US President Donald Trump was increasingly isolated on Friday, with top Republicans and conservative media allies rejecting his claims of widespread voter fraud as his chances of election success almost evaporated.
Mr Trump posted an erratic series of Twitter messages from the White House as his Democratic challenger Joe Biden, 77, made gains in key battleground states and readied to deliver a prime time national television address.
The 74-year-old president continued alleging widespread voter fraud and counting irregularities in Tuesday’s election, but some key Republicans rejected the unfounded claims as Democrats readied to welcome Mr Biden as president-elect.
With his presidency hanging by a thread, Mr Trump said it was vital to have a Republican in the West Wing to keep a check on a Senate in which left-leaning Democrats gained seats in the November 3 election.
“With the attack by the Radical Left Dems on the Republican Senate, the Presidency becomes even more important!” Mr Trump told his 88.4 million followers on Twitter after it became clear that Mr Biden was on track to win the presidency.
Mr Trump posted a series of missives after Mr Biden took the lead in Pennsylvania, where a haul of 20 electoral votes would put him past the 270 threshold for victory in Tuesday’s vote. The former Vice President also made gains in Georgia.
Mr Trump also quoted the conservative lawyer Ken Starr, who said Pennsylvania had “conducted itself in a horrible lawless way” and “flagrantly violated the constitution” by excluding observers from poll-counting centres.
“We have to go back to the state level and how this morass came to be in the first instance,” added the president, in reference to the adjudication powers of state lawmakers in the event of election disputes.
In Washington, a liberal-leaning city where some 95 per cent of voters chose Mr Biden, crowds gathered beyond the new White House security fence in a celebratory mood, playing the Los del Rio’s Spanish dance classic Macarena and other lively tunes.
Elsewhere, hardcore Trump supporters have rallied outside vote-counting stations in Michigan, Arizona, Pennsylvania and other battleground states, echoing the president’s complaint of irregularities and demanding to monitor the process inside.
Two men armed with an AR-15 assault rifle and other military-style gear were arrested at a Philadelphia counting centre, where they reportedly said they were trying to “straighten out” the tally process inside.
A pro-Trump Facebook group called Stop the Steal was created on Wednesday and quickly amassed hundreds of thousands of followers, who shared posts about voting fraud. It was shut down by the tech giant’s administrators after 22 hours.
Mr Trump is trailing his Democratic challenger Joe Biden in Pennsylvania, evada, Georgia and other key states that make it unlikely he can amass the 270 electoral college votes he needs to keep his job.
In a series of bad omens for Mr Trump, his long-standing media allies Fox News, the New York Post and a number of Republican heavyweights distanced themselves from the 45th president's unfounded claims of voting fraud.
Fox anchor Bret Baier fact-checked Trump after he took to a White House podium Thursday to claim the election was fraudulent and that he was being cheated. “We have not seen the hard evidence,” Baier told viewers.
As Biden took the lead in the Pennsylvania vote count for the first time, 'Fox & Friends' - a Fox show that routinely praises the president - was airing a segment about Trump increasing his support among some minority voters during the election.
A New York Post headline described a "Downcast Trump" making "baseless election fraud" claims in his address from the White House on Thursday night and treated a victory for Mr Biden as a near-certainty.
Fox News, another outlet owned by media baron Rupert Murdoch, angered many Republicans on Wednesday when it projected Mr Biden would win in Arizona — a state Mr Trump needed to keep his White House dreams alive.
Meanwhile, prominent figures such as John Bolton, the president’s former National Security Adviser, and Republican lawmakers from as far afield as Texas and Illinois, bashed Mr Trump for not accepting the still-unfolding results of the November 3 election.
Mr Bolton, who left the administration acrimoniously, hit out at his former boss and compared him unfavourably to Abraham Lincoln.
“All candidates are entitled to pursue appropriate election-law remedies if they have evidence supporting their claims,” Mr Bolton said on Twitter. “They should certainly not lie. The first Republican president was called "Honest Abe" for a reason.”
Adam Kinzinger, a Republican congressman from Illinois, rejected Mr Trump’s call for a halt to vote-counting in some battleground states and urged the president to back up his voter-fraud claims with evidence.
“If you have legit concerns about fraud present EVIDENCE and take it to court,” Mr Kinzinger wrote on Twitter. “STOP Spreading debunked misinformation... This is getting insane.”
Will Hurd, a Republican congressman from Texas, also turned on the president, accusing him of “undermining our political process & questioning the legality of the voices of countless Americans without evidence”.
“It undermines the very foundation this nation was built upon,” Mr Hurd said on Twitter.
Other Republican heavyweights, such as House minority leader Kevin McCarthy and Lindsey Graham, a senator from South Carolina, have continued to back the president and repeat his unfounded allegations of voting fraud.
Others discussed what Mr Trump would do once he leaves the White House in January, assuming that Mr Biden wins and the president’s raft of electoral legal challenges and an appeal for US Supreme Court intervention fail to gain traction.
Speaking at the Institute for International and European Affairs on Friday, Mick Mulvaney, the former acting White House chief of staff, said Mr Trump would “likely” run again in 2024 if he loses the November 3 election and would “absolutely” stay in politics.
Others questioned whether a post-presidency Mr Trump would struggle to settle debts on his property empire or face investigation or prosecution for possible crimes involving obstruction of justice or related to his often-queried tax returns.
“If Biden wins, Trump’s lame-duck period could be more tumultuous than ever,” Ian Bremmer, a commentator and founder of a political risk consultancy, the Eurasia Group, said on Twitter.
“Facing legal troubles, Trump could opt to self-pardon, a move with no precedent in American history.”
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
The years Ramadan fell in May
Essentials
The flights: You can fly from the UAE to Iceland with one stop in Europe with a variety of airlines. Return flights with Emirates from Dubai to Stockholm, then Icelandair to Reykjavik, cost from Dh4,153 return. The whole trip takes 11 hours. British Airways flies from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Reykjavik, via London, with return flights taking 12 hours and costing from Dh2,490 return, including taxes.
The activities: A half-day Silfra snorkelling trip costs 14,990 Icelandic kronur (Dh544) with Dive.is. Inside the Volcano also takes half a day and costs 42,000 kronur (Dh1,524). The Jokulsarlon small-boat cruise lasts about an hour and costs 9,800 kronur (Dh356). Into the Glacier costs 19,500 kronur (Dh708). It lasts three to four hours.
The tours: It’s often better to book a tailor-made trip through a specialist operator. UK-based Discover the World offers seven nights, self-driving, across the island from £892 (Dh4,505) per person. This includes three nights’ accommodation at Hotel Husafell near Into the Glacier, two nights at Hotel Ranga and two nights at the Icelandair Hotel Klaustur. It includes car rental, plus an iPad with itinerary and tourist information pre-loaded onto it, while activities can be booked as optional extras. More information inspiredbyiceland.com
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Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
'The worst thing you can eat'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
The five pillars of Islam
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
The years Ramadan fell in May
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)
TOURNAMENT INFO
Fixtures
Sunday January 5 - Oman v UAE
Monday January 6 - UAE v Namibia
Wednesday January 8 - Oman v Namibia
Thursday January 9 - Oman v UAE
Saturday January 11 - UAE v Namibia
Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Waheed Ahmed, Zawar Farid, Darius D’Silva, Karthik Meiyappan, Jonathan Figy, Vriitya Aravind, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Basil Hameed, Chirag Suri
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
How to register as a donor
1) Organ donors can register on the Hayat app, run by the Ministry of Health and Prevention
2) There are about 11,000 patients in the country in need of organ transplants
3) People must be over 21. Emiratis and residents can register.
4) The campaign uses the hashtag #donate_hope
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EWest%20Asia%20Premiership%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EChampions%3A%20Dubai%20Tigers%0D%3Cbr%3ERunners%20up%3A%20Bahrain%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20Premiership%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EChampions%3A%20Jebel%20Ali%20Dragons%0D%3Cbr%3ERunners%20up%3A%20Dubai%20Hurricanes%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20Division%201%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EChampions%3A%20Dubai%20Sharks%0D%3Cbr%3ERunners%20up%3A%20Abu%20Dhabi%20Harlequins%20II%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20Division%202%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EChampions%3A%20Dubai%20Tigers%20III%0D%3Cbr%3ERunners%20up%3A%20Dubai%20Sharks%20II%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDubai%20Sevens%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EChampions%3A%20Dubai%20Tigers%0D%3Cbr%3ERunners%20up%3A%20Dubai%20Hurricanes%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Zayed Sustainability Prize
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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
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UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Zayed Sustainability Prize
The 12 Syrian entities delisted by UK
Ministry of Interior
Ministry of Defence
General Intelligence Directorate
Air Force Intelligence Agency
Political Security Directorate
Syrian National Security Bureau
Military Intelligence Directorate
Army Supply Bureau
General Organisation of Radio and TV
Al Watan newspaper
Cham Press TV
Sama TV
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
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THE APPRENTICE
Director: Ali Abbasi
Starring: Sebastian Stan, Maria Bakalova, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 3/5
Results
Stage seven
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates, in 3:20:24
2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers, at 1s
3. Pello Bilbao (ESP) Bahrain-Victorious, at 5s
General Classification
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates, in 25:38:16
2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers, at 22s
3. Pello Bilbao (ESP) Bahrain-Victorious, at 48s
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Day 2, stumps
Pakistan 482
Australia 30/0 (13 ov)
Australia trail by 452 runs with 10 wickets remaining in the innings
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'My Son'
Director: Christian Carion
Starring: James McAvoy, Claire Foy, Tom Cullen, Gary Lewis
Rating: 2/5
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Dunki
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Results
2pm: Handicap Dh 90,000 1,800m; Winner: Majestic Thunder, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Satish Seemar (trainer).
2.30pm: Handicap Dh120,000 1,950m; Winner: Just A Penny, Sam Hitchcott, Doug Watson.
3pm: Handicap Dh105,000 1,600m; Winner: Native Appeal, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
3.30pm: Jebel Ali Classic Conditions Dh300,000 1,400m; Winner: Thegreatcollection, Adrie de Vries, Doug Watson.
4pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,600m; Winner: Oktalgano, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer.
4.30pm: Conditions Dh250,000 1,400m; Winner: Madame Ellingtina, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
5pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,600m; Winner: Mystery Land, Fabrice Veron, Helal Al Alawi.
5.30pm: Handicap Dh85,000 1,000m; Winner: Shanaghai City, Jesus Rosales, Rashed Bouresly.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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