The Ritz-Carlton has opened its first resort in the Maldives.
Now accepting guests for overnight stays, The Ritz-Carlton Maldives, Fari Islands is a 100-waterfront-villa resort on the north-eastern tip of the North Male Atoll.
Reachable via a 10-minute seaplane or 45-minute speedboat ride, the newest resort in the Maldives is spread across three islands and an overwater quay.
Villas range from one to three bedrooms, and are set over the Indian Ocean or nestled along private shorelines. Stays start from $1,470, in an ocean pool view villa.
Interiors feature spacious living areas that blur the line between indoors and outdoors. Each residence has full-length sliding doors, an infinity pool with sundeck and an outdoor rainforest shower. The waterfront villas also come with overwater hammocks and direct access to the ocean below.
All guests staying at The Ritz-Carlton Maldives, Fari Islands will have their own Aris Meeha (personal butler) on call 24 hours a day.
The resort's most exclusive accommodation is the sprawling Ritz-Carlton Estate, which takes up 1,500 square metres of oceanfront real estate and comes with a private beach, spa room and full kitchen complete with a private chef.
Ocean conservation and Maldivian drumming
Getting around the resort is easy, with bicycles provided for every guest, which is handy as there is plenty to explore including a family cooking class, a plant and animal safari around the resort, or a traditional dhoni (wooden fishing boat) sunset cruise.
Connecting with the surrounding environment is high on the agenda here and guests can take part in conservation activities designed by Jean-Michel Cousteau's Ambassadors of the Environment Programme, the first time that the oceanographic explorer's programme has been implemented in the Asia-Pacific region.
There's also a “Wonders of Water” ocean mystery programme, and an on-site dive school offering snorkelling and scuba-diving experiences.
Children have more than 30 activities to keep them busy including treasure hunts, drone lessons, campfire stories and more. Traditional boduberu drumming classes, the heart of Maldivian music, are also on offer.
Indulge on Culinary Island
When it comes to dining, guests can visit Culinary Island, where there is a host of restaurants. These include the Summer Pavilion, inspired by Ritz-Carlton's Michelin-starred Millenia restaurant in Singapore and Iwau – an open-air Japanese eatery with teppanyaki grills.
La Locanda serves Italian coffee and cuisine while the family-friendly Beach Shack is inspired by the carefree spirit of the Mediterranean, and has a menu packed with sharing plates and grilled seafood.
For a touch of opulence, Eau Bar offers fresh oysters or Maldivian afternoon tea, complete with a drumming and fire ritual every afternoon.
Further afield at Fari Marina, reachable via an eight-minute dhoni ride, is Arabesque, located inside a Bedouin tent. Tum Tum food truck can also be found here, serving up light Asian bites.
Designed by Kerry Hill Architects, the name behind both The Datai Langkawi in Malaysia and Amankora in Bhutan, the resort's design was inspired by its natural surroundings.
The swirling waters are conceptualised via the circular shape of the villas and the resort's floating spa, and the shape is also meant to represent the flow of island life.
The Bio
Favourite vegetable: “I really like the taste of the beetroot, the potatoes and the eggplant we are producing.”
Holiday destination: “I like Paris very much, it’s a city very close to my heart.”
Book: “Das Kapital, by Karl Marx. I am not a communist, but there are a lot of lessons for the capitalist system, if you let it get out of control, and humanity.”
Musician: “I like very much Fairuz, the Lebanese singer, and the other is Umm Kulthum. Fairuz is for listening to in the morning, Umm Kulthum for the night.”
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
The biog
Hobby: Playing piano and drawing patterns
Best book: Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins
Food of choice: Sushi
Favourite colour: Orange
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Tips to keep your car cool
- Place a sun reflector in your windshield when not driving
- Park in shaded or covered areas
- Add tint to windows
- Wrap your car to change the exterior colour
- Pick light interiors - choose colours such as beige and cream for seats and dashboard furniture
- Avoid leather interiors as these absorb more heat
Arabian Gulf Cup FINAL
Al Nasr 2
(Negredo 1, Tozo 50)
Shabab Al Ahli 1
(Jaber 13)
The 12 breakaway clubs
England
Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur
Italy
AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus
Spain
Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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
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.
Duterte Harry: Fire and Fury in the Philippines
Jonathan Miller, Scribe Publications
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
What are the main cyber security threats?
Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.
if you go
The flights
Emirates flies to Delhi with fares starting from around Dh760 return, while Etihad fares cost about Dh783 return. From Delhi, there are connecting flights to Lucknow.
Where to stay
It is advisable to stay in Lucknow and make a day trip to Kannauj. A stay at the Lebua Lucknow hotel, a traditional Lucknowi mansion, is recommended. Prices start from Dh300 per night (excluding taxes).
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
New schools in Dubai
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
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Dengue%20fever%20symptoms
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North Pole stats
Distance covered: 160km
Temperature: -40°C
Weight of equipment: 45kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 0
Terrain: Ice rock
South Pole stats
Distance covered: 130km
Temperature: -50°C
Weight of equipment: 50kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 3,300
Terrain: Flat ice
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
RESULT
Huddersfield Town 2 Manchester United 1
Huddersfield: Mooy (28'), Depoitre (33')
Manchester United: Rashford (78')
Man of the Match: Aaron Mooy (Huddersfield Town)
The most expensive investment mistake you will ever make
When is the best time to start saving in a pension? The answer is simple – at the earliest possible moment. The first pound, euro, dollar or dirham you invest is the most valuable, as it has so much longer to grow in value. If you start in your twenties, it could be invested for 40 years or more, which means you have decades for compound interest to work its magic.
“You get growth upon growth upon growth, followed by more growth. The earlier you start the process, the more it will all roll up,” says Chris Davies, chartered financial planner at The Fry Group in Dubai.
This table shows how much you would have in your pension at age 65, depending on when you start and how much you pay in (it assumes your investments grow 7 per cent a year after charges and you have no other savings).
Age
|
$250 a month
|
$500 a month
|
$1,000 a month
|
25
|
$640,829
|
$1,281,657
|
$2,563,315
|
35
|
$303,219
|
$606,439
|
$1,212,877
|
45
|
$131,596
|
$263,191
|
$526,382
|
55
|
$44,351
|
$88,702
|
$177,403
|
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Contracted list
Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Aaron Finch, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Shaun Marsh, Mitchell Marsh, Tim Paine, Matt Renshaw, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Andrew Tye.
The biog
Name: Shamsa Hassan Safar
Nationality: Emirati
Education: Degree in emergency medical services at Higher Colleges of Technology
Favourite book: Between two hearts- Arabic novels
Favourite music: Mohammed Abdu and modern Arabic songs
Favourite way to spend time off: Family visits and spending time with friends
Results
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PLAY-OFF%20DRAW
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