Visiting world leaders entering New York for the week of the UN General Assembly are immediately engaged in a scramble for an audience in the famously loud and fast-moving city.
Each has a 15 minute slot, which is often abused for a half-hour or more, to make a speech to the world from the UN's green marble podium.
Most fly in with a team of press and a retinue of cabinet colleagues with packed schedules of events at the UN and beyond.
The rubber hits the road with the speeches, round-table discussions and private briefings that are staged across mid-town Manhattan.
With the constant road closures and rolling security measures, it's vital to stay close to the UN headquarters on the East River.
Conferences, such as Concordia, the World Economic Forum and Bloomberg, provide a platform for key note speakers at the head of state or government level. Some of these interventions can be more sophisticated or illuminating than others.
Fayez Al Sarraj, the Libyan Prime Minister, was at Concordia on Monday where he spoke at length about his country’s geographic size and location.
“Libya is small in its population, great in its history and big in size and wealth,” he said.
Although New York is America’s unrivalled global city, there is one area where it is overshadowed by the federal home of government, Washington DC. It has fewer think tanks to offer a high-level audience for foreign leaders.
The Council on Foreign Relations is a notable exception. On Tuesday it hosted Adel Al Jubeir, the Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, who was able to discuss regional tension with opinion formers and experts on international relations.
At times these events can be elevated beyond the immediate issues of the day to give an insight into the character of the leader.
That was certainly the case on Monday with Imran Khan, the Prime Minister of Pakistan and former captain of the nation’s world champion cricket team.
Asked about the pressures of managing confrontation with India, he acknowledged the interest in how two nuclear armed powers could manage a crisis.
Mr Khan referred to his cricket career as a charismatic all-rounder and his connection at that time with Indian fans of the game.
He said the pressures of having a hand on the nuclear button was nothing compared to those at the top level of the cricket.
“Nothing beats the pressure of walking 70 yards to the middle of the ground in front of 90,000 people, with the fear of getting out first ball,” Mr Khan said.
At the UN there is a host of gatherings designed to show support for dozens of initiatives, including the millennium development goals and, this year, the climate action summit.
With social media campaigns, government officials can exchange ideas with international partners and build the public profile of their work to an audience outside the room.
Finally there are bilateral meetings and conference room huddles for media and analysts.
From dawn to dusk, the UN General Assembly is a revolving door of events that are either long-planned or impromptu.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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
NYBL PROFILE
Company name: Nybl
Date started: November 2018
Founder: Noor Alnahhas, Michael LeTan, Hafsa Yazdni, Sufyaan Abdul Haseeb, Waleed Rifaat, Mohammed Shono
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Software Technology / Artificial Intelligence
Initial investment: $500,000
Funding round: Series B (raising $5m)
Partners/Incubators: Dubai Future Accelerators Cohort 4, Dubai Future Accelerators Cohort 6, AI Venture Labs Cohort 1, Microsoft Scale-up
The Baghdad Clock
Shahad Al Rawi, Oneworld
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Tips to avoid getting scammed
1) Beware of cheques presented late on Thursday
2) Visit an RTA centre to change registration only after receiving payment
3) Be aware of people asking to test drive the car alone
4) Try not to close the sale at night
5) Don't be rushed into a sale
6) Call 901 if you see any suspicious behaviour
The Travel Diaries of Albert Einstein The Far East, Palestine, and Spain, 1922 – 1923
Editor Ze’ev Rosenkranz
Princeton
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
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
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Fixtures
Opening day Premier League fixtures for August 9-11
August 9
Liverpool v Norwich 11pm
August 10
West Ham v Man City 3.30pm
Bournemouth v Sheffield Utd 6pm
Burnley v Southampton 6pm
C Palace v Everton 6pm
Leicester v Wolves 6pm
Watford v Brighton 6pm
Tottenham v Aston Villa 8.30pm
August 11
Newcastle v Arsenal 5pm
Man United v Chelsea 7.30pm
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THREE
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
The BIO
Favourite piece of music: Verdi’s Requiem. It’s awe-inspiring.
Biggest inspiration: My father, as I grew up in a house where music was constantly played on a wind-up gramophone. I had amazing music teachers in primary and secondary school who inspired me to take my music further. They encouraged me to take up music as a profession and I follow in their footsteps, encouraging others to do the same.
Favourite book: Ian McEwan’s Atonement – the ending alone knocked me for six.
Favourite holiday destination: Italy - music and opera is so much part of the life there. I love it.
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
