Disaster control authorities have warned Americans that they need to prepare for an attack by zombies.
Under the heading "Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse", the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) suggest an emergency kit that "includes things like water, food, and other supplies to get you through the first couple of days before you can locate a zombie-free refugee camp".
It also urges families to sit and create an emergency plan for "where you would go and who you would call if zombies started appearing outside your doorstep".
The CDC admits that although the likelihood of zombies roaming the streets of the United States is low, it hopes the advice will prompt people into thinking about their response to natural disasters such as flooding or earthquakes."
Prof needs culture lesson
A visiting lecturer in Saudi Arabia has been banned after he showed students a photograph of a Saluki in a keffiyeh. Joseph Williams, a US academic, was giving a talk on the effect of climate change on desert animals and wanted to contrast dogs in the United States and Saudi Arabia.
Outraged students at Taif University in Mecca province began to walk out of his lecture as soon as the slide of the dog in a red and white checked headscarf appeared on screen.
University officials ordered him to stop the lecture and barred him from the campus.
Mr Williams said he had not intended to cause offence and had been given the image by a local professor who had found it on the internet.
New museum has a point
A new museum has opened to display the world's largest collection of pencil sharpeners.
The Rev Paul Johnson had accumulated more than 3,400 sharpeners by the time of his death last year.
The new museum was opened in a visitors' centre near his home in Carbon Hill, in the midwestern US state of Ohio.
Mr Johnson began his collection in the 1980s, but the oldest sharpener dates from 1906.
Paramedics need not apply
An investigation into why a remote New Zealand district has 230 ambulances has uncovered a tax scam.
Drivers had discovered that registering their cars as emergency vehicles allowed them to pay an annual registration fee of just NZ$60 (Dh172) compared with the normal rate of $287.
The country's transport agency became suspicious after comparing the sparsely populated district in Otago, at the tip of the South Island with the capital, Wellington, which had only 62 ambulances.
The drivers of the fake ambulances have now been warned that they face fines of up to $2,100.
Four years ago, officials clamped down on large numbers of private cars being registered as hearses to exploit a similar loophole.
jlangton@thenational.ae
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Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
Three-day coronation
Royal purification
The entire coronation ceremony extends over three days from May 4-6, but Saturday is the one to watch. At the time of 10:09am the royal purification ceremony begins. Wearing a white robe, the king will enter a pavilion at the Grand Palace, where he will be doused in sacred water from five rivers and four ponds in Thailand. In the distant past water was collected from specific rivers in India, reflecting the influential blend of Hindu and Buddhist cosmology on the coronation. Hindu Brahmins and the country's most senior Buddhist monks will be present. Coronation practices can be traced back thousands of years to ancient India.
The crown
Not long after royal purification rites, the king proceeds to the Baisal Daksin Throne Hall where he receives sacred water from eight directions. Symbolically that means he has received legitimacy from all directions of the kingdom. He ascends the Bhadrapitha Throne, where in regal robes he sits under a Nine-Tiered Umbrella of State. Brahmins will hand the monarch the royal regalia, including a wooden sceptre inlaid with gold, a precious stone-encrusted sword believed to have been found in a lake in northern Cambodia, slippers, and a whisk made from yak's hair.
The Great Crown of Victory is the centrepiece. Tiered, gold and weighing 7.3 kilograms, it has a diamond from India at the top. Vajiralongkorn will personally place the crown on his own head and then issues his first royal command.
The audience
On Saturday afternoon, the newly-crowned king is set to grant a "grand audience" to members of the royal family, the privy council, the cabinet and senior officials. Two hours later the king will visit the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, the most sacred space in Thailand, which on normal days is thronged with tourists. He then symbolically moves into the Royal Residence.
The procession
The main element of Sunday's ceremonies, streets across Bangkok's historic heart have been blocked off in preparation for this moment. The king will sit on a royal palanquin carried by soldiers dressed in colourful traditional garb. A 21-gun salute will start the procession. Some 200,000 people are expected to line the seven-kilometre route around the city.
Meet the people
On the last day of the ceremony Rama X will appear on the balcony of Suddhaisavarya Prasad Hall in the Grand Palace at 4:30pm "to receive the good wishes of the people". An hour later, diplomats will be given an audience at the Grand Palace. This is the only time during the ceremony that representatives of foreign governments will greet the king.
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
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Day 3, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Just three balls remained in an exhausting day for Sri Lanka’s bowlers when they were afforded some belated cheer. Nuwan Pradeep, unrewarded in 15 overs to that point, let slip a seemingly innocuous delivery down the legside. Babar Azam feathered it behind, and Niroshan Dickwella dived to make a fine catch.
Stat of the day - 2.56 Shan Masood and Sami Aslam are the 16th opening partnership Pakistan have had in Tests in the past five years. That turnover at the top of the order – a new pair every 2.56 Test matches on average – is by far the fastest rate among the leading Test sides. Masood and Aslam put on 114 in their first alliance in Abu Dhabi.
The verdict Even by the normal standards of Test cricket in the UAE, this has been slow going. Pakistan’s run-rate of 2.38 per over is the lowest they have managed in a Test match in this country. With just 14 wickets having fallen in three days so far, it is difficult to see 26 dropping to bring about a result over the next two.
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5