Controversial Lebanese-Palestinian singer Fadl Shaker has made a comeback into the Arab pop world through a surprise new song released on May 8.
However, the career comeback is in danger of being scuppered due to the 49-year-old crooner being presently wanted by the Lebanese army.
After the release of the regal ballad Shab'an Min Al Tamtheel, which appeared on YouTube to promote the upcoming Egyptian Ramadan drama, Ladayna Iqwal Ukhra, the production company dropped the song from the series with a statement alluding to his legal problems in Lebanon.
The new ballad finds Shaker returning to the limelight after embracing a strictly conservative view of Islam six years ago that shunned popular music and landed him at odds with the Lebanese army.
After announcing his retirement, Shaker changed his name to Hajj Shaker and went on to pledge allegiance to Lebanese Sunni firebrand cleric Ahmed Al Assir.
His decision to take up arms with Al Assir's supporters in 2013 in clashes against the Lebanese army led to 18 soldiers dead and resulted in Shaker sentenced in-absentia to 15 years' imprisonment with hard labour.
Ever since, Shaker was spotted sporadically in events performing religiously inspired songs — also known as nasheeds — in Ain Al Hilweh, a Palestinian refugee camp which is located within a buffer zone not accessible to the Lebanese military.
Shaker’s latest song shrugs off any of the conservativeness of his latest material to embrace his radio friendly sound of old.
More significant was Shab'an Min Al Tamtheel was supposed to soundtrack the closing credits of Ladayna Iqwal Ukhra, which is to begin screening next week during the holy month of Ramadan on various regional channels.
In terms of exposure, Shaker couldn’t have asked for a better vehicle.
With Ramadan traditionally a period where families dine together at home, the guaranteed eyeballs during the evening hours provides a boon for broadcasters who often unleash their marquee dramas starring the region’s biggest actors with theme songs performed by musical counterparts.
With Ladayna Iqwal Ukhra starring the veteran Egyptian actress Youssra, Shaker's song significantly increased the hype surrounding the series and has already clocked over 400,000 streams since it landed on YouTube.
One can understand the reception as the song is in-line with his trademark style of sophisticated balladry; swooning strings sail over a brooding oud as Shaker’s smooth croon — now slightly dented with a few rasps from his cigar habit — sings of a “world that has enough lies, so what's the use of acting?”
Read more: Death sentence marks end to Lebanese cleric's dramatic rise and fall
From a career standpoint, Shab'an Min Al Tamtheel is the ideal comeback single. It has enough of the soul that earned Shaker the nickname of Malik Al Ihsas (The King of Emotions), with production modern enough not to make it a total throwback.
Unfortunately for Shaker, it has not been a smooth re-entry to the lime light.
Barely 48 hours has gone since the track’s release and the Cairo based production company, AG group, decided to remove the song from the series with a press release reiterating their support for Lebanon and its armed forces.
This was followed up by an interview, on May 9, with one of the series creators Medhat Al Adel on the Egyptian broadcaster Sada El Balad. He admitted “that we didn’t study the legal standpoint regarding Fadl Shaker in Lebanon. We basically made our decision from a purely artistic perspective".
As of yet there has been no official response from Shaker who has been funnelling news of his career through the social media account of his son and fellow singer Mohammed Shaker.
Born in the Lebanese city of Sidon, Shaker was discovered by the record label Stallions Company in 1997 and released three albums featuring compositions by renowned tunesmiths Salah El Sharnoby and Ahmed Sheta.
It was on the second album, 1999's Baya El Qolob, and its chart topping title track that cemented Shaker as the region's latest pop star and he went on to release more hits including the 2002 pan-Arab favourite Ya Ghayeb and El Maraya, in addition to performing international stages alongside pop star Mariah Carey and reggae great Jimmy Cliff.
His last album remains Baada Aal Bal, which was released in 2009 through the Dubai-based label Rotana Records.
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Tottenham v Ajax, Tuesday, 11pm (UAE).
Second leg
Ajax v Tottenham, Wednesday, May 8, 11pm
Games on BeIN Sports
ARGENTINA SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Franco Armani, Agustin Marchesin, Esteban Andrada
Defenders: Juan Foyth, Nicolas Otamendi, German Pezzella, Nicolas Tagliafico, Ramiro Funes Mori, Renzo Saravia, Marcos Acuna, Milton Casco
Midfielders: Leandro Paredes, Guido Rodriguez, Giovani Lo Celso, Exequiel Palacios, Roberto Pereyra, Rodrigo De Paul, Angel Di Maria
Forwards: Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero, Lautaro Martinez, Paulo Dybala, Matias Suarez
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
India squad for fourth and fifth Tests
Kohli (c), Dhawan, Rahul, Shaw, Pujara, Rahane (vc), Karun, Karthik (wk), Pant (wk), Ashwin, Jadeja, Pandya, Ishant, Shami, Umesh, Bumrah, Thakur, Vihari
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.
THE SPECS
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The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
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Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
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.”
Kamindu Mendis bio
Full name: Pasqual Handi Kamindu Dilanka Mendis
Born: September 30, 1998
Age: 20 years and 26 days
Nationality: Sri Lankan
Major teams Sri Lanka's Under 19 team
Batting style: Left-hander
Bowling style: Right-arm off-spin and slow left-arm orthodox (that's right!)
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WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
