One of the region’s biggest music and cultural gatherings is set to return in March with the 12th edition of the Abu Dhabi Festival. Run by the Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Foundation, the month-long event runs from March 3 to April 2 and includes a series of concerts, experimental theatre and film screenings. This year, Italy has been selected as the country of honour, with a March 25 performance by the Luigi Cherubini Youth Orchestra, led by conductor Riccardo Multi.
“2015 will be a groundbreaking edition with a world-class calibre of artists,” says Admaf founder and festival curator Hoda Al Khamis Kanoo. “I hope we will once again excite and inspire local and international audiences.”
Connecting ideas
Each year the festival line-up is built around a specific theme. After last edition’s slogan of Creative Innovation, Al Khamis Kanoo says the latest edition will run under the banner Idea: The Seed of Invention.
“Invention is the promise of a new future and new possibilities – not for us but for our children and the wider region,” she says. “This is all that lies beneath the Abu Dhabi Festival and Admaf. Through encounters with excellence, we as individuals can be inspired to look beyond our own boundaries and conceive new ideas and new ambitions for the betterment of ourselves as well as others.”
The bossa nova king is coming
Every year, the Abu Dhabi Festival has brought artists responsible for influencing their genre. This year is no different, with the Brazilian bossa nova and jazz luminary Sérgio Mendes performing at the Emirates Palace Auditorium on March 20.
The 73-year-old was a favourite at home in the early 60s before being propelled to international stardom courtesy of the seminal band Mendes & Brasil ’66 and his 1968 cover of Dusty Springfield’s The Look of Love.
Since then Mendes has built a strong and steady career; he scored a 1981 chart-topping hit with Never Gonna Let You Go and in 1992 won a Grammy Award for the album Brasileiro.
As well as the classics, expect some new Mendes tunes in his Abu Dhabi show. His latest album Magic, released in September, has collaborations with the likes of John Legend, will.i.am and Cody Wise.
The festival house band
The world’s leading orchestras and classical-music maestros are also coming to the capital. On the vocal front, the Peruvian tenor Juan Diego Flórez will perform on March 23 with the Budapest Festival Orchestra (the ensemble is pretty much the Abu Dhabi Festival house band next year, with this being the first of three performances).
Also on the way is the award-winning pianist Leif Ove Andsnes. The Norwegian's March 26 programme will feature selections by Beethoven and Brahms and will also be backed by the Budapest Festival Orchestra. The Hungarian musicians will cap off their Abu Dhabi Festival stay on March 28 and 30 as they lead a cast of soloists in a performance of Mozart's masterpiece The Magic Flute.
Young talents on display
The festival is launching a series of recitals to showcase the talents of the next generation of virtuosos. Artists taking part in the concerts at the intimate M 031 Room in Emirates Palace are South Korea’s Ah Ruem Ahn on March 3, Belgium’s Julien Libeer on March 13 and the Dominican Republic violinist Aisha Castro on March 17.
On March 24 there will be a performance by the pianist Jan Lisiecki at the Emirates Palace Ballroom. The 19-year-old Canadian will make his Gulf debut after having performed in venues such as London’s Royal Albert Hall and New York’s Carnegie Hall.
The following night, the Emirates Palace Auditorium will see the return of the German violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter, who will perform works by Rossini, Tchaikovsky and Beethoven. She will be accompanied by Italy’s up-and-coming Luigi Cherubini Youth Orchestra.
Urban Shakespeare
In what is set to be a sell-out show, the Chicago hip-hop duo Q Brothers will perform their innovative take on Shakespeare's Othello at the Abu Dhabi Theatre on March 5. Othello: The Remix reimagines Othello as an MC who rises from the ghetto to the top of the charts and falls in love with the singer Desdemona. However, members of the hip-hop community are jealous of Othello's success and begin making plans for the rapper's demise.
The finale
The Abu Dhabi Festival closes with a special performance by Mayssa Karaa on April 2. The 23-year-old Lebanese singer was a student at the Conservatory of Beirut before moving to America where she cemented her classical music knowledge at the Berklee College of Music. After a string of regional shows Karaa made an international impact with her Arabic take on Jefferson Airplane's White Rabbit, which featured in the Golden Globe-winning and Oscar-nominated film American Hustle. The film's success resulted in Karaa performing internationally and has raised anticipation for her upcoming debut album, which will be released not long after her Abu Dhabi appearance. She will team up with the MK Orchestra at the Emirates Palace Auditorium, making the festival audience among the first to hear selections from the new release.
Visual arts at the Emirates Palace Gallery
Expect new works by two of the UAE's leading visual artists Noor Al Suwaidi and Fatma Lootah. Both were commissioned to create artworks to be unveiled as part of the festival. Details of the pieces will be released in the future. Evocative photography from the region will also be shown as part of Views From Inside, an exhibition curated by the American organisation FotoFest. Both exhibitions run from March 20 and will conclude after the festival on April 20.
Community and education programme
As well as the big performances on the Emirates Palace stage, the Abu Dhabi Festival is also running events around the emirate targeting young minds and the wider community. The festival’s education stream includes Ministry of Science Live, an hour-long interactive performance and workshop looking at different types of energy used in the modern world. The Young Artists Day also returns for its seventh edition, where students from Abu Dhabi schools collaborate for a concert.
The festival’s community programme focuses on local stories both on the screen and the page. An Abu Dhabi Festival tent will be built for two days to hold screenings of local films, documentaries and film projects that have UAE support or involvement. Some of the filmmakers will also attend a question-and-answer session after the screening.
Book lovers should relish the World Storytelling Day event, which will run in both Arabic and English. The story sessions will be held in relaxed settings that include beanbags. The Emirati authors Maitha Al Khayat and Noura Al Noman will run the children and adult sessions respectively. Details of the events and dates will be announced on www.abudhabifestival.ae soon.
• Tickets go on sale on Wednesday, December 10,; Emirates Palace Auditorium shows start from D125; Emirates Ballroom and recital-series performances are Dh150. Tickets for Othello: The Remix are Dh50. For details, go to www.abudhabifestival.ae. For tickets, go to www.timeouttickets.com
sasaeed@thenational.ae
Naga
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Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Citizenship-by-investment programmes
United Kingdom
The UK offers three programmes for residency. The UK Overseas Business Representative Visa lets you open an overseas branch office of your existing company in the country at no extra investment. For the UK Tier 1 Innovator Visa, you are required to invest £50,000 (Dh238,000) into a business. You can also get a UK Tier 1 Investor Visa if you invest £2 million, £5m or £10m (the higher the investment, the sooner you obtain your permanent residency).
All UK residency visas get approved in 90 to 120 days and are valid for 3 years. After 3 years, the applicant can apply for extension of another 2 years. Once they have lived in the UK for a minimum of 6 months every year, they are eligible to apply for permanent residency (called Indefinite Leave to Remain). After one year of ILR, the applicant can apply for UK passport.
The Caribbean
Depending on the country, the investment amount starts from $100,000 (Dh367,250) and can go up to $400,000 in real estate. From the date of purchase, it will take between four to five months to receive a passport.
Portugal
The investment amount ranges from €350,000 to €500,000 (Dh1.5m to Dh2.16m) in real estate. From the date of purchase, it will take a maximum of six months to receive a Golden Visa. Applicants can apply for permanent residency after five years and Portuguese citizenship after six years.
“Among European countries with residency programmes, Portugal has been the most popular because it offers the most cost-effective programme to eventually acquire citizenship of the European Union without ever residing in Portugal,” states Veronica Cotdemiey of Citizenship Invest.
Greece
The real estate investment threshold to acquire residency for Greece is €250,000, making it the cheapest real estate residency visa scheme in Europe. You can apply for residency in four months and citizenship after seven years.
Spain
The real estate investment threshold to acquire residency for Spain is €500,000. You can apply for permanent residency after five years and citizenship after 10 years. It is not necessary to live in Spain to retain and renew the residency visa permit.
Cyprus
Cyprus offers the quickest route to citizenship of a European country in only six months. An investment of €2m in real estate is required, making it the highest priced programme in Europe.
Malta
The Malta citizenship by investment programme is lengthy and investors are required to contribute sums as donations to the Maltese government. The applicant must either contribute at least €650,000 to the National Development & Social Fund. Spouses and children are required to contribute €25,000; unmarried children between 18 and 25 and dependent parents must contribute €50,000 each.
The second step is to make an investment in property of at least €350,000 or enter a property rental contract for at least €16,000 per annum for five years. The third step is to invest at least €150,000 in bonds or shares approved by the Maltese government to be kept for at least five years.
Candidates must commit to a minimum physical presence in Malta before citizenship is granted. While you get residency in two months, you can apply for citizenship after a year.
Egypt
A one-year residency permit can be bought if you purchase property in Egypt worth $100,000. A three-year residency is available for those who invest $200,000 in property, and five years for those who purchase property worth $400,000.
Source: Citizenship Invest and Aqua Properties
It Was Just an Accident
Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5
Retail gloom
Online grocer Ocado revealed retail sales fell 5.7 per cen in its first quarter as customers switched back to pre-pandemic shopping patterns.
It was a tough comparison from a year earlier, when the UK was in lockdown, but on a two-year basis its retail division, a joint venture with Marks&Spencer, rose 31.7 per cent over the quarter.
The group added that a 15 per cent drop in customer basket size offset an 11.6. per cent rise in the number of customer transactions.
RESULTS
%3Cp%3E%0D5pm%3A%20Deerfields%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(PA)%20Dh80%2C000%20(Turf)%202%2C200m%0D%3Cbr%3EWinner%3A%20Taajer%2C%20Richard%20Mullen%20(jockey)%2C%20Salem%20Al%20Ketbi%20(trainer)%0D%3Cbr%3E5.30pm%3A%20The%20Galleria%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(PA)%20Dh80%2C000%20(T)%201%2C600m%0D%3Cbr%3EWinner%3A%20Zafaranah%2C%20Antonio%20Fresu%2C%20Musabah%20Al%20Muhairi%0D%3Cbr%3E6pm%3A%20Wathba%20Stallions%20Cup%20%E2%80%93%20Maiden%20(PA)%20Dh70%2C000%20(T)%201%2C200m%0D%3Cbr%3EWinner%3A%20Ifahat%20Du%20Loup%2C%20Abdul%20Aziz%20Al%20Balushi%2C%20Sulaiman%20Al%20Ghunaimi%0D%3Cbr%3E6.30pm%3A%20Mazyad%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(PA)%20Dh80%2C000%20(T)%201%2C200m%0D%3Cbr%3EWinner%3A%20AF%20Majalis%2C%20Tadhg%20O%E2%80%99Shea%2C%20Ernst%20Oertel%0D%3Cbr%3E7pm%3A%20Dalma%20%E2%80%93%20Maiden%20(PA)%20Dh80%2C000%20(T)%201%2C400m%0D%3Cbr%3EWinner%3A%20Bassam%20Al%20Wathba%2C%20Bernardi%20Pinheiro%2C%20Majed%20Al%20Jahouri%0D%3Cbr%3E7.30pm%3A%20World%20Trade%20Centre%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(TB)%20Dh80%2C000%20(T)%201%2C400m%0D%3Cbr%3EWinner%3A%20Fawaareq%2C%20Dane%20O%E2%80%99Neill%2C%20Doug%20Watson%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
MATCH INFO
Newcastle 2-2 Manchester City
Burnley 0-2 Crystal Palace
Chelsea 0-1 West Ham
Liverpool 2-1 Brighton
Tottenham 3-2 Bournemouth
Southampton v Watford (late)
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
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
Company%20profile
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A list of the animal rescue organisations in the UAE
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.”
UK’s AI plan
- AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
- £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
- £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
- £250m to train new AI models
ETFs explained
Exhchange traded funds are bought and sold like shares, but operate as index-tracking funds, passively following their chosen indices, such as the S&P 500, FTSE 100 and the FTSE All World, plus a vast range of smaller exchanges and commodities, such as gold, silver, copper sugar, coffee and oil.
ETFs have zero upfront fees and annual charges as low as 0.07 per cent a year, which means you get to keep more of your returns, as actively managed funds can charge as much as 1.5 per cent a year.
There are thousands to choose from, with the five biggest providers BlackRock’s iShares range, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisors SPDR ETFs, Deutsche Bank AWM X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.
'Moonshot'
Director: Chris Winterbauer
Stars: Lana Condor and Cole Sprouse
Rating: 3/5
Schedule for Asia Cup
Sept 15: Bangladesh v Sri Lanka (Dubai)
Sept 16: Pakistan v Qualifier (Dubai)
Sept 17: Sri Lanka v Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 18: India v Qualifier (Dubai)
Sept 19: India v Pakistan (Dubai)
Sept 20: Bangladesh v Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi) Super Four
Sept 21: Group A Winner v Group B Runner-up (Dubai)
Sept 21: Group B Winner v Group A Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 23: Group A Winner v Group A Runner-up (Dubai)
Sept 23: Group B Winner v Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 25: Group A Winner v Group B Winner (Dubai)
Sept 26: Group A Runner-up v Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 28: Final (Dubai)
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MATCH INFO
First Test at Barbados
West Indies won by 381 runs
Second Test at Antigua
West Indies won by 10 wickets
Third Test at St Lucia
February 9-13
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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