Proud Tunisian Ons Jabeur going for gold at Tokyo Olympics

The flights 

Etihad and Emirates fly direct to Kolkata from Dh1,504 and Dh1,450 return including taxes, respectively. The flight takes four hours 30 minutes outbound and 5 hours 30 minute returning. 

The trains

Numerous trains link Kolkata and Murshidabad but the daily early morning Hazarduari Express (3’ 52”) is the fastest and most convenient; this service also stops in Plassey. The return train departs Murshidabad late afternoon. Though just about feasible as a day trip, staying overnight is recommended.

The hotels

Mursidabad’s hotels are less than modest but Berhampore, 11km south, offers more accommodation and facilities (and the Hazarduari Express also pauses here). Try Hotel The Fame, with an array of rooms from doubles at Rs1,596/Dh90 to a ‘grand presidential suite’ at Rs7,854/Dh443.

Name: James Mullan

Nationality: Irish

Family: Wife, Pom; and daughters Kate, 18, and Ciara, 13, who attend Jumeirah English Speaking School (JESS)

Favourite book or author: “That’s a really difficult question. I’m a big fan of Donna Tartt, The Secret History. I’d recommend that, go and have a read of that.”

Dream: “It would be to continue to have fun and to work with really interesting people, which I have been very fortunate to do for a lot of my life. I just enjoy working with very smart, fun people.”

Cracks in the Wall

Ben White, Pluto Press 

Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope, Aaron Ramsdale 

Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Conor Coady, Marc Guehi, Reece James, Harry Maguire, Tyrone Mings, Luke Shaw, John Stones, Ben White

Midfielders: Jude Bellingham, Conor Gallagher, Mason Mount, Jordan Henderson, Declan Rice, James Ward-Prowse

Forwards: Tammy Abraham, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe, Raheem Sterling

Huddersfield Town permanent signings:

• Steve Mounie (striker): signed from Montpellier for £11 million
• Tom Ince (winger): signed from Derby County for £7.7m
• Aaron Mooy (midfielder): signed from Manchester City for £7.7m
• Laurent Depoitre (striker): signed from Porto for £3.4m
• Scott Malone (defender): signed from Fulham for £3.3m
• Zanka (defender): signed from Copenhagen for £2.3m
• Elias Kachunga (winger): signed for Ingolstadt for £1.1m
• Danny WIlliams (midfielder): signed from Reading on a free transfer

The flights

FlyDubai flies direct from Dubai to Skopje in five hours from Dh1,314 return including taxes. Hourly buses from Skopje to Ohrid take three hours.

The tours

English-speaking guided tours of Ohrid town and the surrounding area are organised by Cultura 365; these cost €90 (Dh386) for a one-day trip including driver and guide and €100 a day (Dh429) for two people. 

The hotels

Villa St Sofija in the old town of Ohrid, twin room from $54 (Dh198) a night.

St Naum Monastery, on the lake 30km south of Ohrid town, has updated its pilgrims' quarters into a modern 3-star hotel, with rooms overlooking the monastery courtyard and lake. Double room from $60 (Dh 220) a night.

The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000

Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000

Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent

Friday (UAE kick-off times)

Borussia Dortmund v Paderborn (11.30pm)

Saturday 

Bayer Leverkusen v SC Freiburg (6.30pm)

Werder Bremen v Schalke (6.30pm)

Union Berlin v Borussia Monchengladbach (6.30pm)

Eintracht Frankfurt v Wolfsburg (6.30pm)

Fortuna Dusseldof v  Bayern Munich (6.30pm)

RB Leipzig v Cologne (9.30pm)

Sunday

Augsburg v Hertha Berlin (6.30pm)

Hoffenheim v Mainz (9pm)

Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.

Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster who has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others.

Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.

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Joe Root (captain), Alastair Cook, Keaton Jennings, Gary Ballance, Jonny Bairstow (wicketkeeper), Ben Stokes (vice-captain), Moeen Ali, Liam Dawson, Toby Roland-Jones, Stuart Broad, Mark Wood, James Anderson.

6pm: Mazrat Al Ruwayah – Group 2 (PA) $40,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
Winner: AF Alajaj, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)

6.35pm: Race of Future – Handicap (TB) $80,000 (Turf) 2,410m
Winner: Global Storm, William Buick, Charlie Appleby

7.10pm: UAE 2000 Guineas – Group 3 (TB) $150,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Azure Coast, Antonio Fresu, Pavel Vashchenko

7.45pm: Business Bay Challenge – Listed (TB) $100,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: Storm Damage, Patrick Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor

20.20pm: Curlin Stakes – Listed (TB) $100,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Appreciated, Fernando Jara, Doug O’Neill

8.55pm: Singspiel Stakes – Group 2 (TB) $180,000 (T) 1,800m
Winner: Lord Glitters, Daniel Tudhope, David O'Meara

9.30pm: Al Shindagha Sprint – Group 3 (TB) $150,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Meraas, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi

Mary Ames: Our digital culture needs an overhaul amid watershed moment for Big Tech

Barry Ritholtz: Why the Big Tech stock market surge is not entirely driven by the US

Rhodri Marsden: After India bans the TikTok app, will other countries follow suit?

Cricket World Cup League Two
Oman, UAE, Namibia
Al Amerat, Muscat
 
Results
Oman beat UAE by five wickets
UAE beat Namibia by eight runs
Namibia beat Oman by 52 runs
UAE beat Namibia by eight wickets
UAE v Oman - abandoned
Oman v Namibia - abandoned

Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove

1. Edinburgh, Scotland 
2. Westminster, London 
3. Camden, London 
4. Glasgow, Scotland 
5. Islington, London 
6. Kensington and Chelsea, London 
7. Highlands, Scotland 
8. Argyll and Bute, Scotland 
9. Fife, Scotland 
10. Tower Hamlets, London 

British Airways: Cancels all direct flights to and from mainland China 

Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific: Cutting capacity to/from mainland China by 50 per cent from Jan. 30

Chicago-based United Airlines: Reducing flights to Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong

Ai Seoul:  Suspended all flights to China

Finnair: Suspending flights to Nanjing and Beijing Daxing until the end of March

Indonesia's Lion Air: Suspending all flights to China from February

South Korea's Asiana Airlines,  Jeju Air  and Jin Air: Suspend all flights

BEST FILM

• 1917 - Pippa Harris, Callum McDougall, Sam Mendes, Jayne-Ann Tenggren
• THE IRISHMAN - Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal, Martin Scorsese, Emma Tillinger Koskoff
• JOKER - Bradley Cooper, Todd Phillips, Emma Tillinger Koskoff
• ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD - David Heyman, Shannon McIntosh, Quentin Tarantino
• PARASITE - Bong Joon-ho, Kwak Sin-ae

DIRECTOR

• 1917 - Sam Mendes
• THE IRISHMAN - Martin Scorsese
• JOKER - Todd Phillips
• ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD - Quentin Tarantino
• PARASITE - Bong Joon-ho

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM

• 1917 - Sam Mendes, Pippa Harris, Callum McDougall, Jayne-Ann Tenggren, Krysty Wilson-Cairns
• BAIT - Mark Jenkin, Kate Byers, Linn Waite
• FOR SAMA - Waad al-Kateab, Edward Watts
• ROCKETMAN - Dexter Fletcher, Adam Bohling, David Furnish, David Reid, Matthew Vaughn, Lee Hall
• SORRY WE MISSED YOU  - Ken Loach, Rebecca O’Brien, Paul Laverty
• THE TWO POPES - Fernando Meirelles, Jonathan Eirich, Dan Lin, Tracey Seaward, Anthony McCarten

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

• THE FAREWELL - Lulu Wang, Daniele Melia
• FOR SAMA - Waad al-Kateab, Edward Watts
• PAIN AND GLORY - Pedro Almodóvar, Agustín Almodóvar
• PARASITE - Bong Joon-ho
• PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE - Céline Sciamma, Bénédicte Couvreur

LEADING ACTRESS

• JESSIE BUCKLEY - Wild Rose
• SCARLETT JOHANSSON - Marriage Story
• SAOIRSE RONAN - Little Women
• CHARLIZE THERON - Bombshell
• RENÉE ZELLWEGER - Judy

LEADING ACTOR

• LEONARDO DICAPRIO - Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood
• ADAM DRIVER - Marriage Story
• TARON EGERTON - Rocketman
• JOAQUIN PHOENIX - Joker
• JONATHAN PRYCE - The Two Popes

SUPPORTING ACTOR

• TOM HANKS - A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
• ANTHONY HOPKINS - The Two Popes
• AL PACINO - The Irishman
• JOE PESCI - The Irishman
• BRAD PITT - Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood

SUPPORTING ACTRESS

• LAURA DERN - Marriage Story
• SCARLETT JOHANSSON - Jojo Rabbit
• FLORENCE PUGH - Little Women
• MARGOT ROBBIE - Bombshell
• MARGOT ROBBIE - Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

• THE IRISHMAN - Steven Zaillian
• JOJO RABBIT - Taika Waititi
• JOKER - Todd Phillips, Scott Silver
• LITTLE WOMEN - Greta Gerwig
• THE TWO POPES - Anthony McCarten

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

• BOOKSMART - Susanna Fogel, Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins, Katie Silberman
• KNIVES OUT - Rian Johnson
• MARRIAGE STORY - Noah Baumbach
• ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD - Quentin Tarantino
• PARASITE - Han Jin Won, Bong Joon ho

DOCUMENTARY

• AMERICAN FACTORY - Steven Bognar, Julia Reichert
• APOLLO 11 - Todd Douglas Miller
• DIEGO MARADONA - Asif Kapadia
• FOR SAMA - Waad al-Kateab, Edward Watts
• THE GREAT HACK - Karim Amer, Jehane Noujaime

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER

• BAIT - Mark Jenkin (Writer/Director), Kate Byers, Linn Waite (Producers)
• FOR SAMA - Waad al-Kateab (Director/Producer), Edward Watts (Director)
• MAIDEN - Alex Holmes (Director)
• ONLY YOU - Harry Wootliff (Writer/Director)
• RETABLO - Álvaro Delgado-Aparicio (Writer/Director)

ANIMATED FILM

• FROZEN 2 - Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee, Peter Del Vecho
• KLAUS - Sergio Pablos, Jinko Gotoh
• A SHAUN THE SHEEP MOVIE: FARMAGEDDON - Will Becher, Richard Phelan, Paul Kewley
• TOY STORY 4 - Josh Cooley, Mark Nielsen

CASTING

• JOKER - Shayna Markowitz
• MARRIAGE STORY - Douglas Aibel, Francine Maisler
• ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD - Victoria Thomas
• THE PERSONAL HISTORY OF DAVID COPPERFIELD - Sarah Crowe
• THE TWO POPES - Nina Gold

EE RISING STAR AWARD (voted for by the public)

• AWKWAFINA
• JACK LOWDEN
• KAITLYN DEVER
• KELVIN HARRISON JR.
• MICHEAL WARD

CINEMATOGRAPHY

• 1917 - Roger Deakins
• THE IRISHMAN - Rodrigo Prieto
• JOKER - Lawrence Sher
• LE MANS ’66 - Phedon Papamichael
• THE LIGHTHOUSE - Jarin Blaschke

EDITING

• THE IRISHMAN - Thelma Schoonmaker
• JOJO RABBIT - Tom Eagles
• JOKER - Jeff Groth
• LE MANS ’66 - Andrew Buckland, Michael McCusker
• ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD - Fred Raskin

COSTUME DESIGN

• THE IRISHMAN - Christopher Peterson, Sandy Powell
• JOJO RABBIT - Mayes C. Rubeo
• JUDY - Jany Temime
• LITTLE WOMEN - Jacqueline Durran
• ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD - Arianne Phillips

PRODUCTION DESIGN

• 1917 - Dennis Gassner, Lee Sandales
• THE IRISHMAN - Bob Shaw, Regina Graves
• JOJO RABBIT - Ra Vincent, Nora Sopková
• JOKER - Mark Friedberg, Kris Moran
• ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD - Barbara Ling, Nancy Haigh

SOUND

• 1917 - Scott Millan, Oliver Tarney, Rachael Tate, Mark Taylor, Stuart Wilson
• JOKER - Tod Maitland, Alan Robert Murray, Tom Ozanich, Dean Zupancic
• LE MANS ’66 - David Giammarco, Paul Massey, Steven A. Morrow, Donald Sylvester
• ROCKETMAN - Matthew Collinge, John Hayes, Mike Prestwood Smith, Danny Sheehan
• STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER - David Acord, Andy Nelson, Christopher Scarabosio, Stuart Wilson, Matthew Wood

ORIGINAL SCORE

• 1917 - Thomas Newman
• JOJO RABBIT - Michael Giacchino
• JOKER - Hildur Guđnadóttir
• LITTLE WOMEN - Alexandre Desplat
• STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER - John Williams

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS

• 1917 - Greg Butler, Guillaume Rocheron, Dominic Tuohy
• AVENGERS: ENDGAME - Dan Deleeuw, Dan Sudick
• THE IRISHMAN - Leandro Estebecorena, Stephane Grabli, Pablo Helman
• THE LION KING - Andrew R. Jones, Robert Legato, Elliot Newman, Adam Valdez
• STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER - Roger Guyett, Paul Kavanagh, Neal Scanlan, Dominic Tuohy

MAKE UP & HAIR

• 1917 - Naomi Donne
• BOMBSHELL - Vivian Baker, Kazu Hiro, Anne Morgan
• JOKER - Kay Georgiou, Nicki Ledermann
• JUDY - Jeremy Woodhead
• ROCKETMAN - Lizzie Yianni Georgiou

BRITISH SHORT FILM

• AZAAR - Myriam Raja, Nathanael Baring
• GOLDFISH - Hector Dockrill, Harri Kamalanathan, Benedict Turnbull, Laura Dockrill
• KAMALI - Sasha Rainbow, Rosalind Croad
• LEARNING TO SKATEBOARD IN A WARZONE (IF YOU’RE A GIRL) - Carol Dysinger, Elena Andreicheva
• THE TRAP - Lena Headey, Anthony Fitzgerald

BRITISH SHORT ANIMATION

• GRANDAD WAS A ROMANTIC - Maryam Mohajer
• IN HER BOOTS - Kathrin Steinbacher
• THE MAGIC BOAT  - Naaman Azh

Dr Nawal Al-Hosany: Why more women should be on the frontlines of climate action

Samar Elmnhrawy: How companies in the Middle East can catch up on gender equality

The National Editorial: Is there much to celebrate on International Women's Day 2021?

Justin Thomas: Challenge the notion that 'men are from Mars, women are from Venus'

Boris Johnson has reshuffled more than just his cabinet

There is every reason for the UAE and Britain to embolden relations

Alistair Burt: Despite Brexit, Britain can remain a world power

Valencia 3

Kevin Gameiro 21', 51'

Ferran Torres 67'

Atlanta 4

Josip Llicic 3' (P), 43' (P), 71', 82'

Dr Nawal Al-Hosany: Why more women should be on the frontlines of climate action

Shelina Janmohamed: Why shouldn't a spouse be compensated fairly for housework?

Justin Thomas: Challenge the notion that 'men are from Mars, women are from Venus'

The National Editorial: Is there much to celebrate on International Women's Day 2021?

Con Coughlin: US-Taliban peace deal - what's the deal and where's the peace?

National Editorial: The US-Taliban peace deal is only the first step to peace

Ken Hedricks: The Afghan scorpion farmer harvesting valuable venom

National Editorial: Suleimani has been killed, now we must de-escalate

Mina Al Oraibi: Air strike casts a long shadow over the decade ahead

Jack Moore: Why the assassination is such a monumental gamble

Damien McElroy: A CEO tasked with spreading Iran's influence

Hussein Ibish: Trump's order on solid constitutional ground

Simon Waldman: Cautious Israel keeping a low profile

Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid

4,872 matches 

1,942 teams

116 pitches

76 nations

26 UAE teams

15 Lebanese teams

2 Kuwaiti teams

'We are betting on you - you are the future', Gargash tells young Emiratis

Majlis 2018: Young Emiratis see entrepreneurship and innovation on the horizon

'Pursue what you love - not just a high salary', universities minister tells young Emiratis

Company name: baraka
Started: July 2020
Founders: Feras Jalbout and Kunal Taneja
Based: Dubai and Bahrain
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $150,000
Current staff: 12
Stage: Pre-seed capital raising of $1 million
Investors: Class 5 Global, FJ Labs, IMO Ventures, The Community Fund, VentureSouq, Fox Ventures, Dr Abdulla Elyas (private investment)

Tottenham Hotspur 3 (Son 1', Kane 8' & 16') West Ham United 3 (Balbuena 82', Sanchez og 85', Lanzini 90' 4)

Man of the match Harry Kane

Sholto Byrnes: Here's how this century can still belong to Asia

Brahma Chellaney: South China Sea is Asean's Achilles heel

The National Editorial: Territorial disputes require a mediator

Company: Rent Your Wardrobe 

Date started: May 2021 

Founder: Mamta Arora 

Based: Dubai 

Sector: Clothes rental subscription 

Stage: Bootstrapped, self-funded 

Engine: 2x201bhp AC Permanent-magnetic electric

Transmission: n/a

Power: 402bhp

Torque: 659Nm

Price estimate: Dh200,000

On sale: Q3 2022 

Each player begins with one of the great empires of history, from Julius Caesar's Rome to Ramses of Egypt, spread over Europe and the Middle East.

Round by round, the player expands their empire. The more land they have, the more money they can take from their coffers for each go.

As unruled land and soldiers are acquired, players must feed them. When a player comes up against land held by another army, they can choose to battle for supremacy.

A dice-based battle system is used and players can get the edge on their enemy with by deploying a renowned hero on the battlefield.

Players that lose battles and land will find their coffers dwindle and troops go hungry. The end goal? Global domination of course.

Cheryl Thompson: Stop the practice of blackface that's as Canadian as hockey

Kareem Shaheen: Alghabra outshines the racists who malign him

Kareem Shaheen: In Canada, I have finally found a home

5pm: Al Maha Stables – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,600m; Winner: Reem Baynounah, Fernando Jara (jockey), Mohamed Daggash (trainer)

5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: AF Afham, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel

6pm: Emirates Fillies Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh100,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Ghallieah, Sebastien Martino, Jean-Claude Pecout

6.30pm: Emirates Colts Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh100,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Yas Xmnsor, Saif Al Balushi, Khalifa Al Neyadi

7pm: The President’s Cup – Group 1 (PA) Dh2,500,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Somoud, Adrie de Vries, Jean de Roualle

7.30pm: The President’s Cup – Listed (TB) Dh380,000 (T) 1,400m; Winner: Haqeeqy, Dane O’Neill, John Hyde.

• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil

Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad

Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal 

Rating: 2/5

Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.

Based: Riyadh

Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany

Founded: September, 2020

Number of employees: 70

Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions

Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds  

Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices

Dr Nawal Al-Hosany: Why more women should be on the frontlines of climate action

Shelina Janmohamed: Why shouldn't a spouse be compensated fairly for housework?

Samar Elmnhrawy: How companies in the Middle East can catch up on gender equality

The National Editorial: Is there much to celebrate on International Women's Day 2021?

Favourite films: Casablanca and Lawrence of Arabia

Favourite books: Start with Why by Simon Sinek and Good to be Great by Jim Collins

Favourite dish: Grilled fish

Inspiration: Sheikh Zayed's visionary leadership taught me to embrace new challenges.

UAE coins

Dh5 note

Dh10 note

Dh20 note

MORE FROM ED HUSAIN: The UAE-Israel accord is a win for every Muslim