Florida: The critical Sunshine State
Though mostly conservative, Florida is usually always “close” in presidential elections. In most elections, the candidate that wins the Sunshine State almost always wins the election, as evidenced in 2016 when Trump took Florida, a state which has not had a democratic governor since 1991.
Joe Biden’s campaign has spent $100 million there to turn things around, understandable given the state’s crucial 29 electoral votes.
In 2016, Mr Trump’s democratic rival Hillary Clinton paid frequent visits to Florida though analysts concluded that she failed to appeal towards middle-class voters, whom Barack Obama won over in the previous election.
Fernando Barruos stands outside a polling station in Hialeah, a mostly Cuban-American area of Miami, seething as supporters of Donald Trump wave flags and blast out jaunty Latin pop songs venerating the Republican President.
But there is also a wry smile beneath his face mask. Mr Barruos, 77, a Dominican, has furtively persuaded a dozen Cuban-American neighbours to drop their long-standing support for Republicans and switch to Democratic candidate Joe Biden.
Florida’s Cuban Americans have deep ties to the Republican Party and Mr Trump is counting on their support to deliver him the state’s 29 electoral votes on November 3, in what is perhaps his only path to keeping the White House.
“Trump’s popular among Cubans because they think the Democrats are communists,” said Mr Barruos, referring to those under the late Fidel Castro, who have controlled the Caribbean island since a revolution in the 1950s.
“But it’s stupid. They don’t know what a communist is. They don’t know that Europeans can manage a moderate form of socialism.
"I’ve been here for 50 years and I know America will never turn communist.”
Mr Barruos, a retired airline pilot, worked hard to turn Republican-voting Cuban-American neighbours who expressed misgivings about Mr Trump.
He bought them lunch and drove them to polling stations, aiming to deliver 17 Democratic votes in all.
Latin American politics hangs heavy over the election in southern Florida.
Slogans on trucks saying “no al socialismo” resonate with Hispanics who abhor leftists such as the Castros or Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, and Daniel Ortega, President of Nicaragua.
Julio Martinez, 77, a Vietnam War veteran who helps to run a pro-Trump club for former servicemen, left Cuba with his family in the 1950s.
He praises Mr Trump as a patriot, business expert and champion of the armed forces.
“Biden is in no mental shape to run this country,” Mr Martinez said.
“If he’s elected, he’ll go away very quickly and then it’s going to be Kamala Harris as president, and she’s an admitted communist.”
Mr Martinez and others worry that Mr Biden, a centrist, is a front for more radical politicians, such as Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who they say will take the country in a hard-left, anti-business direction.
These views are amplified by Spanish-language YouTube shows that peddle disinformation and conspiracy theories. They influence a growing number of Latinos, particularly young men.
Mr Martinez was out rallying Cuban Americans to cast early votes at the mural-decorated John F Kennedy Library in Hialeah in western Miami – an almost entirely Hispanic area, where about 75 per cent of residents have Cuban roots.
The Cuban American community in Miami votes overwhelmingly Republican.
This is often attributed to their conservative and business-friendly values and support for the embargo and other tough US policies against the leftist elite in Havana.
But they are not the only Latinos in Florida. Cuban-American voters make up 29 per cent of the 2.5 million registered Latino electorate.
Whereas they lean towards the Republicans, groups originating from other parts of Latin America back the Democrats.
Puerto Ricans, the second-biggest group, make up 27 per cent of Florida’s voters, followed by those from Mexico, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Peru and elsewhere, the Pew Research Centre says.
Florida’s population of Latino voters has grown by 476,000 since 2016, when the state backed Mr Trump, and now makes up 17 per cent of all voters.
Crucially, the share of Republican-leaning Cuban Americans is declining.
Four years ago, Mr Trump beat Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton by 113,000 votes in Florida.
Even small shifts among Latino voters could swing a state that he needs to win if he wants to remain in the Oval Office for another four years.
“There are 2,220 Paraguayans registered to vote in Florida,” said Eduardo Gamarra, a professor of political science at Florida International University.
“So if we get within a tight margin, even Paraguayans could claim that they elected the next president.”
An average of Florida polls by Real Clear Politics gave Mr Biden a 1.2 per cent lead over Mr Trump on Friday, well within the margin of error that means either candidate could win the country’s most valuable swing state.
Mr Trump knows this and will address a crowd of Cuban Americans and others at Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport, north of Hialeah, on Sunday night.
This week, he courted Latino votes in Tampa, 450 kilometres to the north-west.
“Biden’s agenda will devastate the Hispanic American community. He betrayed Hispanic Americans for 47 years,” Mr Trump said.
He was polling well among a community that he has “always loved", he said.
“This election will decide whether our children will be condemned to the misery of socialism or whether they will inherit the glorious legacy of American freedom," Mr Trump said.
By reimposing sanctions on Cuba and backing Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, Mr Trump won fans.
But he also called Mexicans rapists and led hard-line immigration policies on building a border wall and caging migrants, including children.
Speaking this week at Coconut Creek, north of Miami, Mr Biden appealed directly to Cuban Americans and Venezuelan Americans, promising that as president he would stand up to repressive Latin American dictators.
“Cuba is no closer to freedom and democracy today than it was four years ago,” said Mr Biden, citing an increase in political prisoners in Cuba and Havana’s deepening ties with Russia during Mr Trump’s presidency.
“[Mr Trump cannot] advance democracy and human rights for the Cuban people, or the Venezuelan people for that matter, when he has embraced so many autocrats around the world."
As of Saturday, 8.3 million Florida residents, about 59 per cent of the state’s registered voters, had cast early ballots with ever more Americans opting to vote before November 3 during the coronavirus pandemic.
Among them was Katie Cisneros, 21, a public administration and marketing student of Cuban and Colombian descent, who voted for Mr Trump.
Ms Cisneros said she felt the “socialist traumatisation” of her Cuban heritage but decided to support Mr Trump based on his record on the economy.
“He’s a businessman," she said. "Sometimes he doesn't know how to be politically correct in situations and he uses words that he shouldn't and I personally don't agree with.
“But the policy shows otherwise and does help the communities.”
Jewel of the Expo 2020
252 projectors installed on Al Wasl dome
13.6km of steel used in the structure that makes it equal in length to 16 Burj Khalifas
550 tonnes of moulded steel were raised last year to cap the dome
724,000 cubic metres is the space it encloses
Stands taller than the leaning tower of Pisa
Steel trellis dome is one of the largest single structures on site
The size of 16 tennis courts and weighs as much as 500 elephants
Al Wasl means connection in Arabic
World’s largest 360-degree projection surface
Ipaf in numbers
Established: 2008
Prize money: $50,000 (Dh183,650) for winners and $10,000 for those on the shortlist.
Winning novels: 13
Shortlisted novels: 66
Longlisted novels: 111
Total number of novels submitted: 1,780
Novels translated internationally: 66
BULKWHIZ PROFILE
Date started: February 2017
Founders: Amira Rashad (CEO), Yusuf Saber (CTO), Mahmoud Sayedahmed (adviser), Reda Bouraoui (adviser)
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: E-commerce
Size: 50 employees
Funding: approximately $6m
Investors: Beco Capital, Enabling Future and Wain in the UAE; China's MSA Capital; 500 Startups; Faith Capital and Savour Ventures in Kuwait
THE BIO
Age: 30
Favourite book: The Power of Habit
Favourite quote: "The world is full of good people, if you cannot find one, be one"
Favourite exercise: The snatch
Favourite colour: Blue
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Brief scores:
Liverpool 3
Mane 24', Shaqiri 73', 80'
Manchester United 1
Lingard 33'
Man of the Match: Fabinho (Liverpool)
Dolittle
Director: Stephen Gaghan
Stars: Robert Downey Jr, Michael Sheen
One-and-a-half out of five stars
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
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
The five pillars of Islam
The specs: 2019 BMW i8 Roadster
Price, base: Dh708,750
Engine: 1.5L three-cylinder petrol, plus 11.6 kWh lithium-ion battery
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power: 374hp (total)
Torque: 570Nm (total)
Fuel economy, combined: 2.0L / 100km
The biog
Name: Mohammed Imtiaz
From: Gujranwala, Pakistan
Arrived in the UAE: 1976
Favourite clothes to make: Suit
Cost of a hand-made suit: From Dh550
Panipat
Director Ashutosh Gowariker
Produced Ashutosh Gowariker, Rohit Shelatkar, Reliance Entertainment
Cast Arjun Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, Kriti Sanon, Mohnish Behl, Padmini Kolhapure, Zeenat Aman
Rating 3 /5 stars
SWEET%20TOOTH
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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 biog
Favourite film: Motorcycle Dairies, Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday, Kagemusha
Favourite book: One Hundred Years of Solitude
Holiday destination: Sri Lanka
First car: VW Golf
Proudest achievement: Building Robotics Labs at Khalifa University and King’s College London, Daughters
Driverless cars or drones: Driverless Cars
The story of Edge
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, established Edge in 2019.
It brought together 25 state-owned and independent companies specialising in weapons systems, cyber protection and electronic warfare.
Edge has an annual revenue of $5 billion and employs more than 12,000 people.
Some of the companies include Nimr, a maker of armoured vehicles, Caracal, which manufactures guns and ammunitions company, Lahab
What is safeguarding?
“Safeguarding, not just in sport, but in all walks of life, is making sure that policies are put in place that make sure your child is safe; when they attend a football club, a tennis club, that there are welfare officers at clubs who are qualified to a standard to make sure your child is safe in that environment,” Derek Bell explains.
Florida: The critical Sunshine State
Though mostly conservative, Florida is usually always “close” in presidential elections. In most elections, the candidate that wins the Sunshine State almost always wins the election, as evidenced in 2016 when Trump took Florida, a state which has not had a democratic governor since 1991.
Joe Biden’s campaign has spent $100 million there to turn things around, understandable given the state’s crucial 29 electoral votes.
In 2016, Mr Trump’s democratic rival Hillary Clinton paid frequent visits to Florida though analysts concluded that she failed to appeal towards middle-class voters, whom Barack Obama won over in the previous election.
