Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley, a former ambassador to Malta, will head efforts to diversify the department. AFP
Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley, a former ambassador to Malta, will head efforts to diversify the department. AFP
Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley, a former ambassador to Malta, will head efforts to diversify the department. AFP
Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley, a former ambassador to Malta, will head efforts to diversify the department. AFP

US State Department names Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley as first chief diversity officer


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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday named Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley as the State Department's first chief diversity officer, a position created to make the US diplomatic corps more representative.

The appointment is part of the Biden administration's efforts to put diversity, equity and racial justice at the top of the national agenda after nationwide protests against police brutality and racial bias last year.

Introducing Ms Abercrombie-Winstanley, Mr Blinken said the department and the country were at a "moment of reckoning" on racial equality, referring to the Black Lives Matter movement and attacks against Asian Americans.

Ms Abercrombie-Winstanley, a career diplomat since 1985 who served as US ambassador to Malta, will report directly to Mr Blinken, he said.

Promoting diversity inclusion is the job of every department official, but the new officer would hold department leadership accountable on that score, Mr Blinken said.

The lack of diversity at the highest levels of the department was "alarming", he added, but could be traced through its history and seen in the portraits of former secretaries that line the corridor to his office.

"It's hard not to notice that almost every one of the secretaries along the hallway is a white man," Mr Blinken said.

With 76,000 employees globally, racial and ethnic minorities are underrepresented at the department, particularly in senior ranks, according to an independent federal watchdog report released last year.

Ms Abercrombie-Winstanley is black.

"The truth is this problem is as old as the department itself. It's systemic," Mr Blinken said. "It goes deeper than any one institution or any one administration, and it's perpetuated by policies, practices and people to this day."

'The Ice Road'

Director: Jonathan Hensleigh
Stars: Liam Neeson, Amber Midthunder, Laurence Fishburne

2/5

Results

3pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (Dirt) 1,000m; Winner: Dhafra, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Eric Lemartinel (trainer)

3.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Al Ajayib, Antonio Fresu, Eric Lemartinel

4pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,700m; Winner: Ashtr, Abdul Aziz Al Balushi, Majed Al Jahouri

4.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh40,000 (D) 1,700m; Winner: Falcon Claws, Szczepan Mazur, Doug Watson

5pm: Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan Cup – Prestige Handicap (PA) Dh100,000 (D) 1,700m; Winner: Al Mufham SB, Al Moatasem Al Balushi, Badar Al Hajri

5.30pm: Sharjah Marathon – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 2,700m; Winner: Asraa Min Al Talqa, Al Moatasem Al Balushi, Helal Al Alawi

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Airev
Started: September 2023
Founder: Muhammad Khalid
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: Generative AI
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
 
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
 
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
GAC GS8 Specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh149,900

UAE squad

Esha Oza (captain), Al Maseera Jahangir, Emily Thomas, Heena Hotchandani, Indhuja Nandakumar, Katie Thompson, Lavanya Keny, Mehak Thakur, Michelle Botha, Rinitha Rajith, Samaira Dharnidharka, Siya Gokhale, Sashikala Silva, Suraksha Kotte, Theertha Satish (wicketkeeper) Udeni Kuruppuarachchige, Vaishnave Mahesh.

UAE tour of Zimbabwe

All matches in Bulawayo
Friday, Sept 26 – First ODI
Sunday, Sept 28 – Second ODI
Tuesday, Sept 30 – Third ODI
Thursday, Oct 2 – Fourth ODI
Sunday, Oct 5 – First T20I
Monday, Oct 6 – Second T20I

FIGHT CARD

Sara El Bakkali v Anisha Kadka (Lightweight, female)
Mohammed Adil Al Debi v Moaz Abdelgawad (Bantamweight)
Amir Boureslan v Mahmoud Zanouny (Welterweight)
Abrorbek Madaminbekov v Mohammed Al Katheeri (Featherweight)
Ibrahem Bilal v Emad Arafa (Super featherweight)
Ahmed Abdolaziz v Imad Essassi (Middleweight)
Milena Martinou v Ilham Bourakkadi (Bantamweight, female)
Noureddine El Agouti v Mohamed Mardi (Welterweight)
Nabil Ouach v Ymad Atrous (Middleweight)
Nouredin Samir v Zainalabid Dadachev (Lightweight)
Marlon Ribeiro v Mehdi Oubahammou (Welterweight)
Brad Stanton v Mohamed El Boukhari (Super welterweight

Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten

Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a  month before Reaching the Last Mile.

Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.