Singers of the cast of Hamilton, Phillipa Soo, right, Rene Elise Goldsberry, center, and Jasmine Cephas Jones, sing America the Beautiful, before the NFL Super Bowl 51 football game between the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons. AP
Singers of the cast of Hamilton, Phillipa Soo, right, Rene Elise Goldsberry, center, and Jasmine Cephas Jones, sing America the Beautiful, before the NFL Super Bowl 51 football game between the New EnShow more

Super Bowl celeb watch: who was at the big game in Houston



Super Bowl 51 may be about football, but celebrities matter, too. Here’s a breakdown of what is happening with entertainers on Sunday in Houston.

Hamilton stars reunite for ‘America’

Tony Award winner Renee Elise Goldsberry said reuniting with her “Hamilton” co-stars to sing “America the Beautiful” at the Super Bowl marked a lifetime moment for her.

Goldsberry, Phillipa Soo and Jasmine Cephas performed as the Schuyler sisters – from the Broadway hit “Hamilton” – on Sunday, harmonizing like a veteran girl-group, and earning loud applause from the audience.

“It was miracle. It feels really good. It’s the most exciting part, if you have to rank it, probably the best thing ever is to stand with them, hold hands and shake a little bit together because of the excitement of it all,” Goldsberry said after the performance.

The performer, who won a Tony last year for her role in the mega-hit musical, said the ladies took time to arrange the performance: “It was a pretty complicated arrangement harmonically.”

Aside from showing off her vocals, she was hoping to provide a sense of sisterhood on the football field.

“We’ve spent a lot of time in ... ‘Hamilton’ trying to celebrate women and their role in history, and I’m just grateful that the NFL let us come here and sing that beautiful song,” she said.

And now Goldsberry can enjoy the rest of the game.

“I’m a big football fan, and what’s great about the Super Bowl is even if you’re not a big football fan, this is just very Americana,” she said. “It’s a time to celebrate our sport.”

Super Bowl is Emotional For Taraji P Henson

For Taraji P Henson, being at the Super Bowl is sentimental.

The Oscar-nominated actress recalls watching football games on Sunday with her late father, and said Sunday she wished she could have brought him to the big game.

“It’s a big deal for me because I lost my dad and football was such a big part of us on Sundays. My stepmom would cook and we would watch football,” Henson said at the NRG Stadium before the Atlanta Falcons take on the New England Patriots.

“I love being this close to it and wished he was actually alive to go to a Super Bowl ‘cause he’s never been to a Super Bowl,” she said.

Going goo-goo for Gaga

Lady Gaga’s little monsters aren’t the only one anticipating her halftime show performance.

“You never know what’s going to come with her. It’s so hard to bet on what she might do, but that’s what’s fun,” said Dave Haywood of the Grammy-winning country trio Lady Antebellum. “She always pushes the limit and always goes for something over-the-top. I can’t wait to see it.”

Gaga will perform for 13 minutes. She sang the national anthem at last year’s game.

“She’s money. She’s got such a ridiculous voice. I love people that actually have the talent, that can actually stand onstage and I know it’s them,” said Noelle Scaggs of the alternative band Fitz & the Tantrums, who performed during the Tailgate Party. “I’m a big fan of hers.”

Lady Antebellum is screaming Rise Up

Lady A could stand for Lady Atlanta.

Two members of the “Need You Now” band – Haywood and Charles Kelley – are from Atlanta and are celebrating the Falcons ahead of Super Bowl 51.

“We got our Falcons in the game, so this is a special one. We’ve actually gotten to perform at a couple Super Bowls before and I don’t think we’ve ever been as excited as we are for this one,” Kelley said.

The country group performed at a pre-Super Bowl concert Sunday, alongside O.A.R. and Tyler Farr.

Hillary Scott said they were excited to perform their new, high-energy single “You Look Good,” and then “go and watch the Super Bowl, which is, I think, that never gets old. It’s amazing.”

Fitz & The Tantrums thank NFL for hit song

Fitz & the Tantrums released the addictive song “HandClap” last June, but months later it’s climbing the charts, and the band is thanking the NFL.

“The cool thing for us is that it kind of became one of those unofficial songs of the NFL this year because I think it started when the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders did a routine to it, and every other team’s cheerleading squad did a routine,” singer Michael Fitzpatrick said. “We’ve been all over NFL Network and all that kind of stuff, so we’ve just been on the road and playing.”

“HandClap” just climbed to No. 53 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, making it the band’s highest-charting song on the Hot 100. “HandClap” has reached the Top 5 on the alternative and rock songs charts, respectively.

Fitz & the Tantrums sang the track at the Tailgate Party before Zac Brown Band hit the stage. The group says they are big football fans.

“I’m a Giants guy,” Fitzpatrick said.

“I’m a Packers girl,” Scaggs said.

“Our drummer is Seahawks. Our tour manager is Detroit Lions. So there’s been a few rivalries that have happened this year,” Fitzpatrick added.

“A lot of people hate me, basically, at the end of the year, that’s for sure,” Scaggs said.

In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe

Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010

Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille

Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm

Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year

Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”

Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners

TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013 

A MINECRAFT MOVIE

Director: Jared Hess

Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa

Rating: 3/5

THE%20SPECS
%3Cp%3EEngine%3A%204.4-litre%20twin-turbo%20V8%20hybrid%0D%3Cbr%3EPower%3A%20653hp%20at%205%2C400rpm%0D%3Cbr%3ETorque%3A%20800Nm%20at%201%2C600-5%2C000rpm%0D%3Cbr%3ETransmission%3A%208-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E0-100kph%20in%204.3sec%0D%3Cbr%3ETop%20speed%20250kph%0D%3Cbr%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%20NA%0D%3Cbr%3EOn%20sale%3A%20Q2%202023%0D%3Cbr%3EPrice%3A%20From%20Dh750%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)

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

Storage: 128/256/512GB

Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4

Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps

Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID

Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight

In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter

Price: From Dh2,099

PREMIER LEAGUE RESULTS

Bournemouth 1 Manchester City 2
Watford 0 Brighton and Hove Albion 0
Newcastle United 3 West Ham United 0
Huddersfield Town 0 Southampton 0
Crystal Palace 0 Swansea City 2
Manchester United 2 Leicester City 0
West Bromwich Albion 1 Stoke City 1
Chelsea 2 Everton 0
Tottenham Hotspur 1 Burnley 1
Liverpool 4 Arsenal 0

Company%20profile
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The rules on fostering in the UAE

A foster couple or family must:

  • be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
  • not be younger than 25 years old
  • not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
  • be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
  • have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
  • undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
  • A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Real estate tokenisation project

Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.

The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.

Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.

COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Lamsa

Founder: Badr Ward

Launched: 2014

Employees: 60

Based: Abu Dhabi

Sector: EdTech

Funding to date: $15 million

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Specs

Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric

Range: Up to 610km

Power: 905hp

Torque: 985Nm

Price: From Dh439,000

Available: Now

Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021

Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.

The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.

These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.

“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.

“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.

“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.

“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”

Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.

There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.

“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.

“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.

“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”

Crazy Rich Asians

Director: Jon M Chu

Starring: Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeon, Gemma Chan

Four stars

WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?

1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull

2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight

3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge

4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own

5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed

Know before you go
  • Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
  • If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
  • By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
  • Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
  • Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.

 

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Squads

India (for first three ODIs) Kohli (capt), Rohit, Rahul, Pandey, Jadhav, Rahane, Dhoni, Pandya, Axar, Kuldeep, Chahal, Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar, Umesh, Shami.

Australia Smith (capt), Warner, Agar, Cartwright, Coulter-Nile, Cummins, Faulkner, Finch, Head, Maxwell, Richardson, Stoinis, Wade, Zampa.

Company profile

Date started: 2015

Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki

Based: Dubai

Sector: Online grocery delivery

Staff: 200

Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends

Milestones on the road to union

1970

October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar. 

December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.

1971

March 1:  Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.

July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.

July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.

August 6:  The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.

August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.

September 3: Qatar becomes independent.

November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.

November 29:  At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.

November 30: Despite  a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa. 

November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties

December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.

December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.

December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets