Students in Abu Dhabi have come together to remember the innocent victims of the New Zealand terror attack.
At least 100 people took part in a candlelight vigil and observed a minute’s silence at the New York University Abu Dhabi campus on Monday.
Students from New Zealand attending the university also spoke of their pain during the remembrance ceremony.
“I looked at the news and it was shocking to see New Zealand as breaking news on CNN,” said Thomas Yates, 22, who is from Wellington. “Being away from it all and knowing that people are grieving. It is difficult to come to terms with it all.”
Another student, Katie Glasgow-Palmer, said it still did not feel real. “We have never had terror activity on this scale and I wish I could be at home,” said Ms Glasgow-Palmer, 20, who is from Auckland.
The ceremony was a poignant one at the university's central plaza. Despite the gusts of wind that rolled into the campus after sunset, attendees knelt on the ground, placed their hands around the candles and prevented them from being extinguished.
Prayers from the Quran were recited while people from across the diverse student body stood together in honour of the victims, and also to express the hope that senseless violence cannot defeat true diversity. Baraka Blue, a rapper and poet from Seattle, who was in town for a lecture, also attended the event.
The attacks at two mosques in Christchurch on Friday killed at least 50 people. Australian Brenton Tarrant, 28, a self-described white supremacist, has been charged with murder.
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Ms Glasgow-Palmer said she believed the attack was a wake-up call. “Initially I felt quite ashamed but perhaps New Zealand has been oblivious or apathetic to the rise of white right-wing supremacy," she said. "I feel we have been ignoring it.”
The event was organised by Lama Ahmad, 21, a Muslim-American who grew up in Dearborn, Michigan. Ms Ahmad said she feels a deep sense of grief, sadness and anger about the shooting. “I’m no stranger to the hatred and bigotry and terrible things that have led up to an event like this,” she said. “People have made comments about me blowing up bombs. I’ve encountered this. My friends have encountered this."
Ms Ahmad said the shooting was not some random act but had built up over time to say that Muslims represented something foreign and it was profoundly worrying. "It is a feeling of wondering whether I can be safe praying in a mosque, going to Friday prayers, living my life and being a person.”
NYUAD has students from 120 countries. Ms Ahmad said, at NYUAD everyone was accepting of each other but it was important to remember the victims and also examine how the harmony on Saadiyat can translate into life outside the campus walls. “The response [to the event] has been overwhelmingly positive in terms of wanting to come together. We will graduate and we will go on to spread the message of tolerance,” she said.
Mr Yates and Ms Glasgow-Palmer also said it was important to come together.
“It is great that something is being organised as people are hurting in different ways, whether as Muslim or being from New Zealand," said Mr Yates. "It is good to show solidarity.”
Tuesday's fixtures
Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
Mia Man’s tips for fermentation
- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut
- Keep your hands and kitchen tools clean. Sanitize knives, cutting boards, tongs and storage jars with boiling water before you start.
- Mold is bad: the colour pink is a sign of mold. If yogurt turns pink as it ferments, you need to discard it and start again. For kraut, if you remove the top leaves and see any sign of mold, you should discard the batch.
- Always use clean, closed, airtight lids and containers such as mason jars when fermenting yogurt and kraut. Keep the lid closed to prevent insects and contaminants from getting in.
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Fasset%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2019%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Mohammad%20Raafi%20Hossain%2C%20Daniel%20Ahmed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%242.45%20million%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2086%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Pre-series%20B%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Investcorp%2C%20Liberty%20City%20Ventures%2C%20Fatima%20Gobi%20Ventures%2C%20Primal%20Capital%2C%20Wealthwell%20Ventures%2C%20FHS%20Capital%2C%20VN2%20Capital%2C%20local%20family%20offices%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
AndhaDhun
Director: Sriram Raghavan
Producer: Matchbox Pictures, Viacom18
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, Radhika Apte, Anil Dhawan
Rating: 3.5/5
If you go
The flights Etihad (www.etihad.com) and Spice Jet (www.spicejet.com) fly direct from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Pune respectively from Dh1,000 return including taxes. Pune airport is 90 minutes away by road.
The hotels A stay at Atmantan Wellness Resort (www.atmantan.com) costs from Rs24,000 (Dh1,235) per night, including taxes, consultations, meals and a treatment package.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League quarter-final, second leg (first-leg score):
Manchester City (0) v Tottenham Hotspur (1), Wednesday, 11pm UAE
Match is on BeIN Sports
MATCH DETAILS
Barcelona 0
Slavia Prague 0
