Never in the US history of presidential debates has chaos, interruptions and insults been bandied between the candidates as they were at Tuesday’s head to head between Donald Trump and Joe Biden.
The US President opted for an aggressive approach but ended up interrupting Mr Biden more than 50 times, smearing his family and failing to condemn white supremacists.
Joe Biden, the Democratic nominee, called Mr Trump “a clown”, “a liar”, “racist” and “Putin’s puppy” – and repeatedly asked him to “shut up”.
The 90-minute exchange came low on policy proposals and civil discussion between the candidates. The moderator, prominent news anchor Chris Wallace, lost control of the debate, couldn’t stop Mr Trump’s interruptions and failed to enforce time limits.
Politically, Mr Trump who is behind in the national and key state polls, didn’t deliver a performance likely to change the state of the race. Election analyst Nate Silver tweeted that the chaotic debate is not an effective strategy for the US President.
“I’m not sure why trying to fight the debate to a messy, unwatchable draw is supposed to be a strategy for Trump when he’s seven points behind in the polls,” he wrote.
But Mr Trump’s more damaging, non-stylistic mistake came through his failure to condemn white supremacists.
Mr Wallace asked Mr Trump: “Are you willing to condemn white supremacists and militias and tell them they need to stand down?”
The president said he was willing to do anything, asking Wallace for the name he wanted to be condemned. Both Mr Biden and Mr Wallace chimed in: “Then do it”.
“Proud Boys, stand back and stand by, but I tell you what – someone needs to do something about Antifa,” he said.
The Proud Boys is a prominent far-right neo-fascist organisation and reportedly welcomed the name check with posts online suggesting they were happy to “stand by” to take action.
Jonathan Greenblatt, the executive director of the Anti-Defamation League, said Mr Trump owes the American public an apology for failing to condemn white supremacy.
Mr Biden’s performance was shy at times in the first debate overtaken by Mr Trump’s interruptions.
But the former vice president stood his ground in defending his son, Hunter, when Mr Trump smeared him. “Hunter got thrown out of the military. He was thrown out, dishonourably discharged for cocaine use. And he didn’t have a job until you became vice president,” Mr Trump said, in an unusual attack on a contender’s family.
“That’s not true,” Mr Biden said. “None of that is true.”
“He made a fortune in Ukraine and China,” Mr Trump interjected.
“My son, like a lot of people, like a lot of people we know at home, had a drug problem. He’s overtaken it, he’s fixed it. He’s worked on it. And I’m proud of him,” an emotional Mr Biden said.
The debate repeated the candidates’ disagreements on the handling of coronavirus and a vaccine, climate change, taxes, race relations, Supreme Court nominations and healthcare. At one point when Mr Trump promised to release taxes, Mr Biden used the Arabic word “Inshallah” in its colloquial meaning “never going to happen”.
But for Mr Trump, who has thrown many attack lines at Mr Biden and none has stuck, this was no different. The president’s overly aggressive behaviour, inability to address the undecided voters and the chaotic state of the debate is likely to make the encounter inconsequential in swaying the election.
CBS News’ battleground tracker poll said that 69 per cent of debate watchers felt “annoyed” and only 17 per cent found it “informative”. The poll also said 83 per cent of viewers said the tone of the debate was “negative”.
Vice President Mike Pence will debate the first black woman vice presidential candidate, Kamala Harris, on October 7.
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Gran Gala del Calcio 2019 winners
Best Player: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus)
Best Coach: Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta)
Best Referee: Gianluca Rocchi
Best Goal: Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria vs Napoli)
Best Team: Atalanta
Best XI: Samir Handanovic (Inter); Aleksandar Kolarov (Roma), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli), Joao Cancelo (Juventus*); Miralem Pjanic (Juventus), Josip Ilicic (Atalanta), Nicolo Barella (Cagliari*); Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria), Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Duvan Zapata (Atalanta)
Serie B Best Young Player: Sandro Tonali (Brescia)
Best Women’s Goal: Thaisa (Milan vs Juventus)
Best Women’s Player: Manuela Giugliano (Milan)
Best Women’s XI: Laura Giuliani (Milan); Alia Guagni (Fiorentina), Sara Gama (Juventus), Cecilia Salvai (Juventus), Elisa Bartoli (Roma); Aurora Galli (Juventus), Manuela Giugliano (Roma), Valentina Cernoia (Juventus); Valentina Giacinti (Milan), Ilaria Mauro (Fiorentina), Barbara Bonansea (Juventus)
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Friday Valladolid v Osasuna (Kick-off midnight UAE)
Saturday Valencia v Athletic Bilbao (5pm), Getafe v Sevilla (7.15pm), Huesca v Alaves (9.30pm), Real Madrid v Atletico Madrid (midnight)
Sunday Real Sociedad v Eibar (5pm), Real Betis v Villarreal (7.15pm), Elche v Granada (9.30pm), Barcelona v Levante (midnight)
Monday Celta Vigo v Cadiz (midnight)
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
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What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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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
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Virtual banks explained
What is a virtual bank?
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority defines it as a bank that delivers services through the internet or other electronic channels instead of physical branches. That means not only facilitating payments but accepting deposits and making loans, just like traditional ones. Other terms used interchangeably include digital or digital-only banks or neobanks. By contrast, so-called digital wallets or e-wallets such as Apple Pay, PayPal or Google Pay usually serve as intermediaries between a consumer’s traditional account or credit card and a merchant, usually via a smartphone or computer.
What’s the draw in Asia?
Hundreds of millions of people under-served by traditional institutions, for one thing. In China, India and elsewhere, digital wallets such as Alipay, WeChat Pay and Paytm have already become ubiquitous, offering millions of people an easy way to store and spend their money via mobile phone. Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines are also among the world’s biggest under-banked countries; together they have almost half a billion people.
Is Hong Kong short of banks?
No, but the city is among the most cash-reliant major economies, leaving room for newcomers to disrupt the entrenched industry. Ant Financial, an Alibaba Group Holding affiliate that runs Alipay and MYBank, and Tencent Holdings, the company behind WeBank and WeChat Pay, are among the owners of the eight ventures licensed to create virtual banks in Hong Kong, with operations expected to start as early as the end of the year.
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The team
Photographer: Mateusz Stefanowski at Art Factory
Videographer: Jear Valasquez
Fashion director: Sarah Maisey
Make-up: Gulum Erzincan at Art Factory
Model: Randa at Art Factory Videographer’s assistant: Zanong Magat
Photographer’s assistant: Sophia Shlykova
With thanks to Jubail Mangrove Park, Jubail Island, Abu Dhabi
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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