It was my dad’s 77th birthday on Wednesday. When I called him, he was as chipper as ever. He and my mum had enjoyed a nice lunch at home, with a cake, and had been visited by a neighbour, who, I was assured, maintained a respectable distance at all times.
It was a detour from the usual boisterous gatherings my perennially sociable parents throw to celebrate their birthdays, but both seemed happy enough.
I'll have an unbidden flash of panic if my mum calls at an unusual time of day
I like to think that I am faring pretty well through the ups and downs of the current pandemic. I am very aware of how lucky I am, compared to countless other people around the world. But every now and again, like on your dad’s 77th birthday, you are reminded of how surreal and unsettling this whole situation is.
For many of us, concern about our loved ones in countries far away is the undercurrent of this whole crisis. For those of us who live apart from our families, with no prospect of seeing them or being able to care for them if the worst does happen, there is a constant sense of unease.
When airports and borders started shutting down, we were all faced with the same terrifying reality: if something happens, there’s absolutely nothing I can do.
I’ll have an unbidden flash of panic if my mum calls at an unusual time of day – quickly allayed when it transpires that she is calling to tell me about her last trip to the supermarket (in extensive detail).
There have been full-blown rows as I try to outline the merits of wearing a face mask in public (not yet common practice in Cyprus, where they live), and they brush off my concerns.
Luckily, they live in a remote spot in the countryside, plus my mum’s propensity to hoard means they have enough food to survive a nuclear fallout, which is a source of some solace.
One of the most heartbreaking parts of this whole situation is the fact that people are forced to battle – and sometimes succumb – to this disease without the support of those they love.
It is one of the great ironies that, as we collectively struggle through the effects of the pandemic, we must do it separately, far from the people we so desperately want to protect. At a time when human comfort and intimacy are needed more than ever, we must keep our distance.
This is exacerbated by the fact that there is no end in sight. While airlines are gradually starting to remove restrictions and take to the skies again, many countries are retaining strict controls over their borders.
We must override all our instincts to dash back to those we miss the most
And even if I could get on a plane to Larnaca International Airport tomorrow, would I? The temptation to be with our loved ones is overwhelming. But the risks are still so high. Do we really want to be getting on planes and in taxis and potentially exposing ourselves to the virus, only to arrive at our elderly parents' doorsteps and give them a hug?
And so we must wait, patiently. We must override all our instincts to dash back to those we miss the most. And hope that things will look very different by the time my dad turns 78.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
House-hunting
Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove
- Edinburgh, Scotland
- Westminster, London
- Camden, London
- Glasgow, Scotland
- Islington, London
- Kensington and Chelsea, London
- Highlands, Scotland
- Argyll and Bute, Scotland
- Fife, Scotland
- Tower Hamlets, London
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
Scoreline:
Cardiff City 0
Liverpool 2
Wijnaldum 57', Milner 81' (pen)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Imperial%20Island%3A%20A%20History%20of%20Empire%20in%20Modern%20Britain
%3Cp%3EAuthor%3A%20Charlotte%20Lydia%20Riley%3Cbr%3EPublisher%3A%20Bodley%20Head%3Cbr%3EPages%3A%20384%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Brief scoreline:
Al Wahda 2
Al Menhali 27', Tagliabue 79'
Al Nassr 3
Hamdallah 41', Giuliano 45 1', 62'
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
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
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
US Industrial Market figures, Q1 2017
Vacancy Rate 5.4%
Markets With Positive Absorption 85.7 per cent
New Supply 55 million sq ft
New Supply to Inventory 0.4 per cent
Under Construction 198.2 million sq ft
(Source: Colliers)
Background: Chemical Weapons
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Scoreline
Al Wasl 1 (Caio Canedo 90 1')
Al Ain 2 (Ismail Ahmed 3', Marcus Berg 50')
Red cards: Ismail Ahmed (Al Ain) 77'
NEW ARRIVALS
Benjamin Mendy (Monaco) - £51.75m (Dh247.94m)
Kyle Walker (Tottenham Hotspur) - £45.9m
Bernardo Silva (Monaco) - £45m
Ederson Moraes (Benfica) - £36m
Danilo (Real Madrid) - £27m
Douglas Luiz (Vasco de Gama) - £10.8m
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Teams in the EHL
White Bears, Al Ain Theebs, Dubai Mighty Camels, Abu Dhabi Storms, Abu Dhabi Scorpions and Vipers
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
