’t want to overthrow capitalism or disrupt the nuclear family – can be decent and admirable people, too. Their very conservatism is deemed a “sin” for which they cannot be forgiven.
Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ayanna Pressley are leading the left wing of the Democratic Party. EPA
The new progressives' approach is simply to label anyone who disagrees with them as 'bigoted'
It is likely that such people make up the majority in countries like the UK and US as well. Many in the past voted for left-wing parties, but are baffled why the new progressives who hold such sway over Britain's Labour Party and a wing of the Democratic Party in America appear to have abandoned the struggle for the working class and labour, for issues that seem to them to be less central, and which sometimes affect a tiny minority. They are put off, too, by the divisiveness and the harshness with which those who are not signed up to the very latest iteration of progressivism are treated.
I am sure that most of the new progressives are well-meaning people. But they have lost their way, and their efforts are becoming self-defeating, as the survey on BLM shows. For a start, they might look to consensus and emphasis on communal harmony so valued in the Asian countries in which I have lived. They might not agree, but they could surely learn from them how to fight a better fight – or better still, to persuade without rancour.
Sholto Byrnes is an East Asian affairs columnist for The National
How being social media savvy can improve your well being
Next time when procastinating online remember that you can save thousands on paying for a personal trainer and a gym membership simply by watching YouTube videos and keeping up with the latest health tips and trends.
As social media apps are becoming more and more consumed by health experts and nutritionists who are using it to awareness and encourage patients to engage in physical activity.
Elizabeth Watson, a personal trainer from Stay Fit gym in Abu Dhabi suggests that “individuals can use social media as a means of keeping fit, there are a lot of great exercises you can do and train from experts at home just by watching videos on YouTube”.
Norlyn Torrena, a clinical nutritionist from Burjeel Hospital advises her clients to be more technologically active “most of my clients are so engaged with their phones that I advise them to download applications that offer health related services”.
Torrena said that “most people believe that dieting and keeping fit is boring”.
However, by using social media apps keeping fit means that people are “modern and are kept up to date with the latest heath tips and trends”.
“It can be a guide to a healthy lifestyle and exercise if used in the correct way, so I really encourage my clients to download health applications” said Mrs Torrena.
People can also connect with each other and exchange “tips and notes, it’s extremely healthy and fun”.
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
Algae, waste coffee grounds and orange peels will be used in the pavilion's walls and gangways
The hulls of three ships will be used for the roof
The hulls will painted to make the largest Italian tricolour in the country’s history
Several pillars more than 20 metres high will support the structure
Roughly 15 tonnes of steel will be used
One in nine do not have enough to eat
Created in 1961, the World Food Programme is pledged to fight hunger worldwide as well as providing emergency food assistance in a crisis.
One of the organisation’s goals is the Zero Hunger Pledge, adopted by the international community in 2015 as one of the 17 Sustainable Goals for Sustainable Development, to end world hunger by 2030.
The WFP, a branch of the United Nations, is funded by voluntary donations from governments, businesses and private donations.
Almost two thirds of its operations currently take place in conflict zones, where it is calculated that people are more than three times likely to suffer from malnutrition than in peaceful countries.
It is currently estimated that one in nine people globally do not have enough to eat.
On any one day, the WFP estimates that it has 5,000 lorries, 20 ships and 70 aircraft on the move.
Outside emergencies, the WFP provides school meals to up to 25 million children in 63 countries, while working with communities to improve nutrition. Where possible, it buys supplies from developing countries to cut down transport cost and boost local economies.
The five types of long-term residential visas
Obed Suhail of ServiceMarket, an online home services marketplace, outlines the five types of long-term residential visas:
Investors:
A 10-year residency visa can be obtained by investors who invest Dh10 million, out of which 60 per cent should not be in real estate. It can be a public investment through a deposit or in a business. Those who invest Dh5 million or more in property are eligible for a five-year residency visa. The invested amount should be completely owned by the investors, not loaned, and retained for at least three years.
Entrepreneurs:
A five-year multiple entry visa is available to entrepreneurs with a previous project worth Dh0.5m or those with the approval of an accredited business incubator in the UAE.
Specialists
Expats with specialised talents, including doctors, specialists, scientists, inventors, and creative individuals working in the field of culture and art are eligible for a 10-year visa, given that they have a valid employment contract in one of these fields in the country.
Outstanding students:
A five-year visa will be granted to outstanding students who have a grade of 95 per cent or higher in a secondary school, or those who graduate with a GPA of 3.75 from a university.
Retirees:
Expats who are at least 55 years old can obtain a five-year retirement visa if they invest Dh2m in property, have savings of Dh1m or more, or have a monthly income of at least Dh20,000.
Saturday
5.30pm: Shabab Al Ahli v Al Wahda
5.30pm: Khorfakkan v Baniyas
8.15pm: Hatta v Ajman
8.15pm: Sharjah v Al Ain Sunday
5.30pm: Kalba v Al Jazira
5.30pm: Fujairah v Al Dhafra
8.15pm: Al Nasr v Al Wasl
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km
Price: Dh133,900
On sale: now
European arms
Known EU weapons transfers to Ukraine since the war began: Germany 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger surface-to-air missiles. Luxembourg 100 NLAW anti-tank weapons, jeeps and 15 military tents as well as air transport capacity. Belgium 2,000 machine guns, 3,800 tons of fuel. Netherlands 200 Stinger missiles. Poland 100 mortars, 8 drones, Javelin anti-tank weapons, Grot assault rifles, munitions. Slovakia 12,000 pieces of artillery ammunition, 10 million litres of fuel, 2.4 million litres of aviation fuel and 2 Bozena de-mining systems. Estonia Javelin anti-tank weapons. Latvia Stinger surface to air missiles. Czech Republic machine guns, assault rifles, other light weapons and ammunition worth $8.57 million.
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
