Did you feel a strong breeze earlier this week and worry for a minute that one of the many hurricanes whipping through the Atlantic had somehow found its way to the Gulf?
Don't worry. It wasn't a hurricane, just an enormous sigh of relief from parents whose children finally went back to school on September 10. A few schools had started their year before Eid Al Adha, but for many children, this summer holiday was the longest of their short lives. It felt even longer for their parents.
A long summer holiday sounds delicious at the outset: no one yearns for the early mornings, or the hunt for the missing PE kit in the 30 seconds before you have to walk out the door, and the absence of homework-related griping creates a blissful silence.
It’s all great, those first weeks, when everyone is full of plans and activities. That energy lasts maybe three weeks, maybe a month, but then enthusiasm wanes. Even if you’re travelling to new cities or spending time visiting family, the absence of routine starts to wear thin, as does spending time in the close quarters often necessitated by family trips. A family trip, just to clarify, is not the same as a holiday. The former usually involves children and frequently restaurants that serve things like “chicken fingers”. A holiday means you’re travelling on your own schedule and don’t have to get anywhere near a chicken finger (for the record, chickens do not have fingers, they do not even have opposable thumbs).
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This summer’s holidays went on for so long that one of my children was heard saying that he couldn’t wait for school to start. When that first day finally arrived, my kids went off without grumbling, crisp and tidy in their new uniforms, their satchels stocked with pencils and pens.
I won’t lie. I was delighted to see them go. And then as I wandered through my empty apartment, revelling in the fact that no one was asking me for a snack, for a ride to the mall or for another snack, I realised how lucky we were.
You may remember that in the weeks before school started, Nature seemed intent on showing humanity how quickly all that we take for granted can be erased: wildfires burned from Los Angeles up into British Columbia, the strongest earthquake in a century shook Mexico, Hurricanes Harvey and Irma decimated islands in the Caribbean and walloped the southern United States, monsoons in India, Nepal and Bangladesh killed thousands.
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More on natural disasters
Are the spate of natural disasters a sign of climate change or random coincidence?
As natural disasters increase, insurance industry feels strain
Irma is gone at last,after reducing Caribbean islands and the Florida Keys to a disaster zone
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That’s just in the last three weeks and hurricane season is only just starting. Luckily, the US Environmental Protection Agency has removed any discussion of climate science from its website, lest anyone link the increasingly ferocious hurricanes to the rising temperatures of the oceans. Clearly, then, we should continue to pave over all the possible wetlands we can find, because houses and resort complexes make great buffers against flood waters.
Tens of thousands of people have been displaced in recent weeks due to extreme and unexpected weather and many of those people may discover that they don't have homes to return to when the floods and fires recede. Are we facing another stream of refugees – weather refugees – who will join the world's rising tide of displaced humanity? These uprooted people have to drift according to whims of governments, but all they want is a safe harbour, a way to re-anchor themselves to the world.
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Tempers and temperatures are boiling over in the US, a country at odds with itself
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It was against the backdrop of these climactic upheavals that the simple fact of going to school – of having a school to go to – became something to be grateful for: the ease with which we were able to move from the aimless summer holidays and into the stability of a school-day routine. As we settle into our school-year rhythm, I am reminded of what Simone Weil once said: "Being rooted is perhaps the most important and least recognised need of the human soul."
I can’t afford to send all the displaced children to school, but surely those of us with the unremarkable luxury of stability can do more to help those who have been uprooted?
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War
Director: Siddharth Anand
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff, Ashutosh Rana, Vaani Kapoor
Rating: Two out of five stars
LILO & STITCH
Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA
Starring: Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, Ramzi Maqdisi
Directors: Tarzan and Arab Nasser
Rating: 4.5/5
If%20you%20go
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The past Palme d'Or winners
2018 Shoplifters, Hirokazu Kore-eda
2017 The Square, Ruben Ostlund
2016 I, Daniel Blake, Ken Loach
2015 Dheepan, Jacques Audiard
2014 Winter Sleep (Kış Uykusu), Nuri Bilge Ceylan
2013 Blue is the Warmest Colour (La Vie d'Adèle: Chapitres 1 et 2), Abdellatif Kechiche, Adele Exarchopoulos and Lea Seydoux
2012 Amour, Michael Haneke
2011 The Tree of Life, Terrence Malick
2010 Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (Lung Bunmi Raluek Chat), Apichatpong Weerasethakul
2009 The White Ribbon (Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte), Michael Haneke
2008 The Class (Entre les murs), Laurent Cantet
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Zodi%20%26%20Tehu%3A%20Princes%20Of%20The%20Desert
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
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
More on Quran memorisation:
The Settlers
Director: Louis Theroux
Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz
Rating: 5/5
Key figures in the life of the fort
Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
More from Neighbourhood Watch
The five pillars of Islam
The specs
Engine: 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 380hp at 5,800rpm
Torque: 530Nm at 1,300-4,500rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Price: From Dh299,000 ($81,415)
On sale: Now
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
ICC Women's T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier 2025, Thailand
UAE fixtures
May 9, v Malaysia
May 10, v Qatar
May 13, v Malaysia
May 15, v Qatar
May 18 and 19, semi-finals
May 20, final
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
'Nope'
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Who has been sanctioned?
Daniella Weiss and Nachala
Described as 'the grandmother of the settler movement', she has encouraged the expansion of settlements for decades. The 79 year old leads radical settler movement Nachala, whose aim is for Israel to annex Gaza and the occupied West Bank, where it helps settlers built outposts.
Harel Libi & Libi Construction and Infrastructure
Libi has been involved in threatening and perpetuating acts of aggression and violence against Palestinians. His firm has provided logistical and financial support for the establishment of illegal outposts.
Zohar Sabah
Runs a settler outpost named Zohar’s Farm and has previously faced charges of violence against Palestinians. He was indicted by Israel’s State Attorney’s Office in September for allegedly participating in a violent attack against Palestinians and activists in the West Bank village of Muarrajat.
Coco’s Farm and Neria’s Farm
These are illegal outposts in the West Bank, which are at the vanguard of the settler movement. According to the UK, they are associated with people who have been involved in enabling, inciting, promoting or providing support for activities that amount to “serious abuse”.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million