The latest Arabic word of the week, thiqa, translates to confidence, and is both straightforward and complex.
Confidence allows people to communicate directly while expressing their thoughts and feelings in a clear and concise way. Often this appears effortless and straightforward, but in truth, confidence is partly a personality trait that people are born with and partly a skill one has to continuously improve.
In both cases, confidence is considered by many as key to a fruitful and successful life.
In Arabic, the word thiqa, while used mostly to mean confidence, is also strongly connected to the idea of trust. This allows the concept of confidence to extend into other scenarios outside of the standard western definition of the word.
Thiqa is a noun made up of the three Arabic letters, tha, qaf and tah. It’s derived from the verb wathiqa, which is defined as the action of trusting in yourself, someone or in a situation.
Officially, thiqa means to be a person who possesses or is in a state of complete trust in their stance or position. This can be in reference to themselves, another person or about any tangible or intangible point of view or scenario.
Used in the context between two individuals, thiqa is the idea of trusting a person or trusting in the relationship you share with them.
When someone possesses thiqa it’s considered a powerful feeling. It infers that they are free from suspicion, worry and fear, while lacking in thiqa can make one feel and look anxious and weak.
Most of the words derived from wathiqa are also connected to the idea of confidence as well as trust.
There is the verb wathaqa, which refers to the idea of something strong, stable, immovable or unchangeable with a thread of trust and confidence intertwined. Wathaqa can mean different things in various contexts.
In a physical sense it refers to stability – a nail that has been hammered into a wall or a table with very sturdy legs. for example. In an official way, wathaqa refers to a certified decision or decree, or a stamp on an authorised document to legitimise any decision or piece of information.
It’s also used in the context of a professional who is confident in their findings due to actions they have taken. For example, a journalist who is confident of his story because of the sources he interviewed, or a scientist assured of his research because of his findings in the lab.
There is also watheeqa, a document that describes verified information while wathaqa refers to a person who bears witness to a situation, or initiates a document to verify it as a trustworthy source of information – for example a government employee stamping a document.
Planes grounded by coronavirus
British Airways: Cancels all direct flights to and from mainland China
Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific: Cutting capacity to/from mainland China by 50 per cent from Jan. 30
Chicago-based United Airlines: Reducing flights to Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong
Ai Seoul: Suspended all flights to China
Finnair: Suspending flights to Nanjing and Beijing Daxing until the end of March
Indonesia's Lion Air: Suspending all flights to China from February
South Korea's Asiana Airlines, Jeju Air and Jin Air: Suspend all flights
Australia men's Test cricket fixtures 2021/22
One-off Test v Afghanistan:
Nov 27-Dec 1: Blundstone Arena, Hobart
The Ashes v England:
Dec 8-12: 1st Test, Gabba, Brisbane
Dec 16-20: 2nd Test, Adelaide Oval, Adelaide (day/night)
Dec 26-30: 3rd Test, Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne
Jan 5-9, 2022: 4th Test, Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
Jan 14-18: 5th Test, Optus Stadium, Perth
The biog
Born: High Wycombe, England
Favourite vehicle: One with solid axels
Favourite camping spot: Anywhere I can get to.
Favourite road trip: My first trip to Kazakhstan-Kyrgyzstan. The desert they have over there is different and the language made it a bit more challenging.
Favourite spot in the UAE: Al Dhafra. It’s unique, natural, inaccessible, unspoilt.
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
The Kingfisher Secret
Anonymous, Penguin Books
ARABIAN GULF LEAGUE FIXTURES
Thursday, September 21
Al Dahfra v Sharjah (kick-off 5.35pm)
Al Wasl v Emirates (8.30pm)
Friday, September 22
Dibba v Al Jazira (5.25pm)
Al Nasr v Al Wahda (8.30pm)
Saturday, September 23
Hatta v Al Ain (5.25pm)
Ajman v Shabab Al Ahli (8.30pm)
Fixtures:
Thursday:
Hatta v Al Jazira, 4.55pm
Al Wasl v Dibba, 7.45pm
Friday:
Al Dhafra v Al Nasr, 5.05pm
Shabab Al Ahli Dubai v Al Wahda, 7.45pm
Saturday:
Ajman v Emirates, 4.55pm
Al Ain v Sharjah, 7.45pm
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
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
UFC Fight Night 2
1am – Early prelims
2am – Prelims
4am-7am – Main card
7:30am-9am – press cons
The Little Things
Directed by: John Lee Hancock
Starring: Denzel Washington, Rami Malek, Jared Leto
Four stars
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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Canada
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Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
