The US Defence Department officially banned on Friday the display of the Confederate flag in a carefully worded memo that avoids clashing with President Donald Trump.
As of Friday, displaying the Confederate flag on US military installations is now a violation of the Pentagon's rules. The memo released by Secretary of Defence Mark Esper does not single out the Confederate flag ̶ which is largely seen as a symbol of the slavery and segregation era in the US ̶ but rather prohibits it by a process of elimination.
The Associated Press, which first broke the news, quoted US officials that the creative wording is aimed at not “openly contradicting or angering President Donald Trump” who defended as recently as this week displaying the flag.
Instead, the memo lists the types of flags that are allowed at US military installations, and de facto bans others. Those allowed besides the American flag, fall into nine categories: Flags of US states and territories and the District of Columbia; military service flags; Flag or General Officer flags; Presidentially-appointed, Senate-confirmed civilian flags; senior executive service (SES) and military department-specific SES flags; The POW/MIA flag; flags of other countries, for which the United States is an ally or partner, or for official protocol purposes; Flags of organisations in which the United States is a member (e.g. Nato); and ceremonial, command, unit, or branch flags or guidons.
“With this change in policy, we will further improve the morale, cohesion, and readiness of the force in defense of our great Nation,” Mr Esper wrote on Twitter.
The debate over the Confederate flag intensified in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, in the hands of the police in Minnesota. Protests across hundreds of US cities followed the tragedy, confederate statues were toppled, the flag display was banned by The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing and the state of Mississippi announced removing the Confederate emblem from its flag.
But Mr Trump took an issue with these policies, and rejected the removal of the fag on the premise of “freedom of speech.”
"Well, people love it. I know people that like the Confederate flag and they're not thinking about slavery," Mr Trump told CBS News in an interview this week.
A recent Quinnipiac poll saw a majority of Americans viewing the Confederate flag as a racist symbol. 56 per cent said the Confederate flag was a symbol of racism, and 35 per cent said it was a symbol of Southern pride.
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The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
The End of Loneliness
Benedict Wells
Translated from the German by Charlotte Collins
Sceptre
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
500 People from Gaza enter France
115 Special programme for artists
25 Evacuation of injured and sick
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
What is Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is the most popular virtual currency in the world. It was created in 2009 as a new way of paying for things that would not be subject to central banks that are capable of devaluing currency. A Bitcoin itself is essentially a line of computer code. It's signed digitally when it goes from one owner to another. There are sustainability concerns around the cryptocurrency, which stem from the process of "mining" that is central to its existence.
The "miners" use computers to make complex calculations that verify transactions in Bitcoin. This uses a tremendous amount of energy via computers and server farms all over the world, which has given rise to concerns about the amount of fossil fuel-dependent electricity used to power the computers.
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.
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
Company%C2%A0profile
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Kamindu Mendis bio
Full name: Pasqual Handi Kamindu Dilanka Mendis
Born: September 30, 1998
Age: 20 years and 26 days
Nationality: Sri Lankan
Major teams Sri Lanka's Under 19 team
Batting style: Left-hander
Bowling style: Right-arm off-spin and slow left-arm orthodox (that's right!)
THE BIO
Bio Box
Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul
Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader
Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Favorite food: seafood
Favorite place to travel: Lebanon
Favorite movie: Braveheart
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Unresolved crisis
Russia and Ukraine have been locked in a bitter conflict since 2014, when Ukraine’s Kremlin-friendly president was ousted, Moscow annexed Crimea and then backed a separatist insurgency in the east.
Fighting between the Russia-backed rebels and Ukrainian forces has killed more than 14,000 people. In 2015, France and Germany helped broker a peace deal, known as the Minsk agreements, that ended large-scale hostilities but failed to bring a political settlement of the conflict.
The Kremlin has repeatedly accused Kiev of sabotaging the deal, and Ukrainian officials in recent weeks said that implementing it in full would hurt Ukraine.
