I am sitting in a coffee shop in my neighbourhood. Near me are three upper-class Egyptian women complaining about a recent shopping trip to a Cairo mall.
"So, they had, like, no haute couture - there were only all these crappy places - like Banana Republic - Ugh!"
Outside, through the cafe window, a child in a tattered sweater and scraggily hair peers in with a packet of Kleenex in his hand, hoping to sell it off to someone walking out of the shop. He obviously hasn't washed his face in days, probably can't read or write, and is quite possibly living in some sort of Dickensian nightmare in which he will be beaten if he doesn't bring back the right amount of begging money at the end of the day.
I grew up in Canada. Poverty, the way it exists in Cairo, is unheard of there. The "bad" parts of my home town would be luxurious compared to the way many people live in this city.
One of the biggest culture shocks of moving to Egypt has been getting used to seeing such poverty on a daily basis. Sadly, I have to confess, it has become "normal" to me now.
The poverty is on a par with what I saw on a visit to Rwanda, but in a way worse because there is just so much of it. And it is not just the beggars or the homeless who haunt the streets asking for money or food. The poverty in this city includes the people who serve you: those who clean your home; serve you at the restaurant or at the cinema; the office boy at work who has a child in an incubator and a sick wife and can't make ends meet. It is disturbing that so many cases touch your life every day.
Then there are the two million people living in the graveyards because they can't afford a home, the 70 per cent of the population who are illiterate, and the UN statistics that say 50 per cent of Egyptians live below the poverty line.
When I first moved to Cairo, I had a cleaning lady who came once a week. I returned home one night to find my roommate a little shaken. That morning she had caught Um Ahmad, our cleaner, going through our rubbish bin. She had picked out a bag of very stale cookies and an old bottle of liquid hand soap with a drop left in the bottom. She asked my roommate if she could take them home. "Of course," she said, taken aback by such desperation. Um Ahmad, a divorced mother of four, used to travel an hour-and-a-half from the slum she lived in outside the city to clean homes for about US$6 (Dh22) a day.
So how do people cope with the fact that some have while others simply don't? Some will tell you: "Just don't think about it." Others may be more responsible and give away clothing, money and food to those who work for them. But at the end of the day, it is a fact of life that in Egypt how you fare in life, your luck and your fate, depend on who you are born to - something completely out of your hands.
What makes the poverty so stark in Egypt is the big disparity between the classes. With a very slim middle class, you are either really rich here, or very poor. Many try to make ends meet with dignity but will never become managers of companies or take high positions at universities or in government. Those jobs are reserved for people who can exercise nepotism and who know the right people.
After three years living here, learning to deal with the poverty all around, I try to remember that this is not the normal way things should be - that hard work and not family name should bring success to individuals, and that, indeed, every small contribution can help.
Hadeel al Shalchi is a writer for the Associated Press, based in Cairo
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Chef Nobu's advice for eating sushi
“One mistake people always make is adding extra wasabi. There is no need for this, because it should already be there between the rice and the fish.
“When eating nigiri, you must dip the fish – not the rice – in soy sauce, otherwise the rice will collapse. Also, don’t use too much soy sauce or it will make you thirsty. For sushi rolls, dip a little of the rice-covered roll lightly in soy sauce and eat in one bite.
“Chopsticks are acceptable, but really, I recommend using your fingers for sushi. Do use chopsticks for sashimi, though.
“The ginger should be eaten separately as a palette cleanser and used to clear the mouth when switching between different pieces of fish.”
Company%20Profile
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Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
Honeymoonish
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Other acts on the Jazz Garden bill
Sharrie Williams
The American singer is hugely respected in blues circles due to her passionate vocals and songwriting. Born and raised in Michigan, Williams began recording and touring as a teenage gospel singer. Her career took off with the blues band The Wiseguys. Such was the acclaim of their live shows that they toured throughout Europe and in Africa. As a solo artist, Williams has also collaborated with the likes of the late Dizzy Gillespie, Van Morrison and Mavis Staples.
Lin Rountree
An accomplished smooth jazz artist who blends his chilled approach with R‘n’B. Trained at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, Rountree formed his own band in 2004. He has also recorded with the likes of Kem, Dwele and Conya Doss. He comes to Dubai on the back of his new single Pass The Groove, from his forthcoming 2018 album Stronger Still, which may follow his five previous solo albums in cracking the top 10 of the US jazz charts.
Anita Williams
Dubai-based singer Anita Williams will open the night with a set of covers and swing, jazz and blues standards that made her an in-demand singer across the emirate. The Irish singer has been performing in Dubai since 2008 at venues such as MusicHall and Voda Bar. Her Jazz Garden appearance is career highlight as she will use the event to perform the original song Big Blue Eyes, the single from her debut solo album, due for release soon.
Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
What is tokenisation?
Tokenisation refers to the issuance of a blockchain token, which represents a virtually tradable real, tangible asset. A tokenised asset is easily transferable, offers good liquidity, returns and is easily traded on the secondary markets.
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
Company%20Profile
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Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
The finalists
Player of the Century, 2001-2020: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Ronaldinho
Coach of the Century, 2001-2020: Pep Guardiola (Manchester City), Jose Mourinho (Tottenham Hotspur), Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid), Sir Alex Ferguson
Club of the Century, 2001-2020: Al Ahly (Egypt), Bayern Munich (Germany), Barcelona (Spain), Real Madrid (Spain)
Player of the Year: Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
Club of the Year: Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Real Madrid
Coach of the Year: Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta), Hans-Dieter Flick (Bayern Munich), Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)
Agent of the Century, 2001-2020: Giovanni Branchini, Jorge Mendes, Mino Raiola
The%20specs
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Hamilton profile
Age 32
Country United Kingdom
Grands Prix entered 198
Pole positions 67
Wins 57
Podiums 110
Points 2,423
World Championships 3
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
Game Of Thrones Season Seven: A Bluffers Guide
Want to sound on message about the biggest show on television without actually watching it? Best not to get locked into the labyrinthine tales of revenge and royalty: as Isaac Hempstead Wright put it, all you really need to know from now on is that there’s going to be a huge fight between humans and the armies of undead White Walkers.
The season ended with a dragon captured by the Night King blowing apart the huge wall of ice that separates the human world from its less appealing counterpart. Not that some of the humans in Westeros have been particularly appealing, either.
Anyway, the White Walkers are now free to cause any kind of havoc they wish, and as Liam Cunningham told us: “Westeros may be zombie land after the Night King has finished.” If the various human factions don’t put aside their differences in season 8, we could be looking at The Walking Dead: The Medieval Years.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners