Awoken from a deep sleep, sitting bolt upright in bed, a seven-year-old me is gazing intensely and expectantly at the window. Instinctively, I have momentarily stopped breathing. This is part of the body's fear reflex, allowing us to hear better. I'm listening out for the sound of breaking glass, which, I believe, is a tell-tale sign that the blast radius is approaching. I stare at the window expecting the glass to shatter - any second now - cutting my face to ribbons before I'm incinerated along with my mum, baby sister and everyone else I've ever known. It was the 1980s, and I had the nuclear night terrors.
Back at the height of the Cold War, the fear associated with the threat of a thermonuclear catastrophe became the subject of a major study undertaken by the American Psychiatric Association. The APA set up a task force on the psychosocial impacts of nuclear developments, which, among other things, examined the attitudes of children and adolescents to the nuclear threat.
The interviews with children, focusing on the threat of nuclear war, revealed that there was a great deal of uncertainty and pessimism about the future. Published in The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine, the young people's responses expressed doubts about the continuity of human existence. The majority of respondents saw nuclear war as a real possibility, and a sizable minority thought it a near inevitability.
One child commented: "I think that unless we do something about nuclear weapons, the world and the human race may not have much time left." Heartbreakingly, another child suggested, “it seems bad because we're little children and we didn't have any fun yet".
One conclusion the psychiatrists drew from the study was that fear of a nuclear holocaust seemed likely to have a negative impact on personality development. The psychiatrists argued that such fear might lead to some adolescents becoming disillusioned and highly present-orientated, unwilling to delay gratification and make plans for the future. Such traits are often associated with drug and alcohol use and also with escaping into fantasy worlds, due to a lack of confidence in the real one.
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Thankfully, the Cold War thawed. Our heightened fears of nuclear annihilation exited the stage. Unlike me, my children have never suggested that we build a nuclear fallout shelter in the garden, or asked, "what will we do if there is a nuclear war?". However, recent world events are bringing the threat of nuclear annihilation back onto the centre stage of public consciousness.
In a recent freestyle rap video, which went viral on social media, the rapper Eminem spat the following vitriolic lyrics: "Cause what we got in office now's a kamikaze, that'll prob'ly cause a nuclear holocaust". This particular line reflects the fact that the nuclear threat is back on the political agenda and also on the minds of young people.
Social media, home to many of today’s young people, is now also a place where some world leaders choose to make their veiled and not so veiled nuclear threats. For example, Donald Trump tweeted: “My first order as president was to renovate and modernise our nuclear arsenal. It is now far stronger and more powerful than ever before ...”
With reference to fellow nuclear sabre-rattler, North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong-un, Mr Trump tweeted: "I told Rex Tillerson, our wonderful secretary of state, that he is wasting his time trying to negotiate with Little Rocket Man ... Save your energy Rex, we'll do what has to be done!".
Regrettably, the bogeyman of my childhood, the threat of nuclear annihilation, is making its way back on to centre stage. Is this the final act? Probably not. However, we need to prepare for the psychological harm that this threat can have on developing minds. If young people see no future, this can lead to hopelessness, loss of motivation, anger and the kind of escapism often associated with future damaging behaviours such as substance abuse and empty escapism.
Concerns about the future can often rain down destruction on the present. Future-proofing our children means helping them better manage their anxieties, whatever the source.
Dr Justin Thomas is an associate professor at Zayed University
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
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
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
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