Britain marked the third anniversary of Grenfell Tower fire on Sunday with the tolling of bells to mark the dead and stinging criticisms of the government’s response to the deadliest domestic blaze for 75 years.
Flammable cladding on the outside of one residential tower block in London allowed a small kitchen fire caused by a faulty refrigerator to spread into a blaze that rapidly engulfed the 24-storey building, killing 72 people. Another 70 people were injured.
An online commemoration service was being held on Sunday owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, with the leaders of both main political parties promising they would work to ensure that such a tragedy did not happen again.
Keir Starmer, the leader of the opposition Labour party, said there had been no justice for the victims with about 56,000 people still living in homes wrapped in the same flammable cladding as Grenfell. A continuing public inquiry into the fire found that the victims had paid the price for the “catastrophic failure” of industry and government.
“No one should ever go through the loss and pain they experienced,” Mr Starmer said. “But three years on and, unbelievably, tonight people will go to bed in unsafe homes.
“Three years on and there has been little justice or accountability. Three years on their campaign continues.”
The block – in one of the capital’s wealthiest areas – symbolised divisions in UK society with fewer than half of those who died UK citizens and the majority of those who died from ethnic-minority communities. Some of the victims were from Lebanon, Iran, Syria and Egypt.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a message recorded for the virtual commemoration that the country was “still dealing with the consequences” of the fire and working to make sure it did not happen again.
“While those affected by Grenfell are not able to gather in person, all of us in this country are with you in spirit,” he said.
The use of combustible cladding has been banned on new buildings, and sprinkler systems – which were absent from Grenfell – must be installed on new-build blocks of more than 11 metres in height.
A parliamentary committee focused on housing issued a warning last week that fixing defects in high-risk residential buildings in the UK could cost up to £15 billion.
It said about 2,000 buildings were still encased in dangerous cladding. It also issued a warning that a government fund to remove certain types of cladding would cover only a third of the blocks most at risk.
The government said it was providing £1.6 billion to replace unsafe cladding with safe materials, allied with the “biggest legislative changes for a generation”.
Jewel of the Expo 2020
252 projectors installed on Al Wasl dome
13.6km of steel used in the structure that makes it equal in length to 16 Burj Khalifas
550 tonnes of moulded steel were raised last year to cap the dome
724,000 cubic metres is the space it encloses
Stands taller than the leaning tower of Pisa
Steel trellis dome is one of the largest single structures on site
The size of 16 tennis courts and weighs as much as 500 elephants
Al Wasl means connection in Arabic
World’s largest 360-degree projection surface
Ipaf in numbers
Established: 2008
Prize money: $50,000 (Dh183,650) for winners and $10,000 for those on the shortlist.
Winning novels: 13
Shortlisted novels: 66
Longlisted novels: 111
Total number of novels submitted: 1,780
Novels translated internationally: 66
BULKWHIZ PROFILE
Date started: February 2017
Founders: Amira Rashad (CEO), Yusuf Saber (CTO), Mahmoud Sayedahmed (adviser), Reda Bouraoui (adviser)
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: E-commerce
Size: 50 employees
Funding: approximately $6m
Investors: Beco Capital, Enabling Future and Wain in the UAE; China's MSA Capital; 500 Startups; Faith Capital and Savour Ventures in Kuwait
THE BIO
Age: 30
Favourite book: The Power of Habit
Favourite quote: "The world is full of good people, if you cannot find one, be one"
Favourite exercise: The snatch
Favourite colour: Blue
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
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Brief scores:
Liverpool 3
Mane 24', Shaqiri 73', 80'
Manchester United 1
Lingard 33'
Man of the Match: Fabinho (Liverpool)
