<i>Welcome to The National's weekly newsletter Beshara, where we share the most positive stories of the week</i> Commuting: for some it offers a chance to prepare yourself for the day, listen to a podcast or stare out of a train window. For others, it is a stressful, time-consuming part of the working week they could do without. For me, it's a mix of both. I enjoy the time on the train, but then comes the London Underground, where I am squashed into a tin can alongside hundreds of others, surrounded by questionable smells and always someone playing music out loud – seriously, who does that? The one saving grace of the journey is a whiteboard next to the ticket barriers at London Euston station. Every day the board has a different quote, drawing or words of encouragement. It never fails to put a smile on my face. Hopefully this edition, with tales of an unlikely ice skater, historic friendship and a bit of tree-hugging, will brighten your commute home. If you are already there, stick the kettle on, put your feet up and read on. Have a fantastic weekend, Taylor If you are of certain age, you might remember the hit 1990s movie <i>Cool Runnings</i>, based on the true story of four Jamaican men who took up bobsledding to compete in the Winter Olympics. If you enjoyed that unlikely hot-to-cold sporting story, then it is safe to assume you'll find the life and ambitions of Emirati figure skater <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/lifestyle/2025/02/05/ice-skating-uae-sara-bin-karam/" target="_blank">Sara bin Karam</a> of interest. At just 13, she is one of five skaters in the UAE's national squad and wants to encourage more people in the UAE to take up the sport. - Nick March on an ambitious plan to tag and track the health of 100,000 native trees in Abu Dhabi A church painting in the Italian town of Ferrara has lent weight to a theory that medieval churches used Islamic tents to conceal an altar when not in use. Researchers studying the 700-year-old fresco, thought to be the only one of its kind, say it depicts a colourful tent covered in jewels that may have been used on site. It was possibly a gift from a Muslim leader, a trophy from battle or a present from Pope Innocent IV. Cambridge University historian Dr Federica Gigante thinks the practice of using Islamic textiles may have been common at the time.