Turkey's Nobel Prize-winning novelist Orhan Pamuk, Oscar-winning Indian lyricist Gulzar and US comic and author Steve Harvey are among the renowned names that will attend this year's Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF).
Running from Wednesday, October 31 to Saturday, November 9, the annual event is one of the biggest book fairs in the world and will be held at the Sharjah Expo.
Who else is coming?
The 67-year-old Pamuk, who has built an international following with his novels My Name is Red, Silent House and The Museum of Innocence, will join more than 170 literary personalities from 68 countries taking part in the fair. Other names on the guest list include International Prize for Arabic fiction nominee Inaam Kachachi from Iraq, Indian novelist Vikram Seth, US bestselling author and blogger Mark Manson, Kuwait's Bothayna Al Essa, whose novel Aicha Tanzil Illa Al Alam Al Sufli (Aisha Descends to the Underworld) was longlisted for the 2012 Sheikh Zayed Book Award, and Italian children's writer Elisabetta Dami.
The full list of guest authors and sessions will be announced soon.
As per the book fair's tradition, each iteration has a country as guest of honour, and this year it will be Mexico. Bibliophiles can expect a grand pavilion showcasing works from the Latin American country’s thriving publishing industry when it opens later this month.
The ever-evolving Sharjah International Book Fair will also launch a range of new concepts this year, such as The Diversity Hub, a space that will host panel discussions on the richness of various literary cultures.
Another new feature is The Design Thinking Platform, which will run sessions that aim to challenge attendees to "think outside the box".
These new areas will join the book fair’s regular features such as the Book Signing Corner, an intimate space where you can mingle with guest authors. The Social Media Station will also be on hand with a range of sessions featuring social media influencers.
Comic books, movies and cooking workshops
Food lovers will welcome the return of the Cookery Corner, which hosts practical workshops led by some of the Arab world’s leading chefs, such as Syria’s Mohamed Orfali.
SIBF also continues its pedigree when it comes to children's programming. As well as welcoming a strong list of authors, kids can check out theatrical performances, including the popular Kuwaiti play, Wakanda.
The Comic Book Corner is also back with activities featuring authors such as the UAE's Ali Kashwani and Kuwait's Ahmed Al Rifai, while movies adapted from popular comic books will be screened, such as the 2018 blockbuster Black Panther and 2011's Green Hornet.
Emirati literary scene will be well represented
Ahmed Al Ameri, chairman of the Sharjah Book Authority, which organises the book fair, promises that more than 900 events will run over the space of 10 days.
He hailed the near 200-strong contingent of Emirati publishers that will take part in this year’s fair, who will join 2,000 other publishers from 81 countries. Some of the new companies attending this year hail from Cyprus, Kyrgyzstan, Somalia, South Korea and Venezuela.
“One hundred and ninety-eight Emirati publishers are at SIBF this year. When we started the fair in 1982, there wasn’t a single one,” he said.
“The total number of participating publishers is a big achievement and is a fruition of the efforts of the Sharjah Ruler in promoting Sharjah as the home of the book."
The Sharjah International Book Festival will cap off what has been a momentous year for the emirate in the publishing world. As part of Sharjah designation as this year’s Unesco World Book Capital, the SBA has appeared at many of the world’s leading publishing events such as last month’s Moscow International Book Fair, next week's Liber International Book Fair in Madrid (Wednesday, October 9 to Friday, October 11) and Frankfurt International Book Fair, which begins on Wednesday, October 16.
More information on the Sharjah International Book Fair is available on www.sibf.com
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4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
Director: Romany Saad
Starring: Mirfat Amin, Boumi Fouad and Tariq Al Ibyari
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
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What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
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- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
Paltan
Producer: JP Films, Zee Studios
Director: JP Dutta
Cast: Jackie Shroff, Sonu Sood, Arjun Rampal, Siddhanth Kapoor, Luv Sinha and Harshvardhan Rane
Rating: 2/5
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
Oppenheimer
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Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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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