Through book fairs, festivals and publishing houses, Sharjah is a regional hub for children's literature. Pawan Singh / The National
Through book fairs, festivals and publishing houses, Sharjah is a regional hub for children's literature. Pawan Singh / The National
Through book fairs, festivals and publishing houses, Sharjah is a regional hub for children's literature. Pawan Singh / The National
Through book fairs, festivals and publishing houses, Sharjah is a regional hub for children's literature. Pawan Singh / The National

Sharjah is guest of honour at 2022 Bologna Children’s Book Fair: Emirati authors and illustrators to represent the UAE


Saeed Saeed
  • English
  • Arabic

Sharjah will be the guest of honour at the 2022 Bologna Children’s Book Fair.

Running from March 21 to March 24 in the northern Italian city, the event is one of the largest such events dedicated to international children's literature.

In addition to a large pavilion run by the Sharjah Book Authority (SBA), a delegation of 10 Emirati children’s and young adult fiction authors and illustrators will appear at the festival for book signings and panel discussions.

Some of those making the trip include authors Noura Al Noman and Dubai Abulhoul, illustrator Marwa Obeid and academic Reem Al Gurg.

Italian-translated books by Emirati authors will be launched at the fair, in addition to a range of workshops and networking sessions featuring UAE and international publishers.

According to SBA chairman Ahmed Al Ameri, Sharjah’s standing as guest of honour is a testament to the emirate’s investment in children's literature.

He cites the success of publishing house Kalimat Group, launched in 2007 and run by International Publishers Association president Bodour Al Qasimi, for raising standards and stimulating demand for the genre across the region.

“There has been an impressive growth in this sector as several new publishing houses for children’s books have opened across the region,” he said.

Book fairs back on track

The news comes as more international and regional book fairs return with in-person activities.

The world's biggest book fair, Germany's Frankfurter Buchmesse, announced its return from Wednesday, October 20 to Sunday, October 24. While it ran a digital-only programme in 2020, this year's fair will feature a hybrid blend of online and physical events at the Frankfurt Trade Fair Grounds.

This month, the Cairo International Book Fair will take place from Wednesday, June 30 to Thursday, July 15 at the Egypt International Exhibition Centre.

The 20th Amman International Book Fair will run in September 2021, according to Jordan's news agency. EPA
The 20th Amman International Book Fair will run in September 2021, according to Jordan's news agency. EPA

Jordan's Amman International Book Fair is also back on this year's calendar.

The annual event, which cancelled its 2020 programme because of the pandemic, will run from Wednesday, September 22 to Saturday, October 2 within the halls of Amman International Motor Show.

Meanwhile, in March, Saudi Arabia's Minister of Culture Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan announced on Twitter that the Riyadh International Book Fair will take place from Friday, October 1 to Sunday, October 10.

Both the Abu Dhabi and the Sharjah book fairs ran safe and successful events in May this year and last November, respectively.

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Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en

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Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
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Director: Ali Abbasi

Starring: Sebastian Stan, Maria Bakalova, Jeremy Strong

Rating: 3/5

MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW

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Director: Jesse Armstrong

Rating: 3.5/5

Brief scoreline:

Wolves 3

Neves 28', Doherty 37', Jota 45' 2

Arsenal 1

Papastathopoulos 80'

Fixtures

50-over match

UAE v Lancashire, starts at 10am

Champion County match

MCC v Surrey, four-day match, starting on Sunday, March 24, play starts at 10am

Both matches are at ICC Academy, Dubai Sports City. Admission is free.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Sri Lanka-India Test series schedule

 

  • 1st Test India won by 304 runs at Galle
  • 2nd Test Thursday-Monday at Colombo
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VEZEETA PROFILE

Date started: 2012

Founder: Amir Barsoum

Based: Dubai, UAE

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Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)

Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC

South Africa's T20 squad

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BEACH SOCCER WORLD CUP

Group A

Paraguay
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USA

Group B

Uruguay
Mexico
Italy
Tahiti

Group C

Belarus
UAE
Senegal
Russia

Group D

Brazil
Oman
Portugal
Nigeria

How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
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  • The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
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SOUTH%20KOREA%20SQUAD
%3Cp%3E%0D%3Cstrong%3EGoalkeepers%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EKim%20Seung-gyu%2C%20Jo%20Hyeon-woo%2C%20Song%20Bum-keun%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EDefenders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EKim%20Young-gwon%2C%20Kim%20Min-jae%2C%20Jung%20Seung-hyun%2C%20Kim%20Ju-sung%2C%20Kim%20Ji-soo%2C%20Seol%20Young-woo%2C%20Kim%20Tae-hwan%2C%20Lee%20Ki-je%2C%20Kim%20Jin-su%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EMidfielders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPark%20Yong-woo%2C%20Hwang%20In-beom%2C%20Hong%20Hyun-seok%2C%20Lee%20Soon-min%2C%20Lee%20Jae-sung%2C%20Lee%20Kang-in%2C%20Son%20Heung-min%20(captain)%2C%20Jeong%20Woo-yeong%2C%20Moon%20Seon-min%2C%20Park%20Jin-seob%2C%20Yang%20Hyun-jun%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStrikers%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EHwang%20Hee-chan%2C%20Cho%20Gue-sung%2C%20Oh%20Hyeon-gyu%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The years Ramadan fell in May

1987

1954

1921

1888

The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting

2. Prayer

3. Hajj

4. Shahada

5. Zakat 

Scoreline

Ireland 16 (Tries: Stockdale Cons: Sexton Pens: Sexton 3)

New Zealand 9 (Pens: Barrett 2 Drop Goal: Barrett)

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MATCH INFO

Northern Warriors 92-1 (10 ovs)

Russell 37 no, Billings 35 no

Team Abu Dhabi 93-4 (8.3 ovs)

Wright 48, Moeen 30, Green 2-22

Team Abu Dhabi win by six wickets

As it stands in Pool A

1. Japan - Played 3, Won 3, Points 14

2. Ireland - Played 3, Won 2, Lost 1, Points 11

3. Scotland - Played 2, Won 1, Lost 1, Points 5

Remaining fixtures

Scotland v Russia – Wednesday, 11.15am

Ireland v Samoa – Saturday, 2.45pm

Japan v Scotland – Sunday, 2.45pm

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Between the start of the 2020 IPL on September 20, and the end of the Pakistan Super League this coming Thursday, the Zayed Cricket Stadium has had an unprecedented amount of traffic.
Never before has a ground in this country – or perhaps anywhere in the world – had such a volume of major-match cricket.
And yet scoring has remained high, and Abu Dhabi has seen some classic encounters in every format of the game.
 
October 18, IPL, Kolkata Knight Riders tied with Sunrisers Hyderabad
The two playoff-chasing sides put on 163 apiece, before Kolkata went on to win the Super Over
 
January 8, ODI, UAE beat Ireland by six wickets
A century by CP Rizwan underpinned one of UAE’s greatest ever wins, as they chased 270 to win with an over to spare
 
February 6, T10, Northern Warriors beat Delhi Bulls by eight wickets
The final of the T10 was chiefly memorable for a ferocious over of fast bowling from Fidel Edwards to Nicholas Pooran
 
March 14, Test, Afghanistan beat Zimbabwe by six wickets
Eleven wickets for Rashid Khan, 1,305 runs scored in five days, and a last session finish
 
June 17, PSL, Islamabad United beat Peshawar Zalmi by 15 runs
Usman Khawaja scored a hundred as Islamabad posted the highest score ever by a Pakistan team in T20 cricket

UAE%20v%20West%20Indies
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Bharatanatyam

A ancient classical dance from the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Intricate footwork and expressions are used to denote spiritual stories and ideas.

UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
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Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

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Farage on Muslim Brotherhood

Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.

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Price, base: Dh132,000

Engine: 3.6-litre V6

Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic

Power: 285hp @ 6,400rpm

Torque: 347Nm @ 4,100rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 9.6L to 10.3L / 100km

Quick pearls of wisdom

Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”

Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.” 

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE. 

Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

 

Women & Power: A Manifesto

Mary Beard

Profile Books and London Review of Books 

Result

2.15pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,950m; Winner: Majestic Thunder, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Satish Seemar (trainer).

2.45pm: Handicap Dh80,000 1,800m; Winner: Tailor’s Row, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.

3.15pm: Handicap Dh85,000 1,600m; Winner: Native Appeal, Adam McLean, Doug Watson.

3.45pm: Handicap Dh115,000 1,950m; Winner: Conclusion, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi.

4.15pm: Handicap Dh100,000 1,400m; Winner: Pilgrim’s Treasure, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.

4.45pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,400m; Winner: Sanad Libya, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.

5.15pm: Handicap Dh90,000 1,000m; Winner: Midlander, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar