Maybe Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner should have visited the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature in Dubai. Mr Kushner has been tasked by US President Donald Trump with one of the world's most difficult jobs – peace in the Middle East. Let's hope he succeeds. But at a supposedly private session with Congressional interns on Capitol Hill last year, Mr Kushner was surreptitiously recorded saying: "We don't want a history lesson. We've read enough books. Let's focus on how do you come up with a conclusion to the situation." Now, of course, it seems odd that anyone in a position of leadership, even the semi-detached Mr Kushner in the fact-averse Trump White House, should find that books somehow get in the way of finding "a conclusion" to any situation, especially in the Middle East. Last week, surrounded by enthusiastic readers of all ages in Dubai, I was more interested in the idea that anyone can claim to have read "enough books", whatever that might mean. Most of us realise that we can never read enough and that's one reason why literary festivals are increasingly popular. We go to listen, learn, ask questions and have fun. That idea brought together those in Dubai who thronged to hear the children's author David Walliams and prizewinning writers like Kate Mosse and Kamila Shamsie or attend masterclasses on everything from travel writing and journalism to drawing comic strips and self-publishing. And if you were tired of all that, you could have had dinner with the cookery book-writing top chefs Madhur Jaffrey or Kenneth Hom and picked up some culinary tips.
Emirates litfest reminds us that book events and literary festivals are for everyone. Books themselves are making a comeback after a very difficult period for the publishing industry. A few years ago, some prophesied that traditional books were heading for extinction; that the "dead trees" product would be killed off by Kindle and similar electronic devices. But at the Wigtown Book Festival in the south of Scotland last autumn, I noticed the local bookshop had displayed on the wall an old version of a Kindle, peppered with holes from a shotgun. The sign beneath the pellet-riddled device suggested that in this bookshop, Kindle's assassination would not be mourned. Personally, I do not care how people read or even what they read. Kindle, books, magazines, trashy stories, comic books, high literature, poetry, non-fiction – all have their place. The key is to encourage people, especially children, to start the reading process.
At a primary school in the US state of Mississippi, I once filmed with an inspirational headteacher, who told me she could tell almost immediately which children aged five would do well later and which would fall behind. The key determinant was how many books the family had at home. Some grew up in households with no books whatsoever. But once a home had at least a dozen books which someone in the family read, no matter how poor the family might appear to be, the headteacher could be fairly confident the child would thrive. Those children who had plenty of books at home could begin school with a head start. They understood immediately that in a book with a picture of a duck and the corresponding word, both the word and picture were related. Sadly, other children in homes with no books simply did not understand that the word and the picture meant the same thing. Schoolteachers do remarkable work but a child who turns up at school on day one in Mississippi or Manchester or Mumbai without some idea of what books can do in their lives is a child in need of a miracle. Or a hero. And one of my heroes is the American singer Dolly Parton. She set up the Imagination Library offering free books to children under the age of five. As Ms Parton puts it: “When I was growing up in the hills of east Tennessee, I knew my dreams would come true. I know there are children in your community with their own dreams. They dream of becoming a doctor or an inventor or a minister. Who knows, maybe there is a little girl whose dream is to be a writer and singer.”
Books, Ms Parton believes, provide the first step on a long journey to fulfil those dreams. Books break the cycle of ignorance. That's why literary festivals are so important and so successful and why leaders who do not read books but prefer to watch television should be treated with suspicion. So may I humbly suggest that as more and more of Mr Trump's appointees are fired or abandon the administration, with Mr Kushner's own role now apparently under a cloud, perhaps the President could fill one of the gaps by offering Ms Parton a job in his cabinet, maybe replacing the current education secretary. Ms Parton's charity has distributed 100 million books so far in a mission to Make America Read Again. In the UAE, Dubai's Ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, is planning to match that number by donating 100 million books to school libraries to mark the UAE's Month of Reading. They do it, as Dubai litfest's slogan puts it, "for the love of words".
Gavin Esler is a journalist, television presenter and author
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Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
In numbers
1,000 tonnes of waste collected daily:
- 800 tonnes converted into alternative fuel
- 150 tonnes to landfill
- 50 tonnes sold as scrap metal
800 tonnes of RDF replaces 500 tonnes of coal
Two conveyor lines treat more than 350,000 tonnes of waste per year
25 staff on site
Other simple ideas for sushi rice dishes
Cheat’s nigiri
This is easier to make than sushi rolls. With damp hands, form the cooled rice into small tablet shapes. Place slices of fresh, raw salmon, mackerel or trout (or smoked salmon) lightly touched with wasabi, then press, wasabi side-down, onto the rice. Serve with soy sauce and pickled ginger.
Easy omurice
This fusion dish combines Asian fried rice with a western omelette. To make, fry cooked and cooled sushi rice with chopped vegetables such as carrot and onion and lashings of sweet-tangy ketchup, then wrap in a soft egg omelette.
Deconstructed sushi salad platter
This makes a great, fuss-free sharing meal. Arrange sushi rice on a platter or board, then fill the space with all your favourite sushi ingredients (edamame beans, cooked prawns or tuna, tempura veggies, pickled ginger and chilli tofu), with a dressing or dipping sauce on the side.
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EMIRATES'S%20REVISED%20A350%20DEPLOYMENT%20SCHEDULE
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BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Saturday, May 16 (kick-offs UAE time)
Borussia Dortmund v Schalke (4.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Freiburg (4.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Hertha Berlin (4.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Paderborn (4.30pm)
Augsburg v Wolfsburg (4.30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia Monchengladbach (7.30pm)
Sunday, May 17
Cologne v Mainz (4.30pm),
Union Berlin v Bayern Munich (7pm)
Monday, May 18
Werder Bremen v Bayer Leverkusen (9.30pm)
How much of your income do you need to save?
The more you save, the sooner you can retire. Tuan Phan, a board member of SimplyFI.com, says if you save just 5 per cent of your salary, you can expect to work for another 66 years before you are able to retire without too large a drop in income.
In other words, you will not save enough to retire comfortably. If you save 15 per cent, you can forward to another 43 working years. Up that to 40 per cent of your income, and your remaining working life drops to just 22 years. (see table)
Obviously, this is only a rough guide. How much you save will depend on variables, not least your salary and how much you already have in your pension pot. But it shows what you need to do to achieve financial independence.
The%20Roundup%20%3A%20No%20Way%20Out
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BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
The%20Continental%3A%20From%20the%20World%20of%20John%20Wick%20
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The%20specs
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Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
ITU Abu Dhabi World Triathlon
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
Fifa Club World Cup:
When: December 6-16
Where: Games to take place at Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi and Hazza bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain
Defending champions: Real Madrid
UAE'S%20YOUNG%20GUNS
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
The biog
Favourite car: Ferrari
Likes the colour: Black
Best movie: Avatar
Academic qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in media production from the Higher Colleges of Technology and diploma in production from the New York Film Academy
Generational responses to the pandemic
Devesh Mamtani from Century Financial believes the cash-hoarding tendency of each generation is influenced by what stage of the employment cycle they are in. He offers the following insights:
Baby boomers (those born before 1964): Owing to market uncertainty and the need to survive amid competition, many in this generation are looking for options to hoard more cash and increase their overall savings/investments towards risk-free assets.
Generation X (born between 1965 and 1980): Gen X is currently in its prime working years. With their personal and family finances taking a hit, Generation X is looking at multiple options, including taking out short-term loan facilities with competitive interest rates instead of dipping into their savings account.
Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996): This market situation is giving them a valuable lesson about investing early. Many millennials who had previously not saved or invested are looking to start doing so now.