The Duke and Duchess of Sussex in their interview with Oprah Winfrey. AP
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex in their interview with Oprah Winfrey. AP
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex in their interview with Oprah Winfrey. AP
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex in their interview with Oprah Winfrey. AP

Harry and Meghan urged to delay Oprah interview while Prince Philip is in hospital


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The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are under pressure to delay the broadcast of their interview with Oprah Winfrey while Prince Philip remains in hospital.

The interview, filmed in California, is due to be shown by British broadcaster ITV on Monday, about 24 hours after it is shown in the US.

Promoted by Oprah as having “no subjects off limits”, the programme was extended by 30 minutes for a running time of two hours.

The broadcast is due at an awkward time for Britain's royal family, with the Duke of Edinburgh, 99, still in hospital with an infection.

On Monday, he was taken from King Edward VII's Hospital in London to St Bartholomew's, site of Europe’s largest cardiovascular clinic, where he will undergo tests for a pre-existing heart condition and treatment for the undisclosed infection.

The duke, who turns 100 in June, was admitted to hospital two weeks ago as a precautionary measure.

His 14-night stay is the longest he has required medical care, although Buckingham Palace said he was comfortable and responding to treatment.

A statement on Monday said the duke would remain in hospital until at least the end of the week.

Royal commentators said that the decision to air Harry and Meghan’s interview would cause ripples.

"They can only hope and pray that the duke recovers and goes home. If something happens to him, it would look terrible. Even if Harry and Meghan wanted to stop it, they probably can't and it's out of their hands," International Who's Who editor Richard Fitzwilliams told the Daily Mail.

“Who knows how matters linked to the duke’s health will play out over the coming days?” royal biographer Phil Dampier said.

However, Buckingham Palace aides told the Daily Telegraph the royal family was unconcerned with the interview.

Members of the media outside St Bartholomew's Hospital, where Britain's Prince Philip was admitted on Monday. Reuters
Members of the media outside St Bartholomew's Hospital, where Britain's Prince Philip was admitted on Monday. Reuters

“The family is very worried about Philip and their thoughts are very much with him rather than this Oprah interview. They have much more important things to worry about,” one aide said.

Others said that Harry and Meghan were not to blame for the timing because TV executives will determine when it is broadcast.

Meanwhile, the Duchess of Sussex has been granted an interim £450,000 ($628,000) down payment towards her £1.5 million legal costs in her privacy case against the Mail on Sunday.

The payment follows her victory last month against Associated Newspapers, publisher of the Mail on Sunday and Mail Online, over extracts published from a private, handwritten letter she sent to her estranged father, Thomas Markle.

Meghan had asked for an interim payment of £750,000. She is also demanding a front-page apology, and a High Court order forcing the newspaper to hand over any copies it has made of the letter, and destroy any copies of it or notes made about it.

Meghan, 39, sued over five articles published in February 2019. She was granted summary judgment in relation to her privacy claim, and part of her copyright claim.

At a remote hearing on Tuesday, Associated Newspapers argued that Meghan’s “extremely large costs bill” of about £1.5m was disproportionate. Full costs will be decided at future hearings in the case.

Tearful appearance

Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday. 

Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow. 

She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.

A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.

The Settlers

Director: Louis Theroux

Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz

Rating: 5/5

The five pillars of Islam

Getting there
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Tbilisi from Dh1,025 return including taxes

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
SPECS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%202-litre%20direct%20injection%20turbo%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%207-speed%20automatic%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20261hp%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20400Nm%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20From%20Dh134%2C999%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
  • Priority access to new homes from participating developers
  • Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
  • Flexible payment plans from developers
  • Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
  • DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Zakat definitions

Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.

Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.

Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.

Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.

Know your Camel lingo

The bairaq is a competition for the best herd of 50 camels, named for the banner its winner takes home

Namoos - a word of congratulations reserved for falconry competitions, camel races and camel pageants. It best translates as 'the pride of victory' - and for competitors, it is priceless

Asayel camels - sleek, short-haired hound-like racers

Majahim - chocolate-brown camels that can grow to weigh two tonnes. They were only valued for milk until camel pageantry took off in the 1990s

Millions Street - the thoroughfare where camels are led and where white 4x4s throng throughout the festival

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Five personal finance podcasts from The National

 

To help you get started, tune into these Pocketful of Dirham episodes 

·

Balance is essential to happiness, health and wealth 

·

What is a portfolio stress test? 

·

What are NFTs and why are auction houses interested? 

·

How gamers are getting rich by earning cryptocurrencies 

·

Should you buy or rent a home in the UAE?  

SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20M3%20MACBOOK%20AIR%20(13%22)
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EProcessor%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Apple%20M3%2C%208-core%20CPU%2C%20up%20to%2010-core%20CPU%2C%2016-core%20Neural%20Engine%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDisplay%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2013.6-inch%20Liquid%20Retina%2C%202560%20x%201664%2C%20224ppi%2C%20500%20nits%2C%20True%20Tone%2C%20wide%20colour%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EMemory%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%208%2F16%2F24GB%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStorage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20256%2F512GB%20%2F%201%2F2TB%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EI%2FO%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Thunderbolt%203%2FUSB-4%20(2)%2C%203.5mm%20audio%2C%20Touch%20ID%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EConnectivity%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Wi-Fi%206E%2C%20Bluetooth%205.3%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBattery%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2052.6Wh%20lithium-polymer%2C%20up%20to%2018%20hours%2C%20MagSafe%20charging%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECamera%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%201080p%20FaceTime%20HD%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EVideo%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Support%20for%20Apple%20ProRes%2C%20HDR%20with%20Dolby%20Vision%2C%20HDR10%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EAudio%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204-speaker%20system%2C%20wide%20stereo%2C%20support%20for%20Dolby%20Atmos%2C%20Spatial%20Audio%20and%20dynamic%20head%20tracking%20(with%20AirPods)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EColours%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Midnight%2C%20silver%2C%20space%20grey%2C%20starlight%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EIn%20the%20box%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20MacBook%20Air%2C%2030W%2F35W%20dual-port%2F70w%20power%20adapter%2C%20USB-C-to-MagSafe%20cable%2C%202%20Apple%20stickers%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20From%20Dh4%2C599%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Short-term let permits explained

Homeowners and tenants are allowed to list their properties for rental by registering through the Dubai Tourism website to obtain a permit.

Tenants also require a letter of no objection from their landlord before being allowed to list the property.

There is a cost of Dh1,590 before starting the process, with an additional licence fee of Dh300 per bedroom being rented in your home for the duration of the rental, which ranges from three months to a year.

Anyone hoping to list a property for rental must also provide a copy of their title deeds and Ejari, as well as their Emirates ID.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League last 16, second leg
Liverpool (0) v Atletico Madrid (1)
Venue: Anfield
Kick-off: Thursday, March 12, midnight
Live: On beIN Sports HD

THE SPECS

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Power: 420kW

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Transmission: 8-speed automatic

Price: From Dh1,350,000

On sale: Available for preorder now

Score

Third Test, Day 1

New Zealand 229-7 (90 ov)
Pakistan

New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat

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