Two trials taking place hundreds of kilometres apart have captivated the US for weeks, as they have exposed both America’s deep racial divisions and the growing propensity for vigilante justice flourishing under lax gun laws.
A jury in the US state of Wisconsin will start deliberating whether to convict Kyle Rittenhouse on Tuesday, who opened fire on protesters in Kenosha last year, for offences including first-degree reckless homicide.
In Brunswick, Georgia, another jury is hearing evidence in the death of Ahmaud Arbery, an unarmed black jogger who was chased down and killed by three white men.
“In both cases, the defendants elected to take the law into their own hands and offer themselves as private guardians and public safety,” said Eric Ruben, assistant professor at Southern Methodist Univeristy’s Dedman School of Law.
On August 25, 2020, Mr Rittenhouse, then 17, travelled from his home in Illinois to Kenosha, Wisconsin, the site of several days of protests over the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a black man.
Mr Rittenhouse shot and killed two people and wounded another.
He said at his trial that he had travelled to Kenosha to help protect locals' property and offer emergency medical services. To assist in this quest, he brought along an assault rifle.
It is not uncommon to see heavily armed civilians at protests across the US - both in the role of protesters as well as self-proclaimed security - but gun control advocates say this is intimidating and dangerous.
“It does change the dynamic of protests in our country,” said Jeri Bonavia, executive director of Wisconsin Anti-Violence Effort (WAVE).
Mr Rittenhouse’s lawyers have argued that he fired on the protesters in self-defence.
In his closing arguments, Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger said self-defence does not apply to Mr Rittenhouse's case.
“You cannot claim self-defence against a danger you create. That’s critical right here. If you’re the one who is threatening others, you lose the right to claim self-defence.”
Ahmaud Arbery was run down by Gregory McMichael, his son, Travis, and their neighbour, William "Roddie" Bryan before being shot.
The three men's defence lawyers have argued that the three men killed Arbery in self-defence during a citizen’s arrest gone wrong.
The men say they believed Arbery had been fleeing the scene of a burglary.
Arbery was killed in February 2020, which Mr Bryan recorded on his mobile phone. It took nearly three months for the men to be arrested and charged.
From the beginning, the case has laid bare the omnipresent racial tension in the US. The accused are all white, the victim black. Even the selection of the jury has raised eyebrows: out of the requisite 12 jurors, only one is black.
More than 1,600 people received jury summons. According the website Data USA, more than half the population of Brunswick, Georgia, where the incident took place is black and over a quarter of the population of Glynn County, from which the jury pool was drawn, is black.
“The fact that there's only one black [person] on the jury might make even more of a reaction than if the jury had been split down the middle or had 25 per cent African-American jurors,” said Christopher Slobogin, a law professor at Vanderbilt University.
“We are now seeing the inevitable outcomes of a society that accepts that the guys with the guns have some sort of extra judicial superpower,” Ms Bonavia told The National.
Her organisation WAVE is trying to change the laws to prevent vigilante justice, which she says is “not just at all".
Perhaps above all else, both cases boil down to citizens carrying guns, which legal analysts say led to these situations turning deadly.
“The guns that they're carrying come into play here, because what was the threat of death that they say they faced?" asked Mr Ruben.
“In both cases, the defendants assert that they feared that their own guns would be removed from them and turned on them. So, in other words, their own decision to carry guns became a justification to use them.”
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Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
SUZUME
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Martin Sabbagh profile
Job: CEO JCDecaux Middle East
In the role: Since January 2015
Lives: In the UAE
Background: M&A, investment banking
Studied: Corporate finance
The drill
Recharge as needed, says Mat Dryden: “We try to make it a rule that every two to three months, even if it’s for four days, we get away, get some time together, recharge, refresh.” The couple take an hour a day to check into their businesses and that’s it.
Stick to the schedule, says Mike Addo: “We have an entire wall known as ‘The Lab,’ covered with colour-coded Post-it notes dedicated to our joint weekly planner, content board, marketing strategy, trends, ideas and upcoming meetings.”
Be a team, suggests Addo: “When training together, you have to trust in each other’s abilities. Otherwise working out together very quickly becomes one person training the other.”
Pull your weight, says Thuymi Do: “To do what we do, there definitely can be no lazy member of the team.”
Going grey? A stylist's advice
If you’re going to go grey, a great style, well-cared for hair (in a sleek, classy style, like a bob), and a young spirit and attitude go a long way, says Maria Dowling, founder of the Maria Dowling Salon in Dubai.
It’s easier to go grey from a lighter colour, so you may want to do that first. And this is the time to try a shorter style, she advises. Then a stylist can introduce highlights, start lightening up the roots, and let it fade out. Once it’s entirely grey, a purple shampoo will prevent yellowing.
“Get professional help – there’s no other way to go around it,” she says. “And don’t just let it grow out because that looks really bad. Put effort into it: properly condition, straighten, get regular trims, make sure it’s glossy.”
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
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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
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UAE tour of Zimbabwe
All matches in Bulawayo
Friday, Sept 26 – UAE won by 36 runs
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
if you go
The flights Fly Dubai, Air Arabia, Emirates, Etihad, and Royal Jordanian all offer direct, three-and-a-half-hour flights from the UAE to the Jordanian capital Amman. Alternatively, from June Fly Dubai will offer a new direct service from Dubai to Aqaba in the south of the country. See the airlines’ respective sites for varying prices or search on reliable price-comparison site Skyscanner.
The trip
Jamie Lafferty was a guest of the Jordan Tourist Board. For more information on adventure tourism in Jordan see Visit Jordan. A number of new and established tour companies offer the chance to go caving, rock-climbing, canyoning, and mountaineering in Jordan. Prices vary depending on how many activities you want to do and how many days you plan to stay in the country. Among the leaders are Terhaal, who offer a two-day canyoning trip from Dh845 per person. If you really want to push your limits, contact the Stronger Team. For a more trek-focused trip, KE Adventure offers an eight-day trip from Dh5,300 per person.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Profile of VoucherSkout
Date of launch: November 2016
Founder: David Tobias
Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers
Sector: Technology
Size: 18 employees
Stage: Embarking on a Series A round to raise $5 million in the first quarter of 2019 with a 20 per cent stake
Investors: Seed round was self-funded with “millions of dollars”
Teachers' pay - what you need to know
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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The specs: 2018 Ducati SuperSport S
Price, base / as tested: Dh74,900 / Dh85,900
Engine: 937cc
Transmission: Six-speed gearbox
Power: 110hp @ 9,000rpm
Torque: 93Nm @ 6,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 5.9L / 100km
PFA Premier League team of 2018-19
Allison (Liverpool)
Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)
Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Aymeric Laporte (Manchester City)
Andrew Robertson (Liverpool)
Paul Pogba (Manchester United)
Fernandinho (Manchester City)
Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)
Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)
Sadio Mane (Liverpool)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
- Pension support
- Mental well-being assistance
- Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
- Financial well-being incentives
