Fasting Muslims in the UAE will be abstaining from all food and drink for more than 14 hours from Tuesday.
As summer approaches and daylight hours lengthen, the remainder of Ramadan will mean that the amount of time spent fasting will continue to increase.
According to the Emirates Astronomical Society, at the start of the holy month people were fasting for 13 hours and 46 minutes. On the last day just before Eid Al Fitr, they will have fasted for 14 hours and 13 minutes on one day.
Ibrahim Al Jarwan, the society's board of directors' chairman, said the exact duration of the fasting period would vary depending on the location of the person in each emirate, but the difference would never be more than a few minutes.
“The length of day and night changes throughout the year depending on the Sun's tilt from the equator and the latitude of the place,” he said.
Mr Al Jarwan explained that the closer the Sun gets to the equator, the more the length of night and day become equal. When the Sun is closer to the polar regions, it causes some countries to see continuous daylight in the summer and continuous darkness in winter.
In the UAE, daylight hours are at their longest between June 17 and 25, reaching about 15 hours and 13 minutes, Mr Al Jarwan said.
The minimum amount of daylight hours fall between December 14 and 28, at about 12 hours and 3 minutes.
According to the astronomical calculations, Eid Al Fitr (which is from Ramadan 29 to Shawwal 3) will run from Thursday, April 20, until Sunday, April 23 in the UAE.
The precise start of Eid Al Fitr will be confirmed closer to the time by the Moon-sighting committee.
The timing of Ramadan is determined by the Islamic calendar, which consists of 12 lunar months totalling either 354 or 355 days and because of this it moves up to 10 days earlier each year in the Gregorian calendar.
This year, people fasting in Chile have had the shortest fasting hours during Ramadan with an average of 11 hours and 30 minutes.
A shorter fasting period of between 11 and 12 hours a day is characteristic of Southern Hemisphere countries such as New Zealand, Argentina and South Africa.
Muslims in the city of Reykjavík, Iceland, will have the record this year of being residents of the city with the longest fasting hours.
They are expected to endure 16 hours and 50 minutes a day of fasting.
Education reform in Abu Dhabi
The emirate’s public education system has been in a constant state of change since the New School Model was launched in 2010 by the Abu Dhabi Education Council. The NSM, which is also known as the Abu Dhabi School Model, transformed the public school curriculum by introducing bilingual education starting with students from grades one to five. Under this new curriculum, the children spend half the day learning in Arabic and half in English – being taught maths, science and English language by mostly Western educated, native English speakers. The NSM curriculum also moved away from rote learning and required teachers to develop a “child-centered learning environment” that promoted critical thinking and independent learning. The NSM expanded by one grade each year and by the 2017-2018 academic year, it will have reached the high school level. Major reforms to the high school curriculum were announced in 2015. The two-stream curriculum, which allowed pupils to elect to follow a science or humanities course of study, was eliminated. In its place was a singular curriculum in which stem -- science, technology, engineering and maths – accounted for at least 50 per cent of all subjects. In 2016, Adec announced additional changes, including the introduction of two levels of maths and physics – advanced or general – to pupils in Grade 10, and a new core subject, career guidance, for grades 10 to 12; and a digital technology and innovation course for Grade 9. Next year, the focus will be on launching a new moral education subject to teach pupils from grades 1 to 9 character and morality, civic studies, cultural studies and the individual and the community.
About Proto21
Date started: May 2018
Founder: Pir Arkam
Based: Dubai
Sector: Additive manufacturing (aka, 3D printing)
Staff: 18
Funding: Invested, supported and partnered by Joseph Group
Breaking News: The Remaking of Journalism and Why It Matters Now
Alan Rushbridger, Canongate
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
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Analysis
Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more
Women & Power: A Manifesto
Mary Beard
Profile Books and London Review of Books
City's slump
L - Juventus, 2-0
D - C Palace, 2-2
W - N Forest, 3-0
L - Liverpool, 2-0
D - Feyenoord, 3-3
L - Tottenham, 4-0
L - Brighton, 2-1
L - Sporting, 4-1
L - Bournemouth, 2-1
L - Tottenham, 2-1
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UAE rugby season
FIXTURES
West Asia Premiership
Dubai Hurricanes v Dubai Knights Eagles
Dubai Tigers v Bahrain
Jebel Ali Dragons v Abu Dhabi Harlequins
UAE Division 1
Dubai Sharks v Dubai Hurricanes II
Al Ain Amblers v Dubai Knights Eagles II
Dubai Tigers II v Abu Dhabi Saracens
Jebel Ali Dragons II v Abu Dhabi Harlequins II
Sharjah Wanderers v Dubai Exiles II
LAST SEASON
West Asia Premiership
Winners – Bahrain
Runners-up – Dubai Exiles
UAE Premiership
Winners – Abu Dhabi Harlequins
Runners-up – Jebel Ali Dragons
Dubai Rugby Sevens
Winners – Dubai Hurricanes
Runners-up – Abu Dhabi Harlequins
UAE Conference
Winners – Dubai Tigers
Runners-up – Al Ain Amblers
Engine: 80 kWh four-wheel-drive
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Torque: 760Nm
Price: From Dh280,000
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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
Points to remember
- Debate the issue, don't attack the person
- Build the relationship and dialogue by seeking to find common ground
- Express passion for the issue but be aware of when you're losing control or when there's anger. If there is, pause and take some time out.
- Listen actively without interrupting
- Avoid assumptions, seek understanding, ask questions
