The meeting reaffirming the ties between Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, and French President Emmanuel Macron, that took place on Wednesday, was held at the majestic Chateau de Fontainebleau, or Palace of Fontainebleau.
The former royal palace, an hour south of the French capital, contains its own jewel-like theatre that was refurbished two years ago, thanks to financial help from the UAE.
The epitome of 19th-century imperial taste, the theatre had been closed for almost 150 years when President Sheikh Khalifa visited it in 2007. Today, where there was dust, there is now gold leaf; where there were scuffs, now there is shine; and what was once the Imperial Theatre, is now the Sheikh Khalifa Theatre, renamed after the UAE President in a gesture of gratitude from the French public.
The theatre officially reopened in 2019, just months before Macron visited Abu Dhabi for the occasion of Louvre Abu Dhabi’s opening festivities. The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi offered a generous contribution for the rehabilitation, which cost €10 million ($11.7m). The refurbishment was completed in two phases: in 2014, after careful research, the auditorium, vestibule and foyer were restored and reopened; and the second phase focused on the stage, the machinery for the sets, and the upper levels of the small space.
The Palace of Fontainebleau was originally built in the 12th century as a hunting lodge, and was transformed into a palace in the 16th century. The theatre was added between 1853 and 1856 under the reign of Napoleon III, inspired by Queen Marie Antoinette’s theatre at the Trianon Palace and its extravagant, meticulous aesthetic.
But it was only ever used a handful of times, and closed after Napoleon III fell in 1870.
The palace was occupied by the Germans during The Second World War, when it was reopened in order to give concerts – a revivification that also proved short-lived. Within the space of a year, they declared the theatre unsuitable for use.
Today, the Sheikh Khalifa Theatre is a popular tourist spot, appreciated for its aesthetic and historical significance. The public has access to the spectator area, with its hand-painted frescoes and individual seats arranged around the small proscenium stage, as well as to the backstage areas.
In keeping with the theatre’s track record as a site for performance, it is still used for plays – but only rarely.
Australia men's Test cricket fixtures 2021/22
One-off Test v Afghanistan:
Nov 27-Dec 1: Blundstone Arena, Hobart
The Ashes v England:
Dec 8-12: 1st Test, Gabba, Brisbane
Dec 16-20: 2nd Test, Adelaide Oval, Adelaide (day/night)
Dec 26-30: 3rd Test, Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne
Jan 5-9, 2022: 4th Test, Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
Jan 14-18: 5th Test, Optus Stadium, Perth
Tuesday's fixtures
Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
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Pre-school (three - five years)
You can’t yet talk about investing or borrowing, but introduce a “classic” money bank and start putting gifts and allowances away. When the child wants a specific toy, have them save for it and help them track their progress.
Early childhood (six - eight years)
Replace the money bank with three jars labelled ‘saving’, ‘spending’ and ‘sharing’. Have the child divide their allowance into the three jars each week and explain their choices in splitting their pocket money. A guide could be 25 per cent saving, 50 per cent spending, 25 per cent for charity and gift-giving.
Middle childhood (nine - 11 years)
Open a bank savings account and help your child establish a budget and set a savings goal. Introduce the notion of ‘paying yourself first’ by putting away savings as soon as your allowance is paid.
Young teens (12 - 14 years)
Change your child’s allowance from weekly to monthly and help them pinpoint long-range goals such as a trip, so they can start longer-term saving and find new ways to increase their saving.
Teenage (15 - 18 years)
Discuss mutual expectations about university costs and identify what they can help fund and set goals. Don’t pay for everything, so they can experience the pride of contributing.
Young adulthood (19 - 22 years)
Discuss post-graduation plans and future life goals, quantify expenses such as first apartment, work wardrobe, holidays and help them continue to save towards these goals.
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The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
More coverage from the Future Forum
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