It may only be mid-October, but before we know it, Diwali, Halloween and UAE National Day will be behind us and we'll be in the throes of the 2022 festive season.
This year, as has become a modern tradition, there is a crop of new Christmas films being released on streaming sites and in cinemas.
Here we round up the new Christmas movies for 2022.
'Falling for Christmas'
Starring: Lindsay Lohan, Chord Overstreet, George Young
Release date: November 10
Watch it: On Netflix
Netflix has made a name for itself with cheesy Christmas films in recent years, and Falling for Christmas looks set to be its 2022 show-stopper.
Lindsay Lohan makes her movie comeback in festive fashion. With all the tropes of a holiday classic, newly engaged spoiled hotel heiress Sierra Belmont (Lohan) gets into a skiing accident. She wakes up in a small town with amnesia, unable to remember her name or where she came from.
Cue the handsome stranger (Overstreet), with a precocious daughter, who takes her in in the run-up to Christmas.
'Spirited'
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Will Ferrell, Octavia Spencer
Release date: November 11
Watch it: On Apple TV+ and in cinemas
With an A-list line-up of Reynolds, Ferrell and Spencer, Spirited is one of the most anticipated festive flicks of the season.
It a modern musical Charles Dickens adaptation, reinterpreting the classic A Christmas Carol.
With all the classic tropes of the Dickens' novel, Reynolds plays Ebeneezer Scrooge, a "miserly misanthrope who is taken on a magical journey".
The ghosts of Scrooge's Christmases past, present and yet to come are featured, with Ferrell taking on the role of the present.
The film will have a limited run in cinemas from November 11, ahead of its streaming release on November 18.
'Christmas with You'
Starring: Freddie Prinze Jr, Aimee Garcia, Gabriel Sloyer
Release date: November 17
Watch it: On Netflix
Christmas with You, starring 1990s heart-throb Prinze Jr, looks like it also ticks off plenty of festive film tropes.
Angelina is a burnt-out pop star, who grants a young fan's Christmas wish in small-town New York. Naturally, she doesn't just find that the good deed has a morale-boosting impact, she also finds love in an unexpected place.
'The Noel Diary'
Starring: Justin Hartley, Bonnie Bedelia, James Remar
Release date: November 24
Watch it: On Netflix
Author Jake Turner (Hartley) returns home at Christmas to settle his estranged mother's estate and discovers a diary that could hold the secrets to his past.
'Violent Night'
Starring: David Harbour, Beverly D'Angelo, John Leguizamo
Release date: December 2
Watch it: In cinemas
If Die Hard is the archetypal anti-Christmas film, Violent Night might be coming for its crown.
Starring Stranger Things actor Harbour as Santa Claus, as we've never seen him before, he is a jaded take on Father Christmas.
However, it is down to Santa to save the day when a group of mercenaries take a wealthy family hostage on Christmas Eve, just before ol' Saint Nick arrives to step in and save the day.
Based on the trailer, the film will be packed with violence and a few gory moments. There are also plenty of seasonal puns — think "time for some season's beatings" and "these bad men are on my naughty list"— along with the title itself.
'Scrooge: A Christmas Carol'
Starring: Jessie Buckley, Luke Evans, Olivia Colman
Release date: December 2
Watch it: On Netflix
There is not one but two new takes on the Dickens classic A Christmas Carol this year. Netflix is throwing its Santa hat in the ring with Scrooge: A Christmas Carol, voiced by a star cast that includes Buckley, Evans, Colman and Jonathan Pryce.
Evans lends his voice to Ebenezer Scrooge and Johnny Flynn is Bob Cratchit, while Colman is the Ghost of Christmas Past and Trevor Dion Nicholas voices the Ghost of Christmas Present.
'Pinocchio'
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Cate Blanchett, Christoph Waltz, Finn Wolfhard
Release date: December 9
Watch it: On Netflix
Although it's not an all-out Christmas film, the story of Pinocchio is a classic pantomime tale, so it's likely that family members of all ages will gather in front of the tree this December to watch Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro's reimagining of the story.
The film is a stop motion take on the Carlo Collodi tale, immortalised in Disney's 1940 animation.
It tells the story of the fabled wooden boy, with a slightly darker edge from previous retellings, but with the same foundations of adventure and love.
'Best. Christmas. Ever.'
Starring: Brandy Norwood, Heather Graham, Jason Biggs
Release date: TBC
Watch it: On Netflix
A film that looks set to be a Christmas comedy, every year Jackie (Norwood) sends a humble brag-filled holiday newsletter that makes her old college friend Charlotte (Graham) feel like her life isn't up to scratch.
This year, however, a twist of fate lands Charlotte and her husband Rob (Biggs) on Jackie’s snowy doorstep only days before Christmas. Charlotte quickly seizes the opportunity to prove her old friend's "perfect" life can’t possibly be that perfect.
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
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
Squid Game season two
Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Stars: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun
Rating: 4.5/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
What is a Ponzi scheme?
A fraudulent investment operation where the scammer provides fake reports and generates returns for old investors through money paid by new investors, rather than through ligitimate business activities.
World record transfers
1. Kylian Mbappe - to Real Madrid in 2017/18 - €180 million (Dh770.4m - if a deal goes through)
2. Paul Pogba - to Manchester United in 2016/17 - €105m
3. Gareth Bale - to Real Madrid in 2013/14 - €101m
4. Cristiano Ronaldo - to Real Madrid in 2009/10 - €94m
5. Gonzalo Higuain - to Juventus in 2016/17 - €90m
6. Neymar - to Barcelona in 2013/14 - €88.2m
7. Romelu Lukaku - to Manchester United in 2017/18 - €84.7m
8. Luis Suarez - to Barcelona in 2014/15 - €81.72m
9. Angel di Maria - to Manchester United in 2014/15 - €75m
10. James Rodriguez - to Real Madrid in 2014/15 - €75m
More from Neighbourhood Watch
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if you go
The flights
Etihad, Emirates and Singapore Airlines fly direct from the UAE to Singapore from Dh2,265 return including taxes. The flight takes about 7 hours.
The hotel
Rooms at the M Social Singapore cost from SG $179 (Dh488) per night including taxes.
The tour
Makan Makan Walking group tours costs from SG $90 (Dh245) per person for about three hours. Tailor-made tours can be arranged. For details go to www.woknstroll.com.sg
MATCH INFO
Syria v Australia
2018 World Cup qualifying: Asia fourth round play-off first leg
Venue: Hang Jebat Stadium (Malacca, Malayisa)
Kick-off: Thursday, 4.30pm (UAE)
Watch: beIN Sports HD
* Second leg in Australia scheduled for October 10
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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