Two new senators from the southern state of Georgia are heading to Washington – and both are Democrats.
A few months ago, the idea that Georgia would turn blue, not only in the presidential election but in both its Senate races, was unthinkable.
It has been more than 20 years since the state elected a Democratic senator.
On Wednesday, Raphael Warnock defeated Trump loyalist Kelly Loeffler to become the first African-American to represent the state in the upper chamber of the US Congress.
The other Democratic candidate, Jon Ossoff, also won his race, narrowly beating the Republican incumbent David Perdue.
Georgia, a state intertwined with America’s history of racism and the civil rights movement of the 1960s, has now helped to give the Democrats control of the Senate.
It is a big win for the party and president-elect Joe Biden.
The victory has been years in the making and activists say it is thanks, in large part, to the hard work of grassroots organisations such as the New Georgia Project.
It was started by Stacey Abrams, a former candidate for Georgia governor, to increase voter registration among the state’s African-American community.
Ms Abrams narrowly lost her race in 2018, but it was the first hint that Democrats could find success in the Peach State.
Ms Abrams has spent the past two years tirelessly laying the groundwork for these results.
Last night, she tweeted her thanks to “volunteers” and “organisers” for their hard work.
During the 2020 election, Ms Abrams told every presidential campaign about her strategy for winning Georgia and the country in 2020.
Activists believe her work has inspired a wave of civil engagement across the state.
“Over the last couple of months, the New Georgia Project Action Fund has knocked on millions of doors, called, texted and held in-depth conversations with voters across Georgia,” said Nse Ufot, the organisation’s chief executive.
“Organisers showed up and the voters decided. We know that our community is ready for change.”
Those efforts helped in what the organisation called a historic win for Mr Warnock and Mr Ossoff.
While overall turnout is still being tallied, early tracking shows an increased turnout among key communities, including black voters.
Ms Abrams’s work inspired not only African-Americans to turn up to the polls but other minority communities as well.
"Stacey has paved the way for all of us to do this work," Shafina Khabani, the executive director of the Georgia Muslim Voter Project, told The National.
“She’s been championing for black voters, for brown voters, minorities, people whose voices have historically been silenced and marginalised communities.
“Having a figure like her stand up for us and show us we can have a voice, we can stand up and we can really make a difference … it’s great to have a figure like her.”
The Georgia Muslim Voter Project is one of dozens of grassroots organisations that worked on encouraging Georgians to vote in the run-off race.
“We did an event earlier in the month where we had Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar and some prominent figures, but we brought on comedians, we brought in spoken-word artists, you know, kind of a conjuncture of activism and art,” Ms Khabani said.
“But we wanted to really try to reach out to different segments of our communities that we might not normally reach out to, especially the youth.”
Black voters help to solidify victory
While voter turnout is still being counted, activists are crediting increased participation by black voters for helping to secure the wins for the Democrats.
Early exit polls reported by CNN revealed that 93 per cent of black voters supported Mr Ossoff and Mr Warnock.
Black voters make up a third of Georgia’s electorate and were key to president-elect Joe Biden’s success in the 2020 general election.
“Twenty-two per cent of the population who had not voted, voted. That’s powerful,” said Mondale Robinson, founder of the Black Male Voter project.
Mr Robinson said the African-American vote was key to the Democrats’ success in the Senate run-off elections as well.
“We know that black people in the run-off voted at a higher rate than they did in the general election, so that’s the power of engaging communities about issues most important to them,” he said.
Issues of race have played an important role in the run-offs.
Ms Loeffler is the co-owner of the Atlanta Dream, a basketball team in the WNBA.
Over the summer, she came out as anti-Black Lives Matter and even tried to have the league make players wear American flags on their warm-ups.
In response, members of her own team wore the name “Warnock” on their jerseys and urged people to vote for the Democratic candidate rather than their team owner.
Their support had an immediate effect. According to The Score, Mr Warnock said he received $236,000 in campaign donations in the days after the show of support by Dream players. His poll numbers also soared.
Activists such as Mr Robinson hope the new senators will deliver a better future for their community.
“What we need from senator-elect Warnock is to go to Washington, DC, and to represent the needs and issues that are plaguing black men and black people in general in Georgia,” he said.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Washmen Profile
Date Started: May 2015
Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Laundry
Employees: 170
Funding: about $8m
Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3.5-litre%2C%20twin-turbo%20V6%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E10-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E410hp%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E495Nm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Estarts%20from%20Dh495%2C000%20(Dh610%2C000%20for%20the%20F-Sport%20launch%20edition%20tested)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Enow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl
Power: 153hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 200Nm at 4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Price: Dh99,000
On sale: now
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
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Four motivational quotes from Alicia's Dubai talk
“The only thing we need is to know that we have faith. Faith and hope in our own dreams. The belief that, when we keep going we’re going to find our way. That’s all we got.”
“Sometimes we try so hard to keep things inside. We try so hard to pretend it’s not really bothering us. In some ways, that hurts us more. You don’t realise how dishonest you are with yourself sometimes, but I realised that if I spoke it, I could let it go.”
“One good thing is to know you’re not the only one going through it. You’re not the only one trying to find your way, trying to find yourself, trying to find amazing energy, trying to find a light. Show all of yourself. Show every nuance. All of your magic. All of your colours. Be true to that. You can be unafraid.”
“It’s time to stop holding back. It’s time to do it on your terms. It’s time to shine in the most unbelievable way. It’s time to let go of negativity and find your tribe, find those people that lift you up, because everybody else is just in your way.”
Dubai Rugby Sevens
November 30, December 1-2
International Vets
Christina Noble Children’s Foundation fixtures
Thursday, November 30:
10.20am, Pitch 3, v 100 World Legends Project
1.20pm, Pitch 4, v Malta Marauders
Friday, December 1:
9am, Pitch 4, v SBA Pirates
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
RESULT
Argentina 0 Croatia 3
Croatia: Rebic (53'), Modric (80'), Rakitic (90' 1)
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Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
- Pension support
- Mental well-being assistance
- Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
- Financial well-being incentives
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
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LOS ANGELES GALAXY 2 MANCHESTER UNITED 5
Galaxy: Dos Santos (79', 88')
United: Rashford (2', 20'), Fellaini (26'), Mkhitaryan (67'), Martial (72')
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
THE NEW BATCH'S FOCUS SECTORS
AiFlux – renewables, oil and gas
DevisionX – manufacturing
Event Gates – security and manufacturing
Farmdar – agriculture
Farmin – smart cities
Greener Crop – agriculture
Ipera.ai – space digitisation
Lune Technologies – fibre-optics
Monak – delivery
NutzenTech – environment
Nybl – machine learning
Occicor – shelf management
Olymon Solutions – smart automation
Pivony – user-generated data
PowerDev – energy big data
Sav – finance
Searover – renewables
Swftbox – delivery
Trade Capital Partners – FinTech
Valorafutbol – sports and entertainment
Workfam – employee engagement
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Mountain%20Boy
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Profile of Bitex UAE
Date of launch: November 2018
Founder: Monark Modi
Based: Business Bay, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: Eight employees
Investors: Self-funded to date with $1m of personal savings
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
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Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
The five pillars of Islam
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
Omar Yabroudi's factfile
Born: October 20, 1989, Sharjah
Education: Bachelor of Science and Football, Liverpool John Moores University
2010: Accrington Stanley FC, internship
2010-2012: Crystal Palace, performance analyst with U-18 academy
2012-2015: Barnet FC, first-team performance analyst/head of recruitment
2015-2017: Nottingham Forest, head of recruitment
2018-present: Crystal Palace, player recruitment manager
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SQUADS
Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed (capt), Azhar Ali, Shan Masood, Sami Aslam, Babar Azam, Asad Shafiq, Haris Sohail, Usman Salahuddin, Yasir Shah, Mohammad Asghar, Bilal Asif, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Abbas, Wahab Riaz
Sri Lanka: Dinesh Chandimal (capt), Lahiru Thirimanne (vice-capt), Dimuth Karunaratne, Kaushal Silva, Kusal Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Roshen Silva, Niroshan Dickwella, Rangana Herath, Lakshan Sandakan, Dilruwan Perera, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep, Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Gamage
Umpires: Ian Gould (ENG) and Nigel Llong (ENG)
TV umpire: Richard Kettleborough (ENG)
ICC match referee: Andy Pycroft (ZIM)
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20M3%20MACBOOK%20AIR%20(13%22)
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
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