The hot list: Soft touch with these muted shades of blue home accessories


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Play around with muted shades of blue.

1 Sculpted moments

Add light and texture to your space with this tea-light holder from Zara Home, which looks like it belongs at the bottom of the sea.

Tea-light holder, Dh115, Zara Home stores across the UAE

2 Organise me

This mini notebook from Ban.do is a charming way to keep track of appointments, meetings, messages and notes, while proclaiming to the world how little time you have.

Mini notebook, Dh60, Bloomingdale's Dubai, The Dubai Mall, and Virgin Megastores across the UAE

3 Spotted comfort

This Nice Cushy cushion from Typo offers a simple polka-dot design and will immediately spruce up an otherwise drab room.

Cushion, Dh59, Typo, The Dubai Mall

4 Book worm

Show off your intellectual side with this tome, Le Corbusier by Jean-Louis Cohen, which looks at the work of Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier, born Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, and should take pride of place on your coffee table.

Book, Dh280, Cities, Galleria Mall, Dubai

5 Strange pickings

This medium-sized, handcrafted turquoise ceramic apple sculpture by Bull and Stein will reflect your creative side, wherever you choose to put it.

Ceramic apple, Dh815, Cities

French business

France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.

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Closing the loophole on sugary drinks

As The National reported last year, non-fizzy sugared drinks were not covered when the original tax was introduced in 2017. Sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, 20 grams of sugar per 500ml bottle.

The non-fizzy drink AriZona Iced Tea contains 65 grams of sugar – about 16 teaspoons – per 680ml can. The average can costs about Dh6, which would rise to Dh9.

Drinks such as Starbucks Bottled Mocha Frappuccino contain 31g of sugar in 270ml, while Nescafe Mocha in a can contains 15.6g of sugar in a 240ml can.

Flavoured water, long-life fruit juice concentrates, pre-packaged sweetened coffee drinks fall under the ‘sweetened drink’ category
 

Not taxed:

Freshly squeezed fruit juices, ground coffee beans, tea leaves and pre-prepared flavoured milkshakes do not come under the ‘sweetened drink’ band.

Who's who in Yemen conflict

Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government

Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council

Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south

Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory

'The worst thing you can eat'

Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.

Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines: 

Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.

Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.

Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.

Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.

Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.

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