We are amused
A few days before Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth ll and the Duke of Edinburgh arrived in Abu Dhabi they celebrated their wedding anniversary. They were married on November 20, 1947, and have clocked up 63 years of marriage, a considerable achievement by any standards.
Prince Philip has a very special place in the hearts of the British people, not least for his irascibility and tendency to fire off the occasional direct remark that raises eyebrows. He does not and never has suffered fools gladly and once admitted to the biographer Gyles Brandreth that he knows he is sometimes perceived by the public to be "cantankerous".
He met the young Princess Elizabeth when he was a handsome Royal Navy cadet at Dartmouth, where he was asked to show her and her sister Princess Margaret around the college by his uncle Lord Mountbatten. Philip was 18 and Elizabeth was just 13 years old and according to her former governess Marion Crawford, or "Crawfie", as she was known: "Lilibet never took her eyes off him."
Little has changed in that respect. Royal watchers and biographers always remark on the deep-rooted love and respect they have for each other and the ease with which she defers to him in private and accepts his affectionate teasing.
As Britain's longest-serving consort and the oldest spouse of a reigning monarch, Prince Philip has developed and refined the art of supporting the queen, always there beside her on state visits such as today's, while at the same time developing his own role as patron to environmental, sporting and educational organisations such as the World Wildlife Fund. On Monday, Buckingham Palace announced that on his 90th birthday next year, he will step down as president or patron of more than a dozen organisations, thought to be the first public acknowledgement of his advancing years.
At the last count, that leaves him with just the odd 800 to look after. Not bad for a man about to enter his 10th decade.
Security officers should try a turn at charm school
Hillary Clinton doesn't like it. As she says: "Who would?" but most people will put up with increased security measures at airports because the alternative is unthinkable. We can object as much as we like and even wear T-shirts emblazoned with the words "Don't Touch My Junk" like the young Californian John Tyner, who threatened an official with arrest if a pat-down search became too intimate.
In the end we have to make a choice, do we want to feel safe when we fly or not? I'm never at my best when travelling, but even I have decided to knuckle down and accept the indignities faced at all international airports today. Faced with the option of a full-body scanner or an enhanced pat-down, I'll take the pat-down.
These days I dress accordingly and try to avoid the embarrassment of being ordered to take off my belt, shoes, jacket and overcoat. I've had a few snippy arguments with "jobsworths" over what constitutes a coat, but so far have resisted the temptation to wear a thin, belted Mac over just underwear just to prove a point.
I've stopped wearing belts when taking a flight, or shoes with laces or carrying anything more than one flat make-up palate in my handbag. I rely on duty free testers for a last squirt of my favourite perfume and on soothing music on my iPod to keep me calm.
It used to be that we checked in two hours before travel. Very soon it's going to be three. So, if travellers like me can do their bit to keep the queues moving quickly, then so should the security people. There's no need to treat us like cattle or speak in that bossy manner so many of them have adopted. Maybe a spell at security officer's charm school should be a prerequisite for the job.
My last DEWA bill for the summer months was a whopping Dh6,300 and I nearly fainted at the counter when I learned how much it was. I knew it would be more than usual, as the garden needs more watering in August, but that was ridiculous, so I went straight home to try to work out what was causing it.
Sure enough, the ancient outside water tank had a faulty ball-cock and was overflowing. It also had a crack in the tank itself, which accounted for my unusually high usage.
Since then, I've been checking it every few days and I've also been running around the house as soon as guests leave, turning off heater switches for bathrooms that aren't being used and assiduously monitoring my consumption of both water and electricity.
Now it turns out that a school in Dubai was found to be using the water equivalent of one of the smaller emirates. It's a huge problem in schools, but one that is now being tackled by education authorities with an awareness campaign.
The bottom line is that because the Ministry of Education pays the bills, schools officials don't bother too much about leaking pipes and wasted water.
Clearly, there needs to be a mindset change. May I respectfully suggest that the problem would be solved instantly if DEWA just sent the bills to school heads and it came out of their annual budgets. Receiving a bill like that once is quite enough.
Experiences should not be forgotten
US scientists have been working on a pill that they believe will one day be able to block out painful memories. They have discovered a "window of vulnerability" where proteins are created in the brain as memories are being made and stored.
Those proteins can be removed from the brain's fear centre to wipe out traumatic memories and the boffins hope that their discovery could help soldiers who have witnessed distressing acts of war or people who have been the victims of violence.
The pill could even be used to help people get over painful break-ups.
Admittedly, it's a long way off and so far has only been tested on rats. Frankly, it sounds a bit too sci-fi for me, but the potential is awesome. It got me thinking of memories I would like to expunge, like the death of my much-loved cairn terrior Macgregor when I was 10 or failing my O-level chemistry. Then there was the broken heart after I discovered my boyfriend had two-timed me, and a nasty scuba-diving experience that put me off the sport for life.
But would I really want to have missed those experiences? Actually no, except perhaps my dog running under the wheels of my father's car. Just think, I might have married the cheating love-rat and never met my lovely husband.
I was upset about the failed exam at the time, but I always hated chemistry. The small explosion in the lab didn't do all that much damage either, and it certainly gave me a healthy respect for chemical compounds.
The fright I received diving in murky Irish waters and not knowing which way was up probably saved my life because I know I would have faced something worse at a later stage and would undoubtedly have panicked.
A little fear is good and experiences, however painful, make us what we are.
Planning a wedding is fraught as any mother of the bride will tell you, except me perhaps. I'm taking the easy route and just agreeing to everything my daughter wants to do.
A royal wedding is no different and word is that Prince William has put a four-strong team of aides on the case and is keeping senior members of the royal household in the dark over arrangements which is causing a little frisson of frustration in certain circles.
The Prince put down his markers earlier this year in an interview with the Mail on Sunday's Live magazine when he said he liked to disagree with advisers 'because many of the things they come up with are very old-fashioned and don't work nowadays or are just wrong.'
Although he wasn't specifically talking about wedding arrangements, it's clear that he believes he is more closely in touch with what young people think and how they like to do things and that really rang a bell with me. My daughter is not having a church wedding, like we did so there will be no hymns and it will be a civil rather than a religious service with a blessing from a vicar as well when she marries in April.
It most definitely won't be a case of 'the way we were', there will be no Smythsons invitations on stiff white card with embossed script, no people invited that we haven't seen for years and certainly none that she doesn't know well and no children, all measures of which I thoroughly approve.
I'm not so sure about having Dolly Parton singing 'I'm just sitting here lovin' you' while she signs the register but hey, if that's what she wants, I'll probably be singing along with the CD.
Like most couples planning weddings next year the Prince is conscious of the cost and is determined not to make it as lavish an event as his parents' wedding. On the day it will no doubt run as smoothly as clockwork but if right royal hiccups are to be avoided the older generation should just sit back and go with the flow.
That reminds me, I must learn the words of that song.
Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
More on animal trafficking
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
Brief scores:
Toss: India, opted to field
Australia 158-4 (17 ov)
Maxwell 46, Lynn 37; Kuldeep 2-24
India 169-7 (17 ov)
Dhawan 76, Karthik 30; Zampa 2-22
Result: Australia won by 4 runs by D/L method
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Picture of Joumblatt and Hariri breaking bread sets Twitter alight
Mr Joumblatt’s pessimism regarding the Lebanese political situation didn’t stop him from enjoying a cheerful dinner on Tuesday with several politicians including Mr Hariri.
Caretaker Culture Minister Ghattas Khoury tweeted a picture of the group sitting around a table at a discrete fish restaurant in Beirut’s upscale Sodeco area.
Mr Joumblatt told The National that the fish served at Kelly’s Fish lounge had been very good.
“They really enjoyed their time”, remembers the restaurant owner. “Mr Hariri was taking selfies with everybody”.
Mr Hariri and Mr Joumblatt often have dinner together to discuss recent political developments.
Mr Joumblatt was a close ally of Mr Hariri’s assassinated father, former prime minister Rafik Hariri. The pair were leading figures in the political grouping against the 15-year Syrian occupation of Lebanon that ended after mass protests in 2005 in the wake of Rafik Hariri’s murder. After the younger Hariri took over his father’s mantle in 2004, the relationship with Mr Joumblatt endured.
However, the pair have not always been so close. In the run-up to the election last year, Messrs Hariri and Joumblatt went months without speaking over an argument regarding the new proportional electoral law to be used for the first time. Mr Joumblatt worried that a proportional system, which Mr Hariri backed, would see the influence of his small sect diminished.
With so much of Lebanese politics agreed in late-night meetings behind closed doors, the media and pundits put significant weight on how regularly, where and with who senior politicians meet.
In the picture, alongside Messrs Khoury and Hariri were Mr Joumbatt and his wife Nora, PSP politician Wael Abou Faour and Egyptian ambassador to Lebanon Nazih el Nagari.
The picture of the dinner led to a flurry of excitement on Twitter that it signified an imminent government formation. “God willing, white smoke will rise soon and Walid Beik [a nickname for Walid Joumblatt] will accept to give up the minister of industry”, one user replied to the tweet. “Blessings to you…We would like you to form a cabinet”, wrote another.
The next few days will be crucial in determining whether these wishes come true.
Five ways to get fit like Craig David (we tried for seven but ran out of time)
Start the week as you mean to go on. So get your training on strong on a Monday.
Train hard, but don’t take it all so seriously that it gets to the point where you’re not having fun and enjoying your friends and your family and going out for nice meals and doing that stuff.
Think about what you’re training or eating a certain way for — don’t, for example, get a six-pack to impress somebody else or lose weight to conform to society’s norms. It’s all nonsense.
Get your priorities right.
And last but not least, you should always, always chill on Sundays.
Day 5, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day When Dilruwan Perera dismissed Yasir Shah to end Pakistan’s limp resistance, the Sri Lankans charged around the field with the fevered delirium of a side not used to winning. Trouble was, they had not. The delivery was deemed a no ball. Sri Lanka had a nervy wait, but it was merely a stay of execution for the beleaguered hosts.
Stat of the day – 5 Pakistan have lost all 10 wickets on the fifth day of a Test five times since the start of 2016. It is an alarming departure for a side who had apparently erased regular collapses from their resume. “The only thing I can say, it’s not a mitigating excuse at all, but that’s a young batting line up, obviously trying to find their way,” said Mickey Arthur, Pakistan’s coach.
The verdict Test matches in the UAE are known for speeding up on the last two days, but this was extreme. The first two innings of this Test took 11 sessions to complete. The remaining two were done in less than four. The nature of Pakistan’s capitulation at the end showed just how difficult the transition is going to be in the post Misbah-ul-Haq era.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Akeed
Based: Muscat
Launch year: 2018
Number of employees: 40
Sector: Online food delivery
Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week
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
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
Mobile phone packages comparison
Match info
Liverpool 3
Hoedt (10' og), Matip (21'), Salah (45 3')
Southampton 0
Biography
Her family: She has four sons, aged 29, 27, 25 and 24 and is a grandmother-of-nine
Favourite book: Flashes of Thought by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid
Favourite drink: Water
Her hobbies: Reading and volunteer work
Favourite music: Classical music
Her motto: I don't wait, I initiate
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
How Voiss turns words to speech
The device has a screen reader or software that monitors what happens on the screen
The screen reader sends the text to the speech synthesiser
This converts to audio whatever it receives from screen reader, so the person can hear what is happening on the screen
A VOISS computer costs between $200 and $250 depending on memory card capacity that ranges from 32GB to 128GB
The speech synthesisers VOISS develops are free
Subsequent computer versions will include improvements such as wireless keyboards
Arabic voice in affordable talking computer to be added next year to English, Portuguese, and Spanish synthesiser
Partnerships planned during Expo 2020 Dubai to add more languages
At least 2.2 billion people globally have a vision impairment or blindness
More than 90 per cent live in developing countries
The Long-term aim of VOISS to reach the technology to people in poor countries with workshops that teach them to build their own device
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The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
Series info
Test series schedule 1st Test, Abu Dhabi: Sri Lanka won by 21 runs; 2nd Test, Dubai: Play starts at 2pm, Friday-Tuesday
ODI series schedule 1st ODI, Dubai: October 13; 2nd ODI, Abu Dhabi: October 16; 3rd ODI, Abu Dhabi: October 18; 4th ODI, Sharjah: October 20; 5th ODI, Sharjah: October 23
T20 series schedule 1st T20, Abu Dhabi: October 26; 2nd T20, Abu Dhabi: October 27; 3rd T20, Lahore: October 29
Tickets Available at www.q-tickets.com
Stat Fourteen Fourteen of the past 15 Test matches in the UAE have been decided on the final day. Both of the previous two Tests at Dubai International Stadium have been settled in the last session. Pakistan won with less than an hour to go against West Indies last year. Against England in 2015, there were just three balls left.
Key battle - Azhar Ali v Rangana Herath Herath may not quite be as flash as Muttiah Muralitharan, his former spin-twin who ended his career by taking his 800th wicket with his final delivery in Tests. He still has a decent sense of an ending, though. He won the Abu Dhabi match for his side with 11 wickets, the last of which was his 400th in Tests. It was not the first time he has owned Pakistan, either. A quarter of all his Test victims have been Pakistani. If Pakistan are going to avoid a first ever series defeat in the UAE, Azhar, their senior batsman, needs to stand up and show the way to blunt Herath.
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Cultural fiesta
What: The Al Burda Festival
When: November 14 (from 10am)
Where: Warehouse421, Abu Dhabi
The Al Burda Festival is a celebration of Islamic art and culture, featuring talks, performances and exhibitions. Organised by the Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development, this one-day event opens with a session on the future of Islamic art. With this in mind, it is followed by a number of workshops and “masterclass” sessions in everything from calligraphy and typography to geometry and the origins of Islamic design. There will also be discussions on subjects including ‘Who is the Audience for Islamic Art?’ and ‘New Markets for Islamic Design.’ A live performance from Kuwaiti guitarist Yousif Yaseen should be one of the highlights of the day.
Know your Camel lingo
The bairaq is a competition for the best herd of 50 camels, named for the banner its winner takes home
Namoos - a word of congratulations reserved for falconry competitions, camel races and camel pageants. It best translates as 'the pride of victory' - and for competitors, it is priceless
Asayel camels - sleek, short-haired hound-like racers
Majahim - chocolate-brown camels that can grow to weigh two tonnes. They were only valued for milk until camel pageantry took off in the 1990s
Millions Street - the thoroughfare where camels are led and where white 4x4s throng throughout the festival
Wednesday's results
Finland 3-0 Armenia
Faroes Islands 1-0 Malta
Sweden 1-1 Spain
Gibraltar 2-3 Georgia
Romania 1-1 Norway
Greece 2-1 Bosnia and Herzegovina
Liechtenstein 0-5 Italy
Switzerland 2-0 Rep of Ireland
Israel 3-1 Latvia
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GROUPS AND FIXTURES
Group A
UAE, Italy, Japan, Spain
Group B
Egypt, Iran, Mexico, Russia
Tuesday
4.15pm: Italy v Japan
5.30pm: Spain v UAE
6.45pm: Egypt v Russia
8pm: Iran v Mexico
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
((Disclaimer))
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Juliet, Naked
Dir: Jesse Peretz
Starring: Chris O'Dowd, Rose Byrne, Ethan Hawke
Two stars
Salah in numbers
€39 million: Liverpool agreed a fee, including add-ons, in the region of €39m (nearly Dh176m) to sign Salah from Roma last year. The exchange rate at the time meant that cost the Reds £34.3m - a bargain given his performances since.
13: The 25-year-old player was not a complete stranger to the Premier League when he arrived at Liverpool this summer. However, during his previous stint at Chelsea, he made just 13 Premier League appearances, seven of which were off the bench, and scored only twice.
57: It was in the 57th minute of his Liverpool bow when Salah opened his account for the Reds in the 3-3 draw with Watford back in August. The Egyptian prodded the ball over the line from close range after latching onto Roberto Firmino's attempted lob.
7: Salah's best scoring streak of the season occurred between an FA Cup tie against West Brom on January 27 and a Premier League win over Newcastle on March 3. He scored for seven games running in all competitions and struck twice against Tottenham.
3: This season Salah became the first player in Premier League history to win the player of the month award three times during a term. He was voted as the division's best player in November, February and March.
40: Salah joined Roger Hunt and Ian Rush as the only players in Liverpool's history to have scored 40 times in a single season when he headed home against Bournemouth at Anfield earlier this month.
30: The goal against Bournemouth ensured the Egyptian achieved another milestone in becoming the first African player to score 30 times across one Premier League campaign.
8: As well as his fine form in England, Salah has also scored eight times in the tournament phase of this season's Champions League. Only Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, with 15 to his credit, has found the net more often in the group stages and knockout rounds of Europe's premier club competition.
