The presence of US soldiers on the streets of Washington is a stark reminder of America’s twisted attitude to crime and safety, and its betrayal of the country’s most vulnerable demographic.
More than 2,000 National Guard troops have been posted to the nation’s capital to tackle the “crime emergency” that President Donald Trump declared last month, and to address the city's “rampant violence”. They also are helping “beautify” Washington by raking leaves and picking up rubbish.
Like everything here, attitudes are split largely along political lines. Democrats and local police say statistics show crime has been trending downwards and assert the military presence is unnecessary, while Republicans claim those numbers are being falsely manipulated and cheer the capital’s increased security and the troops' support to federal agents as they arrest immigrants.
Mr Trump on Tuesday said he would also send troops in to Chicago, despite stiff resistance from the Windy City, and even after a federal judge ruled that a posting to Los Angeles in June was illegal.
Depending on one’s view, squads of camouflage-clad soldiers, some of them carrying assault rifles, are either a depressing harbinger of America’s continuing lurch towards authoritarianism or a reassuring presence in a city where carjackings and shootings had become common.
But for me, soldiers on the streets serve only as a disingenuous and expensive distraction from the most glaringly obvious security failing: gun crime.
The point was driven home last Wednesday after yet another school shooting, this one in Minneapolis, where an attacker opened fire during Mass at a church near a Catholic school, killing two children and injuring 21 people. To no one’s surprise, the shooter used a legally bought AR-15-type assault rifle. Thanks to broad interpretations of the Second Amendment, it is shockingly easy to buy weapons in the US, where there are now more firearms than people.
Appallingly, guns are now the leading cause of death for American children, and about 20,000 people are killed in gun homicides each year. That's more than 5.5 gun deaths for each 100,000 people, easily the worst statistic for any industrialised nation, with more than another 27,000 people using guns to take their own lives in 2024.
According to The Washington Post, the Minneapolis attack was the 434th shooting at a school since the notorious Columbine High massacre in Colorado in 1999. That means more than 397,000 pupils and students have experienced gun violence at school since then.
The day after the Minneapolis shooting, I took my youngest daughter for her first day of preschool. Images of what had just happened in Illinois were far from my mind as she and her new classmates gathered excitedly in the playground. But on Friday I got an email from the school saying the class would soon be performing its first “lockdown drill”, in which they will practise staying silent while staying away from doors and windows.
Four-year-old children being forced to undergo a mock lockdown speaks to the normalisation of the gun horror that bedevils America. But instead of doing anything about it, or the President declaring a “gun crime emergency”, any conversations about firearms control have been marginalised to the point where even raising the topic has become counterproductive. Any move towards even basic gun control or background checks is swiftly countered by greater and opposing measures aimed at further expanding everyone's access to firearms.
Nowhere can be considered truly safe any more. Hospitals, high schools, primary schools, universities, music festivals, nightclubs, places of worship, businesses, supermarkets, military installations – all have been attacked.
Flooding the streets with soldiers will do nothing to prevent the next mass shooting. Common sense gun control, mental health checks on buyers and assault weapons bans will.
But thanks to a conservative Supreme Court and Republican intransigence on the issue, legislators will continue to tune out gun violence and nothing will be done for many years to come, if ever.
Vice President JD Vance is visiting the scene of the Minneapolis school shooting to “pay his respects” to the victims. If he or Mr Trump actually cared for our security, they would do something to address the greatest threat against us and our children.
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
How to vote
Canadians living in the UAE can register to vote online and be added to the International Register of Electors.
They'll then be sent a special ballot voting kit by mail either to their address, the Consulate General of Canada to the UAE in Dubai or The Embassy of Canada in Abu Dhabi
Registered voters mark the ballot with their choice and must send it back by 6pm Eastern time on October 21 (2am next Friday)
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
Company%C2%A0profile
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Babumoshai Bandookbaaz
Director: Kushan Nandy
Starring: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Bidita Bag, Jatin Goswami
Three stars
More from Neighbourhood Watch
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
The specs: 2018 Mercedes-AMG C63 S Cabriolet
Price, base: Dh429,090
Engine 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission Seven-speed automatic
Power 510hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque 700Nm @ 1,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 9.2L / 100km
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
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.
Based: Riyadh
Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany
Founded: September, 2020
Number of employees: 70
Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions
Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds
Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EShaffra%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDIFC%20Innovation%20Hub%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Emetaverse-as-a-Service%20(MaaS)%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Ecurrently%20closing%20%241.5%20million%20seed%20round%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Epre-seed%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFlat6Labs%20Abu%20Dhabi%20and%20different%20PCs%20and%20angel%20investors%20from%20Saudi%20Arabia%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Enine%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Race card
5.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Turf) 1,400m
6.05pm: Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (T) 1,400m
6.40pm: Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
7.15pm: Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (T) 1,200m
7.50pm: Longines Stakes – Conditions (TB) Dh120,00 (D) 1,900m
8.25pm: Zabeel Trophy – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh120,000 (T) 1,600m
9pm: Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (T) 2,410m
9.35pm: Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (T) 2,000m
RESULTS
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,600m
Winner: Omania, Saif Al Balushi (jockey), Ibrahim Al Hadhrami (trainer)
5.30pm: Conditions (PA) Dh85,000 1,600m
Winner: Brehaan, Richard Mullen, Ana Mendez
6pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 1,600m
Winner: Craving, Connor Beasley, Simon Crisford
6.30pm: The President’s Cup Prep (PA) Dh100,000 2,200m
Winner: Rmmas, Tadhg O’Shea, Jean de Roualle
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup (PA) Dh70,000 1,200m
Winner: Dahess D’Arabie, Connor Beasley, Helal Al Alawi
7.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 1,400m
Winner: Fertile De Croate, Sam Hitchcott, Ibrahim Aseel
Tell Me Who I Am
Director: Ed Perkins
Stars: Alex and Marcus Lewis
Four stars
