In its first online convention, the Democratic Party hopes reweaving the coalition tapestry that helped to have Barack Obama elected twice to the White House will lead Joe Biden to defeat Donald Trump in November.
The emphasis on rebuilding a broad coalition of interests, or what Obama supporters called his "big tent", was evident from the outset of the Democratic National Convention on Monday night.
Representation for US minorities is threaded throughout planned events at the four-day meeting.
Latina activist and actress Eva Longoria hosted the event on Monday.
George Floyd’s family will remember the man whose killing by white police officers in Minneapolis triggered massive anti-racism protests across the US.
And former Asian-American candidate Andrew Yang will have a prominent spot before Mr Biden, a former vice president, accepts his nomination on Thursday.
Other attempts to bring in the left wing of the party included an impassioned plea from Senator Bernie Sanders on Monday for his supporters to avoid a repeat of 2016, where some of them did not turn out for Hillary Clinton.
The Co-operative Congressional Election Study, showed 12 per cent of people who voted for Mr Sanders in the 2016 Democratic presidential primaries voted for Mr Trump in the general election.
On the other side of the political spectrum, Republicans abandoning the Trump ship were represented by former Ohio governor John Kasich and former chief executive of HP and eBay, Meg Whitman.
"I am a lifelong Republican but that attachment holds second place to my responsibility to my country,” Mr Kasich said in a speech to delegates on Monday.
One expert, however, is questioning Mr Biden’s ability to bring together such a coalition.
"It is a strange looking campaign," Joseph Campbell, a professor at American University, told The National.
Dr Campbell said a lack of enthusiasm and visibility for Mr Biden were hurdles in restoring the big tent.
“Whether that can be accomplished is up in the air,” he said.
Mr Biden has opted to run most of his campaign online during the pandemic, drawing contrasts with Mr Trump, who is holding outside rallies and regular press briefings.
Dr Campbell compared the Biden campaign to that of Thomas Dewey in 1948, which that was mostly subdued. Dewey lost to Harry Truman that year.
But a CNN poll this week gave Mr Biden, for the first time in the campaign, an edge in voter enthusiasm over Mr Trump.
Of the 72 per cent of voters who said they are either extremely or very enthusiastic about voting this autumn, Mr Biden took 53 per cent to Trump’s 46 per cent on their intentions.
It is a margin that the Democrats are hoping to boost through the convention.
Former first lady Michelle Obama’s speech on Monday, despite being prerecorded, urged high turnout in swing states that fell short for Hillary Clinton in 2016.
“If we have any hope of ending this chaos, we have got to vote for Joe Biden like our lives depend on it,” Ms Obama told viewers
“We have got to vote like we did in 2008 and 2012. We’ve got to show up with the same level of passion and hope."
A Politico-Morning Consult Poll this week showed the Obamas are favoured by 91 per cent of Democrats, so organisers are hoping her message will help to increase voter turnout on November 3.
The convention line-up is built around defining Mr Biden and generating enthusiasm for him beyond his being the anti-Trump candidate.
On Tuesday, his wife Jill Biden, former president Bill Clinton and New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez will address the convention.
Mr Obama, vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren and former Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton will speak on Wednesday.
The last night on Thursday will officially nominate Mr Biden.
Dr Campbell warned that no campaign is like another and in a year of a pandemic and social unrest in the US, it is hard to predict the outcome or trust the polls at this point.
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
The specs: 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk
Price, base: Dh399,999
Engine: Supercharged 6.2-litre V8
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 707hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 875Nm @ 4,800rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 16.8L / 100km (estimate)
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
The specs: Fenyr SuperSport
Price, base: Dh5.1 million
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 800hp @ 7,100pm
Torque: 980Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 13.5L / 100km
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
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
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
MORE ON IRAN'S PROXY WARS
PROVISIONAL FIXTURE LIST
Premier League
Wednesday, June 17 (Kick-offs uae times) Aston Villa v Sheffield United 9pm; Manchester City v Arsenal 11pm
Friday, June 19 Norwich v Southampton 9pm; Tottenham v Manchester United 11pm
Saturday, June 20 Watford v Leicester 3.30pm; Brighton v Arsenal 6pm; West Ham v Wolves 8.30pm; Bournemouth v Crystal Palace 10.45pm
Sunday, June 21 Newcastle v Sheffield United 2pm; Aston Villa v Chelsea 7.30pm; Everton v Liverpool 10pm
Monday, June 22 Manchester City v Burnley 11pm (Sky)
Tuesday, June 23 Southampton v Arsenal 9pm; Tottenham v West Ham 11.15pm
Wednesday, June 24 Manchester United v Sheffield United 9pm; Newcastle v Aston Villa 9pm; Norwich v Everton 9pm; Liverpool v Crystal Palace 11.15pm
Thursday, June 25 Burnley v Watford 9pm; Leicester v Brighton 9pm; Chelsea v Manchester City 11.15pm; Wolves v Bournemouth 11.15pm
Sunday June 28 Aston Villa vs Wolves 3pm; Watford vs Southampton 7.30pm
Monday June 29 Crystal Palace vs Burnley 11pm
Tuesday June 30 Brighton vs Manchester United 9pm; Sheffield United vs Tottenham 11.15pm
Wednesday July 1 Bournemouth vs Newcastle 9pm; Everton vs Leicester 9pm; West Ham vs Chelsea 11.15pm
Thursday July 2 Arsenal vs Norwich 9pm; Manchester City vs Liverpool 11.15pm
Veere di Wedding
Dir: Shashanka Ghosh
Starring: Kareena Kapoo-Khan, Sonam Kapoor, Swara Bhaskar and Shikha Talsania
Verdict: 4 Stars
match info
Southampton 0
Arsenal 2 (Nketiah 20', Willock 87')
Red card: Jack Stephens (Southampton)
Man of the match: Rob Holding (Arsenal)
What is the definition of an SME?
SMEs in the UAE are defined by the number of employees, annual turnover and sector. For example, a “small company” in the services industry has six to 50 employees with a turnover of more than Dh2 million up to Dh20m, while in the manufacturing industry the requirements are 10 to 100 employees with a turnover of more than Dh3m up to Dh50m, according to Dubai SME, an agency of the Department of Economic Development.
A “medium-sized company” can either have staff of 51 to 200 employees or 101 to 250 employees, and a turnover less than or equal to Dh200m or Dh250m, again depending on whether the business is in the trading, manufacturing or services sectors.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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
