Travis Scott and Wegz to headline Abu Dhabi's Wireless Festival Middle East


Saeed Saeed
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Travis Scott will headline the inaugural Wireless Festival Middle East in Abu Dhabi.

The popular and controversial artist leads a bill of international and regional hip-hop acts in a one-day event at Etihad Park on March 11.

Also lined up at the Yas Island venue is fellow US rapper Lil Uzi Vert for his debut concert in the Middle East.

Lil Uzi Vert should get a rapturous reception in Abu Dhabi after the artist went viral in 2021 for uploading an Instagram video dancing the dabke at a Palestinian wedding.

The rapper who is arguably the Arab world’s most famous will also be making an appearance. Egypt’s Wegz will take the main stage on the back of being named last year's most-streamed artist in Egypt and Mena for the third year running on Spotify.

The accolade is predominantly down to the monster hit El Bakht, garnering more than 167 million views on YouTube alone.

Iraqi rapper Ali Gatie will also be making his way to the capital.

The artist, who lives in Toronto, is known for the 2019 hit It's You, which charted in the US Billboard Top 100 and raked in more than 100 million views on YouTube.

The burgeoning Indian hip-hop scene will be represented by Mumbai rapper Divine, whose rags-to-riches tale inspired the 2019 Bollywood film Gully Boy.

He will be joined by compatriot King, who recently released the new album Champagne Talk.

Pakistani hip-hop group Young Stunners will also be at Wireless Festival Middle East.

A decade into their career, the Karachi duo are credited as pioneers of Urdu rap and featured in last year's Coke Studio Live in Dubai concert.

Black Sherif rounds off the first tranche of announced artists.

The Ghanaian singer and rapper gained online popularity in 2021’s First Sermon, a debut single blending the sounds of highlife, reggae and hip-hop and UK drill.

Ticket prices will be announced soon and go on sale on Friday from www.ticketmaster.ae.

Travis Scott returns to the big stage

Travis Scott delivering an explosive set at the 2016 Beats on the Beach festival in Abu Dhabi. Saeed Saeed / The National
Travis Scott delivering an explosive set at the 2016 Beats on the Beach festival in Abu Dhabi. Saeed Saeed / The National

Wireless Festival Middle East marks one of Scott’s biggest appearances since the Astroworld Festival tragedy in 2021, when 10 people were killed and more than 300 injured during his headlining performance.

With 50,000 people in attendance, authorities confirmed the fatal incident occurred due to a "crowd surge", which forced organisers to stop the show.

Scott reportedly settled one of the lawsuits relating to the event in October, and the artist has been making a gradual comeback to the stage since then.

Last year, he performed a series of club shows and at the Billboard Music Awards, before playing two sold-out concerts at London's The O2 Arena.

In a three-star review of the gig, The Guardian hailed Scott's "impressive energy" and declared it "a stunning show aesthetically".

Scott finished the year with his first pair of festival performances, headlining sets at Primavera Sound in Argentina and Chile in November.

Scott's last regional concert was in Abu Dhabi as part of the 2016 Beats on the Beach festival.

What is Wireless?

First held in 2005 in London, the festival’s debut had New Order, Basement Jaxx, Keane and Kasabian headlining the four-day concert at Hyde Park.

As well as moving to London’s Finsbury Park, the festival evolved from its electronic indie-rock roots to focus on hip-hop, grime and Afrobeat genres.

Attracting close to 50,000 fans, previous headliners include Cardi B, Drake, Nicki Minaj, Rihanna, Kanye West and Stormzy.

Wireless 2023 returns to Finsbury Park from July 7 to 9.

January concerts and events in the UAE, from Sir Tom Jones to Blackpink — in pictures

Director: Jon Favreau

Starring: Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, John Oliver

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Specs

Engine: 51.5kW electric motor

Range: 400km

Power: 134bhp

Torque: 175Nm

Price: From Dh98,800

Available: Now

Sri Lanka World Cup squad

Dimuth Karunaratne (c), Lasith Malinga, Angelo Mathews, Thisara Perera, Kusal Perera, Dhananjaya de Silva, Kusal Mendis, Isuru Udana, Milinda Siriwardana, Avishka Fernando, Jeevan Mendis, Lahiru Thirimanne, Jeffrey Vandersay, Nuwan Pradeep, Suranga Lakmal.

Uefa Nations League: How it works

The Uefa Nations League, introduced last year, has reached its final stage, to be played over five days in northern Portugal. The format of its closing tournament is compact, spread over two semi-finals, with the first, Portugal versus Switzerland in Porto on Wednesday evening, and the second, England against the Netherlands, in Guimaraes, on Thursday.

The winners of each semi will then meet at Porto’s Dragao stadium on Sunday, with the losing semi-finalists contesting a third-place play-off in Guimaraes earlier that day.

Qualifying for the final stage was via League A of the inaugural Nations League, in which the top 12 European countries according to Uefa's co-efficient seeding system were divided into four groups, the teams playing each other twice between September and November. Portugal, who finished above Italy and Poland, successfully bid to host the finals.

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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.

Premier League results

Saturday

Tottenham Hotspur 1 Arsenal 1

Bournemouth 0 Manchester City 1

Brighton & Hove Albion 1 Huddersfield Town 0

Burnley 1 Crystal Palace 3

Manchester United 3 Southampton 2

Wolverhampton Wanderers 2 Cardiff City 0

West Ham United 2 Newcastle United 0

Sunday

Watford 2 Leicester City 1

Fulham 1 Chelsea 2

Everton 0 Liverpool 0

Pharaoh's curse

British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.

Despacito's dominance in numbers

Released: 2017

Peak chart position: No.1 in more than 47 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Lebanon

Views: 5.3 billion on YouTube

Sales: With 10 million downloads in the US, Despacito became the first Latin single to receive Diamond sales certification

Streams: 1.3 billion combined audio and video by the end of 2017, making it the biggest digital hit of the year.

Awards: 17, including Record of the Year at last year’s prestigious Latin Grammy Awards, as well as five Billboard Music Awards

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

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SCORES IN BRIEF

Lahore Qalandars 186 for 4 in 19.4 overs
(Sohail 100,Phil Salt 37 not out, Bilal Irshad 30, Josh Poysden 2-26)
bt Yorkshire Vikings 184 for 5 in 20 overs
(Jonathan Tattersall 36, Harry Brook 37, Gary Ballance 33, Adam Lyth 32, Shaheen Afridi 2-36).

Jigra
Director: Vasan Bala
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
Rated: 3.5/5
Jetour T1 specs

Engine: 2-litre turbocharged

Power: 254hp

Torque: 390Nm

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UAE v Gibraltar

What: International friendly

When: 7pm kick off

Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City

Admission: Free

Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page

UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)

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MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League semi-final:

First leg: Liverpool 5 Roma 2

Second leg: Wednesday, May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome

TV: BeIN Sports, 10.45pm (UAE)

The more serious side of specialty coffee

While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.

The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.

Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”

One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.

Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms. 

Countries recognising Palestine

France, UK, Canada, Australia, Portugal, Belgium, Malta, Luxembourg, San Marino and Andorra

 

Saturday's schedule at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

GP3 race, 12:30pm

Formula 1 final practice, 2pm

Formula 1 qualifying, 5pm

Formula 2 race, 6:40pm

Performance: Sam Smith

The specs

Common to all models unless otherwise stated

Engine: 4-cylinder 2-litre T-GDi

0-100kph: 5.3 seconds (Elantra); 5.5 seconds (Kona); 6.1 seconds (Veloster)

Power: 276hp

Torque: 392Nm

Transmission: 6-Speed Manual/ 8-Speed Dual Clutch FWD

Price: TBC

The specs

Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors

Power: Combined output 920hp

Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic

Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km

On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025

Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000

Lexus LX700h specs

Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor

Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm

Transmission: 10-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km

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Price: From Dh590,000

Updated: January 09, 2023, 4:10 AM`