As many teachers will tell you, disruptive noises can be nothing more than a sign of an active and exuberant group of young students. But what happens when deafening sounds are heard outside the school gates and punctuate the day with the excruciating sound of metal being ground and piles being driven, making it impossible to conduct the school day with any semblance of normality?
As The National reported, this appears to the daily reality at one of Repton Abu Dhabi's two Reem Island school campuses. Construction of the new Central Park residential and commercial tower has begun at a site next door to the campus, bringing with it a cacophony of unwelcome noise. The new development will take three years to complete, a timescale that will probably feel like a lifetime if video footage shared with this newspaper is anything to go by. The clips reveal a daily diet of drilling, piling, hammering and heavy noise pollution. One parent described the construction sounds as akin to an "earthquake". Another questioned what impact the "shaking and drilling" would have on the long-term health of the school buildings.
As it stands, the situation appears to serve everyone and no one: both the school and the nearby construction site are operating within their rights on their allotted sites. For its part, the construction company responsible for the Central Park tower has apologised for the noise the children have been subjected to but, in the absence of night works permit, the noise will continue during the day. And, if work is switched to night time, it may become an equal irritant to local residents. For its part, the school is in dialogue with parents, the construction company and the regulators and has moved pupils out of the most noise polluted areas of the facility.
What is an appropriate formula to ease the situation?
The regulatory authorities should be encouraged to make regular site visits and to continue to monitor child and site safety. The school should continue its outreach work and could consider the option of further relocation of pupils and staff to its other campus. The construction company should also continue its dialogue with the school and the authorities to work out a compromise that serves both commercial and educational interests. The current situation has angered many and, as one parent said, “it would be foolish not to do anything”. A sensible path forward needs to be mapped out.
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
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IF YOU GO
The flights: FlyDubai offers direct flights to Catania Airport from Dubai International Terminal 2 daily with return fares starting from Dh1,895.
The details: Access to the 2,900-metre elevation point at Mount Etna by cable car and 4x4 transport vehicle cost around €57.50 (Dh248) per adult. Entry into Teatro Greco costs €10 (Dh43). For more go to www.visitsicily.info
Where to stay: Hilton Giardini Naxos offers beachfront access and accessible to Taormina and Mount Etna. Rooms start from around €130 (Dh561) per night, including taxes.
More on Quran memorisation:
US tops drug cost charts
The study of 13 essential drugs showed costs in the United States were about 300 per cent higher than the global average, followed by Germany at 126 per cent and 122 per cent in the UAE.
Thailand, Kenya and Malaysia were rated as nations with the lowest costs, about 90 per cent cheaper.
In the case of insulin, diabetic patients in the US paid five and a half times the global average, while in the UAE the costs are about 50 per cent higher than the median price of branded and generic drugs.
Some of the costliest drugs worldwide include Lipitor for high cholesterol.
The study’s price index placed the US at an exorbitant 2,170 per cent higher for Lipitor than the average global price and the UAE at the eighth spot globally with costs 252 per cent higher.
High blood pressure medication Zestril was also more than 2,680 per cent higher in the US and the UAE price was 187 per cent higher than the global price.
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Karwaan
Producer: Ronnie Screwvala
Director: Akarsh Khurana
Starring: Irrfan Khan, Dulquer Salmaan, Mithila Palkar
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
Results:
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,400m | Winner: Eghel De Pine, Pat Cosgrave (jockey), Eric Lemartinel (trainer)
5.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,400m | Winner: AF Sheaar, Szczepan Mazur, Saeed Al Shamsi
6pm: Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan National Day Cup (PA) Group 3 Dh500,000 1,600m | Winner: RB Torch, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel
6.30pm: Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan National Day Cup (TB) Listed Dh380,000 1,600m | Winner: Forjatt, Chris Hayes, Nicholas Bachalard
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup for Private Owners Handicap (PA) Dh 70,000 1,400m | Winner: Hawafez, Connor Beasley, Ridha ben Attia
7.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 80,000 1,600m | Winner: Qader, Richard Mullen, Jean de Roaulle
MATCH INFO
England 241-3 (20 ovs)
Malan 130 no, Morgan 91
New Zealand 165 all out (16.5ovs)
Southee 39, Parkinson 4-47
England win by 76 runs
Series level at 2-2
