US Defence Secretary Mark Esper speaks about the coronavirus at the White House in Washington on April 1, 2020. AP Photo
US Defence Secretary Mark Esper speaks about the coronavirus at the White House in Washington on April 1, 2020. AP Photo
US Defence Secretary Mark Esper speaks about the coronavirus at the White House in Washington on April 1, 2020. AP Photo
US Defence Secretary Mark Esper speaks about the coronavirus at the White House in Washington on April 1, 2020. AP Photo

US defence chief Esper opposes Trump on army call-up to quell unrest


Joyce Karam
  • English
  • Arabic

US Defence Secretary Mark Esper on Wednesday said he opposed invoking a rarely used law to send in the military to quell nationwide protests over police brutality against African Americans.

Two days earlier, President Donald Trump said he could invoke the law from 1807 to send in the army.

"I do not support invoking the Insurrection Act," Mr Esper said.

"I've always believed and continue to believe that the National Guard is best suited for performing domestic support to civil authorities in these situations.

"The option to use active-duty forces should only be used as a matter of last resort and only in the most urgent and dire of situations.

"We are not in one of those situations now."

On Monday, Mr Trump threatened to send in the military even if state governors rejected the move.

“If a city or state refuses to take the actions that are necessary to defend the life and property of their residents, then I will deploy the United States military and quickly solve the problem for them," he said.

His comments sparked wider protests in Washington and other US cities for the second week in a row over the killing of a black man, George Floyd, by the police in Minneapolis.

Pope Francis on Wednesday decried racism and violence in the US.

“We cannot tolerate or turn a blind eye to racism," he said.

The pope said he would pray for the "repose of the soul of George Floyd and of all those others who have lost their lives as a result of the sin of racism".

But he also condemned the violence that followed as "self-destructive and self-defeating”.

“Nothing is gained by violence and so much is lost,” Pope Francis said.

Protests continued across the US but have been mostly peaceful in cities including Portland, Washington, and San Francisco.

Looting continued in New York City but to a lesser extent than previous days.

Former US president Barack Obama was due to address the nation on Wednesday afternoon about Mr Floyd’s death.

In 2008, Mr Obama made history as the first African American to be elected president.

Ella Jones became the first African-American and first woman to be elected mayor of Ferguson, Missouri, on Tuesday.

Ms Jones's victory, alongside the protests, came six years after the city saw the killing by police of a black teenager, Michael Brown.

That tragedy gave the Black Lives Matter movement its broad national appeal. Ms Jones took 54 per cent of the vote.

In Iowa on Tuesday night, right-wing Congressman Steve King, the nine-term representative, was defeated in a primary challenge for Republican party candidacy.

Mr King is known for his anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim speech.

In an interview with Breitbart, he attacked Muslims for not eating pork. And in 2018, he compared immigrants to "dirt".

His defeat and Ms Jones' win show both parties have cracked down on racism, five months before the general election between Mr Trump and his Democratic rival Joe Biden.

JAPANESE GRAND PRIX INFO

Schedule (All times UAE)
First practice: Friday, 5-6.30am
Second practice: Friday, 9-10.30am
Third practice: Saturday, 7-8am
Qualifying: Saturday, 10-11am
Race: Sunday, 9am-midday 

Race venue: Suzuka International Racing Course
Circuit Length: 5.807km
Number of Laps: 53
Watch live: beIN Sports HD

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Specs

Engine: 51.5kW electric motor

Range: 400km

Power: 134bhp

Torque: 175Nm

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Types of policy

Term life insurance: this is the cheapest and most-popular form of life cover. You pay a regular monthly premium for a pre-agreed period, typically anything between five and 25 years, or possibly longer. If you die within that time, the policy will pay a cash lump sum, which is typically tax-free even outside the UAE. If you die after the policy ends, you do not get anything in return. There is no cash-in value at any time. Once you stop paying premiums, cover stops.

Whole-of-life insurance: as its name suggests, this type of life cover is designed to run for the rest of your life. You pay regular monthly premiums and in return, get a guaranteed cash lump sum whenever you die. As a result, premiums are typically much higher than one term life insurance, although they do not usually increase with age. In some cases, you have to keep up premiums for as long as you live, although there may be a cut-off period, say, at age 80 but it can go as high as 95. There are penalties if you don’t last the course and you may get a lot less than you paid in.

Critical illness cover: this pays a cash lump sum if you suffer from a serious illness such as cancer, heart disease or stroke. Some policies cover as many as 50 different illnesses, although cancer triggers by far the most claims. The payout is designed to cover major financial responsibilities such as a mortgage or children’s education fees if you fall ill and are unable to work. It is cost effective to combine it with life insurance, with the policy paying out once if you either die or suffer a serious illness.

Income protection: this pays a replacement income if you fall ill and are unable to continue working. On the best policies, this will continue either until you recover, or reach retirement age. Unlike critical illness cover, policies will typically pay out for stress and musculoskeletal problems such as back trouble.

Notable salonnières of the Middle East through history

Al Khasan (Okaz, Saudi Arabia)

Tamadir bint Amr Al Harith, known simply as Al Khasan, was a poet from Najd famed for elegies, earning great renown for the eulogy of her brothers Mu’awiyah and Sakhr, both killed in tribal wars. Although not a salonnière, this prestigious 7th century poet fostered a culture of literary criticism and could be found standing in the souq of Okaz and reciting her poetry, publicly pronouncing her views and inviting others to join in the debate on scholarship. She later converted to Islam.

 

Maryana Marrash (Aleppo)

A poet and writer, Marrash helped revive the tradition of the salon and was an active part of the Nadha movement, or Arab Renaissance. Born to an established family in Aleppo in Ottoman Syria in 1848, Marrash was educated at missionary schools in Aleppo and Beirut at a time when many women did not receive an education. After touring Europe, she began to host salons where writers played chess and cards, competed in the art of poetry, and discussed literature and politics. An accomplished singer and canon player, music and dancing were a part of these evenings.

 

Princess Nazil Fadil (Cairo)

Princess Nazil Fadil gathered religious, literary and political elite together at her Cairo palace, although she stopped short of inviting women. The princess, a niece of Khedive Ismail, believed that Egypt’s situation could only be solved through education and she donated her own property to help fund the first modern Egyptian University in Cairo.

 

Mayy Ziyadah (Cairo)

Ziyadah was the first to entertain both men and women at her Cairo salon, founded in 1913. The writer, poet, public speaker and critic, her writing explored language, religious identity, language, nationalism and hierarchy. Born in Nazareth, Palestine, to a Lebanese father and Palestinian mother, her salon was open to different social classes and earned comparisons with souq of where Al Khansa herself once recited.

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Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Tearful appearance

Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday. 

Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow. 

She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.

A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.

Founder: Ayman Badawi

Date started: Test product September 2016, paid launch January 2017

Based: Dubai, UAE

Sector: Software

Size: Seven employees

Funding: $170,000 in angel investment

Funders: friends

Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.

World Cricket League Division 2

In Windhoek, Namibia - Top two teams qualify for the World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe, which starts on March 4.

UAE fixtures

Thursday, February 8 v Kenya; Friday, February v Canada; Sunday, February 11 v Nepal; Monday, February 12 v Oman; Wednesday, February 14 v Namibia; Thursday, February 15 final