Egyptian-American stand-up comedian, actor, writer and director Ramy Youssef created a culturally significant moment when he hosted Saturday Night Live this weekend.
“This is an incredibly spiritual weekend, we’re in the holy month of Ramadan,” Youssef began his monologue.
“Tomorrow is Easter, and yesterday, Beyonce released a new album. It’s just so many religions celebrating all at once. I’m doing the Ramadan one.”
Youssef’s opening monologue for the popular live sketch show, displayed his unique sense of humour, which blends personal experiences, cultural identity and political issues, often focusing on the Muslim American experience.
From the punchy first line, Youssef elaborated on his experience of Ramadan in America, using a narrative style to break stereotypes about Muslims.
“I love Ramadan because I love hanging out with Muslims,” he addressed the audience.
“We’re so loving and I feel that people don’t know that about us. We love to love, we’re so free with it.”
He then compared how some of his childhood friends from the Muslim community will take nine months to tell a girl they love them while he uses the word freely to his Uber driver.
From there, he moved into politics, starting with the regional differences in New York, pointing out that Donald Trump has supporters all over the US, not just in the south.
He then took jibes at President Joe Biden, who will be running for re-election as a Democratic.
“I know Biden’s gonna call, I know he’s gonna call me. I mean, well, he’ll probably forget, but I think somebody will call,” he joked.
“Like in 2020, I got a call from Mohammed@biden. He goes, ‘Ramy, habibi, we love you. We love everything that you’ve done for Arab America?’ He said it like it was a country.
‘Everyone on the campaign is such a big fan of your work. And Joe’s aware.' That’s huge, right? Because Joe has an awareness issue. I mean, Joe’s aware – that’s like a Nobel Peace Prize.”
From there, Youssef admitted that he didn’t like either option for the next president and that America should elect a woman instead.
True to his style, he moved from joke, personal anecdote to poignant reality and then back into a punch line.
“I’m out of ideas. All I have are prayers. That’s all I can do right now,” he said solemnly before revealing that from his friends, he’s the only one who prays.
He elaborated that while one friend, going through a divorce, asked Youssef to pray from him to win custody of his dog, another friend asked Ramy to pray for his family in Gaza.
“So that night I go to pray and my prayers are … complicated. I’ve got a lot to fit in. My God, please, please help Ahmed’s family. Please stop the suffering. Stop the violence. Please free the people of Palestine. Please. And please free the hostages, all of the hostages, please.”
Youssef’s call for a free Palestine received loud applause and cheering from the audience before he added the punchline:
“And while you’re at it, I mean, you know, free Mr Bojangles. I mean he is, he’s a beautiful dog. I’m praying for that dog.”
Youssef is the creator and star of Hulu’s Golden Globe Award winning show Ramy, for which he won Best Actor. Delving into the themes of faith, family and cultural identity, the series has been praised for its nuanced approach in representing the Muslim-American experience.
Youssef also appeared in the Oscar-winning film Poor Things, starring Emma Stone. At the Oscars red carpet this year, Youssef wore an Artists for Ceasefire pin and was vocal about calls for peace.
“It's about 'stop killing kids',” he said. “We're using our voices to speak to people's hearts. We want people to have safety and justice.”
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
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Tenet
Director: Christopher Nolan
Stars: John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Dimple Kapadia, Michael Caine, Kenneth Branagh
Rating: 5/5
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Intercontinental Cup
Namibia v UAE Saturday Sep 16-Tuesday Sep 19
Table 1 Ireland, 89 points; 2 Afghanistan, 81; 3 Netherlands, 52; 4 Papua New Guinea, 40; 5 Hong Kong, 39; 6 Scotland, 37; 7 UAE, 27; 8 Namibia, 27
Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
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Rating: 4.5/5
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Honeymoonish
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What is a robo-adviser?
Robo-advisers use an online sign-up process to gauge an investor’s risk tolerance by feeding information such as their age, income, saving goals and investment history into an algorithm, which then assigns them an investment portfolio, ranging from more conservative to higher risk ones.
These portfolios are made up of exchange traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to indices such as US and global equities, fixed-income products like bonds, though exposure to real estate, commodity ETFs or gold is also possible.
Investing in ETFs allows robo-advisers to offer fees far lower than traditional investments, such as actively managed mutual funds bought through a bank or broker. Investors can buy ETFs directly via a brokerage, but with robo-advisers they benefit from investment portfolios matched to their risk tolerance as well as being user friendly.
Many robo-advisers charge what are called wrap fees, meaning there are no additional fees such as subscription or withdrawal fees, success fees or fees for rebalancing.
Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Transmission: seven-speed automatic
Power: 400hp
Torque: 560Nm
Price: Dh234,000 - Dh329,000
On sale: now
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Alita: Battle Angel
Director: Robert Rodriguez
Stars: Rosa Salazar, Christoph Waltz, Keean Johnson
Four stars
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Director: Louis Theroux
Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz
Rating: 5/5
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
Scorecard
Scotland 220
K Coetzer 95, J Siddique 3-49, R Mustafa 3-35
UAE 224-3 in 43,5 overs
C Suri 67, B Hameed 63 not out
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
INFO
What: DP World Tour Championship
When: November 21-24
Where: Jumeirah Golf Estates, Dubai
Tickets: www.ticketmaster.ae.
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What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
- Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
- Tourism industry knowledge.
- Professional ethics.
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Other ways to buy used products in the UAE
UAE insurance firm Al Wathba National Insurance Company (AWNIC) last year launched an e-commerce website with a facility enabling users to buy car wrecks.
Bidders and potential buyers register on the online salvage car auction portal to view vehicles, review condition reports, or arrange physical surveys, and then start bidding for motors they plan to restore or harvest for parts.
Physical salvage car auctions are a common method for insurers around the world to move on heavily damaged vehicles, but AWNIC is one of the few UAE insurers to offer such services online.
For cars and less sizeable items such as bicycles and furniture, Dubizzle is arguably the best-known marketplace for pre-loved.
Founded in 2005, in recent years it has been joined by a plethora of Facebook community pages for shifting used goods, including Abu Dhabi Marketplace, Flea Market UAE and Arabian Ranches Souq Market while sites such as The Luxury Closet and Riot deal largely in second-hand fashion.
At the high-end of the pre-used spectrum, resellers such as Timepiece360.ae, WatchBox Middle East and Watches Market Dubai deal in authenticated second-hand luxury timepieces from brands such as Rolex, Hublot and Tag Heuer, with a warranty.
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
Rafael Nadal's record at the MWTC
2009 Finalist
2010 Champion
Jan 2011 Champion
Dec 2011 Semi-finalist
Dec 2012 Did not play
Dec 2013 Semi-finalist
2015 Semi-finalist
Jan 2016 Champion
Dec 2016 Champion
2017 Did not play
Primera Liga fixtures (all times UAE: 4 GMT)
Friday
Real Sociedad v Villarreal (10.15pm)
Real Betis v Celta Vigo (midnight)
Saturday
Alaves v Barcelona (8.15pm)
Levante v Deportivo La Coruna (10.15pm)
Girona v Malaga (10.15pm)
Las Palmas v Atletico Madrid (12.15am)
Sunday
Espanyol v Leganes (8.15pm)
Eibar v Athletic Bilbao (8.15pm)
Getafe v Sevilla (10.15pm)
Real Madrid v Valencia (10.15pm)
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