It’s been eight years since The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 film wrapped up Katniss Everdeen’s story and the hit tetralogy based on Suzanne Collins’s books.
And if you’ve ever wondered why the Hunger Games began, how those Capitol fashions came to be and why President Snow is so evil, the prequel The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes aims to answer all those questions and more.
Since the book was published in May 2020, fans have been waiting for the heroine Lucy Gray Baird's story to be brought to the big screen. Here’s everything we know about the prequel ahead of its November 16 UAE release date.
What is The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes about?
The book focuses on the 10th Hunger Games, meaning it is set 64 years before the first book.
The games are the Capitol’s retribution for the war with the districts that had the city under siege for months.
The Capitol is still damaged and in disarray since the end of the war, and the once-wealthy and powerful Snow family have lost their fortune and prestige since their munitions factory in District 13 was destroyed.
Seeing his chance to restore the family name, 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow signs up to be a mentor for the games.
He is assigned to train Lucy Gray, a District 12 tribute (a child selected to fight in The Hunger Games) who comes to the attention of the Capitol when she sings a defiant rebel song at the Reaping (where tributes are chosen).
As the games draw near, Lucy Gray and Coriolanus grow close, until he is forced to choose between love and ambition.
Who is in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes?
Lucy Gray is played by West Side Story star Rachel Zegler. She is a member of a nomadic musical tribe called the Covey who settled in District 12 after the war with the Capitol.
British actor Tom Blyth takes on the role of Coriolanus, while Euphoria’s Hunter Schaefer plays his cousin, Tigris Snow.
Egot winner Viola Davis stars as head game-maker Dr Volumnia Gaul, a professor with different coloured eyes and an ice-cold demeanour who is the original mastermind behind the games.
Game of Thrones star Peter Dinklage is Casca Highbottom, the Academy dean who instructs the mentors – including Coriolanus – to turn the tributes into “spectacles, not survivors”. His order reveals how the games went on to become such an presentation by the time Katniss enters the arena decades later.
Jason Schwartzman stars as Lucky Flickerman, the host of the games, which is being televised for the first time. His surname suggests that Caesar Flickerman (Stanley Tucci) from the earlier films is Lucky’s son or grandson.
All the Easter eggs in the trailers
Two trailers have been released for the The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes containing plenty of Easter eggs and nods to the evolution of the games and arenas which Katniss enters much later.
The seeds of how the once liberal and caring Coriolanus evolves into the authoritarian president Snow are planted with the revelation that he becomes a mentor to restore his family’s fortune and get into university.
Fans will also recognise Lucy Gray's performance of The Hanging Tree, which Katniss sings in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1, along with Rue’s four-note whistle which she used to communicate with Katniss in the first film.
Onstage at the District 12 Reaping, Lucy Gray performs a low, dramatic bow to the assembled peacekeepers, a precursor to the bow Katniss gives the game makers in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire after she hangs an effigy of Seneca Crane.
Meeting Lucy Gray when the train carrying the tributes arrives in the Capitol, Coriolanus gives her a white rose, which later becomes his chilling calling card through which he delivers warnings to Katniss.
And Tigris makes her first appearance as Coriolanus's cousin albeit in her unaltered state. Fans of the earlier films know that she has reconstructive surgery to make her features feline and helps Katniss and the rebels in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is released in the UAE on November 16
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
The specs
Engine: 4-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: eight-speed PDK
Power: 630bhp
Torque: 820Nm
Price: Dh683,200
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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.”
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
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A list of the animal rescue organisations in the UAE
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
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Assassin's%20Creed%20Mirage
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Starfield
%3Cp%3EDeveloper%3A%20Bethesda%20Game%20Studios%0D%3Cbr%3EPublisher%3A%20Bethesda%20Softworks%0D%3Cbr%3EConsole%3A%20PC%2C%20Xbox%0D%3Cbr%3ERelease%20date%3A%202023%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
