Under the circumstances, the medical news could hardly have been sweeter. "At the moment there seems to be no damage to her memory or motor control," said Dr David Rosser of Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, England.
His patient, Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai, appears to be making a remarkable recovery after surviving an assassination attempt last Tuesday. She was gunned down, on her school bus, simply because she keeps a blog where she had written of her eagerness to get an education.
A local Islamist leader boasted of the attack, but it disgusted the world.
Flown to the UK, Malala - who it turns out is 15, not 14 as previously reported - is getting treatment at a hospital specialising in care for wounded British soldiers. It is at once a triumph and a tragedy of modern life that doctors have become so skilled in treating combat wounds.
Malala's survival, and her prospects of a full recovery, will cheer her countless supporters around the world. But the fanatics who tried to kill her have warned that they will try again. And innumerable other girls, in Swat and elsewhere, live without publicity in the same conditions.
One girl's recovery, while heartwarming and welcome, is no solution.
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
MATCH INFO
CAF Champions League semi-finals first-leg fixtures
Tuesday:
Primeiro Agosto (ANG) v Esperance (TUN) (8pm UAE)
Al Ahly (EGY) v Entente Setif (ALG) (11PM)
Second legs:
October 23
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
ENGLAND TEAM
Alastair Cook, Mark Stoneman, James Vince, Joe Root (captain), Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Craig Overton, Stuart Broad, James Anderson
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5