Dubai’s GameExpo is under way, attracting cosplayers, gaming stars and families for the second year.
YouTube influencers Miniminter and AboFlah are the big names leading an esports tournament that pits internet personalities from the Middle East against ones from Europe and the US. The tournament begins on Saturday at the Dubai Exhibition Centre in Expo City.
It is part of Dubai Esports and Games Festival, which started on Wednesday and runs until Sunday.
Meanwhile, for those looking for things to do on the ground, the expo is split into different zones. One is retail, where local artists and vendors sell gaming and pop culture items.
Mahmoud Ismaeel, the owner of UAE Anime store, sells anime-related merchandise.
“We focus on the most popular anime shows, and we see a rise in popularity when one of them becomes more famous after a film of the same anime is released," says Ismaeel. "We recently sold more after Netflix unveiled the live-action One Piece show."
He added: “We sell a lot of replica katanas [an anime sword]; they look good on display. Many people use them to decorate their gaming set-ups.”
The event is popular with young fans, and many showed up in cosplay as their favourite characters.
Spark Makki, a father of two, came with both of his sons in cosplay. One dressed as Darth Vader and the other as a character from Dragon Ball Z.
“It’s the first thing they wanted to do, the cosplay,” he says.
Makki says he was happy the expo offered lots of gaming options that have piqued the interest of his sons, something he is familiar with as well. “I was just like them when I was younger," he adds.
The gaming expo also includes a tabletop zone, where fans of board games can sit in groups and compete against each other. The same zone also has a small racetrack for battery-powered cars that whizz by, as well as a Gundam model-making station.
Large businesses were also present, such as Geekay, a popular electronic games vendor in the region that had a large booth at the expo.
Geekay’s area manager, Hammad Qaiser, says: “People who come in cosplay like to purchase figures of their favourite characters."
Anas Al Masri, who handles distribution for the company, also notes the PC gaming market is rebounding after the pandemic and says it is "becoming better and better".
There is also a retro zone that houses a collection of classic arcade games such as Crazy Taxi, Mortal Kombat and Pac-Man.
The festival began with a two-day industry summit on Wednesday welcoming various gaming and tech companies from around the world.
The festival’s director Muna Al Falasi previously told The National: “The reason why we have launched the Dubai Esports and Gaming Festival is to position Dubai as a gaming hub in the region and to bring in investment from the international market.”
The gaming expo concludes on Sunday. Tickets start at Dh39 for a one-day pass..
More information is available at dubaiesportsfestival.com
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Results
6.30pm: The Madjani Stakes (PA) Group 3 Dh175,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
Winner: Aatebat Al Khalediah, Fernando Jara (jockey), Ali Rashid Al Raihe (trainer).
7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner: Down On Da Bayou, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.
7.40pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Dubai Avenue, Fernando Jara, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
8.15pm: Handicap (TB) Dh190,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: My Catch, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
8.50pm: Dubai Creek Mile (TB) Listed Dh265,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Secret Ambition, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) Dh190,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Golden Goal, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, first leg
Liverpool v Roma
When: April 24, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Anfield, Liverpool
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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How the UAE gratuity payment is calculated now
Employees leaving an organisation are entitled to an end-of-service gratuity after completing at least one year of service.
The tenure is calculated on the number of days worked and does not include lengthy leave periods, such as a sabbatical. If you have worked for a company between one and five years, you are paid 21 days of pay based on your final basic salary. After five years, however, you are entitled to 30 days of pay. The total lump sum you receive is based on the duration of your employment.
1. For those who have worked between one and five years, on a basic salary of Dh10,000 (calculation based on 30 days):
a. Dh10,000 ÷ 30 = Dh333.33. Your daily wage is Dh333.33
b. Dh333.33 x 21 = Dh7,000. So 21 days salary equates to Dh7,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service. Multiply this figure for every year of service up to five years.
2. For those who have worked more than five years
c. 333.33 x 30 = Dh10,000. So 30 days’ salary is Dh10,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service.
Note: The maximum figure cannot exceed two years total salary figure.
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Stormy seas
Weather warnings show that Storm Eunice is soon to make landfall. The videographer and I are scrambling to return to the other side of the Channel before it does. As we race to the port of Calais, I see miles of wire fencing topped with barbed wire all around it, a silent ‘Keep Out’ sign for those who, unlike us, aren’t lucky enough to have the right to move freely and safely across borders.
We set sail on a giant ferry whose length dwarfs the dinghies migrants use by nearly a 100 times. Despite the windy rain lashing at the portholes, we arrive safely in Dover; grateful but acutely aware of the miserable conditions the people we’ve left behind are in and of the privilege of choice.
Fitness problems in men's tennis
Andy Murray - hip
Novak Djokovic - elbow
Roger Federer - back
Stan Wawrinka - knee
Kei Nishikori - wrist
Marin Cilic - adductor
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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