Head to Al Maryah Island to watch fireworks or bring the kids to Motiongate Dubai to enjoy family-friendly activities including a meet-and-greet with Po in Kung Fu Panda Land, here are some Chinese New Year-themed activities to enjoy in the UAE:
Year of the Dog festivities with Po from Kung Fu Panda
Motiongate Dubai, Dubai Parks and Resorts
Celebrate the Lunar New Year at Motiongate Dubai, where the dragon warrior Po, from Kung Fu Panda, will lead the festivities for the Year of the Dog. Experience a colourful, action-packed programme of activities including a traditional dragon and lion dance performance taking place three times daily from 4pm to 9pm at Studio Central, a meet-and-greet with Po in Kung Fu Panda Land, a Chinese calligraphy workshop, and a special Chinese New Year menu with dishes from Dh99 at Mr Ping’s Noodle Shop.
Thursday, February 15 to Saturday, February 17, from11am to 10pm, from Dh165 for GCC residents, Motiongate Dubai, Dubai Parks and Resorts, Dubai, www.motiongatedubai.com
China Art cultural programme
Dubai Mall, Downtown Dubai
Dubai Mall hosts China Art, a cultural programme celebrating Chinese New Year through region-specific art forms such as music, dance, art, crafts and cultural demonstrations. The Star Atrium features a giant Chinese pagoda, hosting activities including bottle-painting, face-painting, Chinese tea and calligraphy workshops, as well as live musicians performing Chinese melodies. A dedicated children's arts-and-crafts area is on the second floor near Dubai Aquarium, with activities such as fan-making, doll-making and Chinese origami. Outdoors at the Dubai Fountain Promenade, there will be complimentary Tai Chi lessons daily at 11am.
Thursday, February 15 to Sunday, February 25, from 10am to midnight, Star Atrium and various locations, Dubai Mall, Downtown Dubai, 800 38224 6255, www.thedubaimall.com
Acrobatic performances and children’s arts and crafts
Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, Yas Island
Mark Chinese New Year with festivities at Ferrari World Abu Dhabi. Enjoy performances by the Shenyang and Hebei acrobatic troupes, who will entertain with circus shows and martial arts, bicycle balancing and hoops acts. There will be a children's craft area, featuring mask-painting, lantern-making and traditional arts and crafts and kung-fu sessions. Plus, see the Chinese New Year parade, with the dragon dance, drummers and flag bearers.
Thursday, February 15 to Sunday, February 25, from 11am to 8pm, from Dh195 on weekdays; from Dh235 on weekends, Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi,www.ferrariworldabudhabi.com
Family-friendly entertainment across Meeras locations in Dubai
City Walk, The Beach, Boxpark, The Outlet Village, Al Seef and La Mer
Meeras properties in Dubai will host free Chinese New Year festivities, with all venues sporting themed décor, plus dance performances, face-changing shows and roaming entertainment acts such as the Qipao dance, Hans & Tans show, Kung Fu Tea Master, a lion dance and a drum dance on Thursday, February 15 to Saturday, February 17, from 4.30pm to 8.30pm. Additionally, there will be a First Spring Festival Parade at City Walkon Friday, February 16, from 4pm, with more than 1,500 participants representing 20 Chinese provinces through traditional music and dance.
Thursday, February 15 to Saturday, February 17, and Thursday, February 22 to Saturday, February 24, free entry, City Walk; The Beach; Boxpark; The Outlet Village; Al Seef; La Mer, Dubai, www.citywalk.ae
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Read more for Chinese New Year:
Ten to try: the best Chinese eateries in Abu Dhabi and Dubai
Celebrate Chinese New Year with light show at the Burj Khalifa
120,000 Chinese tourists to visit UAE in next two weeks
Chinese New Year 2018: what it is and how to celebrate it
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Performances, celebrations and fireworks
Al Maryah Island waterfront promenade and The Galleria, Abu Dhabi
There will be themed decorations throughout Al Maryah Island waterfront promenade and The Galleria, as well as a Tree of Fortune located in the Great Room of The Galleria, where visitors can make a Chinese New Year wish. Fireworks take place Friday at 9pm at the waterfront promenade. There will be lion dancers, a performance by a Chinese opera singer, Chinese folk- and fan-dancing, and an array of cuisines to try. Children can enjoy making origami, paper lanterns, kite-designing and face-painting, plus there will be arts and crafts showcasing Chinese calligraphy, paper-marbling and the customary Chinese New Year Red Packet. There will be cooking stations and demonstrations, food vendors, tea-making and more.
Waterfront promenade events take place Thursday, February 15 and Friday, February 16, from 3pm to 10pm; The Galleria events take place Thursday, February 15 to Saturday, February 17, 3pm to 9pm, Al Maryah Island, Abu Dhabi, www.facebook.com/thegalleriauae
Delicious dishes and a lion performance
Bab Al Shams Desert Resort & Spa, Dubai
Al Forsan restaurant at Bab Al Shams Desert Resort & Spa are hosting their own celebrationson Friday, February 16. Two traditional performances will take place, starting with a Chinese lion dance at 6.30pm in the hotel lobby, then a second live performance at 9pm in the hotel garden. Al Forsan will host a Chinese New Year dinner buffet featuring authentic dishes from different parts of China, with a selection of 10 main courses, four live-cooking stations including Chinese wok and dim sum.
Friday, February 16, 7pm to 11pm, from Dh320, Al Forsan restaurant, Bab Al Shams Desert Resort & Spa, Dubai, 04 809 6194, www.babalshams.com/chinese-new-year
Chinese New Year Temple Fair
Riverland Dubai, Dubai Parks & Resorts, Dubai
Riverland Dubai hosts a Chinese New Year celebration until Saturday, February 24, with cultural activities, entertainment and decorations. There will be a Chinese market, roaming acts and the tradition of pasting couplets, which represent wishes for a better new year. Decorations include lanterns, a red-packet tree with red wishing cards, and a five-metre-long dragon along the river. The market will feature clay figurines, sugar paintings, coconut carvings and a variety of Chinese food-and-beverage options, plus roaming acts, puppet shows, folk theatre, Sichuan opera, and a fireworks display nightly at 8pm from Thursday, February 15 to Saturday, February 17.
The Chinese New Year Temple Fair runs daily until Saturday, February 24, noon to 9pm, with family entertainment from 3pm to 9pm, and free parking after 6.30pm, free entry, Riverland Dubai, Dubai Parks and Resorts, Dubai, www.riverlanddubai.com
Day 5, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day When Dilruwan Perera dismissed Yasir Shah to end Pakistan’s limp resistance, the Sri Lankans charged around the field with the fevered delirium of a side not used to winning. Trouble was, they had not. The delivery was deemed a no ball. Sri Lanka had a nervy wait, but it was merely a stay of execution for the beleaguered hosts.
Stat of the day – 5 Pakistan have lost all 10 wickets on the fifth day of a Test five times since the start of 2016. It is an alarming departure for a side who had apparently erased regular collapses from their resume. “The only thing I can say, it’s not a mitigating excuse at all, but that’s a young batting line up, obviously trying to find their way,” said Mickey Arthur, Pakistan’s coach.
The verdict Test matches in the UAE are known for speeding up on the last two days, but this was extreme. The first two innings of this Test took 11 sessions to complete. The remaining two were done in less than four. The nature of Pakistan’s capitulation at the end showed just how difficult the transition is going to be in the post Misbah-ul-Haq era.
The bio
Favourite book: Peter Rabbit. I used to read it to my three children and still read it myself. If I am feeling down it brings back good memories.
Best thing about your job: Getting to help people. My mum always told me never to pass up an opportunity to do a good deed.
Best part of life in the UAE: The weather. The constant sunshine is amazing and there is always something to do, you have so many options when it comes to how to spend your day.
Favourite holiday destination: Malaysia. I went there for my honeymoon and ended up volunteering to teach local children for a few hours each day. It is such a special place and I plan to retire there one day.
The team
Photographer: Mateusz Stefanowski at Art Factory
Videographer: Jear Valasquez
Fashion director: Sarah Maisey
Make-up: Gulum Erzincan at Art Factory
Model: Randa at Art Factory Videographer’s assistant: Zanong Magat
Photographer’s assistant: Sophia Shlykova
With thanks to Jubail Mangrove Park, Jubail Island, Abu Dhabi
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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.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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Bib%20Gourmand%20restaurants
%3Cp%3EAl%20Khayma%0D%3Cbr%3EBait%20Maryam%0D%3Cbr%3EBrasserie%20Boulud%0D%3Cbr%3EFi'lia%0D%3Cbr%3Efolly%0D%3Cbr%3EGoldfish%0D%3Cbr%3EIbn%20AlBahr%0D%3Cbr%3EIndya%20by%20Vineet%0D%3Cbr%3EKinoya%0D%3Cbr%3ENinive%0D%3Cbr%3EOrfali%20Bros%0D%3Cbr%3EReif%20Japanese%20Kushiyaki%0D%3Cbr%3EShabestan%0D%3Cbr%3ETeible%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
THE BIO
Favourite book: ‘Purpose Driven Life’ by Rick Warren
Favourite travel destination: Switzerland
Hobbies: Travelling and following motivational speeches and speakers
Favourite place in UAE: Dubai Museum
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
The Bio
Hometown: Bogota, Colombia
Favourite place to relax in UAE: the desert around Al Mleiha in Sharjah or the eastern mangroves in Abu Dhabi
The one book everyone should read: 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It will make your mind fly
Favourite documentary: Chasing Coral by Jeff Orlowski. It's a good reality check about one of the most valued ecosystems for humanity
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
Manchester United's summer dealings
In
Victor Lindelof (Benfica) £30.7 million
Romelu Lukaku (Everton) £75 million
Nemanja Matic (Chelsea) £40 million
Out
Zlatan Ibrahimovic Released
Wayne Rooney (Everton) Free transfer
Adnan Januzaj (Real Sociedad) £9.8 million
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Chef Nobu's advice for eating sushi
“One mistake people always make is adding extra wasabi. There is no need for this, because it should already be there between the rice and the fish.
“When eating nigiri, you must dip the fish – not the rice – in soy sauce, otherwise the rice will collapse. Also, don’t use too much soy sauce or it will make you thirsty. For sushi rolls, dip a little of the rice-covered roll lightly in soy sauce and eat in one bite.
“Chopsticks are acceptable, but really, I recommend using your fingers for sushi. Do use chopsticks for sashimi, though.
“The ginger should be eaten separately as a palette cleanser and used to clear the mouth when switching between different pieces of fish.”