In Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, King Claudius’s chief minister, Polonius, gives a speech to his son Laertes, advising him on how he should behave while at university. While full of memorable quotes, the speech ends with its most profound statement.
“This above all: To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.”
Polonius’s advice to his son here is that if he is true and honest to himself, he won’t need to lie to anybody else. The quote is a powerful statement; Polonius estimates this state of living in one's own truth as a necessity, as a fundamental truth, “as the night, as the day”.
This week’s Arabic Word of the Week is a fundamental universal truth – tangible, scientific but also connected with ideas of longing.
Yawm, which simply means day, is a reality that most people take for granted in how it shapes our lives.
The word yawm is a noun, derived from the three Arabic letters, yah, wow and meem.
It is a set amount of time, measured from when the Sun rises to when it sets. From a scientific perspective, the day signifies the measurement of time when the Earth rotates around itself.
Al yawm can mean "today", "the day" or "any known day". The plural of yawm is ayaam and can literally mean “several days” but is also used to mean a long, abstract amount of time.
Many variants of the word yawm refer to actions that can occur daily.
Youmee or youmeea is a noun that refers to anything that occurs daily, for example, someone who goes to workor when a farmer feeds his animals. Yawama is a verb, not often used, but refers to an action that occurs daily, for example, the action of an employer paying his employee their wages daily would be referred to as yawama.
Youmiyat means any form of a diary where a record is kept. This can relate to one's own personal thoughts and feelings or an official record in a professional setting, such as a captain keeping a log of events during a sea voyage.
As would be expected, the concept of the word "day" has long been a great source of inspiration in various creative works exploring the theme of love, with the plural ayaam often expressing the ideas of longing and waiting.
Renowned Egyptian singer and actor Abdel Halim Hafiz had several hits whose titles had the word or variations of the word youm. These include Fi Youm, Fi Shahr, Fi Sana, (In a Day, In a Month, In a Year) released in 1959 and Fi Youm Min El Ayaam (One of These Days) from his film Al Wessada Al Khalia (The Empty Pillow) released in 1957.
Hafiz also starred in the hugely popular film Youm Min Omri (A Day From My Life), released in 1961, alongside actress Zubida Tharwat. The film follows Hafiz’s character Salah, a reporter who begins a love affair with the subject of his first major newspaper story, a young heiress who is being forced into an arranged marriage.
Lebanese singer Fairuz has two popular songs themed around the day – Akher Ayam El Saifeye (The Last Days of Summer) released in 1975 and Sanarjou Yawman (We Shall Return Someday).
Moroccan singer Samira Said also released the huge pop hit Youm Wara Youm (Day after Day) in 2002.
Vidaamuyarchi
Director: Magizh Thirumeni
Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra
Rating: 4/5
Silent Hill f
Publisher: Konami
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Rating: 4.5/5
What is graphene?
Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
Cinco in numbers
Dh3.7 million
The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown
46
The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.
1,000
The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]
50
How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday
3,000
The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
1.1 million
The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.
Company%20profile
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What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Company%20profile
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick
Hometown: Cologne, Germany
Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)
Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes
Favourite hobby: Football
Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk
RESULTS
5pm Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,600m
Winner Thabet Al Reef, Bernardo Pinheiro (jockey), Abdallah Al Hammadi (trainer)
5.30pm Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner Blue Diamond, Pat Cosgrave, Abdallah Al Hammadi
6pm Arabian Triple Crown Round-1 Listed (PA) Dh230,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner Hameem, Adrie de Vries, Abdallah Al Hammadi
6.30pm Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner Shoja’A Muscat, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
7pm Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m
Winner Heros De Lagarde, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
7.30pm Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 (T) 2,400m
Winner Good Tidings, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi
In Search of Mary Shelley: The Girl Who Wrote Frankenstein
By Fiona Sampson
Profile
Cry Macho
Director: Clint Eastwood
Stars: Clint Eastwood, Dwight Yoakam
Rating:**
Tank warfare
Lt Gen Erik Petersen, deputy chief of programs, US Army, has argued it took a “three decade holiday” on modernising tanks.
“There clearly remains a significant armoured heavy ground manoeuvre threat in this world and maintaining a world class armoured force is absolutely vital,” the general said in London last week.
“We are developing next generation capabilities to compete with and deter adversaries to prevent opportunism or miscalculation, and, if necessary, defeat any foe decisively.”
