Author: dailyguardian.ae

Christmas can be overwhelming even for the best of us, so it’s understandable why some people choose not to celebrate the season. In 2001, legal thriller writer John Grisham embraced that idea with his novel Skipping Christmas, which was subsequently adapted by screenwriter Chris Columbus and director Joe Roth as the perennial holiday film,Christmas with the Kranks, which hit theaters in 2004. The Santa Clauses‘ Tim Allen and Halloween Ends star Jamie Lee Curtis portray the titular couple, Luther and Nora Krank, both of whom are surprised when they are transformed into the neighborhood pariahs just because they want to…

Aspiring cricketers in the UAE have got the perfect stage to showcase their talent and temperament as the ILT20 Schools Cup reaches the final stage of the tournament. Future World Cup stars may emerge from this ambitious project launched by the Emirates Cricket Board. The ILT20 Schools Cup is aimed at encouraging and promoting the sport of cricket in schools with a long-term vision of identifying talent at a young age and investing in the future of UAE cricket. This programme establishes a direct channel of the DP World ILT20 to UAE’s young and aspiring cricketers and provides them with…

It was two years ago when YouTuber Trevor Jacob posted a dramatic video of his solo flight that ended with the plane crashing, though not before he jumped out of the single-engine aircraft to parachute to safety. The video of the doomed California flight — titled I Crashed My Plane — went viral and notched up several million views. Jacob at the time claimed that the aircraft had suffered engine trouble high over the Los Padres mountains. But the fact that he had a parachute on and a selfie stick in hand suggested that the whole thing may have been…

Ask any resident of Dubai why they love living here and you will get one resounding answer (among thousands!) — convenience. From paying your electricity bills to booking tickets for your favourite show, you can do almost anything on-the-go. Add to that list the Nol card. Nol cards are issued by Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority and can be used to pay for public transport rides throughout the city. (They can also be used to pay for a host of other services; check out the full list here.) Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp…

With the advent of the computer and especially the internet, many a social pundit had forecast the demise of the humble book and by extension the written word – and for a time, it seemed as if their prediction would not be far off the mark. But then Amazon unleashed the Kindle 14 years ago, changing the world of reading in the digital age and heralding somewhat of a rekindling of the love for the written word – except on screen instead of on paper. According to Amazon, the Kindle was designed to be a device that made reading easier…

England’s Ronnie O’Sullivan solidified his name in snooker history when he won an eighth UK Championship last weekend and then took a potshot at the sport’s governing body. The Rocket, who has amassed 40 titles during a glittering career, justified his No 1 world ranking with a compelling 10-7 victory over Ding Junhui to become the oldest UK champion, two days before his 48th birthday. His latest victory has come 30 years after his maiden triumph as a precocious 17-year-old in 1993. Sunday’s victory was the Englishman’s 22nd Triple Crown success but it was followed by revelations that he had…

The trailer for the feature film I.S.S. has just dropped, and it’s surely no coincidence that it lands in the same week that the International Space Station marks 25 years of operations. While NASA and its Russian counterpart Roscosmos will likely be highlighting over the coming days what can be achieved when you put politics aside and focus instead on international cooperation, the I.S.S. flick imagines a very different scenario where events on the ground cause productive collaboration inside the small orbital facility to collapse. Directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite (Blackfish) using an acclaimed Black List script by debut screenwriter Nick…

Egyptian-American comedian Bassem Youssef pulled no punches, highlighting what he called “the hypocrisy of developed countries in making climate pledges” but not reaching a common ground “to stop (messing) with the planet.” Youssef spoke on Tuesday on the sidelines of the ongoing COP28 in Dubai, where his trademark witty one-liners, uncanny humour and self-deprecating jokes were on full display during the talk titled ‘Sustainable Personal Stories.’ The heart-surgeon-turned-media personality, who recently went viral with his satirical but thought-provoking take on the ongoing Gaza war, made it clear – at the onset – to manage the expectation of the audience that…

For almost 50 years, Charles M. Schulz wrote and drew the Peanuts comic strip, which introduced the world to Charlie Brown, his dog, Snoopy, and their supporting cast of memorable characters. However, Schulz’s greatest contribution to pop culture may be the 1965 Christmas special A Charlie Brown Christmas. Schulz personally wrote the animated debut of the Peanuts gang, and it was at his insistence that the special didn’t shy away from the religious aspect of Christmas or from acknowledging the commercialization of the holiday that often drowns out the true meaning of the season. It was also Schulz’s idea for…

As the December air turns crisp and the days grow shorter, there’s no better way to usher in the festive spirit than by decorating homes with Christmas trees. Streets of Satwa are bustling with Christmas shoppers negotiating with sellers for their fresh trees. All the way from Canada, the trees line up this Dubai market, transforming it into a winter wonderland and filling the air with a fresh, pinene aroma. Every year during the season, residents from all over the UAE head to Satwa for the perfect centrepiece for their home decorations. Whether it’s a small corner tree or a…