Blake Shelton confirms that he’s dating Gwen Stefani

Speculation about the "friendship" between the recently divorced singers Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani was answered on Wednesday when a representative for Shelton confirmed the pair are dating. Both Shelton and Stefani are mentors on NBC's reality TV series The Voice.

Stefani filed for divorce from fellow musician Gavin Rossdale in August after nearly 13 years of marriage, citing irreconcilable differences. Both are seeking joint custody of their three children. Shelton announced that he and the singer Miranda Lambert were divorced in July after four years of marriage. – AP

Angelina Jolie and Will Smith among big names at AFI Fest

The American Film Institute kicked off its annual festival yesterday with a handful of hotly anticipated world premieres as Hollywood’s awards season picks up pace in the run-up to the Oscars.

Angelina Jolie's By the Sea, the NFL drama Concussion starring Will Smith, and The Big Short – about the credit and housing bubble collapse of the mid-2000s – are all debuting at the 29th AFI Fest, which runs until November 12.

Films that have already debuted elsewhere – such as the harrowing drama Room – will also be screened, as studios look to build support for Oscar campaigns.

The event plays a crucial role in the race for the coveted golden statuettes, said Tom O'Neil, the founder of the show-business awards-prediction website www.goldderby.com.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announces Oscar nominations in mid-January, ahead of the ceremony on February 28.

In past years, the festival showcased such Oscar winners as Silver Linings Playbook, Lincoln and The Fighter.

This year, AFI Fest opened with the world premiere of By the Sea, which stars Jolie and her husband, Brad Pitt. – AFP

Quentin Tarantino says police have ‘demonised’ him

The filmmaker Quentin Tarantino says police groups are vilifying critics of police brutality to avoid focusing on their problems with enforcement.

The Academy Award-winning filmmaker appeared on MSNBC's All In with Chris Hayes on Wednesday to defend himself from a backlash by police groups that have called for a boycott of his upcoming movie, The Hateful Eight. The police groups were angered by comments he made at an anti-police brutality rally in New York, where he said he was on the side of the "murdered". Tarantino said he's being "demonised".

“Anybody who acknowledges that there’s a problem in law enforcement in this country right now is considered by law enforcement part of the problem – whether that be me, whether that be [the New York mayor] Bill de Blasio, whether that be President Barack Obama,” he said.

Tarantino has been condemned by the New York police commissioner William Bratton and numerous police groups, including the National Association of Police Organizations.

Tarantino said he was "surprised" by the angry reactions to what he said at the rally, which was organised by a group called RiseUpOctober. The Hateful Eight, starring Kurt Russell and Samuel L Jackson, is scheduled for release in late December. – AP

Anupam Kher to lead protest march in New Delhi

The veteran Bollywood actor Anupam Kher has invited Indians to march with him tomorrow to protest the voices being raised over “intolerance” in the country.

“#MarchForIndia will start from India Gate, New Delhi, at 10am on November 7. All INDIANS are invited. Jai Ho. :) #IndiaIsTolerant [sic],” Kher tweeted.

The Bollywood actor, who performed in Mera Woh Matlab Nahin Tha, also starring Neena Gupta, at Ductac, Mall of the Emirates last month, will be joined in the march by a selection of artists, writers and painters.

This follows the decision of a host of filmmakers, including the likes of Dibakar Banerjee, Anand Patwardhan and Shah Rukh Khan, as well as writers and historians, to raise a voice against a perception of rising intolerance under the BJP-led government, and to return various government awards and honours.

Kher earlier tweeted: “This #AwardWapsiGang has not insulted the government, but the jury, the chairman of the jury and the audience who watched their films.” – Ians

Keith Urban, William Shatner star at Country Music Awards

The country music stars Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley kicked off the Country Music Association Awards in Nashville, Tennessee, on Wednesday night dressed as Star Wars characters, and were later joined by William Shatner, who came on stage dressed as a Stormtrooper.

Duets began the show, with Eric Church and Hank Williams Jr performing Are You Ready for the Country, and John Mellencamp and Keith Urban strummed their guitars during Pink Houses.

The bluegrass musician Chris Stapleton took home all three awards he was nominated for, including Male Vocalist of the Year and Album of the Year, while Little Big Town, the band nominated for five awards, took home three, including Single of the Year and Song of the Year for their No 1 hit Girl Crush.

Miranda Lambert was named Female Vocalist of the Year, while Entertainer of the Year went to Luke Bryan. – AFP

Petition against Donald Trump guest hosting SNL

Pressure is continuing to mount on NBC to cancel Donald Trump's guest-host appearance on this weekend's Saturday Night Live, as a coalition of advocacy groups delivered petitions to the network calling for him to be dropped from the show.

The petitions delivered on Wednesday marked the latest attempts to dissuade the network from allowing the Republican presidential hopeful to host the show, with the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda earlier asking that NBC reconsider the decision.

“There’s mounting evidence that Donald Trump’s racist demagoguery is resulting in real-world violence and physical and verbal intimidation,” said Mushed Zaheed, the deputy political director of Credo Action, in a statement.

In advance of the show, NBC released promotional spots featuring Trump, including one in which he refers to a Republican opponent, Ben Carson, as “a complete and total loser”.

Trump drew fire early in his campaign when he described some Mexicans who are in the United States illegally as criminals and rapists.

NBC declined to comment on the petitions or whether any other presidential candidates are being considered to host SNL. – AP

Sting and Katy Perry perform at meditation benefit

Sting played it cool at a New York benefit concert dedicated to transcendental meditation, while Katy Perry added some volume.

The pair and Jerry Seinfeld performed on Wednesday at Change Begins Within, an event at Carnegie Hall presented by the David Lynch Foundation. Lynch is an advocate for transcendental meditation, popularised by the Beatles in the 1960s and now used for treating post-traumatic stress, depression and other afflictions. The benefit raised money to offer meditation for 10,000 at-risk New Yorkers. – AP

ELIO

Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett

Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina

Rating: 4/5

5 of the most-popular Airbnb locations in Dubai

Bobby Grudziecki, chief operating officer of Frank Porter, identifies the five most popular areas in Dubai for those looking to make the most out of their properties and the rates owners can secure:

• Dubai Marina

The Marina and Jumeirah Beach Residence are popular locations, says Mr Grudziecki, due to their closeness to the beach, restaurants and hotels.

Frank Porter’s average Airbnb rent:
One bedroom: Dh482 to Dh739
Two bedroom: Dh627 to Dh960
Three bedroom: Dh721 to Dh1,104

• Downtown

Within walking distance of the Dubai Mall, Burj Khalifa and the famous fountains, this location combines business and leisure. “Sure it’s for tourists,” says Mr Grudziecki. “Though Downtown [still caters to business people] because it’s close to Dubai International Financial Centre."

Frank Porter’s average Airbnb rent:
One bedroom: Dh497 to Dh772
Two bedroom: Dh646 to Dh1,003
Three bedroom: Dh743 to Dh1,154

• City Walk

The rising star of the Dubai property market, this area is lined with pristine sidewalks, boutiques and cafes and close to the new entertainment venue Coca Cola Arena. “Downtown and Marina are pretty much the same prices,” Mr Grudziecki says, “but City Walk is higher.”

Frank Porter’s average Airbnb rent:
One bedroom: Dh524 to Dh809
Two bedroom: Dh682 to Dh1,052
Three bedroom: Dh784 to Dh1,210

• Jumeirah Lake Towers

Dubai Marina’s little brother JLT resides on the other side of Sheikh Zayed road but is still close enough to beachside outlets and attractions. The big selling point for Airbnb renters, however, is that “it’s cheaper than Dubai Marina”, Mr Grudziecki says.

Frank Porter’s average Airbnb rent:
One bedroom: Dh422 to Dh629
Two bedroom: Dh549 to Dh818
Three bedroom: Dh631 to Dh941

• Palm Jumeirah

Palm Jumeirah's proximity to luxury resorts is attractive, especially for big families, says Mr Grudziecki, as Airbnb renters can secure competitive rates on one of the world’s most famous tourist destinations.

Frank Porter’s average Airbnb rent:
One bedroom: Dh503 to Dh770
Two bedroom: Dh654 to Dh1,002
Three bedroom: Dh752 to Dh1,152

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Who's who in Yemen conflict

Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government

Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council

Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south

Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory

The specs: 2018 Audi RS5

Price, base: Dh359,200

Engine: 2.9L twin-turbo V6

Transmission: Eight-speed automatic

Power: 450hp at 5,700rpm

Torque: 600Nm at 1,900rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 8.7L / 100km

The Ashes

Results
First Test, Brisbane: Australia won by 10 wickets
Second Test, Adelaide: Australia won by 120 runs
Third Test, Perth: Australia won by an innings and 41 runs
Fourth Test: Melbourne: Drawn
Fifth Test: Australia won by an innings and 123 runs

Company%C2%A0profile

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If you go

The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct to Nairobi, with fares starting from Dh1,695. The resort can be reached from Nairobi via a 35-minute flight from Wilson Airport or Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, or by road, which takes at least three hours.

The rooms
Rooms at Fairmont Mount Kenya range from Dh1,870 per night for a deluxe room to Dh11,000 per night for the William Holden Cottage.

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Squid Game season two

Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk

Stars: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun

Rating: 4.5/5

Explained

Who are the bidoon?

Some of Darwish's last words

"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008

His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.

The biog

Favourite food: Tabbouleh, greek salad and sushi

Favourite TV show: That 70s Show

Favourite animal: Ferrets, they are smart, sensitive, playful and loving

Favourite holiday destination: Seychelles, my resolution for 2020 is to visit as many spiritual retreats and animal shelters across the world as I can

Name of first pet: Eddy, a Persian cat that showed up at our home

Favourite dog breed: I love them all - if I had to pick Yorkshire terrier for small dogs and St Bernard's for big

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.”