Stephen Hawking once said: "However bad life may seem, there is always something you can do, and succeed at. While there is life, there is hope." The world-renowned British physicist, who died peacefully yesterday aged 76, was the living embodiment of that sentiment. Born 300 years to the day after the death of Galileo Galilei, the architect of modern science, Hawking overcame extraordinary adversity to triumph in his field. It was in 1963, that the physics student was diagnosed with motor neurone disease and given two years to live. He would defy the odds, living for a further five decades, though confined to a wheelchair and unable to speak unaided. While a weaker person may have struggled to find purpose, Hawking never wavered, breaking new ground on his mission to understand the universe, its origins and why it exists at all. "My expectations were reduced to zero when I was 21," he famously remarked. "Everything since then has been a bonus." His force of will is truly an inspiration to us all.
Hawking found renown among his colleagues for his ground-breaking research uniting the study of space and time with quantum theory – the behaviour of the smallest particles – to prize insights about cosmology, time and space. His "theory of everything", after which an acclaimed recent film about him is named, sought to establish well-defined laws that govern the universe. Outside of the scientific community, Hawking is legendary for popularising complex scientific theories and delighting ordinary people with its magic, filling auditoriums with his impassioned lectures on cosmology. A Brief History of Time, published in 1988, is one of the highest selling science books of all time, while Hawking's trademark synthetic voice has attracted its own cult following. Determined to inspire interest in space travel, in 2007 he became the first quadriplegic to experience weightlessness in a zero gravity simulator.
But despite his remarkable mind, like all humans Hawking was flawed. He shocked friends and family in 1995 when he divorced his devoted wife, who had cared for him for two decades, before marrying one of his nurses. The fallibility of this genius offers an important message for young people in a world where the famous take pains to sanitise their public profiles. Aware of the platform his fame afforded, he never shied away from controversy, reportedly rejecting a knighthood in the 90s over UK government funding for science. More recently he criticised the populist rebellion that saw Britain vote to leave the EU and the election of US President Donald Trump. But ultimately it was Hawking's scientific achievement and force of will in the face of indescribable adversity that made him extraordinary. He will rightly go down in history as one of the greatest minds and most inspirational figures if his generation.
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Results
Stage 7:
1. Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto Soudal - 3:18:29
2. Sam Bennett (IRL) Deceuninck-QuickStep - same time
3. Phil Bauhaus (GER) Bahrain Victorious
4. Michael Morkov (DEN) Deceuninck-QuickStep
5. Cees Bol (NED) Team DSM
General Classification:
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates - 24:00:28
2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers - 0:00:35
3. Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep - 0:01:02
4. Chris Harper (AUS) Jumbo-Visma - 0:01:42
5. Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo - 0:01:45
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
The Gandhi Murder
- 71 - Years since the death of MK Gandhi, also christened India's Father of the Nation
- 34 - Nationalities featured in the film The Gandhi Murder
- 7 - million dollars, the film's budget
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
