Mariah Carey was the star attraction at the grand opening of the Banyan Tree AlUla on Friday, a luxury resort in the historical Saudi Arabian valley known for its striking rock formations and Unesco World Heritage site Hegra.
Carey's concert at the stunning multi-purpose venue Maraya, the world's largest mirrored building, was followed by a launch ceremony at the resort.
Wearing a glittery black gown and platform pumps, Carey, 52, was in good spirits as she chatted between songs and joked around with the invite-only audience members, who were not allowed to take pictures during the show.
"They gave this venue a great name," she giggled, referring to the similarities between the 500-seater Maraya and her own name.
Flawlessly jumping decades and smoothly transitioning from upbeat to power ballads, Carey began her show with her 1995 hit Fantasy. Joined on stage by three back-up singers and a pianist, she then segued into a medley, fusing her 1997 hit Honey with 1999's Heartbreaker.
Always Be My Baby, from 1996, was then followed by the ballad We Belong Together, from the 2005 album The Emancipation of Mimi, which marked her career resurgence.
Carey took multiple breaks between songs, interacting with the audience, and even going off script.
"I'm not even going to look at that monitor anymore," she said at one point. "We're just going to chill and hang out together and enjoy this evening."
She also summoned her "glam squad" to stage in the middle of the show as she chatted. "You know, others slink into a corner and do this, but hey, I just want to spend this moment with you," she said.
She also shared that the performance in Saudi Arabia was her first time doing a full show in three years. "I performed at the Global Citizen show in September but that was a short show," she said. "So this is the first time I'm actually performing in so many years."
A special moment came when she invited her back-up singer Trey Lorenz for a duet of their beloved cover of the Jackson 5 song I'll Be There. Reliving that memorable MTV Unplugged show and duet that earned the song a No 1 spot, the pair then performed the song, earning one of the night's biggest applause.
Before her show earlier in the evening, Carey also met Saudi musicians at the Maraya and listened to their experiences. She then shared an anecdote of how she wrote Hero earlier in her career. The 1993 inspirational ballad about finding one's strength is still one of her most popular — and was also her final song of the night.
Not quite the powerful vocalist she used to be, Carey has however not lost any of her charm and appeal, making up for any shortcomings with plenty of charisma during her hour-long performance. And reminding the audience how she became one of biggest artists of her generation.
She now joins Andrea Bocelli and Alicia Keys as one of the first international music stars to perform at Maraya. The venue will next host American pop rock band OneRepublic on November 10 and John Legend on November 11.
About the Banyan Tree AlUla
Set in the Ashar Valley a few metres away from Maraya, Banyan Tree AlUla is an all-villa tented resort that puts well-being at its centre. A total of 79 luxury tents are spread across the resort, each inspired by the nomadic lifestyle of the Nabataeans, the travelling traders who settled in the area around the 6th century BC.
The property is the first for Banyan Tree Group, known for its high-end resorts around the world, and was developed by the Royal Commission for AlUla.
Guests can choose from four types of villas — one bedroom, one bedroom with pool, two bedroom with pool or three bedroom with pool — with sizes ranging from 77 square metres to 240 square metres for the three-bedroom.
Two restaurants are operational upon opening, Saffron, the Banyan Tree's famed Thai restaurant, and all-day dining Harrat, which serves international cuisine.
As with all Banyan Tree properties, well-being will be the focus at this resort, with the spa featuring a host of top-notch treatments, including massages inside a cave. The stunning rock pool, which sits between two sandstone mountains, is another highlight.
“The Banyan Tree AlUla opening marks the completion of the final development phase of Ashar Valley, which also houses the world-famous Maraya Hall,” said John Northen, executive director — head of hotels and resorts at the RCU.
“The selection of Banyan Tree to operate this resort was driven by the brand’s synergy with the vision of the Royal Commission for AlUla for the destination. The ethos of Banyan Tree is to provide a sanctuary for the senses in an awe-inspiring location with a great sense of place, which is a perfect match for us in AlUla.”
AlUla is located more than 1,000 kilometres from Riyadh. Historically, it lay on the incense trade route, a land and sea network spanning the Mediterranean, north-eastern Africa, Arabia and India.
The city of Hegra, the second-biggest Nabataean city after Petra, Jordan, is located in AlUla and is the first Unesco World Heritage Site in Saudi Arabia.
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
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Adel Esmat (translated by Mandy McClure)
Hoopoe
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Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
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Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
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ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Company%C2%A0profile
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FIGHT CARD
Bantamweight Hamza Bougamza (MAR) v Jalal Al Daaja (JOR)
Catchweight 67kg Mohamed El Mesbahi (MAR) v Fouad Mesdari (ALG)
Lighweight Abdullah Mohammed Ali (UAE) v Abdelhak Amhidra (MAR)
Catchweight 73kg Mostafa Ibrahim Radi (PAL) v Yazid Chouchane (ALG)
Middleweight Yousri Belgaroui (TUN) v Badreddine Diani (MAR)
Catchweight 78kg Rashed Dawood (UAE) v Adnan Bushashy (ALG)
Middleweight Sallaheddine Dekhissi (MAR) v Abdel Emam (EGY)
Catchweight 65kg Rachid Hazoume (MAR) v Yanis Ghemmouri (ALG)
Lighweight Mohammed Yahya (UAE) v Azouz Anwar (EGY)
Catchweight 79kg Omar Hussein (PAL) v Souhil Tahiri (ALG)
Middleweight Tarek Suleiman (SYR) v Laid Zerhouni (ALG)
The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn
Rating: 3.5/5
Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
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MATCH INFO
Alaves 1 (Perez 65' pen)
Real Madrid 2 (Ramos 52', Carvajal 69')
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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SERIES INFO
Schedule:
All matches at the Harare Sports Club
1st ODI, Wed Apr 10
2nd ODI, Fri Apr 12
3rd ODI, Sun Apr 14
4th ODI, Sun Apr 16
UAE squad
Mohammed Naveed (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Chirag Suri, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
Zimbabwe squad
Peter Moor (captain), Solomon Mire, Brian Chari, Regis Chakabva, Sean Williams, Timycen Maruma, Sikandar Raza, Donald Tiripano, Kyle Jarvis, Tendai Chatara, Chris Mpofu, Craig Ervine, Brandon Mavuta, Ainsley Ndlovu, Tony Munyonga, Elton Chigumbura
Results
6.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Dirt) 1,200m; Winner: Major Cinnamon, Fernando Jara, Mujeeb Rahman
7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (D) 1,900m; Winner: Al Mureib, Fernando Jara, Ahmad bin Harmash
7.40pm: Handicap (TB) Dh102,500 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Remorse, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar
8.15pm: Conditions (TB) Dh120,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Meshakel, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer
8.50pm: Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Desert Peace, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,400m; Winner: Sharamm, Ryan Curatlo, Satish Seemar
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
Match info
Liverpool 3
Hoedt (10' og), Matip (21'), Salah (45 3')
Southampton 0
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
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AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
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Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
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Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
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In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
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COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
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.
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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BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
