It's whale season in Australia, and two of the best places to catch all the action are Hervey Bay - the whale-watching capital of the world - and nearby Fraser Island. Some of the hotels with whale sighting and accommodation offers include the Mantra Hervey Bay; its "Stay and Play" packages cost from 224 Australian dollars (Dh740) per night for two and from A$356 (Dh1,175) for a family (two adults and two children). Both packages include accommodation, a half-day whale cruise aboard the Quick Cat II (it is equipped with a hydrophone to detect underwater sounds), morning or afternoon tea and free return tickets if no whales are sighted. The packages are for a minimum two-night stay and are valid until October 31. Visit www.mantra.com.au for more information.
At Akama Resort, Hervey Bay's newest five-star property, whale watching packages start from A$245 (Dh810) per person, per night in a one-bedroom luxury apartment, and include an all-day humpback-sighting trip on a sailing boat or motorboat, round-trip transfers to and from the hotel, and breakfast for two at the in-house Marina restaurant. The package is valid until October 31. Visit www.akamaresort.com.au.
Or stay at Kingfisher Bay Resort on Fraser Island for two nights to enjoy a "Fraser Tour and Whales Superticket", which includes a 4WD adventure tour of the island (with lunch and national park fees) and a whale-watching cruise, as well as all ferry transfers, for A$278 (Dh920) per person, per night based on two people sharing a double room. The package is valid until October 31. Visit www.kingfisherbay.com.
All prices include taxes. For more information on whale watching in Hervey Bay, go to www.whalesherveybay.com.au.
Check into Yorkshire's Feversham Arms Hotel & Verbena Spa for two days of glorious autumn walks in the beautiful countryside with the "Get Your Boots Muddy" package. The picturesque town of Helmsley, where the Feversham Arms is located, sits in the heart of walking country with all kinds of trails on your doorstep: from the famous Cleveland Way to long footpaths that wind around the edge of the North York Moors, with views over the valleys below.
The package includes two nights' accommodation, a traditional Yorkshire breakfast, a three-course dinner each evening, a gourmet picnic hamper, early morning hot drinks, guidebooks for use during the walks and access to Verbena Spa, which offers treatments to soothe tired limbs such as "Sole Delight" and "Bubbling Mud for Boys".
Double rooms cost from 105 British pounds (Dh600) per person, per night, down from £135 (Dh770). The offer is valid until December 19 for a minimum stay of two consecutive nights from Sunday through Thursday. All prices include taxes. For further information, visit www.fevershamarmshotel.com or call 00 44 1439 770766.
Head for Six Senses Hideaway Zighy Bay, Oman, and spend a week relaxing by the sea, sailing in a dhow at sunset and learning how to whip up Arabic food.
The resort has put together a seven-day package based on two people sharing that includes accommodation in a pool villa, breakfast, arrival by paraglider or speedboat, a sunset cruise, a free Arabic cooking class (lunch), one signature spa treatment per person and a dhow cruise. Prices start from US$5,171 (Dh18,990) for a pool villa, including taxes. Visit www.sixsenses.com for more information.
Take advantage of Amari Rincome Chiang Mai's weekend promotion and spend two days in Chiang Mai, in the high mountains of rural northern Thailand. The two-night package costs from 4,600 Thai baht (Dh540) for accommodation in a double room based on two people sharing and includes taxes, a welcome drink upon arrival, breakfast and lunch, one traditional Thai massage for 120 minutes per person, round-trip airport transfers, a shuttle service to the local Sunday night market (the bus leaves the hotel at 6pm and returns at 8.30pm), a 15-per-cent discount on all food and beverages at any of the resort's restaurants, as well as 20 per cent off on laundry service, if you are feeling lazy. The package is valid for weekend stays until October 31. Visit www.amari.com for more details.
ciyer@thenational.ae
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
If you go
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Funchal via Lisbon, with a connecting flight with Air Portugal. Economy class returns cost from Dh3,845 return including taxes.
The trip
The WalkMe app can be downloaded from the usual sources. If you don’t fancy doing the trip yourself, then Explore offers an eight-day levada trails tour from Dh3,050, not including flights.
The hotel
There isn’t another hotel anywhere in Madeira that matches the history and luxury of the Belmond Reid's Palace in Funchal. Doubles from Dh1,400 per night including taxes.
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
'Dark Waters'
Directed by: Todd Haynes
Starring: Mark Ruffalo, Anne Hathaway, William Jackson Harper
Rating: ****
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
Torque: 385 and 650Nm
Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Honeymoonish
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Elie%20El%20Samaan%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENour%20Al%20Ghandour%2C%20Mahmoud%20Boushahri%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Dengue%20fever%20symptoms
%3Cp%3EHigh%20fever%20(40%C2%B0C%2F104%C2%B0F)%3Cbr%3ESevere%20headache%3Cbr%3EPain%20behind%20the%20eyes%3Cbr%3EMuscle%20and%20joint%20pains%3Cbr%3ENausea%3Cbr%3EVomiting%3Cbr%3ESwollen%20glands%3Cbr%3ERash%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
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
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3ECompany%20name%3A%20CarbonSifr%3Cbr%3EStarted%3A%202022%3Cbr%3EBased%3A%20Dubai%3Cbr%3EFounders%3A%20Onur%20Elgun%2C%20Mustafa%20Bosca%20and%20Muhammed%20Yildirim%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%20Climate%20tech%3Cbr%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%241%20million%20raised%20in%20seed%20funding%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Sui Dhaaga: Made in India
Director: Sharat Katariya
Starring: Varun Dhawan, Anushka Sharma, Raghubir Yadav
3.5/5
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
