Ozzy Osbourne of Black Sabbath performs with guitarist Tony Iommi, seen on screen behind, during a concert in Denmark last year. AP photo
Ozzy Osbourne of Black Sabbath performs with guitarist Tony Iommi, seen on screen behind, during a concert in Denmark last year. AP photo

Black Sabbath in high spirits before Abu Dhabi show



Black Sabbath are looking forward to kick-starting the next leg of their world tour in Abu Dhabi tonight.

The metal legends held a press conference yesterday, stating their desire to return to the stage after taking more than a month off.

Led by the popular lead singer Ozzy Osbourne, the three musicians were in high spirits.

“Well, we will see what happens, wont we,” quipped Osbourne regarding fans expectations of their debut Middle Eastern concert. “If it is not going well then it will be a pretty short set list, that’s for sure.” The bassist Geezer Butler also joined in, dryly adding: “or very long drum solos.”

The guitarist Tony Iommi said there will be some nerves on the Du Arena stage tonight. “We haven’t played in a while now so I will be feeling a bit nervous,” he said. “But once we get on the stage it will all come back to us.”

Osbourne says to expect a bunch of tracks from Black Sabbath’s acclaimed comeback album 13, released last year.

Osbourne states he has been enjoying singing the songs on tour.

“When we went into the studio I wanted to do the songs all in a register that I can sing them live,” he said. “I can go on stage now and sing them all with my eyes closed.”

• Black Sabbath perform tonight at the du Arena, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. Tickets begin from Dh295, www.ticketmaster.ae. Doors open at 7.30pm

sasaeed@thenational.ae

THE SPECS

Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder

Transmission: Constant Variable (CVT)

Power: 141bhp 

Torque: 250Nm 

Price: Dh64,500

On sale: Now

COMPANY PROFILE

Company: Eco Way
Started: December 2023
Founder: Ivan Kroshnyi
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Electric vehicles
Investors: Bootstrapped with undisclosed funding. Looking to raise funds from outside

Fixtures

Wednesday

4.15pm: Japan v Spain (Group A)

5.30pm: UAE v Italy (Group A)

6.45pm: Russia v Mexico (Group B)

8pm: Iran v Egypt (Group B)

Abaya trends

The utilitarian robe held dear by Arab women is undergoing a change that reveals it as an elegant and graceful garment available in a range of colours and fabrics, while retaining its traditional appeal.

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.

TERMINAL HIGH ALTITUDE AREA DEFENCE (THAAD)

What is THAAD?

It is considered to be the US's most superior missile defence system.

Production:

It was created in 2008.

Speed:

THAAD missiles can travel at over Mach 8, so fast that it is hypersonic.

Abilities:

THAAD is designed to take out  ballistic missiles as they are on their downward trajectory towards their target, otherwise known as the "terminal phase".

Purpose:

To protect high-value strategic sites, such as airfields or population centres.

Range:

THAAD can target projectiles inside and outside the Earth's atmosphere, at an altitude of 150 kilometres above the Earth's surface.

Creators:

Lockheed Martin was originally granted the contract to develop the system in 1992. Defence company Raytheon sub-contracts to develop other major parts of the system, such as ground-based radar.

UAE and THAAD:

In 2011, the UAE became the first country outside of the US to buy two THAAD missile defence systems. It then stationed them in 2016, becoming the first Gulf country to do so.

Top 10 most competitive economies

1. Singapore
2. Switzerland
3. Denmark
4. Ireland
5. Hong Kong
6. Sweden
7. UAE
8. Taiwan
9. Netherlands
10. Norway