If you thought the Marvel Cinematic Universe would fizzle out after 2019’s intergalactic epic Avengers: Endgame, think again.
The MCU is bigger than ever, with some major movies and TV shows in the works for 2022.
Here is what to expect:
'Morbius' (April 1)
Sony, the Hollywood studio that owns the rights to Spider-Man, has already given us three Spidey films, starring Tom Holland, and two Venom spin-offs, with the eponymous villain played by Tom Hardy.
That web looks to be tightening ever closer, with Venom popping up in the post-credits sequence of the recent mega-hit Spider-Man: No Way Home. And now this shared universe is getting even more complex with Morbius.
Jared Leto plays Michael Morbius, a scientist suffering from a rare blood disease who cures himself with a form of vampirism, giving him superhuman abilities – including increased strength and speed. Glimpsed in the trailer is Michael Keaton, who featured as Vulture in Spider-Man: Homecoming and here tells Morbius: “You and I should stay in touch.” Intriguing.
'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness' (May 6)
Since his first solo outing in 2016, time-bending mystic Dr Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) has become a huge fixture in the MCU – not least in Spider-Man: No Way Home, when he caused a serious fissure in the space-time continuum.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness follows straight on from this cosmic calamity. Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff, fresh from her own mistakes made in Marvel TV series WandaVision, returns, although the trailer hints at something even more exciting, as Strange must battle against an evil version of himself.
At the helm is veteran visionary director Sam Raimi; the man who almost single-handedly launched the modern-day superhero movie with 2002’s Spider-Man is finally back where he belongs.
'Thor: Love and Thunder' (July 8)
Without question, New Zealand director Taika Waititi brought his own idiosyncratic humour to 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok, the third solo outing for Chris Hemsworth’s Asgard warrior. So hopes are naturally high for Thor: Love and Thunder, with Waititi again in charge.
In this latest instalment, Natalie Portman returns as Thor’s romantic interest Jane Foster – with the storyline said to be adapting elements from Jason Aaron’s Mighty Thor comic book, in which the astrophysicist takes on Thor’s powers.
With various Guardians of the Galaxy characters also back, this marks Christian Bale’s first entry into the MCU, with the Oscar-winning actor cast as Gorr the God Butcher, a virtually immortal villain with a serious axe to grind.
'Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse' – Part One (October 7)
Way before Dr Strange dug into the multiverse, Sony’s stunning animated Spider-Man adventure introduced the idea. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which was released in 2018, brought us New York kid Miles Morales, meeting several Spideys from different dimensions (including the porcine Spider-Ham).
Continuing Miles’s adventures, Across the Spider-Verse is the first of a two-parter that will expand that notion even further.
So far, it’s been confirmed that Takuya Yamashiro will play "Japanese Spider-Man", who appeared in the 1978 live-action Spider-Man series. With original directors, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, remaining on board as writers, among the new co-directors is playwright Kemp Powers, who previously helped usher Pixar’s brilliant Soul to screens.
'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever' (November 22)
The first Black Panther is the MCU’s highest-grossing solo character outing to date, beaten at the box office only by the four Avengers movies. More than that, it was a cultural touchstone – from depicting the first superhero of African descent on the big screen to being the first superhero movie nominated for a Best Picture Oscar.
Since the death of Chadwick Boseman, who played T’Challa, ruler of the fictional African nation of Wakanda, the sequel has understandably changed shape, with Marvel choosing not to recast his role. Instead, it will focus more on the supporting characters, including T’Challa’s sister Shuri (Letitia Wright) and former love Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o). With writer-director Ryan Coogler once again at the helm, you can expect this to be huge.
'Ms Marvel' (Summer 2022)
Just as Black Panther felt significant, so does Ms Marvel. In this coming six-episode TV show on streaming service Disney+, Canadian newcomer Iman Vellani plays Kamala Khan – aka Ms Marvel – the first Muslim superhero.
The Pakistani-American from Jersey City, aged 16, is an avid gamer and Avengers fangirl who particularly loves Captain Marvel. In the film, Khan is unable to fit in, but that changes when she acquires her own powers – destined to integrate her right into the MCU (ahead of her big-screen appearance in 2023’s The Marvels, alongside Brie Larson, who will reprise her role as Captain Marvel).
Behind the show is an impressively diverse creative team, including Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, the Belgian-Moroccan co-directors of Bad Boys for Life.
'Moon Knight' (TBC)
Arriving this year on Disney+ is Moon Knight, based on the titular character who first appeared in Marvel comics back in 1975. The show itself has significant connections to the Mena region, with Egyptian filmmaker Mohamed Diab directing four of the six episodes – partly filmed in Jordan – and Egyptian actress May Calamawy co-starring.
In the lead is Star Wars regular Oscar Isaac, who plays Marc Spector, a former US marine and CIA agent granted special powers from the Egyptian moon god Khonshu.
As Diab told The National earlier this year: “It’s one of the most interesting comics [in the Marvel universe] because it’s about someone who has DID – dissociative personality disorder. Formerly known as multiple personality disorder … just imagine Oscar Isaac doing that. He is killing it!”
She-Hulk (TBC)
Marvel boss Kevin Feige has described this coming Disney+ show as a “half-hour legal comedy”, with these 10 episodes marking the first appearance of Jennifer Walters in the MCU. She first appeared in the Marvel comics back in 1980, being turned into a milder version of the rage-fuelled Hulk after receiving a blood transfusion from her cousin Bruce Banner.
Playing her here will be Orphan Black’s Tatiana Maslany, and Mark Ruffalo – who has been Banner/Hulk ever since 2012’s The Avengers – will also star. Intriguingly, Tim Roth will also appear in his role as Abomination, the villain from 2008’s The Incredible Hulk, an early MCU misfire, which had Edward Norton in the title role.
UAE SQUAD
Ali Khaseif, Mohammed Al Shamsi, Fahad Al Dhanhani, Khalid Essa, Bandar Al Ahbabi, Salem Rashid, Shaheen Abdulrahman, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Mohammed Al Attas, Walid Abbas, Hassan Al Mahrami, Mahmoud Khamis, Alhassan Saleh, Ali Salmeen, Yahia Nader, Abdullah Ramadan, Majed Hassan, Abdullah Al Naqbi, Fabio De Lima, Khalil Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Tahnoun Al Zaabi, Muhammed Jumah, Yahya Al Ghassani, Caio Canedo, Ali Mabkhout, Sebastian Tagliabue, Zayed Al Ameri
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
Leaderboard
63 - Mike Lorenzo-Vera (FRA)
64 - Rory McIlroy (NIR)
66 - Jon Rahm (ESP)
67 - Tom Lewis (ENG), Tommy Fleetwood (ENG)
68 - Rafael Cabrera-Bello (ESP), Marcus Kinhult (SWE)
69 - Justin Rose (ENG), Thomas Detry (BEL), Francesco Molinari (ITA), Danny Willett (ENG), Li Haotong (CHN), Matthias Schwab (AUT)
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Friday (UAE kick-off times)
Borussia Dortmund v Paderborn (11.30pm)
Saturday
Bayer Leverkusen v SC Freiburg (6.30pm)
Werder Bremen v Schalke (6.30pm)
Union Berlin v Borussia Monchengladbach (6.30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Wolfsburg (6.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldof v Bayern Munich (6.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Cologne (9.30pm)
Sunday
Augsburg v Hertha Berlin (6.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Mainz (9pm)
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
Biggest%20applause
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MIDWAY
Produced: Lionsgate Films, Shanghai Ryui Entertainment, Street Light Entertainment
Directed: Roland Emmerich
Cast: Ed Skrein, Woody Harrelson, Dennis Quaid, Aaron Eckhart, Luke Evans, Nick Jonas, Mandy Moore, Darren Criss
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
The Bio
Hometown: Bogota, Colombia
Favourite place to relax in UAE: the desert around Al Mleiha in Sharjah or the eastern mangroves in Abu Dhabi
The one book everyone should read: 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It will make your mind fly
Favourite documentary: Chasing Coral by Jeff Orlowski. It's a good reality check about one of the most valued ecosystems for humanity
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Polarised public
31% in UK say BBC is biased to left-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is biased to right-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is not biased at all
Source: YouGov
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
The specs
Price: From Dh529,000
Engine: 5-litre V8
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Power: 520hp
Torque: 625Nm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.8L/100km
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
if you go
The flights
Flydubai flies to Podgorica or nearby Tivat via Sarajevo from Dh2,155 return including taxes. Turkish Airlines flies from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Podgorica via Istanbul; alternatively, fly with Flydubai from Dubai to Belgrade and take a short flight with Montenegro Air to Podgorica. Etihad flies from Abu Dhabi to Podgorica via Belgrade. Flights cost from about Dh3,000 return including taxes. There are buses from Podgorica to Plav.
The tour
While you can apply for a permit for the route yourself, it’s best to travel with an agency that will arrange it for you. These include Zbulo in Albania (www.zbulo.org) or Zalaz in Montenegro (www.zalaz.me).
The specs: 2018 Ducati SuperSport S
Price, base / as tested: Dh74,900 / Dh85,900
Engine: 937cc
Transmission: Six-speed gearbox
Power: 110hp @ 9,000rpm
Torque: 93Nm @ 6,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 5.9L / 100km
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
The biog
Name: Abeer Al Shahi
Emirate: Sharjah – Khor Fakkan
Education: Master’s degree in special education, preparing for a PhD in philosophy.
Favourite activities: Bungee jumping
Favourite quote: “My people and I will not settle for anything less than first place” – Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid.
The%20specs
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The UAE's journey to space
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Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
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