Author: dailyguardian.ae

In Egypt, where a shortage of natural gas has caused rolling blackouts during a heatwave, churches, cafes and libraries have stepped up to help students study for their crucial high-school exams. The venues that have their own power generators, which also include sports centres and wedding halls, have opened to students struggling at home with power cuts that were officially extended this week to three hours daily. Egypt generates most of its electricity from burning natural gas. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said Egypt would need to import $1.18 billion of mazut fuel oil and natural gas to end…

A US appeals court on Thursday revived a software engineer’s proposed class action claiming Meta Platforms refused to hire him because it preferred to give jobs to foreign workers who are paid lower wages. The San Francisco-based 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in a 2-1 ruling said that a Civil War-era law barring discrimination in contracts based on “alienage” extends to bias against US citizens. The decision reverses a California federal judge’s dismissal of a lawsuit by Purushothaman Rajaram, a naturalised US citizen who says Meta passes over American workers for jobs in favor of cheaper visa recipients. Rajaram…

“No,” he says, then catches himself, laughing. Ali Fazal, the star of Mirzapur Season 3, has a big event lined up and he’s getting tired of people asking about it. His wife, fellow actor Richa Chadha, who was last seen in the Netflix hit Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar, is pregnant. When we ask him if he’s ready to be a dad, he gives us a quick, one-word answer. But there’s no doubt that he’s looking forward to the little tyke; he’s been meeting all his shooting commitments, hoping to eke out some paternity leave. “I feel very privileged that I…

It is difficult to box Vandana Sudhir’s work into any neat categories of art. Does it conform to the principles of realism? Is she an abstract artist? The Abu Dhabi-based aesthete is someone who has successfully experimented with everything, but what exists at the heart of all her works is a celebration of what it means to be human — how we react in moments of agony and ecstasy. A staunch advocate of sustainability, Sudhir’s works themed on COP28 married two key ideas at the heart of UAE’s public policy — sustainability and tolerance. In an interview with Khaleej Times,…

The crucial T20 World Cup semifinal between India and England in Guyana on Thursday will start at 7.45pm UAE time following a rain delay and a wet outfield. Despite the delay, no overs were lost and it will be a full game. England captain Jos Buttler won the toss and opted to bowl. Wednesday’s first semifinal in Trinidad, in which South Africa hammered Afghanistan by nine wickets, had a reserve day set aside in the event of rain. But the England vs India game, taking place during a traditionally wet period of the year, has only 250 minutes of extra…

Mark Wahlberg is a balding hitman with a Southern accent in the first trailer for Mel Gibson’s Flight Risk, an upcoming thriller from Lionsgate. Daryl Booth (Wahlberg) is a pilot tasked with transporting FBI Agent Madelyn Harris (Michelle Dockery) and her informant, Winston (Topher Grace). Madelyn has to bring Winston from the Alaskan wilderness to New York to testify against a powerful crime family. During the flight, Daryl reveals his true identity as a hired assassin sent to kill Winston. Madelyn successfully restrains Daryl, but she cannot kill him because of her inability to fly a plane. As Madelyn struggles…

The Ministry of Education revealed the top five research universities in the UAE based on a new classification. The American University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates University, Khalifa University, Mohammed bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, and New York University Abu Dhabi are all listed in the “outstanding category.” Notably, these evaluation measures have been anchored on a national agenda geared towards growth and innovation. Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels. In classifying universities, the UAE is placing a strong emphasis on scientific research and innovations, and teaching quality — with…

A defunct Russian satellite has broken up into more than 100 pieces of debris in orbit, forcing astronauts on the International Space Station to take shelter for about an hour and adding to the mass of space junk already in orbit, U.S. space agencies said. There were no immediate details on what caused the break-up of the RESURS-P1 Russian Earth observation satellite, which was declared dead in 2022. U.S. Space Command, tracking the debris swarm, said there was no immediate threat to other satellites. The event took place at around 10 a.m. Mountain Time (1600 GMT) on Wednesday, Space Command…

It’s time to ditch the dating apps. Tinder, Bumble and the rest rose to prominence for their appeal. Directly targeting millennials and younger generations, the apps represented how easy it was to get what you wanted and how you wanted it through the revolutionary power of the Internet. For digital natives like Gen-Z, it should have been simple to make the jump, and 10 years ago, elder Gen-Zs like myself were on the apps as soon as we were out of secondary school and wading into the mire of adulthood. Like many of my generation, however, the apps lost their…

Afghans mourned the end of their T20 World Cup dreams on Thursday but said the cricket team’s performances in reaching a first semifinal gave them hope for the future. An all-male crowd of hundreds — among them armed Taliban — watched on two large screens at Kabul Cricket Stadium as South Africa thrashed Afghanistan by nine wickets in Trinidad. Hopes had been high the Afghans would defeat South Africa, after shocking the mighty Australia for the first time on the way to the last four. Fans cheered and clapped their support even as Afghanistan were routed for a meagre 56…