My son got in the car after school the other day and said that a friend didn’t feel well during class, told the teacher, got sent to the nurse and went home. But the friend’s sudden illness was not the full story: “Then the teacher got sick and went home, just a little while later. You know what that means, right?” He paused dramatically so that I could consider the implications. “They have Ebola!”
Needless to say, neither the friend nor the teacher has Ebola. He was making a joke, albeit in rather poor taste. But as is always the case with jokes, a thin current of anxiety ran just below the surface: could he or someone he knows contract the disease? Are we safe?
My son has developed into a fairly regular newspaper reader – The National and The New York Times are his staples – and we’ve had some interesting discussions comparing the way the UAE and US papers cover the same events. Reading the news, however, has given him the idea that danger lurks at every turn, and I am reminded of A Day in the Life by The Beatles, which begins “I read the news today, oh boy”, and continues with a description of a man blowing his brains out in a car.
I suppose you could say that people have been bemoaning the state of the world from the moment there was a world to bemoan: writings from early civilisations are full of doom and gloom. Violence and disease have always been a threat, and while the names may change, human behaviour in the face of these threats seems to remain fairly constant.
But it does seem, doesn’t it, that the world feels particularly precarious these days. If you believe the news outlets in the US, Ebola is going to kill us all, and if not Ebola then ISIL, and if not ISIL then some natural disaster caused by climate change. Cataclysm looms in every direction. Given the endless litany of bad news, I sometimes wish that my son would forego the newspapers and stick to reading about Minecraft.
In response to the news, I want to offer my children assurances that we’re safe, nothing will happen here and it will all be OK. But increasingly those reassurances are being trumped by the “what ifs” creeping into my thoughts: what if religious extremists claim even more territory? What if someone with Ebola finds her way into a crowded metropolis like Delhi or Manhattan? What if the next big hurricane hits even harder?
Just this week, for instance, the US embassy reported that anonymous threats had been made against American teachers and schools in the UAE. Overnight, my campus sprouted additional security guards and checkpoints, and even my children’s school, which is not American, sent out a letter detailing their security measures. Even without this recent ramping up of security, however, no one who lives in the UAE needs to look very far afield to see places where people aren’t safe, where violence has become part of the daily diet, where things are absolutely not OK. Can any of us say – regardless of where we live – that “it can’t happen here”, given the impossibly long list of what “it” might be?
How not to be paranoid in an age of paranoia? When there are more talking heads on CNN opining about the dangers of Ebola than there are people in the US with the disease, as happened a few weeks ago, can we be anything other than terrified? The health crisis in West Africa won’t be solved by hysteria: that crisis, like all the others confronting the world, needs global attention, discussion and coordinated care. Outside of telenovelas and soap operas, hysteria has never been the solution for anything.
I suppose some would say that we could just wrap ourselves in cocoons of blissful obliviousness and let the world fall apart without us, but I’m not sure that’s the answer either. Somewhere between paranoia and wilful ignorance there must be a point – probably slightly different for all of us – from which we can engage constructively with the world’s problems without collapsing under their weight. I’m not sure I’ve found that balancing point, but I’m trying. That’s the balance I’m hoping my children will find, eventually.
In the meantime, you’ll be glad to know that both my son’s friend and the teacher were back in school the next day. Not Ebola: a cold.
Deborah Lindsay Williams is a professor of literature at NYU Abu Dhabi. Her novel The Time Locket (written as Deborah Quinn) is now available on Amazon
HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Bio
Age: 25
Town: Al Diqdaqah – Ras Al Khaimah
Education: Bachelors degree in mechanical engineering
Favourite colour: White
Favourite place in the UAE: Downtown Dubai
Favourite book: A Life in Administration by Ghazi Al Gosaibi.
First owned baking book: How to Be a Domestic Goddess by Nigella Lawson.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Sreesanth's India bowling career
Tests 27, Wickets 87, Average 37.59, Best 5-40
ODIs 53, Wickets 75, Average 33.44, Best 6-55
T20Is 10, Wickets 7, Average 41.14, Best 2-12
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
War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
The five pillars of Islam
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
Abu Dhabi traffic facts
Drivers in Abu Dhabi spend 10 per cent longer in congested conditions than they would on a free-flowing road
The highest volume of traffic on the roads is found between 7am and 8am on a Sunday.
Travelling before 7am on a Sunday could save up to four hours per year on a 30-minute commute.
The day was the least congestion in Abu Dhabi in 2019 was Tuesday, August 13.
The highest levels of traffic were found on Sunday, November 10.
Drivers in Abu Dhabi lost 41 hours spent in traffic jams in rush hour during 2019
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Read more from Aya Iskandarani
Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
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
The Bio
Amal likes watching Japanese animation movies and Manga - her favourite is The Ancient Magus Bride
She is the eldest of 11 children, and has four brothers and six sisters.
Her dream is to meet with all of her friends online from around the world who supported her work throughout the years
Her favourite meal is pizza and stuffed vine leaves
She ams to improve her English and learn Japanese, which many animated programmes originate in
More coverage from the Future Forum
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre, twin-turbocharged V8
Transmission: nine-speed automatic
Power: 630bhp
Torque: 900Nm
Price: Dh810,000
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
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No.6 Collaborations Project
Ed Sheeran (Atlantic)
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
