Right-wing extremism is growing quickly but its scale is nowhere near eclipsing the threat of Islamist extremism, experts addressing an Emirates Society webinar said.
The pandemic has proved double-edged in creating conditions of extremism, allowing more opportunity to cultivate followers and increase the influence of self-appointed groups seeking to propound "true versions" of reality. It has also enhanced the ability of authorities to track such activity.
Lord Walney, who is writing a British government review on the sources of extremism, said the changing landscape had to be seen in perspective.
""When people say the far right is the fastest growing area, they'll say things that are correct but what is heard then is that this issue is on a parallel with the Islamist threat, which is absolutely, demonstrably not the case.," he said. "I think you could end up skewing the conversation and end up skewing resources and focus in a way that is harmful."
The former member of parliament revealed that UK intelligence agencies assessed that the attack in the US against Congress in early January did meet the threshold for a terror incident, something that underlined the need to tackle the right-wing threat. He also said liberal democracies faced right-wing, left-wing and Islamist threats as a result of organised disinformation campaigns.
The isolation caused by the pandemic created new opportunities for all agendas. Omar Ghobash, the UAE Assistant Minister for Culture and Public Diplomacy was asked about the role of religious groups in providing guidance on issues such as vaccination.
"Often we were in the past given the impression that a Muslim spokesman represents what is called 'true Islam', and that there is this idea that true Islam exists somewhere and he's the one who can define it for us. And what we noticed also was that often these people are making it up as they go along anyway," he said. "There's no specific guidance on how to live in the modern world other than to live in the modern world and get on with things."
Sir John Jenkins, a former British ambassador to Saudi Arabia, said there was a danger the pandemic would distract attention from the challenges of extremism. He warned against the closing down of debate. "One of the ways in which extremist voices are empowered is because non-extreme voices are shut down," he said.
RESULTS
Bantamweight title:
Vinicius de Oliveira (BRA) bt Xavier Alaoui (MAR)
(KO round 2)
Catchweight 68kg:
Sean Soriano (USA) bt Noad Lahat (ISR)
(TKO round 1)
Middleweight:
Denis Tiuliulin (RUS) bt Juscelino Ferreira (BRA)
(TKO round 1)
Lightweight:
Anas Siraj Mounir (MAR) bt Joachim Tollefsen (DEN)
(Unanimous decision)
Catchweight 68kg:
Austin Arnett (USA) bt Daniel Vega (MEX)
(TKO round 3)
Lightweight:
Carrington Banks (USA) bt Marcio Andrade (BRA)
(Unanimous decision)
Catchweight 58kg:
Corinne Laframboise (CAN) bt Malin Hermansson (SWE)
(Submission round 2)
Bantamweight:
Jalal Al Daaja (CAN) bt Juares Dea (CMR)
(Split decision)
Middleweight:
Mohamad Osseili (LEB) bt Ivan Slynko (UKR)
(TKO round 1)
Featherweight:
Tarun Grigoryan (ARM) bt Islam Makhamadjanov (UZB)
(Unanimous decision)
Catchweight 54kg:
Mariagiovanna Vai (ITA) bt Daniella Shutov (ISR)
(Submission round 1)
Middleweight:
Joan Arastey (ESP) bt Omran Chaaban (LEB)
(Unanimous decision)
Welterweight:
Bruno Carvalho (POR) bt Souhil Tahiri (ALG)
(TKO)
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
World record transfers
1. Kylian Mbappe - to Real Madrid in 2017/18 - €180 million (Dh770.4m - if a deal goes through)
2. Paul Pogba - to Manchester United in 2016/17 - €105m
3. Gareth Bale - to Real Madrid in 2013/14 - €101m
4. Cristiano Ronaldo - to Real Madrid in 2009/10 - €94m
5. Gonzalo Higuain - to Juventus in 2016/17 - €90m
6. Neymar - to Barcelona in 2013/14 - €88.2m
7. Romelu Lukaku - to Manchester United in 2017/18 - €84.7m
8. Luis Suarez - to Barcelona in 2014/15 - €81.72m
9. Angel di Maria - to Manchester United in 2014/15 - €75m
10. James Rodriguez - to Real Madrid in 2014/15 - €75m
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Cherry
Directed by: Joe and Anthony Russo
Starring: Tom Holland, Ciara Bravo
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ENGLAND SQUAD
For first two Test in India Joe Root (captain), Jofra Archer, Moeen Ali, James Anderson , Dom Bess, Stuart Broad , Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Ben Foakes, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Dom Sibley, Ben Stokes, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes. Reserves James Bracey, Mason Crane, Saqib Mahmood, Matthew Parkinson, Ollie Robinson, Amar Virdi.
INDIA SQUAD
Rohit Sharma (captain), Shikhar Dhawan (vice-captain), KL Rahul, Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik (wicketkeeper), Deepak Hooda, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Vijay Shankar, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat, Mohammad Siraj and Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper)
Remaining fixtures
- August 29 – UAE v Saudi Arabia, Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
- September 5 – Iraq v UAE, Amman, Jordan (venue TBC)
The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
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Specs
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