The detail most residents can most clearly recall of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse was the noise, with the roaring sound of crumpling iron and steel heard across large parts of Baltimore, Maryland, early on Tuesday.
Julisa James, an employee at a petrol station near the bridge's western entrance said: “It sounded like a bomb going off.
Josh White, who lives next to the bridge's eastern head, said: “It sounded like rain."
“Boom!” was how Richard Majewski, who was in nearby Dundalk, described the sound.
Mr Majewski was taking a late-night walk with his dog, Buddy, when he heard what he thought was the sound of a major lorry accident.
He “never dreamt it was the bridge coming down".
On returning to his apartment building about 3km away, Mr Majewski says neighbours said they had felt a tremor from the crash.
Later, the morning news confirmed the cause of the noise he had heard.
At least seven people who were conducting maintenance on the bridge fell into the water when it collapsed. Six are unaccounted for and presumed dead.
As search and rescue teams laboured around the Patapsco River, where a Sri Lanka-bound cargo ship hit and ultimately destroyed the major transit bridge, shocked Baltimore locals lined the Broening Highway overlooking the scene.
“Just the thought of not seeing that bridge, like, wow,” Mr White told The National.
“Some people don't even know another way to go.”
The collapse of the bridge has implications for “the whole east coast” of the US, locals said.
The bridge crossed over the bustling Port of Baltimore, which handled 52.3 million tonnes of foreign cargo valued at $80 billion last year. Baltimore is the busiest US port for vehicle shipments.
The booming industrial centre has provided jobs for many in Baltimore and depends on the transit artery.
More than 12.4 million commercial and passenger vehicles crossed the bridge in 2023 – about 34,000 a day – according to a state report from late last year.
“A lot of our customers work around here, use the bridge a lot, like some of them go over the bridge several times a day,” Ms James told The National inside the Royal Farms petrol station, where she works the morning shift.
"So a couple of my customers actually couldn't go to work today."
As of Tuesday afternoon, the major port was still processing lorries inside of its terminals, but Maryland Transport Secretary Paul Wiedefeld said vessel traffic in and out of the port has been suspended.
US President Joe Biden vowed that the federal government would fund the reconstruction of the bridge, but the timeline and budget remains unknown.
The effects on the traffic-heavy industrial city, north of the nation's capital, is also worrying.
“It's a huge impact … travelling is going to be like hours long," Ms James said.
"What normally would take someone a half hour across the bridge is now going to take an hour and a half."
But the Key Bridge, as its called by locals, also held significant meaning for the “Charm City”.
Scholars believe the bridge passed within about 90 metres of the site where Francis Scott Key saw the bombardment of Fort McHenry in 1814 – the battle that inspired him to write the lyrics to The Star-Spangled Banner, the US national anthem.
“The Key Bridge was just a part of my daily skyline,” Carrie Johnson, a resident of the Stoney Beach neighbourhood that overlooks the Patapsko River, told The National from outside her home.
"It wasn't unusual to be out here on our boardwalk on a weekend or a sunny spring or summer day and count the cargo ships going by and watch the cruise ships leaving.”
But on Tuesday morning, memories of those sunny scenes collapsed along with the bridge.
“All you could see was the typical outline that you're used to seeing of the bridge gone, and replaced with the haze of red and blue lights from all of the rescue efforts.”
Mr White said that for many in Baltimore's lower-income and working-class neighbourhoods, the collapse has shown that “you can't catch a break in Baltimore".
“People have been working over there in buildings and warehouses, in the ports for so long … They're raising families off taking that one route," he said.
“Pray for our city. Violence is all over the place, there's corruption … and now we lose our one bridge to help feed this city."
The specs
Engine: 5.0-litre supercharged V8
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Power: 575bhp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: Dh554,000
On sale: now
yallacompare profile
Date of launch: 2014
Founder: Jon Richards, founder and chief executive; Samer Chebab, co-founder and chief operating officer, and Jonathan Rawlings, co-founder and chief financial officer
Based: Media City, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: 120 employees
Investors: 2014: $500,000 in a seed round led by Mulverhill Associates; 2015: $3m in Series A funding led by STC Ventures (managed by Iris Capital), Wamda and Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority; 2019: $8m in Series B funding with the same investors as Series A along with Precinct Partners, Saned and Argo Ventures (the VC arm of multinational insurer Argo Group)
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder MHEV
Power: 360bhp
Torque: 500Nm
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Price: from Dh282,870
On sale: now
Company%20Profile
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The%20Color%20Purple
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Match info
Manchester City 3 (Jesus 22', 50', Sterling 69')
Everton 1 (Calvert-Lewin 65')
Day 2, stumps
Pakistan 482
Australia 30/0 (13 ov)
Australia trail by 452 runs with 10 wickets remaining in the innings
Company%20profile
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Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
The Byblos iftar in numbers
29 or 30 days – the number of iftar services held during the holy month
50 staff members required to prepare an iftar
200 to 350 the number of people served iftar nightly
160 litres of the traditional Ramadan drink, jalab, is served in total
500 litres of soup is served during the holy month
200 kilograms of meat is used for various dishes
350 kilograms of onion is used in dishes
5 minutes – the average time that staff have to eat
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
Euro 2020 qualifier
Fixture: Liechtenstein v Italy, Tuesday, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match is shown on BeIN Sports
The biog
Age: 32
Qualifications: Diploma in engineering from TSI Technical Institute, bachelor’s degree in accounting from Dubai’s Al Ghurair University, master’s degree in human resources from Abu Dhabi University, currently third years PHD in strategy of human resources.
Favourite mountain range: The Himalayas
Favourite experience: Two months trekking in Alaska
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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More from Aya Iskandarani
Personalities on the Plate: The Lives and Minds of Animals We Eat
Barbara J King, University of Chicago Press
The BIO:
He became the first Emirati to climb Mount Everest in 2011, from the south section in Nepal
He ascended Mount Everest the next year from the more treacherous north Tibetan side
By 2015, he had completed the Explorers Grand Slam
Last year, he conquered K2, the world’s second-highest mountain located on the Pakistan-Chinese border
He carries dried camel meat, dried dates and a wheat mixture for the final summit push
His new goal is to climb 14 peaks that are more than 8,000 metres above sea level
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
MATCH INFO
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Ajax v Juventus, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
Match on BeIN Sports
How Apple's credit card works
The Apple Card looks different from a traditional credit card — there's no number on the front and the users' name is etched in metal. The card expands the company's digital Apple Pay services, marrying the physical card to a virtual one and integrating both with the iPhone. Its attributes include quick sign-up, elimination of most fees, strong security protections and cash back.
What does it cost?
Apple says there are no fees associated with the card. That means no late fee, no annual fee, no international fee and no over-the-limit fees. It also said it aims to have among the lowest interest rates in the industry. Users must have an iPhone to use the card, which comes at a cost. But they will earn cash back on their purchases — 3 per cent on Apple purchases, 2 per cent on those with the virtual card and 1 per cent with the physical card. Apple says it is the only card to provide those rewards in real time, so that cash earned can be used immediately.
What will the interest rate be?
The card doesn't come out until summer but Apple has said that as of March, the variable annual percentage rate on the card could be anywhere from 13.24 per cent to 24.24 per cent based on creditworthiness. That's in line with the rest of the market, according to analysts
What about security?
The physical card has no numbers so purchases are made with the embedded chip and the digital version lives in your Apple Wallet on your phone, where it's protected by fingerprints or facial recognition. That means that even if someone steals your phone, they won't be able to use the card to buy things.
Is it easy to use?
Apple says users will be able to sign up for the card in the Wallet app on their iPhone and begin using it almost immediately. It also tracks spending on the phone in a more user-friendly format, eliminating some of the gibberish that fills a traditional credit card statement. Plus it includes some budgeting tools, such as tracking spending and providing estimates of how much interest could be charged on a purchase to help people make an informed decision.
* Associated Press
The specs
Engine: Two permanent-magnet synchronous AC motors
Transmission: two-speed
Power: 671hp
Torque: 849Nm
Range: 456km
Price: from Dh437,900
On sale: now
AT%20A%20GLANCE
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Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
Company profile
Name: Steppi
Founders: Joe Franklin and Milos Savic
Launched: February 2020
Size: 10,000 users by the end of July and a goal of 200,000 users by the end of the year
Employees: Five
Based: Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai
Financing stage: Two seed rounds – the first sourced from angel investors and the founders' personal savings
Second round raised Dh720,000 from silent investors in June this year
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
'Morbius'
Director: Daniel Espinosa
Stars: Jared Leto, Matt Smith, Adria Arjona
Rating: 2/5
Selected fixtures
All times UAE
Wednesday
Poland v Portugal 10.45pm
Russia v Sweden 10.45pm
Friday
Belgium v Switzerland 10.45pm
Croatia v England 10.45pm
Saturday
Netherlands v Germany 10.45pm
Rep of Ireland v Denmark 10.45pm
Sunday
Poland v Italy 10.45pm
Monday
Spain v England 10.45pm
Tuesday
France v Germany 10.45pm
Rep of Ireland v Wales 10.45pm
The Internet
Hive Mind
four stars
Padmaavat
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Starring: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, Jim Sarbh
3.5/5
ARM%20IPO%20DETAILS
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The Travel Diaries of Albert Einstein The Far East, Palestine, and Spain, 1922 – 1923
Editor Ze’ev Rosenkranz
Princeton
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Kandahar%20
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Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
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”.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
Persuasion
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
SPECS
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