Why Broome?
In the far north-west of Australia, Broome is a spectacularly placed beach resort and frontier town now making a name for itself as a tropical getaway. It started life in the 1890s as a centre for harvesting pearl shell and is now a major source of saltwater cultured pearls. It is also the gateway to the Kimberley, a vast, hot wilderness almost as large as Iraq, and has a pioneer feel with attractive, tin-roofed houses and an Asian heritage that results from the indentured labour brought in to dive for pearls. Many adventures start and end here as travellers go exploring in light planes and dirt-splattered four-wheel-drive vehicles, then return to relax by the Indian Ocean with a frozen mango smoothie. For many, the best thing about Broome is its great sense of space and the intense colours of the enveloping landscape - immense blue skies, endless golden sands, soil as red as paprika and a bewitching turquoise sea.
A comfortable bed
The 243-room Cable Beach Club Resort (www.cablebeachclub.com, doubles from US$348; Dh1,280) is a well-run, family-friendly hotel that enjoys a prime location next to Cable Beach, a stupendous run of sand that stretches for 22 kilometres and is a popular spot for sunset camel rides. If beauty treatments are your bag, book into the five-star Pinctada Cable Beach Resort (www.pinctadacablebeach.com.au, from $359; Dh1,321), a 72-room contemporary spa resort where the therapies include an Aboriginal-inspired "sapphire sea-wrap" using mud mixed with kelp and mother of pearl ($226; Dh830). For somewhere small and characterful, McAlpine House (www.mcalpinehouse.com.au, from $167; Dh616) is a delightful, eight-room boutique guest house set in dense tropical gardens with screeching parrots, a small pool and airy verandas.
Find your feet
The town is spread out in low-rise blocks between the immense sands of Cable Beach and the mangrove-fringed shores of Roebuck Bay. Most shops and restaurants are in Chinatown, and you can get around by bus, bike or taxi. For more information see www.westernaustralia.com/broome.
Meet the locals
Aussies are a sociable bunch and you'll soon get to know them when you go on a trip. Kimberley Wild Expeditions (www.kimberleywild.com.au) offers a half-day city tour, or book a relaxing sunset cruise aboard Intombi (www.broomelugger.com), a gorgeous wooden sailing boat built in 1903 to harvest pearl shell. The Broome Historical Society runs an engrossing museum (www.broomemuseum.org.au) devoted to the town's colourful past. At night, take a deck chair-style seat at Sun Pictures (www.broomemovies.com.au), which opened in 1916 and is the world's oldest operating outdoor cinema, or peer through the telescopes of Astro Tours (www.astrotours.net) where you can learn about the amazing stars that fill the night sky here - including the Arabic-named Zubenelgenubi and Zubeneschamali in the Libra constellation.
Book a table
Broome is big on Asian food, fish and mangoes. Matso's (www.matsos.com.au) is a lively all-day restaurant where you can try some Chinese-style kangaroo with pomegranate molasses ($35; Dh128). Alternatively, order a whole baked threadfin salmon ($53; Dh195) in advance from Aarli (6 Hamersley St), an easy-going restaurant with tables set under the frangipani trees. A beach picnic is a must - pick up local delicacies at the Courthouse Markets (38 Hamersley St) held on Saturday and Sunday mornings.
Shopper's paradise
It's all about pearls, girls. Dampier Terrace in Chinatown is lined with glittering showrooms - but don't rush it. The Pearl Information Centre (1 Hamersley St) offers an excellent free introductory talk about pearls and their origins, and remember that you can always buy them loose, then have them made up at leisure back in the UAE. If you want to purchase at source, Kimberley Aviation (www.kimberleyaviation.com.au) offers half-day sightseeing flights that touch down at the remote Cygnet Bay Pearl Farm (www.cygnetbaypearls.com.au), where you can go out in a boat and see how they are cultivated.
What to avoid
"The Wet", when northern Australia is hit with tropical storms and the odd cyclone. May to September is the best time to visit.
Don't miss
Broome is just the beginning. Still unknown to many Australians, the Kimberley feels like a strange new planet with its deserted beaches, red soil and cattle stations so huge they do the mustering by helicopter. For a quick taste, take a 90-minute flight east to Kununurra to see the mighty landscapes of El Questro Wilderness Park and the World Heritage-listed Purnululu (Bungle Bungle) National Park, where you can go hiking amid towering gorges and take a leisurely cruise through crocodile-infested waters. APT Kimberley Wilderness Adventures (www.aptouring.com.au) offers tours.For more options see www.australiasnorthwest.com.
Go there
Most visitors fly in via Perth. Emirates (www.emirates.com) flies direct to Perth from Dubai in 10-and-a-half hours, from Dh6,300 return, including taxes. Skywest Airlines (www.skywest.com.au) can then fly you up to Broome in two-and-a-half hours from 369 Australian dollars (Dh1,384) return, including taxes.
Squad: Majed Naser, Abdulaziz Sanqour, Walid Abbas, Khamis Esmail, Habib Fardan, Mohammed Marzouq (Shabab Al Ahli Dubai), Khalid Essa, Muhanad Salem, Mohammed Ahmed, Ismail Ahmed, Ahmed Barman, Amer Abdulrahman, Omar Abdulrahman (Al Ain), Ali Khaseif, Fares Juma, Mohammed Fawzi, Khalfan Mubarak, Mohammed Jamal, Ahmed Al Attas (Al Jazira), Ahmed Rashid, Mohammed Al Akbari (Al Wahda), Tariq Ahmed, Mahmoud Khamis, Khalifa Mubarak, Jassim Yaqoub (Al Nasr), Ali Salmeen (Al Wasl), Yousef Saeed (Sharjah), Suhail Al Nubi (Baniyas)
FIXTURES
Fixtures for Round 15 (all times UAE)
Friday
Inter Milan v AS Roma (11.45pm)
Saturday
Atalanta v Verona (6pm)
Udinese v Napoli (9pm)
Lazio v Juventus (11.45pm)
Sunday
Lecce v Genoa (3.30pm)
Sassuolo v Cagliari (6pm)
SPAL v Brescia (6pm)
Torino v Fiorentina (6pm)
Sampdoria v Parma (9pm)
Bologna v AC Milan (11.45pm)
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Scotland's team:
15-Sean Maitland, 14-Darcy Graham, 13-Nick Grigg, 12-Sam Johnson, 11-Byron McGuigan, 10-Finn Russell, 9-Ali Price, 8-Magnus Bradbury, 7-Hamish Watson, 6-Sam Skinner, 5-Grant Gilchrist, 4-Ben Toolis, 3-Willem Nel, 2-Stuart McInally (captain), 1-Allan Dell
Replacements: 16-Fraser Brown, 17-Gordon Reid, 18-Simon Berghan, 19-Jonny Gray, 20-Josh Strauss, 21-Greig Laidlaw, 22-Adam Hastings, 23-Chris Harris
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The biog
Age: 59
From: Giza Governorate, Egypt
Family: A daughter, two sons and wife
Favourite tree: Ghaf
Runner up favourite tree: Frankincense
Favourite place on Sir Bani Yas Island: “I love all of Sir Bani Yas. Every spot of Sir Bani Yas, I love it.”
hall of shame
SUNDERLAND 2002-03
No one has ended a Premier League season quite like Sunderland. They lost each of their final 15 games, taking no points after January. They ended up with 19 in total, sacking managers Peter Reid and Howard Wilkinson and losing 3-1 to Charlton when they scored three own goals in eight minutes.
SUNDERLAND 2005-06
Until Derby came along, Sunderland’s total of 15 points was the Premier League’s record low. They made it until May and their final home game before winning at the Stadium of Light while they lost a joint record 29 of their 38 league games.
HUDDERSFIELD 2018-19
Joined Derby as the only team to be relegated in March. No striker scored until January, while only two players got more assists than goalkeeper Jonas Lossl. The mid-season appointment Jan Siewert was to end his time as Huddersfield manager with a 5.3 per cent win rate.
ASTON VILLA 2015-16
Perhaps the most inexplicably bad season, considering they signed Idrissa Gueye and Adama Traore and still only got 17 points. Villa won their first league game, but none of the next 19. They ended an abominable campaign by taking one point from the last 39 available.
FULHAM 2018-19
Terrible in different ways. Fulham’s total of 26 points is not among the lowest ever but they contrived to get relegated after spending over £100 million (Dh457m) in the transfer market. Much of it went on defenders but they only kept two clean sheets in their first 33 games.
LA LIGA: Sporting Gijon, 13 points in 1997-98.
BUNDESLIGA: Tasmania Berlin, 10 points in 1965-66
RESULTS FOR STAGE 4
Stage 4 Dubai to Hatta, 197 km, Road race.
Overall leader Primoz Roglic SLO (Team Jumbo - Visma)
Stage winners: 1. Caleb Ewan AUS (Lotto - Soudal) 2. Matteo Moschetti ITA (Trek - Segafredo) 3. Primoz Roglic SLO (Team Jumbo - Visma)
Company profile
Company: Rent Your Wardrobe
Date started: May 2021
Founder: Mamta Arora
Based: Dubai
Sector: Clothes rental subscription
Stage: Bootstrapped, self-funded
How much of your income do you need to save?
The more you save, the sooner you can retire. Tuan Phan, a board member of SimplyFI.com, says if you save just 5 per cent of your salary, you can expect to work for another 66 years before you are able to retire without too large a drop in income.
In other words, you will not save enough to retire comfortably. If you save 15 per cent, you can forward to another 43 working years. Up that to 40 per cent of your income, and your remaining working life drops to just 22 years. (see table)
Obviously, this is only a rough guide. How much you save will depend on variables, not least your salary and how much you already have in your pension pot. But it shows what you need to do to achieve financial independence.
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Disposing of non-recycleable masks
Use your ‘black bag’ bin at home
Do not put them in a recycling bin
Take them home with you if there is no litter bin
- No need to bag the mask
The 15 players selected
Muzzamil Afridi, Rahman Gul, Rizwan Haider (Dezo Devils); Shahbaz Ahmed, Suneth Sampath (Glory Gladiators); Waqas Gohar, Jamshaid Butt, Shadab Ahamed (Ganga Fighters); Ali Abid, Ayaz Butt, Ghulam Farid, JD Mahesh Kumara (Hiranni Heros); Inam Faried, Mausif Khan, Ashok Kumar (Texas Titans
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
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.
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
Tips to avoid getting scammed
1) Beware of cheques presented late on Thursday
2) Visit an RTA centre to change registration only after receiving payment
3) Be aware of people asking to test drive the car alone
4) Try not to close the sale at night
5) Don't be rushed into a sale
6) Call 901 if you see any suspicious behaviour
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
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
