Rio Carnivale, January 17
The country's premiere Brazilian eatery will attempt to bring some of the glamour and spice of one of the world's biggest festivals. Chamas at InterContinental Abu Dhabi will have an all-Brazilian samba group performing while patrons gorge on an epic churrascaria buffet full of the meaty goodness Chamas is known for. Visit www.dining-intercontinental-ad.ae for details.
Burns Night, January 25
The life of the beloved Scottish poet Robert Burns will be celebrated with haggis and more at the Burns Supper at the British Embassy in Abu Dhabi. As well as the five-course meal on offer, the comic actors Mark Cox and Jane McCarry from Still Game are appearing as special guest speakers. Visit www.adscots.com for more info.
Australia Day, January 26
With a large Aussie expatriate community, Australia Day is always something to look forward to on the UAE entertainment calendar. Last year, the Aussie rock legends Hunters and Collectors came out of semi-retirement for a performance at Dubai's XL Beach Club. This year, Abu Dhabi's Le Meridien is promising a party showing "what's great about Australia". Apparently, that means "Aussie BBQ buffet with fresh seafood, prime cuts of Aussie meat and Aussie meat pie" (www.lemeridien.com). Meanwhile, in Dubai, the Australian Business Council Dubai is hosting a barbecue at Barasti Beach with a musical performance by the Boomeranging Beach Bunch (www.abcduae.com).
Chinese New Year, February 10
Based on the Chinese lunar calendar, the Year of the Water Snake is looming. While nothing has been announced yet, Abu Dhabi's Chinese eateries put on a feast last year with the Shang Palace serving an eight-course set menu. The Royal Orchid focused its attentions on dim sum, serving a wide variety of the popular treat as part of a set menu.
St Patrick's Day, March 17
The Irish cultural celebration is always good craic, courtesy of an almost annual performance by a rock legend. In what has to be one of the quirkiest musical talking points of the UAE, Bob Geldof often returns to Dubai to perform a rather intimate show at the Irish Village. While it has not been announced yet, Geldof is a hot tip to arrive if he can get all that humanitarian work out of the way first.
Filipino Independence Day, June 12
The UAE's passionate Filipino community doesn't mess around when it comes to the country's independence day celebrations. The event is used to mark festivals across various emirates. Last year, Abu Dhabi's Sheraton held a two-day festival full of local delicacies and live bands, while Dubai's Al Safa Stadium was the venue for a cultural bazaar with items flown in from the motherland.
Canada Day, July 1
A live funk band was called in last year to celebrate Canada Day in Dubai's JamBase. Revellers dressed up for the occasion by adhering to the red and white "or anything Canadian" dress code. In Abu Dhabi's Le Royal Meridien, Canadians flocked to PJ O'Reilly's to celebrate and for some local networking.
Bastille Day, July 14
That's the English term for the French National Day. France's already high reputation for culinary excellence is taken to new heights with exquisite meals offered in the UAE's French eateries. In previous years, Choices at Al Bustan Rotana hosted a Bastille Day Buffet, while Abu Dhabi's Le Beaujolais normally marks the day with its own range of French treats.
Thanksgiving, November 28
It may be celebrated mostly in the United States (as well as Canada, Puerto Rico, Liberia and Australia's Norfolk Island, on different dates), but the celebration often involves a lot of food and a big juicy turkey no matter where it's held. Many UAE establishments add turkey stations to their buffets during the festivities. Last year, Traiteur in Dubai's Hyatt Park had a themed buffet featuring a maple-glazed whole roast turkey with cranberry relish, while St Regis's American-themed 55th&5th The Grill had a six-course feast including a "slow-cooked turkey breast with lobster brioche stuffing".
Diwali, November 30
Marking the start of the Hindu calendar for many, Diwali has all the pomp and goodwill of a new year's celebration. Celebrated by Hindus, the event is part of the region's cultural fabric. With plenty of concerts in both Abu Dhabi and Dubai featuring Bollywood stars, Diwali is often celebrated with intimate parties at home, hence the roaring trade done by Indian sweet shops the week before.
sasaeed@thenational.ae
Company profile
Company: Verity
Date started: May 2021
Founders: Kamal Al-Samarrai, Dina Shoman and Omar Al Sharif
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech
Size: four team members
Stage: Intially bootstrapped but recently closed its first pre-seed round of $800,000
Investors: Wamda, VentureSouq, Beyond Capital and regional angel investors
HWJN
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Seven tips from Emirates NBD
1. Never respond to e-mails, calls or messages asking for account, card or internet banking details
2. Never store a card PIN (personal identification number) in your mobile or in your wallet
3. Ensure online shopping websites are secure and verified before providing card details
4. Change passwords periodically as a precautionary measure
5. Never share authentication data such as passwords, card PINs and OTPs (one-time passwords) with third parties
6. Track bank notifications regarding transaction discrepancies
7. Report lost or stolen debit and credit cards immediately
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
INDIA'S%20TOP%20INFLUENCERS
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Wallabies
Updated team: 15-Israel Folau, 14-Dane Haylett-Petty, 13-Reece Hodge, 12-Matt Toomua, 11-Marika Koroibete, 10-Kurtley Beale, 9-Will Genia, 8-Pete Samu, 7-Michael Hooper (captain), 6-Lukhan Tui, 5-Adam Coleman, 4-Rory Arnold, 3-Allan Alaalatoa, 2-Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1-Scott Sio.
Replacements: 16-Folau Faingaa, 17-Tom Robertson, 18-Taniela Tupou, 19-Izack Rodda, 20-Ned Hanigan, 21-Joe Powell, 22-Bernard Foley, 23-Jack Maddocks.
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
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
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.”
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Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
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The White Lotus: Season three
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Price, base: Dh1,731,672
Engine: 6.5-litre V12
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 770hp @ 8,500rpm
Torque: 720Nm @ 6,750rpm
Fuel economy: 19.6L / 100km
Torbal Rayeh Wa Jayeh
Starring: Ali El Ghoureir, Khalil El Roumeithy, Mostafa Abo Seria
Stars: 3
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- Join parent networks
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
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Rating: 3/5
List of officials:
Referees: Chris Broad, David Boon, Jeff Crowe, Andy Pycroft, Ranjan Madugalle and Richie Richardson.
Umpires: Aleem Dar, Kumara Dharmasena, Marais Erasmus, Chris Gaffaney, Ian Gould, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Nigel Llong, Bruce Oxenford, Ruchira Palliyaguruge, Sundaram Ravi, Paul Reiffel, Rod Tucker, Michael Gough, Joel Wilson and Paul Wilson.
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Founder: Badr Ward
Launched: 2014
Employees: 60
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: EdTech
Funding to date: $15 million
