There are some stories that become so pervasive, pored over and picked apart that there comes a point when you must conclude that the story has been done, that there is, simply, nothing left to say.
You might be forgiven for feeling that way about the murder of Meredith Kercher - the 21-year-old British student killed in Perugia on November 1, 2007. Or perhaps more accurately you might be forgiven for feeling that way about the trial, conviction and acquittal of Amanda "Foxy Knoxy" Knox.
Because as unpalatable as it may be, you might even be excused for not immediately recognising Meredith's name, or for not instantly connecting the dots between her and Knox. The latter is, after all, the more recognisable player in this altogether dark drama.
Look through the industry of coverage that bloomed from those first sketchy reports of the discovery of a young woman's body in the Italian university town and it is Knox's name and face that dominate.
Her story became the story. Which is why it is somehow shocking, even shaming, to be forcibly reminded of one simple fact - the fact of Meredith.
Meredith is a father's account of his daughter's murder and, as importantly, her life.
For each day that we watched the girl accused of the crime, Meredith remained invisible. She was a victim twice over, brutally excised from her life and then cut from the narrative that followed.
With this book her father goes some way towards redressing the balance. Many of the most moving sections are just small memories of birthdays or conversations or silly jokes shared. Many were only latterly imbued with tragic significance. At their final lunch they had laughed over Meredith's tale of her protracted search for a duvet. It was the item under which her body was found - a detail that still haunts John. Perhaps it is a mercy that life can only be lived forward and reviewed backwards.
A journalist by trade, John also seeks out his daughter through the testimony of friends, showing paternal pride in what he learns, experiencing the strange wonder of a father realising that his daughter was not only the girl that he loved but that she was becoming a young woman he barely knew.
He writes of her life and he writes of his, her mother's and her siblings' grief. One suspects that in writing there is an attempt to reclaim Meredith as well as to reinstate her at the heart of her own life and death narrative.
It is a heartbreaking read because there is no real end to it for the author, nor can there be. There has been no satisfaction in law, no sense made of what happened, no tying together of disparate threads to bring this sorry tale to a conclusion. Instead there is this story of joy and of grief and of Meredith's family's attempt to hear some echo of the former amid the almost overwhelming clamour and din of the latter.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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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.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Word for Woman is Wilderness
Abi Andrews, Serpent’s Tail
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Zayed Sustainability Prize
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Lampedusa: Gateway to Europe
Pietro Bartolo and Lidia Tilotta
Quercus
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EKinetic%207%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202018%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Rick%20Parish%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Abu%20Dhabi%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Clean%20cooking%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Self-funded%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
THE BIO:
Sabri Razouk, 74
Athlete and fitness trainer
Married, father of six
Favourite exercise: Bench press
Must-eat weekly meal: Steak with beans, carrots, broccoli, crust and corn
Power drink: A glass of yoghurt
Role model: Any good man
Lewis Hamilton in 2018
Australia 2nd; Bahrain 3rd; China 4th; Azerbaijan 1st; Spain 1st; Monaco 3rd; Canada 5th; France 1st; Austria DNF; Britain 2nd; Germany 1st; Hungary 1st; Belgium 2nd; Italy 1st; Singapore 1st; Russia 1st; Japan 1st; United States 3rd; Mexico 4th
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
The biog
Name: Younis Al Balooshi
Nationality: Emirati
Education: Doctorate degree in forensic medicine at the University of Bonn
Hobbies: Drawing and reading books about graphic design
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Ready Player One
Dir: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, Mark Rylance
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
STAY%2C%20DAUGHTER
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Abandon
Sangeeta Bandyopadhyay
Translated by Arunava Sinha
Tilted Axis Press
