In her first major interview since her stint at The X Factor UK ended in late November, Filipino singer Alisah Bonaobra appeared on the Philippine talk show Magandang Buhay (Good Life) last week to look back at her journey on the reality singing competition.
The 22-year-old finished in eleventh place on The X Factor UK last month. She flew to London with her mother last summer to audition for the show, which welcomes contestants from around the world. On Good Life, Bonaobra revealed that her trip was made possible by financial contributions from almost 175 Filipino nurses working in England.
“We couldn’t afford the airfare to London. But then almost 175 nurses in the UK came together and made it happen for us,” she said.
According to Bonaobra, she tried her luck on The X Factor UK to support her family back home. She currently performs in live shows across the Philippines and appears on musical variety programmes on television.
“I don’t want to stop singing,” she said. “I hope my career takes off and I’m given an opportunity to continue doing this.”
Filipino singers debut on West End’s Hamilton
Filipino actresses Rachelle Ann Go and Christine Allado have been earning raves on social media from audiences and critics on West End for their performances on the musical Hamilton.
The show, which started previews on December 6 in London, is a hip-hop musical about the life of American founding father Alexander Hamilton — with music, lyrics and book by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Hamilton opened on Broadway in 2015 and received a record-setting 16 Tony nominations in 2016, winning 11, including Best Musical.
Go plays the lead female role of Eliza Schuyler, the wife of Hamilton. Allado plays two roles: Eliza’s sister Peggy Schuyler and Maria Reynolds.
A video posted this week by Broadway World features Go, Allado and co-star Rachel John performing one of the musical's hit songs, The Schuyler Sisters. The video has garnered over a million views on Facebook.
Go and Allado have also been posting behind-the-scenes and backstage images on social media, including photographs with celebrity attendees such as Emma Stone, Jon Hamm and Stephen Merchant.
The Portrait wins Best Picture at Metro Manila Film Festival
The musical Ang Larawan (The Portrait) emerged as the big winner of this week's Metro Manila Film Festival, bagging the Best Picture trophy and the Best Actress prize for lead star Joanna Ampil. It is the first feature film project of Ampil, an internationally-renowned theatre actress.
The Portrait is directed by Loy Arcenas and written by Rolando Tinio, based on the late National Artist for Literature Nick Joaquin's three-act stage play A Portrait of the Artist as a Filipino. The film also won Best Musical Score (for Ryan Cayabyab) and Best Production Design (for Gino Gonzales).
Other top winners include Derek Ramsay (Best Actor for All of You), Jasmine Curtis (Best Supporting Actress for Siargao) and Edgar Allan Guzman (Best Supporting Actor for Deadma Walking).
In other film festival news, Filipino director Paolo Dy's latest feature Ignacio de Loyola won the Best Picture prize at the Mirabile Dictu International Catholic Film Festival, held at Vatican City. The film depicts the life of the founder of the Society of Jesus, played by the Spanish actor Andreas Muñoz. Ignacio de Loyola also recently won the audience choice award at the Cine con Valores Festival in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Meanwhile, the coming-of-age drama Birdshot will screen at the Palm Springs International Film Festival, to be held in California from January 2 to 15, 2018. Directed by 25-year-old filmmaker Mikhail Red, Birdshot premiered at last year's Tokyo International Film Festival, winning the Best Picture prize in the festival's Asian Future Film section. The film follows the story of a young girl who accidentally shoots a rare and endangered Philippine eagle.
Jazz legend Eddie Katindig passes away
Filipino jazz musician Eddie Katindig, known as Eddie K to his fans, passed away on December 24 at the age of 80 after battling lung cancer.
Katindig was one of the pioneers of the Philippine jazz movement in the 1970s and 1980s. Born to a family of musicians, he performed as a teenager alongside his brothers, playing the drums and cymbals. At age 25, he discovered the saxophone, the instrument that he would eventually be best known for.
Katindig released his self-titled debut album in 1989 under the recording company OctoArts. It was the first purely instrumental album to be certified gold in the Philippines. He recorded two more chart-topping albums in 1989 and 1996.
According to the Philippine broadsheet BusinessWorld, Katindig’s two children Henry and Tateng have followed in their father’s footsteps and currently work as professional musicians.
________________________
Read more:
Focus on the Philippines: Maine Mendoza and Alden Richards confirm new film
Focus on the Philippines: Filipino acts compete on Asia’s Got Talent final
Focus on the Philippines: Maine Mendoza in world’s most tweeted list
Focus on the Philippines: Nadine Lustre, James Reid begin shooting new film
________________________
Kat Wightman's tips on how to create zones in large spaces
- Area carpets or rugs are the easiest way to segregate spaces while also unifying them.
- Lighting can help define areas. Try pendant lighting over dining tables, and side and floor lamps in living areas.
- Keep the colour palette the same in a room, but combine different tones and textures in different zone. A common accent colour dotted throughout the space brings it together.
- Don’t be afraid to use furniture to break up the space. For example, if you have a sofa placed in the middle of the room, a console unit behind it will give good punctuation.
- Use a considered collection of prints and artworks that work together to form a cohesive journey.
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
if you go
The flights
Fly direct to Kutaisi with Flydubai from Dh925 return, including taxes. The flight takes 3.5 hours. From there, Svaneti is a four-hour drive. The driving time from Tbilisi is eight hours.
The trip
The cost of the Svaneti trip is US$2,000 (Dh7,345) for 10 days, including food, guiding, accommodation and transfers from and to Tbilisi or Kutaisi. This summer the TCT is also offering a 5-day hike in Armenia for $1,200 (Dh4,407) per person. For further information, visit www.transcaucasiantrail.org/en/hike/
AL%20BOOM
%3Cp%20style%3D%22text-align%3Ajustify%3B%22%3E%26nbsp%3B%26nbsp%3B%26nbsp%3BDirector%3AAssad%20Al%20Waslati%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%20style%3D%22text-align%3Ajustify%3B%22%3E%0DStarring%3A%20Omar%20Al%20Mulla%2C%20Badr%20Hakami%20and%20Rehab%20Al%20Attar%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EStreaming%20on%3A%20ADtv%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3ERating%3A%203.5%2F5%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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.”
Voy!%20Voy!%20Voy!
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Omar%20Hilal%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Muhammad%20Farrag%2C%20Bayoumi%20Fouad%2C%20Nelly%20Karim%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
More from Aya Iskandarani
The finalists
Player of the Century, 2001-2020: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Ronaldinho
Coach of the Century, 2001-2020: Pep Guardiola (Manchester City), Jose Mourinho (Tottenham Hotspur), Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid), Sir Alex Ferguson
Club of the Century, 2001-2020: Al Ahly (Egypt), Bayern Munich (Germany), Barcelona (Spain), Real Madrid (Spain)
Player of the Year: Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
Club of the Year: Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Real Madrid
Coach of the Year: Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta), Hans-Dieter Flick (Bayern Munich), Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)
Agent of the Century, 2001-2020: Giovanni Branchini, Jorge Mendes, Mino Raiola
