Float through any social event with M's fast facts. This week Nadia el Dasher says farewell to cheques
THE BASICS The Payments Council Board, the body that oversees the way bank payments are made within the UK, has announced that the central cheque clearing system will end by October 31, 2018. The idea that a centuries-old method of payment would become redundant led to uproar among the British, who tend only to care about something when they think it is to be taken away from them.
THE HISTORY Cheques are one of the oldest methods of payment, dating back to ancient Rome. They were hugely popular from the 1950s to the 1990s but have been superseded by the rise of debit cards and online banking. Banks don't like them because they cost a lot to process. But many small businesses still rely on them, as do the older generation: receiving a cheque in a birthday card from your grandma is every child's right.
THE INEVITABLE The cheque will undoubtedly fade into oblivion, because where the UK leads the world will follow. Already, South African banks have started to investigate whether or not they should follow suit. Those uncomfortable with plastic and/or online banking will be keeping larger amounts of cash under their mattress.
THE CONVERSATION How are lottery winners and charities receiving big donations going to pose for the cameras with a computerised wire transfer?
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Rafia Zakaria
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Famous left-handers
- Marie Curie
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Friday: First practice - 6am; Second practice - 10am
Saturday: Final practice - 7am; Qualifying - 10am
Sunday: Chinese Grand Prix - 10.10am
Guide to intelligent investing
Investing success often hinges on discipline and perspective. As markets fluctuate, remember these guiding principles:
- Stay invested: Time in the market, not timing the market, is critical to long-term gains.
- Rational thinking: Breathe and avoid emotional decision-making; let logic and planning guide your actions.
- Strategic patience: Understand why you’re investing and allow time for your strategies to unfold.
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.