Avril Lavigne Avril Lavigne (Sony) ⋆⋆⋆
Not that there’s any straightforward way for a teenage pop idol to grow up, but Avril Lavigne’s marriage this year to Chad Kroeger, the frontman of the grizzled Canadian rockers Nickelback, certainly raised a few eyebrows. Lavigne is still fixed in the popular psyche as the bratty 17-year-old who cracked Top 10s across the world with the 2002 single Sk8er Boi, a frothy teen romance that took Blink 182-style pop-punk and dramatically amplified the pop. Such bubblegum is far from Nickelback’s morbidly serious post-grunge and we get our first glimpse of “Chavril” on Let Me Go, a duet that, with its moody instrumentation – sombre pianos, swooping cellos – and general overwrought emotion, feels both stodgy and cloying. Luckily, elsewhere Lavigne’s fifth album feels like a return to first principles. Rock N Roll and Here’s to Never Growing Up suggest that, even at 29, she can pull off snotty teen rebellion. The part-rapped Hello Kitty bolts on some dubstep wobble with a limited sort of success, but the album’s finest experiment comes on Bad Girl, an enjoyably hammy stomp featuring a croaky cameo from Marilyn Manson.
artslife@thenational.ae
Syria squad
Goalkeepers: Ibrahim Alma, Mahmoud Al Youssef, Ahmad Madania.
Defenders: Ahmad Al Salih, Moayad Ajan, Jehad Al Baour, Omar Midani, Amro Jenyat, Hussein Jwayed, Nadim Sabagh, Abdul Malek Anezan.
Midfielders: Mahmoud Al Mawas, Mohammed Osman, Osama Omari, Tamer Haj Mohamad, Ahmad Ashkar, Youssef Kalfa, Zaher Midani, Khaled Al Mobayed, Fahd Youssef.
Forwards: Omar Khribin, Omar Al Somah, Mardik Mardikian.
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
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.
Premier Futsal 2017 Finals
Al Wasl Football Club; six teams, five-a-side
Delhi Dragons: Ronaldinho
Bengaluru Royals: Paul Scholes
Mumbai Warriors: Ryan Giggs
Chennai Ginghams: Hernan Crespo
Telugu Tigers: Deco
Kerala Cobras: Michel Salgado