This photo of Princess Diana with her son, Prince Harry, was released by Kensington Palace on July 23 and features in the new ITV documentary on her life and legacy. Reuters
This photo of Princess Diana with her son, Prince Harry, was released by Kensington Palace on July 23 and features in the new ITV documentary on her life and legacy. Reuters
This photo of Princess Diana with her son, Prince Harry, was released by Kensington Palace on July 23 and features in the new ITV documentary on her life and legacy. Reuters
This photo of Princess Diana with her son, Prince Harry, was released by Kensington Palace on July 23 and features in the new ITV documentary on her life and legacy. Reuters

Princess Diana brought popular passion to the royal stage


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It is tempting to wonder how Princess Diana would have been remembered had her fatal accident occurred in the social media age. Smartphone cameras intruding on her final moments as the British public is instantly alerted to the calamity via messages and phone calls, late night anxiety turning into dawn grief and then overwhelming sorrow. The tragedy in the tunnel would have saturated our daily life for months.

Two decades later, Britons would have undoubtedly had a different response to the question: Where were you when Diana died? Instead of hazy recollections, for many, the query would today trigger a deeply personal reaction.

As it was, there was no instant broadcasting from the scene. People woke up to the news on a weekend morning. The shock struck like a hammer blow. A nation spilled out in sorrow and anger to the streets to mourn.

Tony Blair, then a new and fresh-faced prime minister, declared the divorcee the “people’s princess”. Within days, there was public insurrection. Anger was directed at the Queen and the immediate family ensconced in the Scottish highlands. The Oscar-winning performance of Helen Mirren in the eponymous movie captured the sheer terror at the reports coming in from the outside world. It was only after a decisive intervention by Mr Blair that the royals faced up to the mood of the country.

As the 20th anniversary looms, the events of late August 1997 are back on the front pages. The old wounds have been aired again. Courtiers from the Diana camp are laying afresh charges against Buckingham Palace and the Prince of Wales, reviving the slights of the divorce.

Earl Spencer, the brother who is a self-appointed keeper of her memory, called Princess Diana the most hunted women in the world at her funeral. His perspective is no less bitter today than it was during the tumult after her death.

There is more to come. A sensation looms when a distasteful video of her intimate conversations with a voice coach will be screened by a broadcaster for the first time. All those old enough to remember 1997 are familiar with the Diana story. Most chose their own slant on her life long ago. But there have been some fresh insights amid the torrent of recycled reporting.

Sons Prince William and Prince Harry participated in another documentary to speak about their experiences after losing their mother.

Monarchy is the family business for the young men of Windsor. Speaking from the heart is risky. While they must be willing participants in the national remembrance, if they say anything interpreted as an attack on their father, or even the Queen, “the firm” would face renewed damage.

It was striking that Prince Harry, who has inherited his mother’s talents for empathy, spoke of the difficulty of walking behind her coffin as it was carried on a gun carriage.

It was touching when both revealed how little they remember of her. Prince Harry gave a telling revelation when he spoke of the impact of recently finding a letter she had written about her work on landmines.

It is clear that both are still discovering feelings and views about their mother well into their adult lives.

The question posed at the top was how social media might have altered Diana’s memory among the public.

The outpouring of shared reports, images and reactions on social media may have resulted in a national catharsis. Lady Di’s hold on the popular imagination could have come and gone in the deluge of tweets and Facebook commentary. Instead, there were many years of questions surrounding the accident in an almost empty Parisian underpass. Only lately have these been more or less resolved. Conspiracy theories, notably those pushed by her boyfriend’s father, Mohammad Al Fayad, have, too, been scotched.

The bigger picture is that Princess Diana’s death was the cultural point at which the Victorian stiff upper lip tradition lost its hold on the national imagination.

She remains a national touchstone precisely because of the hole that remains. There has been no one emerge at the highest levels who can match her emotional intelligence and caring tolerance for the excluded.

Britain did not start emoting when Princess Diana was killed. Televised soap operas had thrived off the country’s love of melodrama for decades. But Princess Diana brought popular passions worthy of the soaps to the royal stage.

From the White House dance with John Travolta, to her many love affairs and Elton John singing Candle in the Wind at her funeral, she was at one with modern tastes.

This is a country where the x-rated Love Island reality television show has been the main silly season talking point. Across the classes, those who put their inner selves on full display are the most feted and popular.

Princess Diana is an icon because she is still the closest to the people’s type of princess.

Juvenile arthritis

Along with doctors, families and teachers can help pick up cases of arthritis in children.
Most types of childhood arthritis are known as juvenile idiopathic arthritis. JIA causes pain and inflammation in one or more joints for at least six weeks.
Dr Betina Rogalski said "The younger the child the more difficult it into pick up the symptoms. If the child is small, it may just be a bit grumpy or pull its leg a way or not feel like walking,” she said.
According to The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases in US, the most common symptoms of juvenile arthritis are joint swelling, pain, and stiffness that doesn’t go away. Usually it affects the knees, hands, and feet, and it’s worse in the morning or after a nap.
Limping in the morning because of a stiff knee, excessive clumsiness, having a high fever and skin rash are other symptoms. Children may also have swelling in lymph nodes in the neck and other parts of the body.
Arthritis in children can cause eye inflammation and growth problems and can cause bones and joints to grow unevenly.
In the UK, about 15,000 children and young people are affected by arthritis.

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Western Region Asia Cup T20 Qualifier

Sun Feb 23 – Thu Feb 27, Al Amerat, Oman

The two finalists advance to the Asia qualifier in Malaysia in August

 

Group A

Bahrain, Maldives, Oman, Qatar

Group B

UAE, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia

 

UAE group fixtures

Sunday Feb 23, 9.30am, v Iran

Monday Feb 25, 1pm, v Kuwait

Tuesday Feb 26, 9.30am, v Saudi

 

UAE squad

Ahmed Raza, Rohan Mustafa, Alishan Sharafu, Ansh Tandon, Vriitya Aravind, Junaid Siddique, Waheed Ahmed, Karthik Meiyappan, Basil Hameed, Mohammed Usman, Mohammed Ayaz, Zahoor Khan, Chirag Suri, Sultan Ahmed

The specs: 2018 BMW R nineT Scrambler

Price, base / as tested Dh57,000

Engine 1,170cc air/oil-cooled flat twin four-stroke engine

Transmission Six-speed gearbox

Power 110hp) @ 7,750rpm

Torque 116Nm @ 6,000rpm

Fuel economy, combined 5.3L / 100km

THE APPRENTICE

Director: Ali Abbasi

Starring: Sebastian Stan, Maria Bakalova, Jeremy Strong

Rating: 3/5

Types of bank fraud

1) Phishing

Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.

2) Smishing

The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.

3) Vishing

The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.

4) SIM swap

Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.

5) Identity theft

Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.

6) Prize scams

Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.

BMW M5 specs

Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor

Power: 727hp

Torque: 1,000Nm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh650,000

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MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League semi-final, second leg result:

Ajax 2-3 Tottenham

Tottenham advance on away goals rule after tie ends 3-3 on aggregate

Final: June 1, Madrid

Jetour T1 specs

Engine: 2-litre turbocharged

Power: 254hp

Torque: 390Nm

Price: From Dh126,000

Available: Now

Barcelona 3
Messi (27’, 32’, 87’)

Leganes 1
El Zhar (68’)

When is VAR used?

Goals

Penalty decisions

Direct red-card incidents

Mistaken identity

UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

Another way to earn air miles

In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.

An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.

“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.

Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
  • Flexible work arrangements
  • Pension support
  • Mental well-being assistance
  • Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
  • Financial well-being incentives 
THE BIO

Family: I have three siblings, one older brother (age 25) and two younger sisters, 20 and 13 

Favourite book: Asking for my favourite book has to be one of the hardest questions. However a current favourite would be Sidewalk by Mitchell Duneier

Favourite place to travel to: Any walkable city. I also love nature and wildlife 

What do you love eating or cooking: I’m constantly in the kitchen. Ever since I changed the way I eat I enjoy choosing and creating what goes into my body. However, nothing can top home cooked food from my parents. 

Favorite place to go in the UAE: A quiet beach.

Abandon
Sangeeta Bandyopadhyay
Translated by Arunava Sinha
Tilted Axis Press 

Our legal consultant

Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais

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

Day 3 stumps

New Zealand 153 & 249
Pakistan 227 & 37-0 (target 176)

Pakistan require another 139 runs with 10 wickets remaining

Veil (Object Lessons)
Rafia Zakaria
​​​​​​​Bloomsbury Academic