The UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution on Wednesday acknowledging the role of hate speech, racism and other forms of intolerance in fuelling conflicts.
Jointly drafted by the UAE and the UK, the resolution also highlighted the adverse effects of gender discrimination and acts of extremism on global peace and stability.
Noura Al Kaabi, UAE Minister of State, who headed the ministerial-level Security Council session on the values of human fraternity in promoting and sustaining peace, noted that no nation or region is immune to the growing threat of hate speech.
She added that the “clear challenges” posed by hate speech and extremism cannot be “overlooked”.
“Our approach and initiatives are based on the challenges experienced by the Arab region, including the spread of hate speech and its role in inciting, exacerbating and prolonging conflicts,” she said.
Ahead of the vote, Lana Nusseibeh, the UAE's ambassador to the UN, stressed the root causes of conflicts past and present are multifaceted.
“Yet we continue to see common threat multipliers that drive the outbreak escalation and recurrence of conflict across the files on the council's agenda,” she said.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres argued that hate is not new to “our time”, but what is new is its speed and reach.
“Social media has equipped hate-mongers with a global bullhorn for bile,” he said.
Pope Francis and Sheikh Ahmed Al Tayeb, grand imam of Al Azhar, the 1,000-year-old seat of Sunni learning in Cairo, delivered messages calling for peace to the Security Council session.
Sheikh Ahmed said in a video address that human fraternity was the key to global peace, a point he and the pope had made in a joint document released in Abu Dhabi in 2019.
He said his intention in speaking to the council was to urge an end to senseless wars. He cited Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Libya and Yemen, and the need for the council to recognise an independent Palestinian state after 75 years.
Without naming either Russia or Ukraine, he said the war unfolding on the eastern borders of Europe had instilled terror and “concern that it may regress humanity to a primitive era”.
“Our gathering today is not a luxury but a necessity, dictated by concern for the future of humanity,” he said.
Pope Francis, who is in hospital recovering from abdominal surgery, sent a statement saying that the world was going backward from the dream when the United Nations was founded in 1945 that countries would move toward a more stable peace and “become at last a family of nations”.
Instead, the world is seeing “the rise of myopic, extremist, resentful and aggressive nationalisms that have kindled conflicts which are not only anachronistic and outdated but even more violent”, he said.
Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
Normcore explained
Something of a fashion anomaly, normcore is essentially a celebration of the unremarkable. The term was first popularised by an article in New York magazine in 2014 and has been dubbed “ugly”, “bland’ and "anti-style" by fashion writers. It’s hallmarks are comfort, a lack of pretentiousness and neutrality – it is a trend for those who would rather not stand out from the crowd. For the most part, the style is unisex, favouring loose silhouettes, thrift-shop threads, baseball caps and boyish trainers. It is important to note that normcore is not synonymous with cheapness or low quality; there are high-fashion brands, including Parisian label Vetements, that specialise in this style. Embraced by fashion-forward street-style stars around the globe, it’s uptake in the UAE has been relatively slow.
Manchester United v Liverpool
Premier League, kick off 7.30pm (UAE)
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 240hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 390Nm at 3,000rpm
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Price: from Dh122,745
On sale: now
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
2.0
Director: S Shankar
Producer: Lyca Productions; presented by Dharma Films
Cast: Rajnikanth, Akshay Kumar, Amy Jackson, Sudhanshu Pandey
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
The Programme
Saturday, October 26: ‘The Time That Remains’ (2009) by Elia Suleiman
Saturday, November 2: ‘Beginners’ (2010) by Mike Mills
Saturday, November 16: ‘Finding Vivian Maier’ (2013) by John Maloof and Charlie Siskel
Tuesday, November 26: ‘All the President’s Men’ (1976) by Alan J Pakula
Saturday, December 7: ‘Timbuktu’ (2014) by Abderrahmane Sissako
Saturday, December 21: ‘Rams’ (2015) by Grimur Hakonarson
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
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The specs: 2018 Volkswagen Teramont
Price, base / as tested Dh137,000 / Dh189,950
Engine 3.6-litre V6
Gearbox Eight-speed automatic
Power 280hp @ 6,200rpm
Torque 360Nm @ 2,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 11.7L / 100km
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
