Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez. Saul Loeb / AFP
Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez. Saul Loeb / AFP

Take five: high-profile marriages and break-ups



Rock fans are fretting over the future of the seminal indie-band Sonic Youth, after the group's founder Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon have split after 27 years of marriage. Here are some of the music world's high-profile marriages and break-ups.

Take Five... Tim McGraw and Faith Hill

This American country superstar couple are the Nashville equivalent of Jay-Z and Beyoncé. Both performers, whose star quality lies in their sweet-as-apple-pie demeanour and a string of hits, tied the knot in 1996 and are still together.

Take Four... Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez

Judging by the press reports and her unabashed adoration of her Latin crooner husband Marc Anthony, we all thought J-Lo finally found happiness after being three times unlucky. Hence their recent divorce even took the most cynical celebrity press off guard.

Take Three... Kevin Federline and Britney Spears

A celebrity car-crash of a wedding with each humiliating episode milked by the tabloid press. Somehow Spears emerged emotionally and artistically in-check. K-Fed faded into semi-obscurity.

Take Two... Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston

Their rocky relationship was a walking anti-drug advertisement. When they married in 1992, they were considered royalty in the music business.They divorced 14 years later and managed to barely escape with their health; their respective musics careers are still in need of resuscitation.

Take One... Jay-Z and Beyoncé

Presently the most powerful celebrity couple. As well as their hits, the hip-hop mogul and R&B starlet couple continue to top the charts in terms of shared income and industry influence and are expecting their first child.

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Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021

Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.

The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.

These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.

“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.

“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.

“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.

“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”

Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.

There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.

“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.

“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.

“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”

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Armies of Sand

By Kenneth Pollack (Oxford University Press)
 

The 12 Syrian entities delisted by UK 

Ministry of Interior
Ministry of Defence
General Intelligence Directorate
Air Force Intelligence Agency
Political Security Directorate
Syrian National Security Bureau
Military Intelligence Directorate
Army Supply Bureau
General Organisation of Radio and TV
Al Watan newspaper
Cham Press TV
Sama TV

Five healthy carbs and how to eat them

Brown rice: consume an amount that fits in the palm of your hand

Non-starchy vegetables, such as broccoli: consume raw or at low temperatures, and don’t reheat  

Oatmeal: look out for pure whole oat grains or kernels, which are locally grown and packaged; avoid those that have travelled from afar

Fruit: a medium bowl a day and no more, and never fruit juices

Lentils and lentil pasta: soak these well and cook them at a low temperature; refrain from eating highly processed pasta variants

Courtesy Roma Megchiani, functional nutritionist at Dubai’s 77 Veggie Boutique

Real estate tokenisation project

Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.

The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.

Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.

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