Temperature will reach up to 36ºC and 37ºC in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, respectively
uae4 hours ago
"Dad, I want two Apple shares as my birthday gift," my then-14-year-old told me in mid-October, a week or so before his 15th birthday. He'd done the math - across several conversations, he'd probed me craftily to arrive at an estimation of my budget for his gift. Apparently, he then googled the must-have shares in a portfolio, and picked a favourite. I must say I was suitably impressed even though I wasn't sure how I could invest in Apple shares - and only two - from here in the UAE.
Anyway, before I could act on it, he changed his mind and swapped two Apple shares for three Facebook ones. My predicament remained the same even as his choice of stocks changed once again, in a few hours, to Netflix. That's when I realised he was working his way through FANG shares, and Google wasn't on the table simply because it was way over budget. He kept oscillating until, eventually, the day arrived - and I handed him an IOU of the budgeted amount.
Being the father of a 15-year-old who can't seem to make up his mind, I can imagine the predicament of the European Union. The EU was, on Monday, once again tasked with ratifying an extension request by the UK, 31 months after the then-Prime Minister Theresa May triggered Article 50 and kicked off the two-year countdown to the UK's official exit. Despite a 24-month period, the negotiations between the UK and the EU failed to materialise into something that was acceptable to both the parties, and from March 29, 2019, the date for Brexit moved to April 12, then to October 31, and now, a 'flextension' to January 31, 2020.
Flextension is, like Brexit, a portmanteau - a word formed by combining two different terms to create a new one. I have a feeling that, like Brexit, which combines Britain and exit, and Bollywood, which is a spicy mix of Bombay and Hollywood, flextension - an amalgamation of flexible and extension - is here to be part of our water cooler conversations. There are a few more that Brexit has given us, including Brexodus, Brexthrough, Brexiety, Brexchosis, Brexiteer, Braccident and, my personal favourite, regrexit (regretting to have voted for Brexit!). Can you think of some more?
Temperature will reach up to 36ºC and 37ºC in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, respectively
uae4 hours ago
When the water could finally be cleared, almost half their stock of 20,000 books had been destroyed
uae6 hours ago
Top seed Jannik Sinner brushes aside fellow-Italian Lorenzo Sonego, while sixth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas falls to Brazilian qualifier Thiago Monteiro
sports12 hours ago
Rahul top scores for LSG but Samson and Jurel get RR home with their 121-run stand
sports12 hours ago
Hosts win fifth and final international match in Lahore by nine runs
sports12 hours ago
Sheffield United relegated after huge loss at Newcastle, In-form Everton assured of Premier League survival with narrow victory over Brentford
sports12 hours ago
The three-strong flotilla had been due to sail on Friday from ports in Turkey with more than 5,000 tonnes of aid on board
world14 hours ago
The quake occurred at 8.29pm UAE time
asia15 hours ago