Designs by students and pupils with disabilities that shine a special light on Eid Al Fitr celebrations have been selected to feature on Amazon’s online gift cards for the festival.
A glowing lantern with an Eid Mubarak message has been painted by a student from Dubai’s Rashid Centre for People of Determination in Dubai.
The second work capturing the UAE custom of families celebrating Eid in a park was created by a group of eight pupils from the centre working together.
Makes me proud
Cara Swanepoel,
student with special needs about her art work
The National met the artists whose work is available online at Amazon.ae/giftcards
Zainab Chaudry Naveed, a young artist with developmental delays, is thrilled her individual work featuring a bright lantern was picked.
Ms Naveed, 20, said yellow is her favourite colour and the “shining light” drew her to paint the orange lantern.
“I like to paint. For Eid we celebrate with family. I like colours — to put on henna — and I love the colour yellow,” said Ms Naveed.
Those attending the art class have a range of conditions, including cerebral palsy, autism and sensory, learning and physical disabilities.
Drawing inspiration from festivities
More than 200 pupils and students at the Dubai centre took part in the Amazon initiative, with their designs displayed across a vibrant art studio filled with pink and red hearts.
“Makes me proud,” is how Cara Swanepoel, 10, described adding a coffee-coloured backdrop to the card she worked on with other pupils. It shows families exchanging Eid gifts in a park.
Speech software loaded on to a tablet attached to their wheelchair helps Cara and others with conditions such as cerebral palsy communicate.
An assistive technology device tracks Cara’s eye movements as she looks at emoticons to select a reply and respond to questions.
To develop the group artwork, teachers spent time talking to the pupils, aged between nine and 13, to understand what Eid meant to them.
They said it was about celebration, light, giving and being with family.
Caregivers help some pupils grasp pencils as they mark an outline or guide them as they wield brushes to complete their paintings.
Celebrating inclusivity at Eid
Hind Rasheed, Amazon’s head of public relations and communications for the Middle East and North Africa, said collaborating with the Rashid Centre helped the Eid collection embody values of inclusivity.
“We were very excited to see their unique perspective and artistic interpretation of Eid come to life,” she said.
“The design created by Zainab Chaudry Naveed immediately caught our attention, with its vibrant colours and bold shapes.”
She described the second card created by an entire class as “not only a beautiful representation of their creativity and talent, but also a testament to the power of coming together to create something meaningful”.
Sandra Ugalde, head teacher at the Rashid Centre, said everyone was excited to be part of the Eid effort.
“The enthusiasm is amazing to watch,” she said, seated in an office filled with colourful paper butterflies created by pupils.
“It helps build their self-esteem when they see their work displayed.
“It’s difficult for these children, they may need support with hand movements, they need to understand what is needed and why.”
But Ms Ugalde said each child contributed, “as it was an opportunity for everyone to participate”.
“By doing this campaign with Amazon, we are able to showcase the skills of our children," she said.
“It’s an opportunity for our children to show what they can do. For the wider community, it encourages a greater awareness of the abilities the students have and not their disability.”
The Eid cards are a regional initiative by Amazon that will also feature work done by artists from the Aleradah Organisation for people with disabilities in Saudi Arabia.
Cards designed using the distinctive black and white art of Abdulla Lutfi, an Emirati artist on the autism spectrum, were released last year and continue to be available on the Amazon e-gift card collection.
His designs showing people in the UAE greeting each other for Eid can be viewed alongside the two new works from the Rashid Centre students and pupils.
“This is the true purpose of our Eid eGift card initiative, to help raise awareness around the homegrown, diverse, incredible and inspiring talent that resides in the UAE,” Ms Rasheed said.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
EMIRATES'S%20REVISED%20A350%20DEPLOYMENT%20SCHEDULE
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Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
Bridgerton%20season%20three%20-%20part%20one
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Greatest Royal Rumble match listing
50-man Royal Rumble - names entered so far include Braun Strowman, Daniel Bryan, Kurt Angle, Big Show, Kane, Chris Jericho, The New Day and Elias
Universal Championship Brock Lesnar (champion) v Roman Reigns in a steel cage match
WWE World Heavyweight ChampionshipAJ Styles (champion) v Shinsuke Nakamura
Intercontinental Championship Seth Rollins (champion) v The Miz v Finn Balor v Samoa Joe
United States Championship Jeff Hardy (champion) v Jinder Mahal
SmackDown Tag Team Championship The Bludgeon Brothers (champions) v The Usos
Raw Tag Team Championship (currently vacant) Cesaro and Sheamus v Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt
Casket match The Undertaker v Rusev
Singles match John Cena v Triple H
Cruiserweight Championship Cedric Alexander v Kalisto
Teams
Punjabi Legends Owners: Inzamam-ul-Haq and Intizar-ul-Haq; Key player: Misbah-ul-Haq
Pakhtoons Owners: Habib Khan and Tajuddin Khan; Key player: Shahid Afridi
Maratha Arabians Owners: Sohail Khan, Ali Tumbi, Parvez Khan; Key player: Virender Sehwag
Bangla Tigers Owners: Shirajuddin Alam, Yasin Choudhary, Neelesh Bhatnager, Anis and Rizwan Sajan; Key player: TBC
Colombo Lions Owners: Sri Lanka Cricket; Key player: TBC
Kerala Kings Owners: Hussain Adam Ali and Shafi Ul Mulk; Key player: Eoin Morgan
Venue Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Format 10 overs per side, matches last for 90 minutes
Timeline October 25: Around 120 players to be entered into a draft, to be held in Dubai; December 21: Matches start; December 24: Finals
French business
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
How to become a Boglehead
Bogleheads follow simple investing philosophies to build their wealth and live better lives. Just follow these steps.
• Spend less than you earn and save the rest. You can do this by earning more, or being frugal. Better still, do both.
• Invest early, invest often. It takes time to grow your wealth on the stock market. The sooner you begin, the better.
• Choose the right level of risk. Don't gamble by investing in get-rich-quick schemes or high-risk plays. Don't play it too safe, either, by leaving long-term savings in cash.
• Diversify. Do not keep all your eggs in one basket. Spread your money between different companies, sectors, markets and asset classes such as bonds and property.
• Keep charges low. The biggest drag on investment performance is all the charges you pay to advisers and active fund managers.
• Keep it simple. Complexity is your enemy. You can build a balanced, diversified portfolio with just a handful of ETFs.
• Forget timing the market. Nobody knows where share prices will go next, so don't try to second-guess them.
• Stick with it. Do not sell up in a market crash. Use the opportunity to invest more at the lower price.
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
Company%20profile
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more from Janine di Giovanni
Federer's 11 Wimbledon finals
2003 Beat Mark Philippoussis
2004 Beat Andy Roddick
2005 Beat Andy Roddick
2006 Beat Rafael Nadal
2007 Beat Rafael Nadal
2008 Lost to Rafael Nadal
2009 Beat Andy Roddick
2012 Beat Andy Murray
2014 Lost to Novak Djokovic
2015 Lost to Novak Djokovic
2017 Beat Marin Cilic
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Homie%20Portal%20LLC%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20End%20of%202021%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAbdulla%20Al%20Kamda%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20FinTech%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Undisclosed%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2014%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ELaunch%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Self-funded%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
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
Muslim Council of Elders condemns terrorism on religious sites
The Muslim Council of Elders has strongly condemned the criminal attacks on religious sites in Britain.
It firmly rejected “acts of terrorism, which constitute a flagrant violation of the sanctity of houses of worship”.
“Attacking places of worship is a form of terrorism and extremism that threatens peace and stability within societies,” it said.
The council also warned against the rise of hate speech, racism, extremism and Islamophobia. It urged the international community to join efforts to promote tolerance and peaceful coexistence.
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
