This week, Barjeel Art Foundation will unveil a painting that reflects upon the contributions of female intellectuals from the medieval Islamic world.
Abu Dhabi Creative Centre will hold an exhibition that highlights 60 years of Emirati creativity. Ras Al Khaimah Art, meanwhile, is in its final stretch, meaning it's the last chance to catch the event at Al Jazeera Al Hamra.
Here are exhibitions and events to check out this week.
Islamic Scientists and A Wonderful World at House of Wisdom, Sharjah
Islamic Scientists was one of the last works by Syrian artist Mahmoud Hammad before his death in 1988. The painting depicts 16 influential thinkers and scientists from the Islamic world, including Ibn Rushd, Ibn Sina and Al Farabi, huddled in the centre of the canvas.
The work is a striking celebration of the scientific accomplishments in the region. However, it features exclusively men and doesn’t shed any light on the contributions of female intellectuals in the medieval Islamic world.
A new painting by Iraqi artist Afifa Aleiby aims to address that vacuum. Commissioned by the Barjeel Art Foundation, the work also features 16 women from the Islamic world. These include sisters Fatima al-Fihriya, renowned for establishing the al-Qarawiyyin Mosque in Fez, Morocco; Razia Sultana, the only female ruler of India’s Delhi Sultanate; and 10th century astrolabe maker Mariam Al-ʻIjliyyah.
The painting will be officially revealed on Sunday during a special ceremony at Sharjah’s House of Wisdom. It will be exhibited alongside Hammad’s Islamic Scientists at the venue until the end of Ramadan.
A panel discussion about the two paintings will also take place on Sunday at 5pm. It will feature Aleiby, Lubna Hammad, director of her father’s estate, and Nidhal Guessoum, professor of physics and astronomy at the American University of Sharjah.
Monday to Thursday, 8am – 11pm; Friday and Saturday, 8am – 12am; until the end of Ramadan; House of Wisdom, Sharjah
Through the Years at Abu Dhabi Creative Centre
Through the Years offers a glimpse into the transformation of Emirati art between the 1960s and present day. The exhibition brings together 27 Emirati artists.
It showcases works by Najat Makki, Nujoom Al Ghanem, Aisha Juma and Jalal Luqman, as well as emerging names like Rawdha Al Ketbi and Ahmad Saeed Al Areef.
Participating artists were free to choose which of their works would represent them in the exhibition, letting a narrative organically develop within the exhibition. The works range from figurative to the abstract, paintings to sculptures and installations, and collectively embody the breadth of Emirati art.
Monday to Sunday, 9am – 9pm; until March 31; Abu Dhabi Creative Centre, Abu Dhabi
Takhayal at Tashkeel, Dubai
El Seed has revealed a new sculpture at Tashkeel in Nad Al Sheba. The arts hub is still closed for renovation but the outdoor work is accessible to the public.
The work is titled Takhayal, which is Arabic for imagine. It features the Tunisian artist’s idiosyncratic take on the calligraphic form.
Composed of aluminium that is almost three millimetres thick, the sculpture looms for an impressive eight meters. The disparate components within the installation are fixed together by hidden joints, giving a seamless flow to the overall design.
Takhayal, a project supported by Dubai Culture, is the latest of collaborations between El Seed and Tashkeel. The partnership has led to several notable public artworks, including the Tashkeel x Enoc Public Art Commission at Expo 2020 Dubai.
Ras Al Khaimah Art
Ras Al Khaimah Art 2025 is in its final stretch. The annual art event, which opened on January 31, will be running until February 28. This year’s iteration is being held under the title Memory. The theme feels pertinent, especially considering its location.
Ras Al Khaimah Art is being held at Al Jazeera Al Hamra Heritage Village. The abandoned pearling village, with its coral structures and labyrinthine alleyways, is one of the only of its kind in the UAE, offering insights into the country’s maritime traditions and daily life.
The venue is now bustling with artworks by 200 local and international artists. The works, which range from photographs to sculptures and installations, are all deeply personal and reflect on the concept of memory in evocative ways.
Until February 28; Al Jazeera Al Hamra Heritage Village, Ras Al Khaimah
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Stars: Tiger Shroff, Tara Sutaria, Ananya Pandey, Aditya Seal
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Always check the weather forecast before setting off
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Wear appropriate clothing and footwear
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Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
US tops drug cost charts
The study of 13 essential drugs showed costs in the United States were about 300 per cent higher than the global average, followed by Germany at 126 per cent and 122 per cent in the UAE.
Thailand, Kenya and Malaysia were rated as nations with the lowest costs, about 90 per cent cheaper.
In the case of insulin, diabetic patients in the US paid five and a half times the global average, while in the UAE the costs are about 50 per cent higher than the median price of branded and generic drugs.
Some of the costliest drugs worldwide include Lipitor for high cholesterol.
The study’s price index placed the US at an exorbitant 2,170 per cent higher for Lipitor than the average global price and the UAE at the eighth spot globally with costs 252 per cent higher.
High blood pressure medication Zestril was also more than 2,680 per cent higher in the US and the UAE price was 187 per cent higher than the global price.
Your rights as an employee
The government has taken an increasingly tough line against companies that fail to pay employees on time. Three years ago, the Cabinet passed a decree allowing the government to halt the granting of work permits to companies with wage backlogs.
The new measures passed by the Cabinet in 2016 were an update to the Wage Protection System, which is in place to track whether a company pays its employees on time or not.
If wages are 10 days late, the new measures kick in and the company is alerted it is in breach of labour rules. If wages remain unpaid for a total of 16 days, the authorities can cancel work permits, effectively shutting off operations. Fines of up to Dh5,000 per unpaid employee follow after 60 days.
Despite those measures, late payments remain an issue, particularly in the construction sector. Smaller contractors, such as electrical, plumbing and fit-out businesses, often blame the bigger companies that hire them for wages being late.
The authorities have urged employees to report their companies at the labour ministry or Tawafuq service centres — there are 15 in Abu Dhabi.
Other IPL batting records
Most sixes: 292 – Chris Gayle
Most fours: 491 – Gautam Gambhir
Highest individual score: 175 not out – Chris Gayle (for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Pune Warriors in 2013)
Highest strike-rate: 177.29 – Andre Russell
Highest strike-rate in an innings: 422.22 – Chris Morris (for Delhi Daredevils against Rising Pune Supergiant in 2017)
Highest average: 52.16 – Vijay Shankar
Most centuries: 6 – Chris Gayle
Most fifties: 36 – Gautam Gambhir
Fastest hundred (balls faced): 30 – Chris Gayle (for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Pune Warriors in 2013)
Fastest fifty (balls faced): 14 – Lokesh Rahul (for Kings XI Punjab against Delhi Daredevils in 2018)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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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.”
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Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
UAE finals day
Friday, April 13
Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
3pm, UAE Conference: Dubai Tigers v Sharjah Wanderers
6.30pm, UAE Premiership: Dubai Exiles v Abu Dhabi Harlequins
Who has been sanctioned?
Daniella Weiss and Nachala
Described as 'the grandmother of the settler movement', she has encouraged the expansion of settlements for decades. The 79 year old leads radical settler movement Nachala, whose aim is for Israel to annex Gaza and the occupied West Bank, where it helps settlers built outposts.
Harel Libi & Libi Construction and Infrastructure
Libi has been involved in threatening and perpetuating acts of aggression and violence against Palestinians. His firm has provided logistical and financial support for the establishment of illegal outposts.
Zohar Sabah
Runs a settler outpost named Zohar’s Farm and has previously faced charges of violence against Palestinians. He was indicted by Israel’s State Attorney’s Office in September for allegedly participating in a violent attack against Palestinians and activists in the West Bank village of Muarrajat.
Coco’s Farm and Neria’s Farm
These are illegal outposts in the West Bank, which are at the vanguard of the settler movement. According to the UK, they are associated with people who have been involved in enabling, inciting, promoting or providing support for activities that amount to “serious abuse”.
About Housecall
Date started: July 2020
Founders: Omar and Humaid Alzaabi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: HealthTech
# of staff: 10
Funding to date: Self-funded
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1) Beware of cheques presented late on Thursday
2) Visit an RTA centre to change registration only after receiving payment
3) Be aware of people asking to test drive the car alone
4) Try not to close the sale at night
5) Don't be rushed into a sale
6) Call 901 if you see any suspicious behaviour
Leading all-time NBA scorers
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 38,387
Karl Malone 36,928
Kobe Bryant 33,643
Michael Jordan 32,292
LeBron James 31,425
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Mamo Year it started: 2019 Founders: Imad Gharazeddine, Asim Janjua Based: Dubai, UAE Number of employees: 28 Sector: Financial services Investment: $9.5m Funding stage: Pre-Series A Investors: Global Ventures, GFC, 4DX Ventures, AlRajhi Partners, Olive Tree Capital, and prominent Silicon Valley investors. The specs
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