Abu Dhabi
Heritage event
Enjoy a day at the Sheikh Zayed Heritage Festival, with a variety of activities that celebrate the legacy of the UAE’s Founding President. Enjoy regional and international traditional dances, camel and horse rides, arts and crafts, activities for children, handicraft demonstrations, henna, a souq and traditional food options.
Daily until January 22, Al Wathba, Abu Dhabi, www.facebook.com/zayedfestival
Abu Dhabi
Food festival
Visit Street Fest, part of the Abu Dhabi Food Festival. Discover some of the best local and international street-food vendors, with more than 40 food trucks, trailers, carts and pop-ups, featuring cuisine prepared by renowned international chefs. Enjoy an urban market and hear live musical performances by artists including J T Taylor (pictured) of Kool & the Gang, who will perform on Friday. Plus, street artists from around the world will present graffiti artworks.
Daily until Saturday, 2pm to 11pm, Dh30, Lake Park, Corniche, Abu Dhabi, www.facebook.com/streetfestuae
Abu Dhabi
Exhibition
Two exhibitions open today at Louvre Abu Dhabi. From One Louvre to Another tells the story of the origins of the Musée du Louvre, from the collections of Louis XIV at Versailles to the museum's opening following the French Revolution. See 150 masterpieces, including paintings, sculptures and ceramics. Co-Lab: Contemporary Art and Savoir-faire features four contemporary works created by UAE-based artists in collaboration with French manufacturers.
Daily until March 25 for Co-Lab: Contemporary Art and Savoir-faire; daily until April 7 for From One Louvre to Another, 10am to 8pm daily (closed Mondays), Louvre Abu Dhabi, Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi, www.louvreabudhabi.ae
Abu Dhabi
Family fun
Ferrari World Abu Dhabi presents Winterfest, a fun festive event inspired by Ferrari that features the Fairytales on Ice skating show, Bjorn the polar bear, a snow-play area, an interactive elf school for children, a candy-cane hunt and more.
Daily until January 6, 11am to 10pm until Thursday; 10am to 10pm, tomorrow until December 30; 10am to 8pm, December 31 to January 6, Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, www.ferrariworldabudhabi.com
Abu Dhabi
Kids’ camp
Alliance Française Abu Dhabi presents its French Winter Camp at Le Royal Méridien, featuring games, swimming sessions, football, cooking workshops and snowman-building. Children ages 4 to 12 will improve their French language skills through a variety of activities that will keep them engaged and entertained for the duration of the winter break.
Runs until January 4, 9am to 2pm, from Dh126 per day, Alliance Française, Le Royal Méridien, Abu Dhabi, 02 612 2900, info@afabudhabi.org
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Dubai
Exhibition
Egyptian photographer Habby Khalil presents the exhibition Raya and Sakina, which is inspired by the rich cultural history of early 20th-century Alexandria. This city was the pride of the Mediterranean elite, but it was also the home of the country's most infamous serial killers, Raya and Sakina. The artist explores the story in black and white images that are intended to symbolise the conflict.
Daily until January 11, 10am to 7pm, Sundays to Thursdays (closed Fridays and Saturdays), The Empty Quarter, Building 2, DIFC Gate Village, Dubai, 04 323 1210, www.theemptyquarter.com
Dubai
Kids’ fun
Don’t forget to book your children’s spots for Santa’s Workshops at Fairmont Falcons Kids’ Club, which will be transformed into a workshop offering handicraft sessions, ornament decoration, a Christmas tree and all manner of other festive games and entertainment.
Today and tomorrow, 2pm to 4pm, from Dh120, Fairmont Falcons Kids’ Club, Fairmont The Palm, Palm Jumeirah, Dubai, 04 457 3331, keilagh.vlahakis@fairmont.com
Dubai
Festive fun
Visit Riverland Dubai and enjoy Festive on the River, a family-friendly event featuring a festive market with chalets that sell gift items, street performances, gingerbread houses, carols, ice-skating and more. Plus, there will be a Guinness World Record attempt for the world’s largest colouring book, which visitors can colour in.
Daily until January 6, 4pm to 10pm, free entry, Riverland Dubai, Dubai Parks & Resorts, Dubai, www.facebook.com/riverlanddubai
Dubai
Improv classes
The Courtyard Playhouse presents its next term of youth improv classes for age groups 9 to 11, 12 to 14 and 15 to 18. The classes teach kids to be more expressive and better listeners, and give them skills that will come in handy in every aspect of life. Classes are led by full-time performers and instructors, and run through to March. Participants have the opportunity to gain experience every Wednesday at the Playhouse weekly improv show, Maestro, helping with lighting, sound and more.
Starts January 16, 5pm to 7pm on Tuesdays for ages 12 to 15, from Dh1,455; January 17, 5pm to 7pm on Wednesdays for ages 15 to 18, from Dh1,455; January 19, 3pm to 4.30pm on Fridays for ages 9 to 11, from Dh1,155, The Courtyard Playhouse, Al Quoz, Dubai, www.courtyardplayhouse.com
Dubai
Kids’ camp
Register your children, ages 5 to 10, for the OliOli Winter Camp, where they can experience a programme of activities that’s guaranteed to keep them engaged during the school break. Kids will learn how to use simple tools and materials to build things that move. They’ll make wind-up helicopters, construct cards and other objects at the Marvellous Moving Machines Holiday Camp.
December 31 to January 4, 9am to 1pm, Sundays to Thursdays (closed on January 1), Dh1,200, OliOli, next to Oasis Center, Al Quoz, Dubai, 04 702 7300, www.facebook.com/olioliuae
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Results
2.30pm: Park Avenue – Conditions (PA) Dh80,000 (Dirt) 2,000m; Winner: Rb Seqondtonone, Abdul Aziz Al Balushi (jockey), Helal Al Alawi (trainer)
3.05pm: Al Furjan – Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Turf) 1,200m; Winner: Bosphorus, Dane O’Neill, Bhupat Seemar
3.40pm: Mina – Rated Condition (TB) Dh105,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Royal Mews, Tadhg O’Shea, Bhupat Seemar
4.15pm: Aliyah – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (T) 1,900m; Winner: Ursa Minor, Ray Dawson, Ahmad bin Harmash
4.50pm: Riviera Beach – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh95,000 (D) 2,200m; Winner: Woodditton, Saif Al Balushi, Ahmad bin Harmash
5.25pm: Riviera – Handicap (TB) Dh2,000 (T) 2,000m; Winner: Al Madhar, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi
6pm: Creek Views – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 1,400m; Winner: Al Salt, Dane O’Neill, Erwan Charpy
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
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
Super 30
Produced: Sajid Nadiadwala and Phantom Productions
Directed: Vikas Bahl
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Pankaj Tripathi, Aditya Srivastav, Mrinal Thakur
Rating: 3.5 /5
MORE ON CORONAVIRUS & THE ECONOMY
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick
Hometown: Cologne, Germany
Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)
Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes
Favourite hobby: Football
Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Six large-scale objects on show
- Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
- The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
- A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
- A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
- Torrijos Palace dome
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
MATCH INFO
Day 1 at Mount Maunganui
England 241-4
Denly 74, Stokes 67 not out, De Grandhomme 2-28
New Zealand
Yet to bat
Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
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
Know your Camel lingo
The bairaq is a competition for the best herd of 50 camels, named for the banner its winner takes home
Namoos - a word of congratulations reserved for falconry competitions, camel races and camel pageants. It best translates as 'the pride of victory' - and for competitors, it is priceless
Asayel camels - sleek, short-haired hound-like racers
Majahim - chocolate-brown camels that can grow to weigh two tonnes. They were only valued for milk until camel pageantry took off in the 1990s
Millions Street - the thoroughfare where camels are led and where white 4x4s throng throughout the festival
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
The specs
Engine: 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 540hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 600Nm at 2,500rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Kerb weight: 1580kg
Price: From Dh750k
On sale: via special order
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
FULL%20FIGHT%20CARD
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Tailors and retailers miss out on back-to-school rush
Tailors and retailers across the city said it was an ominous start to what is usually a busy season for sales.
With many parents opting to continue home learning for their children, the usual rush to buy school uniforms was muted this year.
“So far we have taken about 70 to 80 orders for items like shirts and trousers,” said Vikram Attrai, manager at Stallion Bespoke Tailors in Dubai.
“Last year in the same period we had about 200 orders and lots of demand.
“We custom fit uniform pieces and use materials such as cotton, wool and cashmere.
“Depending on size, a white shirt with logo is priced at about Dh100 to Dh150 and shorts, trousers, skirts and dresses cost between Dh150 to Dh250 a piece.”
A spokesman for Threads, a uniform shop based in Times Square Centre Dubai, said customer footfall had slowed down dramatically over the past few months.
“Now parents have the option to keep children doing online learning they don’t need uniforms so it has quietened down.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Company%20Profile
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Director: Jon Favreau
Starring: Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, John Oliver
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
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.