Sheikh Zayed Book Award winner Ahmad Al Qarmalawi on what inspired his writing

In addition to honouring leading figures in contemporary Arabic literature, the Sheikh Zayed Book Award pays tribute to some of the emerging names from the region.

A harbinger of the talent to come is often the Young Author category which, since the award's inception in 2007, has shone a light on writers under the age of 40 who won for works ranging from novels to literary and political dissertations.

That said, the quality of entries has been waning of late and, as a result, the award has been suspended for the past three years.

The rut was broken this year by Ahmad Al Qarmalawi, who scooped the award, and the Dh750,000 prize-money, for his third novel Amtar Sayfiyyah (Summer Rains).

On winning the award

Perhaps in acknowledgement of the impasse, the Egyptian novelist said the win was deeply gratifying.

“There is no doubt the award is very important, not just because of the great person that is behind it, but also because, at the moment, there is not a wide and active readership in the Arab world,” he said. “So, at the very least, this award pays tribute to all the authors and acknowledges the hard work and sacrifice that went in to creating their work.”

Like the literature award winner Khalil Sweileh, who is a journalist, Al Qarmalawi is in full-time work as an architect in Cairo. He wrote his three novels at night when his family was asleep.

"It is a question about finding time," he says. "And that is a real struggle in a city like Cairo because so many things, from the personal to the professional, just eat away at your time. I have resorted to planning Amtar Sayfiyyah when I am driving or when I am struck in traffic jams."

Which kind of makes the work even more remarkable in that the novel, which although is set in present day Egypt, is far removed from the hustle and bustle of city life.

Amtar Sayfiyyah is a rather genteel and deeply poetic work that intersects the modern and mystical worlds.

A musical story

The story centres on a music conservatory specialising in the oud. However, what sets the facility apart is that it was opened centuries earlier by a Sufi sheikh with the aim of creating music that lifts the spirit.

The plot picks up when Sheikh Dhaker, the manager of the conservatory, chooses Yousif to be the latest “guide” in the facility. It is a position that entails not only teaching the technical aspects of the instrument, but to perform it in a way that spiritually inspires the listener.

This is a subject that Al Qarmalawi is familiar with. An avid oud player, he recalls teaching himself the instrument when he first came across it as a 12-year-old.

“I was living in Kuwait at the time and there weren’t any music schools around,” Al Qarmalawi says.

“So I basically taught myself for the next seven years and learned by ear and by my mistakes. I became obsessed by the oud and its shape and how it smelled. I viewed it as basically an extension of myself.”

The infatuation with the instrument is discussed in the novel, in addition to meditations on creating art for a purpose higher than material gains.

“I was trying to explore these two themes of music and spirituality,” he says.

“The aim was to try to blend these two together to tell a story. It’s that attempt to bring two worlds together that I think makes good literature.”

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While Al Qarmalawi is renowned in his homeland, he credits the Sheikh Zayed Book Award for exposure to the wider Arab world. However, more than the personal acclaim, he hopes his rising profile will inspire more young Arab writers to tell their stories.

On that front, he believes there is a newfound vitality within the new generation of novelists and he doesn’t expect the Sheikh Zayed Book Award to be short of worthy candidates at any time.

“I do sense there is a new energy in the scene,” he says. “Part of that is also down to the young Kuwaiti author Saud Alsanousi winning the International Prize for Arabic Fiction in 2013, that inspired a lot of us, and I expect some great work to be released as we go ahead.”

The White Lotus: Season three

Creator: Mike White

Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell

Rating: 4.5/5

In the Restaurant: Society in Four Courses
Christoph Ribbat
Translated by Jamie Searle Romanelli
Pushkin Press

Student Of The Year 2

Director: Punit Malhotra

Stars: Tiger Shroff, Tara Sutaria, Ananya Pandey, Aditya Seal

1.5 stars

Specs

Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric

Range: Up to 610km

Power: 905hp

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How Sputnik V works

The biog

Fatima Al Darmaki is an Emirati widow with three children

She has received 46 certificates of appreciation and excellence throughout her career

She won the 'ideal mother' category at the Minister of Interior Awards for Excellence

Her favourite food is Harees, a slow-cooked porridge-like dish made from boiled wheat berries mixed with chicken

Test

Director: S Sashikanth

Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan

Star rating: 2/5

UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

RACE CARD

5pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (Turf) 2,200m
5.30pm: Khor Al Baghal – Conditions (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
6pm: Khor Faridah – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 (T) 1,400m
7pm: Abu Dhabi Colts Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 (T) 1,400m
7.30pm: Khor Laffam – Handicap (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 2,200m

In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe

Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010

Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille

Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm

Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year

Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”

Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners

TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013

Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)

Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi

Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi

Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai

Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi

Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia

Paris Can Wait
Dir: Eleanor Coppola
Starring: Alec Baldwin, Diane Lane, Arnaud Viard
Two stars

What is blockchain?

Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.

The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.

Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.

However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.

Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.

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THE BIG MATCH

Arsenal v Manchester City,

Sunday, Emirates Stadium, 6.30pm

The National's picks

4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young

Abu Dhabi GP schedule

Friday: First practice - 1pm; Second practice - 5pm

Saturday: Final practice - 2pm; Qualifying - 5pm

Sunday: Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (55 laps) - 5.10pm

Ultra processed foods

- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns

- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;

- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces

- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,

- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.

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