Usually in the morning, I stay in bed for few extra minutes and re-set my alarm to get a few more zzzs. My father and I are heavy sleepers, which is a blessing I'd say. My sister always mocks me, saying: "Even if you drop a bomb, Asmaa won't wake up."
Today I woke to a beautiful morning. I managed to stay awake after dawn and felt the morning breeze. I realized that I have been missing lots of morning treasures since graduating – from my mother preparing milky tea with a great aroma to the beauty of daybreak and the tranquility I feel when the sun rises.
I am now continuing my traineeship in the Photography section, and I planned to set out to shoot some morning photographs. The past few days, I have been looking at photographs taken by the National's staff and other correspondents to try to gain some insight into professional photography. Whoever said "A picture is worth a thousand words" is correct. Some pictures have the power to convey a complex idea with a single still image.
I decided to test my photography skills and take some shots of my neighborhood. I live near Al Maqtaa bridge and I noticed that it is quite beautiful and colorful in the early morning. While driving to the lake near my house, I saw tiny birds playing with each other, the gardener was irrigating the flowers and a young boy was forced to go to school – which reminded me of my old days.
I have been living in Al Maqtaa for 13 years and I had never taken the opportunity to visit the lake. When I arrived, it was gorgeous. It is truly nature showing its wonderful face. The colour of the water, the breeze and most importantly, two women on their morning walk greeted me with "Asalam Alikum," peace be upon you. I walked for few kilometres and was enjoying the beauty of the place. I tried taking some photos of the lake, but they did not turn out well. So I walked till I reached the bridge and gave it another shot. I finally managed to take some good pictures of the bridge, above.
One of my goals is to get a shot at daybreak. Let's see If I will be able to wake up in time for that. My Mother, however, was sceptical: "It'll be a miracle if you wake up," she said.
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Dolittle
Director: Stephen Gaghan
Stars: Robert Downey Jr, Michael Sheen
One-and-a-half out of five stars
Where to buy
Limited-edition art prints of The Sofa Series: Sultani can be acquired from Reem El Mutwalli at www.reemelmutwalli.com
Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
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.
Match info
Uefa Champions League Group C
Liverpool v Napoli, midnight
How green is the expo nursery?
Some 400,000 shrubs and 13,000 trees in the on-site nursery
An additional 450,000 shrubs and 4,000 trees to be delivered in the months leading up to the expo
Ghaf, date palm, acacia arabica, acacia tortilis, vitex or sage, techoma and the salvadora are just some heat tolerant native plants in the nursery
Approximately 340 species of shrubs and trees selected for diverse landscape
The nursery team works exclusively with organic fertilisers and pesticides
All shrubs and trees supplied by Dubai Municipality
Most sourced from farms, nurseries across the country
Plants and trees are re-potted when they arrive at nursery to give them room to grow
Some mature trees are in open areas or planted within the expo site
Green waste is recycled as compost
Treated sewage effluent supplied by Dubai Municipality is used to meet the majority of the nursery’s irrigation needs
Construction workforce peaked at 40,000 workers
About 65,000 people have signed up to volunteer
Main themes of expo is ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ and three subthemes of opportunity, mobility and sustainability.
Expo 2020 Dubai to open in October 2020 and run for six months
The team
Photographer: Mateusz Stefanowski at Art Factory
Videographer: Jear Valasquez
Fashion director: Sarah Maisey
Make-up: Gulum Erzincan at Art Factory
Model: Randa at Art Factory Videographer’s assistant: Zanong Magat
Photographer’s assistant: Sophia Shlykova
With thanks to Jubail Mangrove Park, Jubail Island, Abu Dhabi
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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
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Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
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
