• The UK's Queen Elizabeth II takes sits in isolation during the funeral service for her husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, on April 17. Getty Images
    The UK's Queen Elizabeth II takes sits in isolation during the funeral service for her husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, on April 17. Getty Images
  • Jacob Anthony Chansley, wearing horns and a bearskin headdress, stands with other supporters of former US president Donald Trump as they demonstrate on the second floor of the US Capitol near the entrance to the Senate after breaching security defences on January 6. Reuters
    Jacob Anthony Chansley, wearing horns and a bearskin headdress, stands with other supporters of former US president Donald Trump as they demonstrate on the second floor of the US Capitol near the entrance to the Senate after breaching security defences on January 6. Reuters
  • Women working at the Covid-19 front-lines show marks on their faces caused by wearing personal protective equipment such as masks while on duty. Photos AFP, Alessiabonari/ig
    Women working at the Covid-19 front-lines show marks on their faces caused by wearing personal protective equipment such as masks while on duty. Photos AFP, Alessiabonari/ig
  • Police officers stop protesters from entering the BBC Studioworks building in London, during a demonstration against Covid-19 restrictions in August. Getty Images
    Police officers stop protesters from entering the BBC Studioworks building in London, during a demonstration against Covid-19 restrictions in August. Getty Images
  • Workers push a cart loaded with fuel barrels along a flooded road in Pathein City, capital of Myanmar's Ayeyarwady region. More than 300,000 people were affected by flooding that submerged 703 villages, forcing 38,000 to take refuge in about 180 local shelters in the region. EPA
    Workers push a cart loaded with fuel barrels along a flooded road in Pathein City, capital of Myanmar's Ayeyarwady region. More than 300,000 people were affected by flooding that submerged 703 villages, forcing 38,000 to take refuge in about 180 local shelters in the region. EPA
  • A house in Cayce, Kentucky destroyed after tornadoes hit the area this month. Storms hit Kentucky cities and towns and in Cayce, with a population of 119, most buildings appeared to be damaged or destroyed. AFP
    A house in Cayce, Kentucky destroyed after tornadoes hit the area this month. Storms hit Kentucky cities and towns and in Cayce, with a population of 119, most buildings appeared to be damaged or destroyed. AFP
  • The Ahr river meanders past destroyed houses in Insul, Germany. The western valley was devastated by flooding in mid-July. Heavy rainfall turned small streams into raging torrents, sweeping away houses, bridges and cars. AP
    The Ahr river meanders past destroyed houses in Insul, Germany. The western valley was devastated by flooding in mid-July. Heavy rainfall turned small streams into raging torrents, sweeping away houses, bridges and cars. AP
  • Thousands of activists and protesters attend the Fridays for Future march to demand action from world leaders to combat the climate change crisis on the sidelines of the UN Climate Change Conference COP26 in Glasgow, Britain, 05 November 2021. The COP26 climate conference is being held until November 12 in the Scottish city of Glasgow. EPA
    Thousands of activists and protesters attend the Fridays for Future march to demand action from world leaders to combat the climate change crisis on the sidelines of the UN Climate Change Conference COP26 in Glasgow, Britain, 05 November 2021. The COP26 climate conference is being held until November 12 in the Scottish city of Glasgow. EPA


Memorable images of 2021 capture a reality of our lives


  • English
  • Arabic

December 27, 2021

We will all remember the lockdowns, Covid-19 tests and other disruptions to our lives in 2021, but the year was also full of extraordinary and sometimes inspirational images. One of the most memorable was also the most bizarre, the QAnon "shaman".

You will recall this tattooed and bearded Trump supporter wearing a buffalo head-dress, yowling at the heavens inside the home of American democracy, Washington’s Capitol building, as part of the violent protest against US President Joe Biden’s election victory. I suspect buffalo-man and his friends may haunt our future, but we’ll get to that in a moment.

First, the inspirational image of 2021 for me in Britain was also the saddest. Her Majesty the Queen sat alone in Windsor, socially distanced, wearing a mask, mourning the death of her life-companion Prince Philip. They spent 73 years together. The grief was obvious through the mask. So was the sense of duty and profound dignity of a monarch who has served the UK for seven decades and who spans the great generation of the Second World War through the end of the British empire and in to the 21st century information age.

At a time when some British politicians, including the prime minister, have often made the UK appear incapable of living up to the standards we expect from people in public life, the Queen has been faultless, a solid British rock in a sea of political foolishness.

Yet for many of us it was coronavirus itself which repeatedly supplied the most profound images of 2021.

We will remember the queues of those waiting to be vaccinated, or the faces of health care workers exhausted after long hours in hospital intensive care units.

And who can forget the lines on their cheeks as they took off their masks, images which – more than words – told us everything we need to know about the sacrifices nurses, doctors and other health workers make everyday on our behalf.

The Queen has been faultless, a solid British rock in a sea of political foolishness

There was a flip side to this, however. We also saw the images of irrational hatred from anti-vaccination protesters. Curiously those who most loudly trumpeted their so-called “libertarian" views in 2021 and claimed the right to their “personal choice” not to accept coronavirus vaccines were often violently furious that millions of other citizens had a different personal choice and welcomed the protection of vaccines.

In 2021 the word “libertarian” increasingly sounded like a synonym for “selfish” or perhaps just dim. One British anti-vaxxer group tried to storm what they thought were BBC headquarters in west London. Sadly these anti-vaxxer luminaries failed to notice that the BBC had moved out of the Television Centre complex a decade ago, in 2012. The same inability to get a grip on facts and reality led to images of another group of anti-vaxxers protesting at the Apple store in central London.

In the anti-vaxxer world, Bill Gates is supposed to be a controlling figure in the great vaccination conspiracy. Unfortunately for this theory Bill Gates is not involved in the vaccination programme, nor is he involved with Apple. Apple’s founder was Steve Jobs, who died a decade ago. But facts really don’t matter to conspiracy theorists, even if they do matter to the rest of us.

The stunning extreme weather images of 2021 surely proved even to the most recalcitrant climate change deniers that the threat to all human existence is real.

Floods – some deadly – hit Germany, Belgium, Myanmar, the US and other countries. Out-of-control fires destroyed vast areas in Siberia, Australia, California, Canada and elsewhere. Climate activists picketed Cop-26 in Glasgow demanding that governments do more, and yet despite the scientific evidence – and the images of destruction – the result was a somewhat half-hearted and disappointing agreement about real solutions. And the problems of governments to act bring us back to the QAnon "shaman" and the Capitol Hill riot, because that assault on US democracy casts a shadow over all of us in the year ahead.

The "shaman" like the anti-vaxxers, is not a joke. Together these images are emblems of a world in which fantasy and nonsense shout so loudly they risk drowning out reason, science, and traditional norms of behaviour. Donald Trump’s reaction to his defeat in November 2020’s presidential election, and the subsequent assault on the US Capitol in January 2021 led the US World Values Survey to note:

“Elections are the heart of liberal democracy. Losers voluntarily leave office. Winners assume rightful power. There is nothing in the US Constitution mandating that presidents concede graciously, but it is a centuries-old practice. When faith in these fundamental norms of democracy fades, when comity between opponents erodes, so does our civic culture.”

Faith in “fundamental norms” of decent and reasonable behaviour did indeed fade in 2021. The images of 2021 capture this reality for our lives. But they also capture the bizarre unreality of the lives of those whose irrational and sometimes violent behaviour will, unfortunately, still be with us in 2022, and beyond.

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League final:

Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports

FIXTURES

Monday, January 28
Iran v Japan, Hazza bin Zayed Stadium (6pm)

Tuesday, January 29
UAEv Qatar, Mohamed Bin Zayed Stadium (6pm)

Friday, February 1
Final, Zayed Sports City Stadium (6pm)

How to improve Arabic reading in early years

One 45-minute class per week in Standard Arabic is not sufficient

The goal should be for grade 1 and 2 students to become fluent readers

Subjects like technology, social studies, science can be taught in later grades

Grade 1 curricula should include oral instruction in Standard Arabic

First graders must regularly practice individual letters and combinations

Time should be slotted in class to read longer passages in early grades

Improve the appearance of textbooks

Revision of curriculum should be undertaken as per research findings

Conjugations of most common verb forms should be taught

Systematic learning of Standard Arabic grammar

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

Chelsea 1
Alonso (62')

Huddersfield Town 1
Depoitre (50')

The specs

Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors

Power: 480kW

Torque: 850Nm

Transmission: Single-speed automatic

Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)

On sale: Now

Dhadak

Director: Shashank Khaitan

Starring: Janhvi Kapoor, Ishaan Khattar, Ashutosh Rana

Stars: 3

LILO & STITCH

Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders

Director: Dean Fleischer Camp

Rating: 4.5/5

Company%20profile
%3Cp%3EName%3A%20Cashew%0D%3Cbr%3EStarted%3A%202020%0D%3Cbr%3EFounders%3A%20Ibtissam%20Ouassif%20and%20Ammar%20Afif%0D%3Cbr%3EBased%3A%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%0D%3Cbr%3EIndustry%3A%20FinTech%0D%3Cbr%3EFunding%20size%3A%20%2410m%0D%3Cbr%3EInvestors%3A%20Mashreq%2C%20others%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

Five famous companies founded by teens

There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:

  1. Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate. 
  2. Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc. 
  3. Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway. 
  4. Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
  5. Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

First-round leaderbaord

-5 C Conners (Can)

-3 B Koepka (US), K Bradley (US), V Hovland (Nor), A Wise (US), S Horsfield (Eng), C Davis (Aus);

-2 C Morikawa (US), M Laird (Sco), C Tringale (US)

Selected others: -1 P Casey (Eng), R Fowler (US), T Hatton (Eng)

Level B DeChambeau (US), J Rose (Eng) 

1 L Westwood (Eng), J Spieth (US)

3 R McIlroy (NI)

4 D Johnson (US)

Avatar: Fire and Ash

Director: James Cameron

Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana

Rating: 4.5/5

The specs: 2018 GMC Terrain

Price, base / as tested: Dh94,600 / Dh159,700

Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder

Power: 252hp @ 5,500rpm

Torque: 353Nm @ 2,500rpm

Transmission: Nine-speed automatic

Fuel consumption, combined: 7.4L  / 100km

Wicked: For Good

Director: Jon M Chu

Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater

Rating: 4/5

Cracks in the Wall

Ben White, Pluto Press 

Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage

Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid 

Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani

Rating: 4/5

if you go

The flights
The closest international airport to the TMB trail is Geneva (just over an hour’s drive from the French ski town of Chamonix where most people start and end the walk). Direct flights from the UAE to Geneva are available with Etihad and Emirates from about Dh2,790 including taxes.

The trek
The Tour du Mont Blanc takes about 10 to 14 days to complete if walked in its entirety, but by using the services of a tour operator such as Raw Travel, a shorter “highlights” version allows you to complete the best of the route in a week, from Dh6,750 per person. The trails are blocked by snow from about late October to early May. Most people walk in July and August, but be warned that trails are often uncomfortably busy at this time and it can be very hot. The prime months are June and September.

 

 

MATCH INFO

What: 2006 World Cup quarter-final
When: July 1
Where: Gelsenkirchen Stadium, Gelsenkirchen, Germany

Result:
England 0 Portugal 0
(Portugal win 3-1 on penalties)

The Word for Woman is Wilderness
Abi Andrews, Serpent’s Tail

Juliot Vinolia’s checklist for adopting alternate-day fasting

-      Don’t do it more than once in three days

-      Don’t go under 700 calories on fasting days

-      Ensure there is sufficient water intake, as the body can go in dehydration mode

-      Ensure there is enough roughage (fibre) in the food on fasting days as well

-      Do not binge on processed or fatty foods on non-fasting days

-      Complement fasting with plant-based foods, fruits, vegetables, seafood. Cut out processed meats and processed carbohydrates

-      Manage your sleep

-      People with existing gastric or mental health issues should avoid fasting

-      Do not fast for prolonged periods without supervision by a qualified expert

If you go...

Etihad flies daily from Abu Dhabi to Zurich, with fares starting from Dh2,807 return. Frequent high speed trains between Zurich and Vienna make stops at St. Anton.

Stormy seas

Weather warnings show that Storm Eunice is soon to make landfall. The videographer and I are scrambling to return to the other side of the Channel before it does. As we race to the port of Calais, I see miles of wire fencing topped with barbed wire all around it, a silent ‘Keep Out’ sign for those who, unlike us, aren’t lucky enough to have the right to move freely and safely across borders.

We set sail on a giant ferry whose length dwarfs the dinghies migrants use by nearly a 100 times. Despite the windy rain lashing at the portholes, we arrive safely in Dover; grateful but acutely aware of the miserable conditions the people we’ve left behind are in and of the privilege of choice. 

The President's Cake

Director: Hasan Hadi

Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem 

Rating: 4/5

Updated: December 28, 2021, 3:28 PM