Horror film Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, an adaptation of the beloved children’s book, was the big winner at this year’s Razzies.
It swept all five categories it was nominated for, including Worst Picture, Worst Director, Worst Screenplay, Worst Screen Couple (Pooh and Piglet) and Worst Remake/Rip-off/Sequel.
Megan Fox also picked up two awards, Worst Actress for her role in Johnny & Clyde and Worst Supporting Actress for Expend4bles.
Jon Voight was awarded Worst Actor owing to his "Lucky Charms leprechaun" Irish accent in Mercy.
Sylvester Stallone also took home the Worst Supporting Actor prize for his role in Expend4bles. Stallone was previously crowned Worst Actor of the Decade in 1990 and Worst Actor of the Century in 2000.
Meanwhile, The Nanny actress Fran Drescher won the Razzie Redeemer Award, given to a past Razzie contender who has “gone on to better things”. She was lauded for her leadership as Sag-Aftra president during last year's actors strikes.
Drescher was previously nominated for Worst Actress in 1998 for her role in the rom-com The Beautician and The Beast.
The Razzies, also known as the Golden Raspberry Awards, are held annually and recognise the worst films and performances of the year. Usually held the night before the Oscars, the awards are meant to poke fun and serve as a “reality check” for stars.
The full list of winners is below.
Worst Picture
The Exorcist: Believer
Expend4bles
Meg 2: The Trench
Shazam! Fury of the Gods
Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey – Winner
Worst Actor
Russell Crowe, The Pope’s Exorcist
Vin Diesel, Fast X
Chris Evans, Ghosted
Jason Statham, Meg 2: The Trench
Jon Voight, Mercy – Winner
Worst Actress
Ana de Armas, Ghosted
Megan Fox, Johnny & Clyde – Winner
Salma Hayek, Magic Mike’s Last Dance
Jennifer Lopez, The Mother
Dame Helen Mirren, Shazam! Fury of the Gods
Worst Supporting Actress
Kim Cattrall, About My Father
Megan Fox, Expend4bles – Winner
Bai Ling, Johnny & Clyde
Lucy Liu, Shazam! Fury of the Gods
Mary Stuart Masterson, Five Nights at Freddy’s
Worst Supporting Actor
Michael Douglas, Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania
Mel Gibson, Confidential Informant
Bill Murray, Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania
Franco Nero, The Pope’s Exorcist
Sylvester Stallone, Expend4ables – Winner
Worst Screen Couple
Any two Merciless Mercenaries, Expend4bles
Any two money-grubbing investors who donated to the $400 Million for remake rights to The Exorcist
Ana de Armas and Chris Evans, Ghosted
Salma Hayek and Channing Tatum, Magic Mike’s Last Dance
Pooh and Piglet, Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey – Winner
Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off of Sequel
Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania
The Exorcist: Believer
Expend4bles
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (listed as Indiana Jones and The Dial of…Still Beating a Dead Horse)
Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey – Winner
Worst Director
Rhys Frake-Waterfield, Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey – Winner
David Gordon Green, The Exorcist: Believer
Peyton Reed, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
Scott Waugh, Expend4bles
Ben Wheatley, Meg 2: The Trench
Worst Screenplay
The Exorcist: Believer
Expend4bles
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (listed as Indiana Jones and the Dial of…Can I go home now?)
Shazam! Fury of the Gods
Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey – Winner
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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In Full Flight: A Story of Africa and Atonement
John Heminway, Knopff
The Bio
Name: Lynn Davison
Profession: History teacher at Al Yasmina Academy, Abu Dhabi
Children: She has one son, Casey, 28
Hometown: Pontefract, West Yorkshire in the UK
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite Author: CJ Sansom
Favourite holiday destination: Bali
Favourite food: A Sunday roast
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
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
