We all know the benefits of switching off while you are on holiday, but the question is, would you be prepared to go offline even once a month? Jeff Topping / The National
We all know the benefits of switching off while you are on holiday, but the question is, would you be prepared to go offline even once a month? Jeff Topping / The National
We all know the benefits of switching off while you are on holiday, but the question is, would you be prepared to go offline even once a month? Jeff Topping / The National
We all know the benefits of switching off while you are on holiday, but the question is, would you be prepared to go offline even once a month? Jeff Topping / The National

Reconnect offline?


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National Editorial

Many of us have less down time than ever. Communication technologies have overtaken our lives and left us hooked on sending text messages and emails, and accessing social media at all hours of the day and night. We also now tend to sleep less, work longer, suffer more from stress and find the line between work and leisure increasingly blurred.

A digital detox may seem impossible for tech addicts to contemplate, but sometimes going off the grid should be encouraged. For example, as The National’s Frank Kane noted yesterday, sometimes you can end up in a part of the world which is unintentionally off the internet, forcing you to slow down and do things differently.

We all know the benefits of switching off while you are on holiday, but the question is, would you be prepared to go offline once a month or even once in a while and reconnect with your social network in more traditional ways?

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The specs

  Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now

Ordinary Virtues: Moral Order in a Divided World by Michael Ignatieff
Harvard University Press

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.

Part three: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Power: 510hp at 9,000rpm
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
Price: From Dh801,800
The specs
  • Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
  • Power: 640hp
  • Torque: 760nm
  • On sale: 2026
  • Price: Not announced yet
Tearful appearance

Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday. 

Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow. 

She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.

A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.

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