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Schools will close their doors and switch to remote learning if two or more cases of Covid-19 are detected among pupils or staff.

The Ministry of Education has put in place tough safety measures to guard against a potential outbreak of infection on school premises.

A series of protocols setting out contingency plans for localised spikes in cases both at schools and across the wider national population were set out on Wednesday.

If just one case is detected, the rooms used by anyone diagnosed with the virus are to be temporarily closed and sterilised.

But if any additional cases are discovered, anywhere on site, the school will close and all pupils will transfer to distance learning for a period.

Meanwhile, schools will also temporarily close or reduce their capacity if there is a surge in cases across the country.

A formula has been devised to assess risk levels to the school population; from low, moderate to high and extreme levels.

In the case of an extreme risk - deemed to be at least 36 cases per 100,000 people - schools will shut and adopt distance learning for all pupils.

Meanwhile, Dubai's private school regulator announced some children returning from holidays will be unable to return to classrooms immediately.

The Knowledge and Human Development Authority has told school leaders that pupils below the age of 12 who have travelled abroad must complete 14 days of distance learning on their return to the UAE.

"Pupils under the age of 12 with a travel history will have to undergo mandatory 14 days distance learning from their date of arrival," the authority stated in a notice sent out to schools.

The decision means that if a pupil returned from holiday one week before their first day back at school, they would have to continue distance learning for one week before being allowed to return to the classroom.

Nearly 300,000 pupils will return to 209 private schools in Dubai next week.

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Director: Alfonso Cuaron 

Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville 

Rating: 4/5

Ponti

Sharlene Teo, Pan Macmillan

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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.

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
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Directors: Raj & DK

Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon

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Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni

Director: Amith Krishnan

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Directed by: Walt Dohrn, David Smith

Starring: Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake

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Name: Back to Games and Boardgame Space

Started: Back to Games (2015); Boardgame Space (Mark Azzam became co-founder in 2017)

Founder: Back to Games (Mr Azzam); Boardgame Space (Mr Azzam and Feras Al Bastaki)

Based: Dubai and Abu Dhabi 

Industry: Back to Games (retail); Boardgame Space (wholesale and distribution) 

Funding: Back to Games: self-funded by Mr Azzam with Dh1.3 million; Mr Azzam invested Dh250,000 in Boardgame Space  

Growth: Back to Games: from 300 products in 2015 to 7,000 in 2019; Boardgame Space: from 34 games in 2017 to 3,500 in 2019

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Abdul Jabar Qahraman was meeting supporters in his campaign office in the southern Afghan province of Helmand when a bomb hidden under a sofa exploded on Wednesday.

The blast in the provincial capital Lashkar Gah killed the Afghan election candidate and at least another three people, Interior Minister Wais Ahmad Barmak told reporters. Another three were wounded, while three suspects were detained, he said.

The Taliban – which controls much of Helmand and has vowed to disrupt the October 20 parliamentary elections – claimed responsibility for the attack.

Mr Qahraman was at least the 10th candidate killed so far during the campaign season, and the second from Lashkar Gah this month. Another candidate, Saleh Mohammad Asikzai, was among eight people killed in a suicide attack last week. Most of the slain candidates were murdered in targeted assassinations, including Avtar Singh Khalsa, the first Afghan Sikh to run for the lower house of the parliament.

The same week the Taliban warned candidates to withdraw from the elections. On Wednesday the group issued fresh warnings, calling on educational workers to stop schools from being used as polling centres.