It was the American novelist Henry James who summed up modern existence as “the minor lacerations of daily life.” And one of those minor lacerations for any Londoner is coping with pervasive, low-level crime.
My wife and I awoke earlier this week to find that our brand new VW Golf had been broken into on the London street where we live. Thankfully the vehicle itself was relatively untouched, yet despite the most sophisticated anti-theft and alarm devices VW can provide, the miscreant had somehow been able to open the driver’s door and gain access without so much as a murmur.
His inventory of stolen swag suggested somewhat eclectic personal tastes. In addition to my wife’s mobile phone (naively left in the glove compartment), the thieves also helped themselves to two picnic blankets, a half used tube of sun block and an assortment of boiled sweets. One can understand the value of an iPhone, but a quarter pound of Fox’s Glacier Mints? You don’t have to be Sherlock Holmes to deduce that organised crime was probably not involved, not unless the gang masters have an unaccountably sweet tooth.
A call to our local police station confirmed the doleful trend that is blighting many affluent areas just now. Apparently it’s all too easy to acquire alarm-busting devices that can override the most sophisticated locking mechanisms.
But worse was to follow. The following night no fewer than 14 cars in nearby streets had their drivers’ door windows smashed in a single opportunistic spree. Whoever was responsible had little regard for preserving their anonymity, as one of the attacks was so violent it roused a vigilant neighbour, who took a photo of the thief as he leant in through the shattered window to see what he might steal.
A 999 call was all it took to summon the police and land the miscreant in custody. The victims, meanwhile, will be spending much of their weekend having their car windows replaced and trying to persuade their insurance companies not to increase their yearly premiums.
Yet even if you keep your possessions firmly in your grasp these days it rarely helps. In recent weeks there’s been a spate of phone thefts from pedestrians in the vicinity, each of whom have seen their precious devices literally snatched from their hand even as they’re making a call on the pavement. The thieves’ modus operandi is as audacious as it is effective, involving a single moped with two riders, one driving the thing and the pillion passenger deftly snatching the item as it hurtles past.
In fairness, crime rates in London have been falling in recent years, with murders and serious offences particularly reduced, but the most recent available statistics for the capital suggest a sharp spike in exactly the sort of incident already described: opportunistic crimes involving residential burglary, smash and grabs, and thefts involving mopeds.
With the 2017 UK general election now just a few days away both main political parties have been flexing their law and order credentials in an effort to win both our trust and our votes.
The opposition Labour party has been pointing out with gusto that 20,000 police officers have been cut in the UK since the Conservatives came to power in 2010, and is promising to reinstate 10,000 by way of redress, using a rise in tax to pay for the extra manpower. The Conservatives have naturally dismissed this policing proposal as nonsensical, arguing that Labour has already committed the same amount to fund several other pledges. Labour has hit back by rejecting this statement as misleading, and so it goes on, both parties verbally hammering seven bells out of each other while the electorate cowers in our beds.
Whoever wins on June 8 will have much to do if they are to reverse this UK trend for petty crime, and until they do, the police’s advice is simple – don’t use your phone when out and about, and don’t leave items in your car – sentiments which, while undoubtedly prudent, somewhat negate the purpose of having either a mobile phone or boiled sweets in the first place.
Meanwhile, with our local car thief now safely under arrest, my wife and I are awaiting the return of our property.
The phone is probably long gone, as are the sweets. But I’m hoping we might at least get our picnic rug back …
Michael Simkins is an actor and writer in London
On Twitter: @michael_simkins
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Biography
Favourite drink: Must have karak chai and Chinese tea every day
Favourite non-Chinese food: Arabic sweets and Indian puri, small round bread of wheat flour
Favourite Chinese dish: Spicy boiled fish or anything cooked by her mother because of its flavour
Best vacation: Returning home to China
Music interests: Enjoys playing the zheng, a string musical instrument
Enjoys reading: Chinese novels, romantic comedies, reading up on business trends, government policy changes
Favourite book: Chairman Mao Zedong’s poems
In numbers
1,000 tonnes of waste collected daily:
- 800 tonnes converted into alternative fuel
- 150 tonnes to landfill
- 50 tonnes sold as scrap metal
800 tonnes of RDF replaces 500 tonnes of coal
Two conveyor lines treat more than 350,000 tonnes of waste per year
25 staff on site
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
What is hepatitis?
Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver, which can lead to fibrosis (scarring), cirrhosis or liver cancer.
There are 5 main hepatitis viruses, referred to as types A, B, C, D and E.
Hepatitis C is mostly transmitted through exposure to infective blood. This can occur through blood transfusions, contaminated injections during medical procedures, and through injecting drugs. Sexual transmission is also possible, but is much less common.
People infected with hepatitis C experience few or no symptoms, meaning they can live with the virus for years without being diagnosed. This delay in treatment can increase the risk of significant liver damage.
There are an estimated 170 million carriers of Hepatitis C around the world.
The virus causes approximately 399,000 fatalities each year worldwide, according to WHO.
'The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window'
Director:Michael Lehmann
Stars:Kristen Bell
Rating: 1/5
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Squid Game season two
Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Stars: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun
Rating: 4.5/5
The biog
From: Upper Egypt
Age: 78
Family: a daughter in Egypt; a son in Dubai and his wife, Nabila
Favourite Abu Dhabi activity: walking near to Emirates Palace
Favourite building in Abu Dhabi: Emirates Palace
Match info
Uefa Champions League Group C
Liverpool v Napoli, midnight
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The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
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
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Votes
Total votes: 1.8 million
Ashraf Ghani: 923,592 votes
Abdullah Abdullah: 720,841 votes
ALL THE RESULTS
Bantamweight
Siyovush Gulmomdov (TJK) bt Rey Nacionales (PHI) by decision.
Lightweight
Alexandru Chitoran (ROU) bt Hussein Fakhir Abed (SYR) by submission.
Catch 74kg
Omar Hussein (JOR) bt Tohir Zhuraev (TJK) by decision.
Strawweight (Female)
Seo Ye-dam (KOR) bt Weronika Zygmunt (POL) by decision.
Featherweight
Kaan Ofli (TUR) bt Walid Laidi (ALG) by TKO.
Lightweight
Abdulla Al Bousheiri (KUW) bt Leandro Martins (BRA) by TKO.
Welterweight
Ahmad Labban (LEB) bt Sofiane Benchohra (ALG) by TKO.
Bantamweight
Jaures Dea (CAM) v Nawras Abzakh (JOR) no contest.
Lightweight
Mohammed Yahya (UAE) bt Glen Ranillo (PHI) by TKO round 1.
Lightweight
Alan Omer (GER) bt Aidan Aguilera (AUS) by TKO round 1.
Welterweight
Mounir Lazzez (TUN) bt Sasha Palatkinov (HKG) by TKO round 1.
Featherweight title bout
Romando Dy (PHI) v Lee Do-gyeom (KOR) by KO round 1.
Kat Wightman's tips on how to create zones in large spaces
- Area carpets or rugs are the easiest way to segregate spaces while also unifying them.
- Lighting can help define areas. Try pendant lighting over dining tables, and side and floor lamps in living areas.
- Keep the colour palette the same in a room, but combine different tones and textures in different zone. A common accent colour dotted throughout the space brings it together.
- Don’t be afraid to use furniture to break up the space. For example, if you have a sofa placed in the middle of the room, a console unit behind it will give good punctuation.
- Use a considered collection of prints and artworks that work together to form a cohesive journey.
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 290hp
Torque: 340Nm
Price: Dh155,800
On sale: now
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
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The Bio
Name: Lynn Davison
Profession: History teacher at Al Yasmina Academy, Abu Dhabi
Children: She has one son, Casey, 28
Hometown: Pontefract, West Yorkshire in the UK
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite Author: CJ Sansom
Favourite holiday destination: Bali
Favourite food: A Sunday roast
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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India Test squad
Kohli (c), Dhawan, Rahul, Vijay, Pujara, Rahane (vc), Karun, Karthik (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Ashwin, Jadeja, Kuldeep, Pandya, Ishant, Shami, Umesh, Bumrah, Thakur
The biog
Name: Samar Frost
Born: Abu Dhabi
Hobbies: Singing, music and socialising with friends
Favourite singer: Adele
My Cat Yugoslavia by Pajtim Statovci
Pushkin Press
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
