President Joe Biden on Thursday painted a grim picture of the state of American democracy, saying that the nation stands at an inflection point as former president Donald Trump weaves a web of “lies” about the January 6 attack on Congress.
Speaking from Statuary Hall, a main location for the US Capitol riots where a pro-Trump mob a year earlier tried to stop the certification of Mr Biden's 2020 election win, the president skewered Mr Trump without ever mentioning him by name.
“For the first time in our history, a president had not just lost an election — he tried to prevent the peaceful transfer of power as a violent mob breached the Capitol,” Mr Biden said.
“We must be absolutely clear about what is true and what is a lie. Here's the truth: a former president of the United States of America has created and spread a web of lies about the 2020 election. He's done so because he values power over principle.”
Mr Biden contrasted the truth of what happened with the false narratives that have proliferated about the Capitol assault, including the continued refusal by many Republicans to even affirm that Mr Biden won the 2020 election.
“You and I and the whole world saw with our own eyes,” Mr Biden said.
“We saw with our own eyes. Rioters menace these halls, threatening life of the speaker of the house, literally erecting gallows to hang the vice president of the United States of America.”
In an unusually fervent speech, Mr Biden went on to say that “we are in a battle for the soul of America” and called on Congress to pass voting rights bills that would counter a Republican push to restrict access to polls in some states.
Many Republicans skipped town for the day, preferring to stay out of Washington as the events of January 6 were revisited.
Republicans have repeatedly played down the seriousness of January 6, with at least one comparing the rioters to tourists who had come to visit their nation's capital.
“This wasn't a group of tourists. This was an armed insurrection,” Mr Biden said.
The party's senior member in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, led a delegation to a funeral of a recently deceased senator 965 kilometres away in Atlanta, Georgia.
Liz Cheney, chairwoman of the House committee investigating the attack and one of the few Republicans attending the Capitol ceremonies, said that “the threat continues".
Mr Trump, she said, “continues to make the same claims that he knows caused violence on January 6".
“Unfortunately, too many in my own party are embracing the former president, are looking the other way or minimising the danger,” she told NBC.
“That’s how democracies die. We simply cannot let that happen.”
Her father, former vice president Dick Cheney, told reporters that current Republican leaders do not resemble “any of the folks I knew” when he served in Congress.
Mr Trump, who had initially planned an anniversary press conference in Florida, dismissed Mr Biden's speech as “political theatre [that] is all just a distraction for the fact Biden has completely and totally failed".
Mr Biden took office promising to bring old-fashioned decency and calm back to Washington and has mainly ignored Mr Trump, often referring to him as “the former guy".
But he took a far more forceful tone on Thursday, saying Mr Trump “sees his own interest is more important than his country's interest [whose] bruised ego matters more to him than our democracy or our constitution".
“At this moment, we must decide what kind of nation we are going to be,” Mr Biden said.
“Are we going to be a nation that accepts political violence as a norm? Are we going to be a nation where we allow partisan election officials to overturn the legally expressed will of the people? Are we going to be a nation that lives not by the light of the truth but in the shadow of lies?”
Vice President Kamala Harris also spoke at the event, saying “democracy will not stand” unless America is vigilant.
On Wednesday, the Capitol Police chief, Thomas Manger, said his forces would never be caught unprepared again, as they were last year.
Outside the Capital building on Thursday, there was little evidence of the violence of that day — a solemn, candlelit vigil on the steps of the Capitol a contrast to the bloodshed of a year ago.
Warren, who wished only to be identified by his first name, drove all the way from Grand Rapids, Michigan. The 65 year-old retired fireman, who was in Washington a year ago, looked back fondly on January 6.
“It was a great show of support for my American president and his cause of transparency,” he told The National, referring to Mr Trump.
While Warren said he was not sure if the election was stolen, he remains convinced there were issues with it.
A few blocks away, a lone man with a loud hailer shouted profanities outside an office building housing several media outlets. He berated a television crew for not telling the “truth” about the election.
Far-right Trump loyalists Marjorie Taylor Greene, a conspiracy-theory pushing congresswoman whose personal Twitter account was banned this week, and fellow member of Congress Matt Gaetz, who is under federal investigation, held a press conference in front of the Capitol.
They stood by their refusal to certify Mr Biden’s election win and claimed the Capitol riot had been co-ordinated by federal authorities.
“I'm starting to think this was less of an insurrection and more of a 'fed-surrection',” said Mr Gaetz, referring to a right-wing claim that the riot was a “false flag” operation by federal agents.
Writing in The New York Times, former Democratic president Jimmy Carter said the US “teeters on the brink of a widening abyss”.
“Without immediate action, we are at genuine risk of civil conflict and losing our precious democracy. Americans must set aside differences and work together before it is too late,” Mr Carter wrote.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said on Wednesday that authorities have so far arrested and charged about 725 people across the country in connection with the attack.
Facing criticism that the Justice Department has moved too slowly to tackle the leaders and address accusations of a deeper plot to overthrow the election, Mr Garland pleaded for patience, suggesting that investigators are moving up the chain.
“We resolve more straightforward cases first because they provide the evidentiary foundation for more complex cases,” he said.
Agencies contributed to this report
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
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Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
T20 WORLD CUP QUALIFIER
Results
UAE beat Nigeria by five wickets
Hong Kong beat Canada by 32 runs
Friday fixtures
10am, Tolerance Oval, Abu Dhabi – Ireland v Jersey
7.30pm, Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi – Canada v Oman
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Constant Variable (CVT)
Power: 141bhp
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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
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Lamsa
Founder: Badr Ward
Launched: 2014
Employees: 60
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: EdTech
Funding to date: $15 million
THE SPECS
GMC Sierra Denali 1500
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Price: Dh232,500
RACE CARD
6.30pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 Group 1 (PA) Dh119,373 (Dirt) 1,600m
7.05pm Handicap (TB) Dh102,500 (D) 1,200m
7.40pm Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (Turf) 1,800m
8.15pm UAE 1000 Guineas Trial (TB) Dh183,650 (D) 1,400m
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How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Rock in a Hard Place: Music and Mayhem in the Middle East
Orlando Crowcroft
Zed Books
WHAT FANS WILL LOVE ABOUT RUSSIA
FANS WILL LOVE
Uber is ridiculously cheap and, as Diego Saez discovered, mush safer. A 45-minute taxi from Pulova airport to Saint Petersburg’s Nevsky Prospect can cost as little as 500 roubles (Dh30).
FANS WILL LOATHE
Uber policy in Russia is that they can start the fare as soon as they arrive at the pick-up point — and oftentimes they start it even before arriving, or worse never arrive yet charge you anyway.
FANS WILL LOVE
It’s amazing how active Russians are on social media and your accounts will surge should you post while in the country. Throw in a few Cyrillic hashtags and watch your account numbers rocket.
FANS WILL LOATHE
With cold soups, bland dumplings and dried fish, Russian cuisine is not to everybody’s tastebuds. Fortunately, there are plenty Georgian restaurants to choose from, which are both excellent and economical.
FANS WILL LOVE
The World Cup will take place during St Petersburg's White Nights Festival, which means perpetual daylight in a city that genuinely never sleeps. (Think toddlers walking the streets with their grandmothers at 4am.)
FANS WILL LOATHE
The walk from Krestovsky Ostrov metro station to Saint Petersburg Arena on a rainy day makes you wonder why some of the $1.7 billion was not spent on a weather-protected walkway.
Under 19 World Cup
Group A: India, Japan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka
Group B: Australia, England, Nigeria, West Indies
Group C: Bangladesh, Pakistan, Scotland, Zimbabwe
Group D: Afghanistan, Canada, South Africa, UAE
UAE fixtures
Saturday, January 18, v Canada
Wednesday, January 22, v Afghanistan
Saturday, January 25, v South Africa
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
SQUADS
Bangladesh (from): Shadman Islam, Mominul Haque, Soumya Sarkar, Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Mahmudullah Riyad, Mohammad Mithun, Mushfiqur Rahim, Liton Das, Taijul Islam, Mosaddek Hossain, Nayeem Hasan, Mehedi Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Ebadat Hossain, Abu Jayed
Afghanistan (from): Rashid Khan (capt), Ihsanullah Janat, Javid Ahmadi, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Asghar Afghan, Ikram Alikhil, Mohammad Nabi, Qais Ahmad, Sayed Ahmad Shirzad, Yamin Ahmadzai, Zahir Khan Pakteen, Afsar Zazai, Shapoor Zadran
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs: 2018 Maserati Levante S
Price, base / as tested: Dh409,000 / Dh467,000
Engine: 3.0-litre V6
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 430hp @ 5,750rpm
Torque: 580Nm @ 4,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 10.9L / 100km
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 268hp at 5,600rpm
Torque: 380Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: CVT auto
Fuel consumption: 9.5L/100km
On sale: now
Price: from Dh195,000
THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
PROFILE OF INVYGO
Started: 2018
Founders: Eslam Hussein and Pulkit Ganjoo
Based: Dubai
Sector: Transport
Size: 9 employees
Investment: $1,275,000
Investors: Class 5 Global, Equitrust, Gulf Islamic Investments, Kairos K50 and William Zeqiri
