The fumes of aluminium phosphide can kill silently and invisibly. There is no antidote. Accordingly the product - used to kill rodents and insects in granaries - is banned from household use in the UAE, as in many countries.
And yet, as The National reports today, the stuff is still widely available for sale here - despite a sustained chorus of warnings and a series of tragedies.
Now there has been a new case. More tests will confirm or disprove the theory that aluminium phosphide has killed again, this time in Sharjah.
On Sunday, Habiba Hisham, 2, died and her brother Adbul Rahman, 6, fighting for his life. This newspaper reported yesterday that doctors first suspected food poisoning, and it's easy to see why: vomiting is a principal symptom of both food and pesticide poisoning.
But when officials investigated, they found that the deadly chemical had been used in an adjacent apartment, whose residents were out of town, leaving their front door sealed with tape.
What can match the horror, for parents, of such an unseen, unsuspected menace? Children tucked into bed in the evening are by morning nauseated and close to death - if they awaken at all. If the pesticide is found to have killed Habiba, the horror will be all the greater because while parents are powerless against such a menace, authorities are not.
In Ajman in 2010, Suhail and Ali Bakari, two of three five-month-old triplets died when a neighbour's home was fumigated. Experts warned of an "urgent need" for tighter regulation of retail sales of pesticides.
In May this year, 10 men who shared a flat in Dubai survived in a similar case, although all needed hospital treatment. (Experts say children, with their higher respiratory rates, are at more risk than adults.) That time, too, there were calls for a crackdown.
Officials are trying. This June, after learning of more non-fatal pesticide poisonings and after reviewing a long list of unexplained deaths in which pesticides may have been responsible, Dubai officials warned the public against using any of the 400-plus banned chemical pesticides.
It's not enough. Warnings are appropriate, but far more public education, an energetic hunt for illicit suppliers, and well-publicised prosecutions will all be needed if we are to be safe from the silent killer next door.
The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)
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Bob Honey Who Just Do Stuff
By Sean Penn
Simon & Schuster
Is it worth it? We put cheesecake frap to the test.
The verdict from the nutritionists is damning. But does a cheesecake frappuccino taste good enough to merit the indulgence?
My advice is to only go there if you have unusually sweet tooth. I like my puddings, but this was a bit much even for me. The first hit is a winner, but it's downhill, slowly, from there. Each sip is a little less satisfying than the last, and maybe it was just all that sugar, but it isn't long before the rush is replaced by a creeping remorse. And half of the thing is still left.
The caramel version is far superior to the blueberry, too. If someone put a full caramel cheesecake through a liquidiser and scooped out the contents, it would probably taste something like this. Blueberry, on the other hand, has more of an artificial taste. It's like someone has tried to invent this drink in a lab, and while early results were promising, they're still in the testing phase. It isn't terrible, but something isn't quite right either.
So if you want an experience, go for a small, and opt for the caramel. But if you want a cheesecake, it's probably more satisfying, and not quite as unhealthy, to just order the real thing.
The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: seven-speed
Power: 620bhp
Torque: 760Nm
Price: Dh898,000
On sale: now
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
Schedule
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How to get there
Emirates (www.emirates.com) flies directly to Hanoi, Vietnam, with fares starting from around Dh2,725 return, while Etihad (www.etihad.com) fares cost about Dh2,213 return with a stop. Chuong is 25 kilometres south of Hanoi.
England squad
Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Dominic Bess, James Bracey, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Joe Denly, Ben Foakes, Lewis Gregory, Keaton Jennings, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Saqib Mahmood, Craig Overton, Jamie Overton, Matthew Parkinson, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Dom Sibley, Ben Stokes, Olly Stone, Amar Virdi, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
What She Ate: Six Remarkable Women & the Food That Tells Their Stories
Laura Shapiro
Fourth Estate
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The specs
Engine: 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 540hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 600Nm at 2,500rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Kerb weight: 1580kg
Price: From Dh750k
On sale: via special order
Get Out
Director: Jordan Peele
Stars: Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Catherine Keener, Bradley Whitford
Four stars
SPECS
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