School regulations can generally be counted on to give the kids a good laugh.
School regulations can generally be counted on to give the kids a good laugh.

Who makes up all those school rules on appearance?



It's a wonder a book hasn't been written about the sorts of rules and regulations schools tend to have nowadays. Combine the rules I have come across in previous institutions or the ones in friends' schools, and the collection is pleasantly pointless. Make-up is usually either allowed in class or it is not, so it's a pleasant surprise to discover that you can "wear foundation that does not vary more than two shades up or down from your natural skin tone", as a teacher told us during an assembly about improper attire at school.

Spray tans had not been taken into account in the school where this rule was implemented, leading to students enthusiastically arguing with teachers over what would be deemed their natural skin tone. The same went for hair dye. "Pink isn't that far from my natural hair colour," I heard a girl pleading with a weary-looking teacher. "I mean, strawberries are kind of pinky, and my hair's kind of strawberry blonde. They're just highlights, anyway."

The girl was finally sent away when she took pity on the teacher and admitted that the colour would come off in the next wash. Blush was allowed as long as it was the same shade as the student's natural blush when she pinched her cheeks between thumb and forefinger. This rule grew to be blissfully ignored by students and teachers alike over the years, but not before several cases of suspiciously deeply blushing girls had been picked out. The problem then was to find out whether they turned as crimson as their make-up when their cheeks were pinched.

One school's attitude towards nails was especially well-planned. Whoever wrote the rule book was either a skilled beautician or the mother of a teenager. Somehow I can't imagine the dean-cum-maths-teacher, who lived, ate and dreamed trig ratios, knowing or caring about the difference between a cuticle and the free edge. We were allowed clear nail polish or French manicures, but no coloured nail paint or crystals. There was even a maximum distance the nail could extend beyond the tip of the finger. But then again, there was a maximum height for heels, too, but I have never yet experienced a member of the faculty stopping someone in the hallway, whipping out measuring tape from their pockets and kneeling down to do some nice, early-morning shoe measuring.

Black shoes and white socks probably are reasonable enough, but don't go down too well with teenagers. In a previous school, simply enforcing the rule led to everyone wearing green socks, stripy socks, ones with teddy bears on - anything but white socks. A friend, Nat, who had lost her black shoes, managed to evade teachers when she sauntered into school with mismatched Converses one day, as she always does.

She was tracked down by the principal, who informed her that Converse shoes were not allowed in class. The next day, she trotted in wearing electric-blue kittens. Over the following weeks, she showed off her entire shoe collection and took to sprinting away or taking refuge in the nearest classroom when the principal approached. Funnily enough, these events took place after it was announced that it was detention for anyone who got too adventurous with their footwear. No one had bothered with wearing non-school shoes earlier, but with something new to rebel against, the students soon taught the school a useful lesson in reverse psychology.

Protests about equality were sparked when a school decided that boys were not allowed to wear earrings or have long hair, even though few of them sported either. Another rule I fail to understand the purpose of is "no chewing gum". When we are allowed everything from gummy bears to soda pop, chewing gum seems harmless. The issue was that we apparently stick chewed-up wads under tables, defiling school property. This hasn't stopped us chewing away. However, rather than make a detour to the bin and risk getting caught, that is exactly where we are now forced to dispose of our gum - although under the teacher's desk is fast becoming another popular location for the more intrepid among us.

I remember when we were gravely told in assembly that there would be serious consequences if weapons were found among our possessions. Apart from the usual knives and revolvers, the list of weapons included sabres and shurikens. Some people are just not content to restrict rules to "No talking in class" and "Proper uniform". Today's teachers must not only have the skills to determine whether eyelashes have been tinted more than two shades darker than their natural colour, but need to learn to distinguish between a pendant and a shuriken.

Just in case a student is planning to disturb the learning process with ninja weaponry. Lavanya Malhotra is a 14-year-old student in Dubai.

Family reunited

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was born and raised in Tehran and studied English literature before working as a translator in the relief effort for the Japanese International Co-operation Agency in 2003.

She moved to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies before moving to the World Health Organisation as a communications officer.

She came to the UK in 2007 after securing a scholarship at London Metropolitan University to study a master's in communication management and met her future husband through mutual friends a month later.

The couple were married in August 2009 in Winchester and their daughter was born in June 2014.

She was held in her native country a year later.

Specs

Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric

Range: Up to 610km

Power: 905hp

Torque: 985Nm

Price: From Dh439,000

Available: Now

Sustainable Development Goals

1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere

2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all

5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all

7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all

8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all

9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation

10. Reduce inequality  within and among countries

11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its effects

14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development

15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss

16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels

17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development

MATCH INFO

Juventus 1 (Dybala 45')

Lazio 3 (Alberto 16', Lulic 73', Cataldi 90 4')

Red card: Rodrigo Bentancur (Juventus)

The White Lotus: Season three

Creator: Mike White

Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell

Rating: 4.5/5

Election pledges on migration

CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections" 

SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom" 

The National's picks

4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young

CRICKET%20WORLD%20CUP%20LEAGUE%202
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WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?

1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull

2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight

3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge

4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own

5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed

The Book of Collateral Damage

Sinan Antoon

(Yale University Press)

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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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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
  • 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
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

Mountain%20Boy
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Zainab%20Shaheen%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Naser%20Al%20Messabi%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
A new relationship with the old country

Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates

The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:

ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.

ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.

ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.

ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.

DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.

Signed

Geoffrey Arthur  Sheikh Zayed

NO OTHER LAND

Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal

Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham

Rating: 3.5/5