• A man stares up at a statue of a gorilla whilst wearing a mask on to prevent the spread of Covid-19, Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    A man stares up at a statue of a gorilla whilst wearing a mask on to prevent the spread of Covid-19, Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • A man plays cricket with a mask on to prevent the spread of Covid-19, in Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    A man plays cricket with a mask on to prevent the spread of Covid-19, in Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • Coronavirus safety measures are taken at The Cycle Bistro, Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    Coronavirus safety measures are taken at The Cycle Bistro, Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • Coronavirus safety measures are taken at The Cycle hub, as Nour fixes a bike. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    Coronavirus safety measures are taken at The Cycle hub, as Nour fixes a bike. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • A Palestinian health worker collects a swab sample from a player of Shabab Rafah team in the southern Gaza Strip. AFP
    A Palestinian health worker collects a swab sample from a player of Shabab Rafah team in the southern Gaza Strip. AFP
  • A Palestinian health worker collects a swab sample from a player of Shabab Rafah team in the southern Gaza Strip. AFP
    A Palestinian health worker collects a swab sample from a player of Shabab Rafah team in the southern Gaza Strip. AFP
  • Students maintain social distance as they arrive on the first day of school following the resumption of classes in the Algerian capital Algiers. AFP
    Students maintain social distance as they arrive on the first day of school following the resumption of classes in the Algerian capital Algiers. AFP
  • A salesman at his tobacco and shisha shop in Manama, Bahrain. Reuters
    A salesman at his tobacco and shisha shop in Manama, Bahrain. Reuters
  • A teacher addresses pupils on the first day of school following the resumption of classes in the Algerian capital Algiers. AFP
    A teacher addresses pupils on the first day of school following the resumption of classes in the Algerian capital Algiers. AFP
  • A police officer holding a box of protective face masks checks if people wear them, as the coronavirus disease outbreak continues, in Istanbul, Turkey. Reuters
    A police officer holding a box of protective face masks checks if people wear them, as the coronavirus disease outbreak continues, in Istanbul, Turkey. Reuters
  • Cooks prepare traditional Doner kebab for clients at a small restaurant in Istanbul, Turkey. Reuters
    Cooks prepare traditional Doner kebab for clients at a small restaurant in Istanbul, Turkey. Reuters
  • Students sit in a classroom on the first day of school following the resumption of classes in the Algerian capital Algiers. AFP
    Students sit in a classroom on the first day of school following the resumption of classes in the Algerian capital Algiers. AFP
  • District Governor of Beyoglu Mustafa Demirelli visits a supermarket to check the measures to control the spread of coronavirus disease, in Istanbul, Turkey. Reuters
    District Governor of Beyoglu Mustafa Demirelli visits a supermarket to check the measures to control the spread of coronavirus disease, in Istanbul, Turkey. Reuters

Coronavirus live: Pandemic widens global economic generation gap


  • English
  • Arabic

As much of Europe wrestles with a second wave of record-high Covid-19 cases, governments are looking to curfews to stem the spread of the virus.

After reporting more than 40,000 cases in a single day, France

The UAE Ministry of Health announced a record-high 1,578 new cases of coronavirus on Thursday after 114,483 tests in the 24 hours.

That took the country's total number of infections to 120,710. Another 1,550 recoveries and two deaths were also reported.

Globally, coronavirus cases have passed 41.5 million, with many countries reporting record-high numbers over past weeks.

The world death toll has passed 1.13 million and there have been more than 28.1 million recoveries.

Other developments:    

Pharaoh's curse

British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.

The%20specs
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Five films to watch

Castle in the Sky (1986)

Grave of the Fireflies (1988)

Only Yesterday (1991)

Pom Poki (1994)

The Tale of Princess Kaguya (2013)

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Mamo 

 Year it started: 2019 Founders: Imad Gharazeddine, Asim Janjua

 Based: Dubai, UAE

 Number of employees: 28

 Sector: Financial services

 Investment: $9.5m

 Funding stage: Pre-Series A Investors: Global Ventures, GFC, 4DX Ventures, AlRajhi Partners, Olive Tree Capital, and prominent Silicon Valley investors. 

 
RESULTS
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Basquiat in Abu Dhabi

One of Basquiat’s paintings, the vibrant Cabra (1981–82), now hangs in Louvre Abu Dhabi temporarily, on loan from the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi. 

The latter museum is not open physically, but has assembled a collection and puts together a series of events called Talking Art, such as this discussion, moderated by writer Chaedria LaBouvier. 

It's something of a Basquiat season in Abu Dhabi at the moment. Last week, The Radiant Child, a documentary on Basquiat was shown at Manarat Al Saadiyat, and tonight (April 18) the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is throwing the re-creation of a party tonight, of the legendary Canal Zone party thrown in 1979, which epitomised the collaborative scene of the time. It was at Canal Zone that Basquiat met prominent members of the art world and moved from unknown graffiti artist into someone in the spotlight.  

“We’ve invited local resident arists, we’ll have spray cans at the ready,” says curator Maisa Al Qassemi of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi. 

Guggenheim Abu Dhabi's Canal Zone Remix is at Manarat Al Saadiyat, Thursday April 18, from 8pm. Free entry to all. Basquiat's Cabra is on view at Louvre Abu Dhabi until October

Engine: 80 kWh four-wheel-drive

Transmission: eight-speed automatic

Power: 402bhp

Torque: 760Nm

Price: From Dh280,000

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

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Key findings
  • Over a period of seven years, a team of scientists analysed dietary data from 50,000 North American adults.
  • Eating one or two meals a day was associated with a relative decrease in BMI, compared with three meals. Snacks count as a meal. Likewise, participants who ate more than three meals a day experienced an increase in BMI: the more meals a day, the greater the increase. 
  • People who ate breakfast experienced a relative decrease in their BMI compared with “breakfast-skippers”. 
  • Those who turned the eating day on its head to make breakfast the biggest meal of the day, did even better. 
  • But scrapping dinner altogether gave the best results. The study found that the BMI of subjects who had a long overnight fast (of 18 hours or more) decreased when compared even with those who had a medium overnight fast, of between 12 and 17 hours.
The biog

Name: Marie Byrne

Nationality: Irish

Favourite film: The Shawshank Redemption

Book: Seagull by Jonathan Livingston

Life lesson: A person is not old until regret takes the place of their dreams

Florence and the Machine – High as Hope
Three stars

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The years Ramadan fell in May

1987

1954

1921

1888

The specs

Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors

Power: Combined output 920hp

Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic

Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km

On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025

Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000

SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20NOTHING%20PHONE%20(2a)
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Farage on Muslim Brotherhood

Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.

The National Archives, Abu Dhabi

Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.

Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en

Who's who in Yemen conflict

Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government

Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council

Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south

Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory

The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting 

2. Prayer 

3. Hajj 

4. Shahada 

5. Zakat