Some British schools in Dubai will close early on Monday to allow families to watch the televised funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.
Others will observe a two-minute silence as a mark of respect to the country's longest-serving monarch.
The funeral service will take place at 2pm UAE time.
Dubai College said in a letter to parents it would close early on Monday after securing permission from the Knowledge and Human Development Authority, the regulator of private schools in the emirate.
To be a part of this, albeit from afar, and join their families at home for this sad but iconic moment, will be important to many in our communities
Jared Nolan,
director of UK curriculum schools at Taaleem Education
"Queen Elizabeth II was for all of us the only British monarch that we will have known during our lifetimes. Wherever you sit on the political spectrum, the emotional impact that this news had on members of our community should not be underestimated," the letter read.
"For many who have expatriated from the UK, this will be one of the most culturally significant events in the country’s history and it is important to allow community members to share in this event."
The school said it was proposing to close at the start of lunch at 12.25pm, "so that those interested and invested in the cultural life of the UK can watch the queen’s state funeral from the comfort of their homes in the company of their families. All extra-curricular activities and events on that day will be postponed."
Children who do not leave early will watch the broadcast live in the auditorium in place of regular lessons.
The UAE is home to an estimated 240,000 Britons and there are about 165 schools offering the British curriculum in the UAE.
Taaleem Group, which has three British curriculum schools in Dubai, said its pupils would have the option to finish the school day earlier on Monday.
"We recognise that some of our parents and pupils in Taaleem’s British Schools will want to finish the school day earlier than usual to mourn the passing of Queen Elizabeth II and watch as her life and service to the nation and the Commonwealth is celebrated," Jared Nolan, director of UK curriculum schools at Taaleem, told The National.
"To be a part of this, albeit from afar, and join their families at home for this sad but iconic moment, will be important to many in our communities."
Mr Nolan said all British schools had immense respect for Her Majesty's leadership and legacy and the special bond the UAE leaders had with the former monarch.
Some other schools such as Horizon and Regent International told The National they do not have early dismissal, but instead will observe two minutes of silence.
Some have sent out letters to parents, saying they have approached the education authority to allow them to finish early on Monday.
The early finish will help many people to connect with their family and friends in the UK, the letters stated.
Schools said the authority has asked them to secure the vote of parents in favour of or against the early closure. The support of the majority will influence the final decision.
The state funeral
In the UK, there will be a national bank holiday to allow as many people as possible to watch the queen's funeral.
The lying-in-state will continue until 6.30am (9.30am UAE) on the day of the funeral when the coffin will be taken in a grand military procession from the Palace of Westminster to Westminster Abbey.
Senior members of the royal family are expected to follow behind the queen's coffin and the military will line the streets and also join the procession.
A national two minutes' silence are expected to be held.
After the service, the coffin will be taken to Wellington Arch and then travel to Windsor, where the hearse will travel in a procession to St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle via the Long Walk.
A televised committal service will take place in St George's Chapel.
Later in the evening, there will be a private interment service with senior members of the royal family.
The queen's final resting place will be the King George VI Memorial Chapel, an annex to the main chapel — where her mother and father were buried, along with the ashes of her sister, Princess Margaret.
Prince Philip's coffin will move from the Royal Vault to the memorial chapel to join the queen's.
Is it being televised?
In Britain, yes. Further afield, it will be down to local decisions but international news channels are expected to broadcast live services.
The St George's Chapel committal will also be televised but there will be a private interment service away from the cameras.
Queen Elizabeth British School Al Khubairat - in pictures
The%20specs
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Venom
Director: Ruben Fleischer
Cast: Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed
Rating: 1.5/5
Jetour T1 specs
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Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
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THE SPECS
BMW X7 xDrive 50i
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Transmission: Eight-speed Steptronic transmission
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The specs
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Power: 240hp at 5,500rpm
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FIGHT CARD
From 5.30pm in the following order:
Featherweight
Marcelo Pontes (BRA) v Azouz Anwar (EGY)
Catchweight 90kg
Moustafa Rashid Nada (KSA) v Imad Al Howayeck (LEB)
Welterweight
Mohammed Al Khatib (JOR) v Gimbat Ismailov (RUS)
Flyweight (women)
Lucie Bertaud (FRA) v Kelig Pinson (BEL)
Lightweight
Alexandru Chitoran (BEL) v Regelo Enumerables Jr (PHI)
Catchweight 100kg
Mohamed Ali (EGY) v Marc Vleiger (NED)
Featherweight
James Bishop (AUS) v Mark Valerio (PHI)
Welterweight
Gerson Carvalho (BRA) v Abdelghani Saber (EGY)
Middleweight
Bakhtiyar Abbasov (AZE) v Igor Litoshik (BLR)
Bantamweight:
Fabio Mello (BRA) v Mark Alcoba (PHI)
Welterweight
Ahmed Labban (LEB) v Magomedsultan Magemedsultanov (RUS)
Bantamweight
Trent Girdham (AUS) v Jayson Margallo (PHI)
Lightweight
Usman Nurmagomedov (RUS) v Roman Golovinov (UKR)
Middleweight
Tarek Suleiman (SYR) v Steve Kennedy (AUS)
Lightweight
Dan Moret (USA) v Anton Kuivanen (FIN)
MATCH INFO
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
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Afghanistan Premier League - at a glance
Venue: Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Fixtures:
Tue, Oct 16, 8pm: Kandahar Knights v Kabul Zwanan; Wed, Oct 17, 4pm: Balkh Legends v Nangarhar Leopards; 8pm: Kandahar Knights v Paktia Panthers; Thu, Oct 18, 4pm: Balkh Legends v Kandahar Knights; 8pm: Kabul Zwanan v Paktia Panthers; Fri, Oct 19, 8pm: First semi-final; Sat, Oct 20, 8pm: Second semi-final; Sun, Oct 21, 8pm: final
Table:
1. Balkh Legends 6 5 1 10
2. Paktia Panthers 6 4 2 8
3. Kabul Zwanan 6 3 3 6
4. Nagarhar Leopards 7 2 5 4
5. Kandahar Knights 5 1 4 2
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Tips for used car buyers
- Choose cars with GCC specifications
- Get a service history for cars less than five years old
- Don’t go cheap on the inspection
- Check for oil leaks
- Do a Google search on the standard problems for your car model
- Do your due diligence. Get a transfer of ownership done at an official RTA centre
- Check the vehicle’s condition. You don’t want to buy a car that’s a good deal but ends up costing you Dh10,000 in repairs every month
- Validate warranty and service contracts with the relevant agency and and make sure they are valid when ownership is transferred
- If you are planning to sell the car soon, buy one with a good resale value. The two most popular cars in the UAE are black or white in colour and other colours are harder to sell
Tarek Kabrit, chief executive of Seez, and Imad Hammad, chief executive and co-founder of CarSwitch.com
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Range: 400km
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Five ways to get fit like Craig David (we tried for seven but ran out of time)
Start the week as you mean to go on. So get your training on strong on a Monday.
Train hard, but don’t take it all so seriously that it gets to the point where you’re not having fun and enjoying your friends and your family and going out for nice meals and doing that stuff.
Think about what you’re training or eating a certain way for — don’t, for example, get a six-pack to impress somebody else or lose weight to conform to society’s norms. It’s all nonsense.
Get your priorities right.
And last but not least, you should always, always chill on Sundays.
