Singer Britney Spears makes an appearance in front of the Park MGM hotel-casino in Las Vegas. Las Vegas Sun via AP
Singer Britney Spears makes an appearance in front of the Park MGM hotel-casino in Las Vegas. Las Vegas Sun via AP

Britney Spears announces career hiatus to look after ailing father



Pop superstar Britney Spears announced Friday she is placing her career on hold indefinitely to take care of her sick father.

"I will not be performing my new show Domination," she wrote in an emotional post on Twitter which featured a picture of herself as a young child alongside her parents.

The 1990s and 2000s icon had been due to kick off a series of concerts at the MGM resort in Las Vegas in February as part of a new residency in the city.

"I've been looking forward to this show and seeing all of you this year, so doing this breaks my heart," the 37-year-old continued.

"However, it's important to always put your family first... and that's the decision I had to make.

"A couple of months ago, my father was hospitalised and almost died. We're all so grateful that he came out of it alive, but he still has a long road ahead of him."

As a result, she said, she had decided to "put my full focus and energy on my family at this time."

Reports indicated Spears' father Jamie suffered a colon rupture but is expected to make a full recovery.

Spears had previously held a Las Vegas residency between 2013 and 2017.

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Skewed figures

In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458. 

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Test

Director: S Sashikanth

Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan

Star rating: 2/5

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Mark Chahwan, co-founder and chief executive of robo-advisory firm Sarwa, forecasts that Generation Alpha (born between 2010 and 2024) will start investing in their teenage years and therefore benefit from compound interest.

“Technology and education should be the main drivers to make this happen, whether it’s investing in a few clicks or their schools/parents stepping up their personal finance education skills,” he adds.

Mr Chahwan says younger generations have a higher capacity to take on risk, but for some their appetite can be more cautious because they are investing for the first time. “Schools still do not teach personal finance and stock market investing, so a lot of the learning journey can feel daunting and intimidating,” he says.

He advises millennials to not always start with an aggressive portfolio even if they can afford to take risks. “We always advise to work your way up to your risk capacity, that way you experience volatility and get used to it. Given the higher risk capacity for the younger generations, stocks are a favourite,” says Mr Chahwan.

Highlighting the role technology has played in encouraging millennials and Gen Z to invest, he says: “They were often excluded, but with lower account minimums ... a customer with $1,000 [Dh3,672] in their account has their money working for them just as hard as the portfolio of a high get-worth individual.”

It

Director: Andres Muschietti

Starring: Bill Skarsgard, Jaeden Lieberher, Sophia Lillis, Chosen Jacobs, Jeremy Ray Taylor

Three stars

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
Based: Tunisia 
 
Sector: Water technology 
 
Number of staff: 22 
 
Investment raised: $4 million 
Profile of RentSher

Started: October 2015 in India, November 2016 in UAE

Founders: Harsh Dhand; Vaibhav and Purvashi Doshi

Based: Bangalore, India and Dubai, UAE

Sector: Online rental marketplace

Size: 40 employees

Investment: $2 million

NO OTHER LAND

Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal

Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham

Rating: 3.5/5

UAE tour of the Netherlands

UAE squad: Rohan Mustafa (captain), Shaiman Anwar, Ghulam Shabber, Mohammed Qasim, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Chirag Suri, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Mohammed Naveed, Amjad Javed, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
Fixtures and results:
Monday, UAE won by three wickets
Wednesday, 2nd 50-over match
Thursday, 3rd 50-over match

2019 ASIAN CUP FINAL

Japan v Qatar
Friday, 6pm
Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi