Music lovers in Abu Dhabi were treated to an unforgettable experience on May 18, 2006, when the 'Voice of Lebanon', Fairouz, performed a concert at the Emirates Palace hotel.
The historic concert came during a time of looming unrest in the Middle East, as Lebanon went to war with Israel a month later.
Fairouz’s music was a moment of perfect harmony and a beacon of hope. Her performance included songs from her celebrated oeuvre, including two songs which had rarely been performed live; Ya Rayt and Am Yil’abou El Wlad.
The programme featured two long sessions, separated by an intermission, rounded off by the singer’s more adored songs, such as Zourouni and Ughniat El Wada’a.
The legendary singer glowed on stage, with the lights making it a very intimate experience for those in attendance. The concert was held to raise money for autism research.
Conducting the orchestra accompaniment for the concert was Karen Durgaryan, who at the time was the principal conductor of the Armenian National Opera and Ballet Theatre. Durgaryan had been conducting Fairouz’s concerts since 2000.
Many dignitaries and diplomatic representatives attended the concert, including Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak, who was Minister of Education at the time.
The appreciative and excited audience roared and applauded as the diva took to the stage, with the first song, Kan Enna Tahoon, setting the scene for what would be a night of nostalgia and yearning.
The set list included an eclectic selection of Fairouz’s songs, some of which were from films, while others took on a political flavour, calling for unity and harmony in the Arab world.
The setting, the Emirates Palace hotel, had opened its doors a year earlier after much anticipation. The hotel became the capital’s focal point for luxury, culture and the arts, hosting a series of classical music concerts, art exhibitions and film premiers. It is now known as Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental.
Fairouz was no stranger to UAE audiences, having performed two months earlier in Dubai at the American University.
Fairouz first performed in the UAE in 1979 as part of the opening ceremony for the Expo Centre Sharjah and returned to do more than 50 shows spanning the next 40 years.
School uniforms report
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RACECARD
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RESULTS
Manchester United 2
Anthony Martial 30'
Scott McTominay 90 6'
Manchester City 0
Explained
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The national orchestra
Kareem Shaheen on Canada
Tomorrow 2021
Plastic tipping points
About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
TEST SQUADS
Bangladesh: Mushfiqur Rahim (captain), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Imrul Kayes, Liton Das, Shakib Al Hasan, Mominul Haque, Nasir Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Mehedi Hasan, Shafiul Islam, Taijul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman and Taskin Ahmed.
Australia: Steve Smith (captain), David Warner, Ashton Agar, Hilton Cartwright, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Matthew Wade, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Matt Renshaw, Mitchell Swepson and Jackson Bird.
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World Mental Health Day
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
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Tomorrow 2021
'THE WORST THING YOU CAN EAT'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
Transgender report
Zayed Sustainability Prize
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20M3%20MACBOOK%20AIR%20(13%22)
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DIVINE%20INTERVENTOIN
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The national orchestra
The five pillars of Islam
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2.
3.
4.
5.
Tomorrow 2021
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Saudi National Day
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The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Rain Management
Year started: 2017
Based: Bahrain
Employees: 100-120
Amount raised: $2.5m from BitMex Ventures and Blockwater. Another $6m raised from MEVP, Coinbase, Vision Ventures, CMT, Jimco and DIFC Fintech Fund
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MATCH INFO
AC Milan v Inter, Sunday, 6pm (UAE), match live on BeIN Sports
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
Six large-scale objects on show
- Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
- The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
- A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
- A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
- Torrijos Palace dome
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The specs
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
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Arrogate's winning run
1. Maiden Special Weight, Santa Anita Park, June 5, 2016
2. Allowance Optional Claiming, Santa Anita Park, June 24, 2016
3. Allowance Optional Claiming, Del Mar, August 4, 2016
4. Travers Stakes, Saratoga, August 27, 2016
5. Breeders' Cup Classic, Santa Anita Park, November 5, 2016
6. Pegasus World Cup, Gulfstream Park, January 28, 2017
7. Dubai World Cup, Meydan Racecourse, March 25, 2017
War on waste
The burning issue
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Part three: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
Tomorrow 2021
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
AUSTRALIA SQUAD
Tim Paine (captain), Sean Abbott, Pat Cummins, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Moises Henriques, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Will Pucovski, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade, David Warner
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Mina Al Oraibi: Air strike casts a long shadow over the decade ahead
Jack Moore: Why the assassination is such a monumental gamble
Matthew Levitt: Iran retains its ability to launch terror attacks
Damien McElroy: A CEO tasked with spreading Iran's influence
Hussein Ibish: Trump's order on solid constitutional ground
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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RASHMEE ROSHAN LAL: How the pandemic is testing the solidarity of the European Union
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GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
PROFILE OF SWVL
Started: April 2017
Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport
Size: 450 employees
Investment: approximately $80 million
Investors include: Dubai’s Beco Capital, US’s Endeavor Catalyst, China’s MSA, Egypt’s Sawari Ventures, Sweden’s Vostok New Ventures, Property Finder CEO Michael Lahyani
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Church of the Virgin Mary and St Paul the Apostle, Ruwais
