We said farewell to Khartoum with broken hearts.
After enduring 40 days of war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, our family was forced to choose a new beginning.
My sister Ayshah, 30, had lost her baby a few days earlier in what seemed to be a miscarriage caused by stress. She was five months pregnant and it was her second miscarriage in as many years.
Getting help for her was torture.
Our neighbour Murtada took Ayshah, our other sister Fawziyah, 23, and I around the city on his tuk-tuk in the dead of night to find a doctor.
At six RSF checkpoints, which have become commonplace around the city since the outbreak of war in April, we were sent away, told it was too late to travel. We were forced to go into backstreets to avoid the checkpoints but even that proved futile.
By dawn, we found ourselves back home, and Ayshah was crying in agony.
We hoped daylight may change our prospects. That morning we drove 15 kilometres across the city until we found a private clinic, only to discover they wanted 120,000 Sudanese pounds, about $200, upfront to help our sister.
I begged and I begged, explaining there was no way anyone can have that much cash these days and that I was more than happy to pay with my credit card. But they would not budge.
Our next stop was a small government hospital that an elderly man we met at the private clinic told us about. It was in the same district as the clinic.
We made it there and, to our delight, there were doctors on duty. But the hospital was not operational. No power. They called one of the hospital’s gynecologists, who lived a short distance away.
It took her eight hours to come.
In the end, the doctor said the baby must be sacrificed so that my sister, who had by now been crying from pain for close to 24 hours, would live.
My sister reluctantly agreed. She has been heart-broken since.
We don’t know if getting her help sooner, or not living through such a devastating conflict, may have saved her baby.
After such heartbreak, joining the almost two million Sudanese who have fled the war, which had claimed 3,000 lives by the third week of June, felt like the only option.
This absurd conflict has pushed hundreds of thousands of Sudanese into a kind of homelessness – at least 2.2 million by the latest UN count, of whom more than 500,000 went to neighbouring nations and the rest elsewhere in Sudan.
They got up and left to be safely away from the bullets, the shelling and the air strikes. It’s the kind of war that made everyone curse, even hate, both adversaries.
A few days before we left, my father, who is 68, called me into his room. “Take us out of here, my son. Take us anywhere away from here,” he told me in a sombre and hurt voice. “Thanks be to God, your sister is better now, so we can leave.”
Escape from Khartoum
We left Khartoum in a minibus; me, my parents, Ayshah, Fawziyah, Areej, my other sister who is 18, my brother Muhanad, my fiancée Asmaa, 23 and her mother.
Our journey out of Khartoum and on to the road north was fraught with danger because of the air strikes, the artillery shells and the menacing attitude of RSF fighters manning checkpoints.
We left our Sharq El Nile home in the east of the city at dawn.
The call for the first of the day’s five prayers was punctuated by the sound of artillery shells and heavy gunfire.
We drove past Station 13, the name of a major juncture in Sharq El Nile, where fighting turned the ground black.
Our 350km journey to Atbara began with negotiating our way through 11 RSF checkpoints. In the end, it took us eight hours to get out of Khartoum, a journey that usually takes 40-to-45 minutes.
If we were ever faltering on our decision to leave, one glimpse out of the window affirmed our choice.
We saw countless bodies littering the streets. Some were beginning to decompose or look to have been partially mauled, most likely by packs of stray dogs who normally survive on people’s kindness or their rubbish.
Many of those bodies sat in the middle of pools of dried blood, its colour faded by Khartoum’s scorching sun. But there was no sign of army troops anywhere.
Not even in my worst nightmares did I imagine that one day I would see dozens of dead bodies scattered around the streets of the city where I was born and grew up.
Curiously, it seems that some of the city’s residents have learnt, most likely out of necessity, to ignore the danger lurking across the city and get on with their lives.
Some street hawkers are back on pavements. The city’s famous tea ladies are brewing up while gunfire is ringing out close by.
I think taking the war for granted and trying to live a normal life while it goes on around us is an unhealthy approach. It means that the value we place on our lives has somewhat diminished.
On the whole though, the once bustling city was like a ghost town. Several fires were raging unabated, mostly government offices, facilities or fuel depots struck by artillery or air strikes.
Families nervously wait for a ride out of the city at street corners. Sitting next to them is invariably a heap of luggage and large bags stuffed with what could not go into the suitcases.
We could see others walking away with looted items, like office furniture and television screens. They seemed at pains not to make eye contact with anyone they walk past.
The smell of smouldering fires was everywhere.
The realisation that images of the worst of the destruction and death wrought on Khartoum were not reaching the outside world weighed heavily on my mind.
Understandably, the few television news crews still operating in the city are unable to access areas where the worst of the fighting is taking place on a daily basis. I guess what I am saying here, is that the situation is so much worse than the world thinks.
In the days before our departure, some of our neighbours ran out of food. They knocked at the doors of others asking for help. Several came to our house. We shared some of what we had cooked, but we felt the need to hold on to as much as we could because there was no telling how long this war would last.
I wanted to document the journey with my mobile phone, but I knew better than that.
RSF fighters have been commandeering mobile phones at their checkpoints. Sometimes, if they saw photos or videos of their men or their military hardware, they casually make accusations like spying for or sympathising with the army. I kept the phone well hidden.
Life goes on elsewhere in Sudan
The last checkpoint in Khartoum was near the RSF-held Al Geely oil refinery in the north of the city. We planned to head from there to Shindy and then Atbara.
Hundreds of cars and buses snaked down the road, people with anxious faces staring from their windows. As far as I could tell, the passengers were mostly elderly men, women and children.
I felt kinship with the other passengers. They, like us, have just said goodbye to their homes and neighbourhoods and, as of now, they have little, or no, hope of going back.
The road to Atbara was safe and free of checkpoints, but the price of relative safety is a lack of amenities, cafes or shops. Not even petrol stations were open for the three-and-a-half-hour drive.
Atabara is nicknamed the city of fire and iron because of its role as a railway hub. It is named after a main tributary of the River Nile. Unlike wartime Khartoum, we found Atbara to be fully operational.
The markets and banks are open for business. Government offices are operating as usual and the streets in the city centre are packed.
Almost everything about Atbara was the opposite of what Khartoum has been like in the past seven weeks. The city’s normality surprised me. For some reason, I just did not expect it.
We dropped Ayshah at Shendi on the way to Atbara. There, she joined her husband at the family home. Her in-laws laid down a rich meal for us. We said goodbye to Ayshah and resumed our journey to Atbara.
We stayed with my 80-year-old grandmother, also named Ayshah, at Atbara. Everyone except me spent five days there because my parents needed to rest.
The next stop for them – except for my father and brother Muhana whose passports expired and could not be renewed in Khartoum because of the war – was to be Wadi Halfa and then Egypt, a country our family has long viewed as our second home.
Trouble at the border
Egypt requires males between the age of 19 and 49 to have a visa, whereas everyone else gets a visa on arrival. I did not have a visa and, subsequently, I had other plans.
After one night in Atbara, I bid everyone farewell and headed to Port Sudan, the army-controlled Sudanese city on the Red Sea. I travelled there with friends from one of Sudan's security agencies. They took me straight to the port, where I was able to immediately join hundreds of people escaping the war aboard a Saudi navy vessel to Jeddah across the sea.
Like Port Sudan, I hardly spent any time in Jeddah. I went straight from the seaport to the city's main airport and caught a flight to Frankfurt and on to to Norway, for which I have a valid visa.
What happened to the rest of my family was unexpected.
My family arrived at the border crossing with Egypt on June 8 knowing that new entry regulations decreed by Cairo requiring that every Sudanese citizen needs an advance visa regardless of age or gender would go into effect two days later.
They rested overnight at the no-man’s land after they cleared passport control and customs on the Sudanese side. When they arrived at the gate of the Egyptian side early the next day they were told to come back at 10am. They went back on time only to be told to return three hours later.
When they did, the Egyptian guards told them the crossing was closed.
They had no choice but to return. This time, they went to Wadi Halfa, the nearest town to the Egyptian border where we have many relatives.
There they applied for visas at the Egyptian consulate, but the situation is hopelessly chaotic, with long lines and no clear or efficient processing system.
Asmaa, my fiancee, sends me tearful voice notes every day. She says she joins the line outside the consulate at 5am every day until late afternoon, when she returns home in despair after not making any progress.
She is very upset and, for reasons unknown to me, she is blaming me. I think she is just very tired.
In retrospect, they should not have stayed so long in Atbara. Two days would have been enough, but my father was reluctant to let the women travel to Egypt without a male chaperone. He gave in at the end after I assured him that I will have someone meet them on the Egyptian side and escort them all the way to Cairo.
I am still hoping to marry Asmaa, who is a medical doctor, on July 3 in Cairo. But it's looking more and more unlikely now with every passing day. If we were to marry on that date, she should have been in Cairo for one or two weeks by now preparing for the wedding.
I have contacted the Egyptian embassy in Sudan to seek help. They gave me assurances they would issue my mother, Asmaa and her mother visas, but I don't think that either of us wants to have a wedding without our entire families present.
I have not been able to sleep much lately. I am consumed with worry. Too much is going on and none of it is good or promising.
On the upside, I obtained a five-year residence visa in Norway, where I have a full scholarship to study. The university found me temporary accommodation since I cannot move to the students' residence halls before the academic year starts in September.
I also secured a visa for Egypt from the embassy in Oslo.
In September, I will start attending language courses, a requirement before I start my master's degree here in media studies.
I still have hope that everyone will make it, God willing, to Cairo, wedding or not.
As told to Hamza Hendawi, The National's Senior Correspondent in Cairo.
Terminator: Dark Fate
Director: Tim Miller
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Mackenzie Davis
Rating: 3/5
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
What are the main cyber security threats?
Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.
500 People from Gaza enter France
115 Special programme for artists
25 Evacuation of injured and sick
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre 6-cyl turbo
Power: 435hp at 5,900rpm
Torque: 520Nm at 1,800-5,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Price: from Dh498,542
On sale: now
Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
- Pension support
- Mental well-being assistance
- Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
- Financial well-being incentives
Read more from Aya Iskandarani
More from Neighbourhood Watch
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Cheeseburger%20ingredients
%3Cp%3EPrice%20for%20a%20single%20burger%20%C2%A30.44%3Cbr%3EPrice%20for%20a%20single%20bun%20%C2%A30.17%3Cbr%3EPrice%20for%20a%20single%20cheese%20slice%20%C2%A30.04%3Cbr%3EPrice%20for%2010g%20Gherkins%20is%20less%20than%20%C2%A30.01%3Cbr%3EPrice%20for%2010g%20ketchup%20is%20less%20than%20%C2%A30.01%20%3Cbr%3EPrice%20for%2010g%20mustard%20is%20less%20than%20%C2%A30.01%3Cbr%3EPrice%20for%2010g%20onions%20is%20less%20than%20%C2%A30.01%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ETotal%2068p%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ECredit%3A%20Meal%20Delivery%20Experts%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
Vidaamuyarchi
Director: Magizh Thirumeni
Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra
Rating: 4/5
More on Quran memorisation:
More coverage from the Future Forum
Heather, the Totality
Matthew Weiner,
Canongate
Premier Futsal 2017 Finals
Al Wasl Football Club; six teams, five-a-side
Delhi Dragons: Ronaldinho
Bengaluru Royals: Paul Scholes
Mumbai Warriors: Ryan Giggs
Chennai Ginghams: Hernan Crespo
Telugu Tigers: Deco
Kerala Cobras: Michel Salgado
Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.
Based: Riyadh
Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany
Founded: September, 2020
Number of employees: 70
Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions
Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds
Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices
The specs
Price: From Dh529,000
Engine: 5-litre V8
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Power: 520hp
Torque: 625Nm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.8L/100km
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8
Power: 712hp at 6,100rpm
Torque: 881Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km
Price: Dh380,000
On sale: now
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
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
Baftas 2020 winners
BEST FILM
- 1917 - Pippa Harris, Callum McDougall, Sam Mendes, Jayne-Ann Tenggren
- THE IRISHMAN - Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal, Martin Scorsese, Emma Tillinger Koskoff
- JOKER - Bradley Cooper, Todd Phillips, Emma Tillinger Koskoff
- ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD - David Heyman, Shannon McIntosh, Quentin Tarantino
- PARASITE - Bong Joon-ho, Kwak Sin-ae
DIRECTOR
- 1917 - Sam Mendes
- THE IRISHMAN - Martin Scorsese
- JOKER - Todd Phillips
- ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD - Quentin Tarantino
- PARASITE - Bong Joon-ho
OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
- 1917 - Sam Mendes, Pippa Harris, Callum McDougall, Jayne-Ann Tenggren, Krysty Wilson-Cairns
- BAIT - Mark Jenkin, Kate Byers, Linn Waite
- FOR SAMA - Waad al-Kateab, Edward Watts
- ROCKETMAN - Dexter Fletcher, Adam Bohling, David Furnish, David Reid, Matthew Vaughn, Lee Hall
- SORRY WE MISSED YOU - Ken Loach, Rebecca O’Brien, Paul Laverty
- THE TWO POPES - Fernando Meirelles, Jonathan Eirich, Dan Lin, Tracey Seaward, Anthony McCarten
FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
- THE FAREWELL - Lulu Wang, Daniele Melia
- FOR SAMA - Waad al-Kateab, Edward Watts
- PAIN AND GLORY - Pedro Almodóvar, Agustín Almodóvar
- PARASITE - Bong Joon-ho
- PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE - Céline Sciamma, Bénédicte Couvreur
LEADING ACTRESS
- JESSIE BUCKLEY - Wild Rose
- SCARLETT JOHANSSON - Marriage Story
- SAOIRSE RONAN - Little Women
- CHARLIZE THERON - Bombshell
- RENÉE ZELLWEGER - Judy
LEADING ACTOR
- LEONARDO DICAPRIO - Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood
- ADAM DRIVER - Marriage Story
- TARON EGERTON - Rocketman
- JOAQUIN PHOENIX - Joker
- JONATHAN PRYCE - The Two Popes
SUPPORTING ACTOR
- TOM HANKS - A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
- ANTHONY HOPKINS - The Two Popes
- AL PACINO - The Irishman
- JOE PESCI - The Irishman
- BRAD PITT - Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
- LAURA DERN - Marriage Story
- SCARLETT JOHANSSON - Jojo Rabbit
- FLORENCE PUGH - Little Women
- MARGOT ROBBIE - Bombshell
- MARGOT ROBBIE - Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
- THE IRISHMAN - Steven Zaillian
- JOJO RABBIT - Taika Waititi
- JOKER - Todd Phillips, Scott Silver
- LITTLE WOMEN - Greta Gerwig
- THE TWO POPES - Anthony McCarten
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
- BOOKSMART - Susanna Fogel, Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins, Katie Silberman
- KNIVES OUT - Rian Johnson
- MARRIAGE STORY - Noah Baumbach
- ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD - Quentin Tarantino
- PARASITE - Han Jin Won, Bong Joon ho
DOCUMENTARY
- AMERICAN FACTORY - Steven Bognar, Julia Reichert
- APOLLO 11 - Todd Douglas Miller
- DIEGO MARADONA - Asif Kapadia
- FOR SAMA - Waad al-Kateab, Edward Watts
- THE GREAT HACK - Karim Amer, Jehane Noujaime
OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
- BAIT - Mark Jenkin (Writer/Director), Kate Byers, Linn Waite (Producers)
- FOR SAMA - Waad al-Kateab (Director/Producer), Edward Watts (Director)
- MAIDEN - Alex Holmes (Director)
- ONLY YOU - Harry Wootliff (Writer/Director)
- RETABLO - Álvaro Delgado-Aparicio (Writer/Director)
ANIMATED FILM
- FROZEN 2 - Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee, Peter Del Vecho
- KLAUS - Sergio Pablos, Jinko Gotoh
- A SHAUN THE SHEEP MOVIE: FARMAGEDDON - Will Becher, Richard Phelan, Paul Kewley
- TOY STORY 4 - Josh Cooley, Mark Nielsen
CASTING
- JOKER - Shayna Markowitz
- MARRIAGE STORY - Douglas Aibel, Francine Maisler
- ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD - Victoria Thomas
- THE PERSONAL HISTORY OF DAVID COPPERFIELD - Sarah Crowe
- THE TWO POPES - Nina Gold
EE RISING STAR AWARD (voted for by the public)
- AWKWAFINA
- JACK LOWDEN
- KAITLYN DEVER
- KELVIN HARRISON JR.
- MICHEAL WARD
CINEMATOGRAPHY
- 1917 - Roger Deakins
- THE IRISHMAN - Rodrigo Prieto
- JOKER - Lawrence Sher
- LE MANS ’66 - Phedon Papamichael
- THE LIGHTHOUSE - Jarin Blaschke
EDITING
- THE IRISHMAN - Thelma Schoonmaker
- JOJO RABBIT - Tom Eagles
- JOKER - Jeff Groth
- LE MANS ’66 - Andrew Buckland, Michael McCusker
- ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD - Fred Raskin
COSTUME DESIGN
- THE IRISHMAN - Christopher Peterson, Sandy Powell
- JOJO RABBIT - Mayes C. Rubeo
- JUDY - Jany Temime
- LITTLE WOMEN - Jacqueline Durran
- ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD - Arianne Phillips
PRODUCTION DESIGN
- 1917 - Dennis Gassner, Lee Sandales
- THE IRISHMAN - Bob Shaw, Regina Graves
- JOJO RABBIT - Ra Vincent, Nora Sopková
- JOKER - Mark Friedberg, Kris Moran
- ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD - Barbara Ling, Nancy Haigh
SOUND
- 1917 - Scott Millan, Oliver Tarney, Rachael Tate, Mark Taylor, Stuart Wilson
- JOKER - Tod Maitland, Alan Robert Murray, Tom Ozanich, Dean Zupancic
- LE MANS ’66 - David Giammarco, Paul Massey, Steven A. Morrow, Donald Sylvester
- ROCKETMAN - Matthew Collinge, John Hayes, Mike Prestwood Smith, Danny Sheehan
- STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER - David Acord, Andy Nelson, Christopher Scarabosio, Stuart Wilson, Matthew Wood
ORIGINAL SCORE
- 1917 - Thomas Newman
- JOJO RABBIT - Michael Giacchino
- JOKER - Hildur Guđnadóttir
- LITTLE WOMEN - Alexandre Desplat
- STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER - John Williams
SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
- 1917 - Greg Butler, Guillaume Rocheron, Dominic Tuohy
- AVENGERS: ENDGAME - Dan Deleeuw, Dan Sudick
- THE IRISHMAN - Leandro Estebecorena, Stephane Grabli, Pablo Helman
- THE LION KING - Andrew R. Jones, Robert Legato, Elliot Newman, Adam Valdez
- STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER - Roger Guyett, Paul Kavanagh, Neal Scanlan, Dominic Tuohy
MAKE UP & HAIR
- 1917 - Naomi Donne
- BOMBSHELL - Vivian Baker, Kazu Hiro, Anne Morgan
- JOKER - Kay Georgiou, Nicki Ledermann
- JUDY - Jeremy Woodhead
- ROCKETMAN - Lizzie Yianni Georgiou
BRITISH SHORT FILM
- AZAAR - Myriam Raja, Nathanael Baring
- GOLDFISH - Hector Dockrill, Harri Kamalanathan, Benedict Turnbull, Laura Dockrill
- KAMALI - Sasha Rainbow, Rosalind Croad
- LEARNING TO SKATEBOARD IN A WARZONE (IF YOU’RE A GIRL) - Carol Dysinger, Elena Andreicheva
- THE TRAP - Lena Headey, Anthony Fitzgerald
BRITISH SHORT ANIMATION
- GRANDAD WAS A ROMANTIC - Maryam Mohajer
- IN HER BOOTS - Kathrin Steinbacher
- THE MAGIC BOAT - Naaman Azh
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut
Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”
Book%20Details
%3Cp%3E%3Cem%3EThree%20Centuries%20of%20Travel%20Writing%20by%20Muslim%20Women%3C%2Fem%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EEditors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESiobhan%20Lambert-Hurley%2C%20Daniel%20Majchrowicz%2C%20Sunil%20Sharma%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EIndiana%20University%20Press%3B%20532%20pages%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Global Fungi Facts
• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre, 4-cylinder turbo
Transmission: CVT
Power: 170bhp
Torque: 220Nm
Price: Dh98,900
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
More on animal trafficking
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Power: 480hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 570Nm from 2,300-5,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 10.4L/100km
Price: from Dh547,600
On sale: now
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
