BBC First, the British broadcaster’s new global channel, is set to launch in the region on February 1, with a pledge to provide at least two hours of prime-time programming with Arabic subtitles every day.
Available exclusively on OSN, it replaces the existing BBC Entertainment channel, and promises improved content. It will offer the pick of BBC's popular dramas, comedies, soap operas and entertainment shows, including sci-fi favourite Doctor Who, starring Peter Capaldi, the smash-hit Sherlock, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, gritty Idris Elba crime drama Luther, long-running soap EastEnders, as well as the popular new mini series War and Peace.
Viewers will also be able to watch selected content on OSN’s catch-up service, OSN Pay. BBC First will be available on channel 215 from launch. Viewers who subscribe to OSN through du or eLife should check their electronic programme guide for the channel number. – The National staff
Latest star wars film takes China by storm
Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens broke box-office records in China, taking an estimated US$33 million (Dh121m) on its first day on release in the world's second-largest film market.
It was the studio’s biggest opening day ever in China and the best-ever Saturday opening by any film in the country. The film is already the top-grossing movie of all time in the biggest movie market – the United States and Canada – and has set records around the world.
Global sales reached $1.6 billion by last Thursday.
The Star Wars saga, which began with the release of the original film in 1977, had not been a cultural phenomenon in China like in other countries.
Although the original trilogy eventually became available on DVD, they were not shown in Chinese theatres until June last year. Disney launched a marketing blitz to build buzz for the new film, featuring 500 stormtroopers on the Great Wall of China, and promotions with pop star Lu Han. – Reuters
Akshay Kumar to appear on reality-TV acting show
Actor Akshay Kumar took to Twitter to promote an appearance on the reality-TV show, India's Best Dramebaaz, a talent contest for child actors (a dramebaaz is an actor specialising in drama), along with his upcoming film Airlift, which was partly filmed in Ras Al Khaimah.
“On the sets of @ZeeTV’s India’s Best Dramebaaz today (Saturday), enjoying all the #dramebaazi! These kids will #Airlift your mood! @AirliftFilm #IBD,” the 48-year-old star wrote.
Filmmaker Sajid Khan, who is on the show's judging panel alongside actors Vivek Oberoi and Sonali Bendre, also took to social media to share a photograph of himself with Kumar and his Airlift co-star Nimrat Kaur.
"#indiasbestdramebaaz airlifted by my friend @akshaykumar and @NimratOfficial," tweeted Khan, who has worked with Kumar in films including Heyy Babyy, Housefull and Housefull 2.
The episode featuring the Airlift stars will be broadcast this week on Zee TV. The film, about the mass evacuation of Indians from Kuwait during the Iraq-Kuwait war, will be released in India on January 22. – IANS
Kylie Minogue sparks engagement rumours
Australian actress and singer Kylie Minogue has been spotted wearing a diamond ring, fuelling rumours that she is engaged to her actor boyfriend of four months, Joshua Sasse.
She was photographed with the jewel on her left hand as the couple dined at the Chiltern Firehouse in London, following a two-week holiday in Geneva.
"Kylie was smiling from ear to ear and was more than happy to flaunt her diamond ring. It was like she wanted the world to know," a source told The Sun newspaper.
The 47-year-old star had previously said that she would like to have children with the 28-year-old Brit one day. – IANS
Blues singer Otis Clay dies
Chicago soul, blues and gospel singer Otis Clay, whose career spanned half a century and a range of musical influences, died on Friday at the age of 73 after suffering a heart attack.
Clay, who was born in Mississippi, where he began singing gospel music, arrived on the Chicago music scene in the mid-1950s. His first national rhythm and blues hit, That's How It is (When You're in Love), was released in 1967, followed by She's About a Mover the following year.
In the mid-1970s, Clay launched his own label, Echo Records. His album Walk a Mile in My Shoes earned him a Grammy nomination for Best Traditional R&B Performance in 2008, and in 2013, he was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in Memphis.
A community advocate as well as a performer, Clay was a board member of People For New Direction, a local non-profit with a mission to address socioeconomic issues on Chicago’s West Side. He also served as chairman of the board for Tobacco Road, which helped build a cultural centre in the city. – Reuters
Lamar Odom released from hospital
Basketball player Lamar Odom has been released from Cedars-Sinai hospital in Los Angeles and transferred to a private facility, his aunt JaNean Mercer confirmed.
The NBA star reportedly left the hospital last week, following months of recovery after being found unconscious in Nevada in October last year, according to etonline.com.
“It is with extreme gratitude and appreciation to all of you around the world who have prayed without ceasing for Lamar, that we announce his transition to the next stage of his miraculous recovery at a new facility,” Mercer said.
She added that he “continues to make remarkable strides and we are asking that you continue to respect our privacy. Again we thank you all greatly, your support has been paramount in helping to uplift us during these past few difficult months.”
Odom’s estranged wife, Khloe Kardashian, who also spoke to etonline.com, said: “He’s definitely doing better and better every day, which I’m so grateful for.” – IANS
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
The view from The National
AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
Al Dhafra Street
Rabdan Street
Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The five new places of worship
Church of South Indian Parish
St Andrew's Church Mussaffah branch
St Andrew's Church Al Ain branch
St John's Baptist Church, Ruwais
Church of the Virgin Mary and St Paul the Apostle, Ruwais
Abu Dhabi GP schedule
Friday: First practice - 1pm; Second practice - 5pm
Saturday: Final practice - 2pm; Qualifying - 5pm
Sunday: Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (55 laps) - 5.10pm
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
LIGUE 1 FIXTURES
All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Friday
Nice v Angers (9pm)
Lille v Monaco (10.45pm)
Saturday
Montpellier v Paris Saint-Germain (7pm)
Bordeaux v Guingamp (10pm)
Caen v Amiens (10pm)
Lyon v Dijon (10pm)
Metz v Troyes (10pm)
Sunday
Saint-Etienne v Rennes (5pm)
Strasbourg v Nantes (7pm)
Marseille v Toulouse (11pm)
Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
UK%20record%20temperature
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The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)
The Settlers
Director: Louis Theroux
Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz
Rating: 5/5
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
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
Six large-scale objects on show
- Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
- The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
- A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
- A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
- Torrijos Palace dome
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.
UAE and Russia in numbers
UAE-Russia ties stretch back 48 years
Trade between the UAE and Russia reached Dh12.5 bn in 2018
More than 3,000 Russian companies are registered in the UAE
Around 40,000 Russians live in the UAE
The number of Russian tourists travelling to the UAE will increase to 12 percent to reach 1.6 million in 2023
Which honey takes your fancy?
Al Ghaf Honey
The Al Ghaf tree is a local desert tree which bears the harsh summers with drought and high temperatures. From the rich flowers, bees that pollinate this tree can produce delicious red colour honey in June and July each year
Sidr Honey
The Sidr tree is an evergreen tree with long and strong forked branches. The blossom from this tree is called Yabyab, which provides rich food for bees to produce honey in October and November. This honey is the most expensive, but tastiest
Samar Honey
The Samar tree trunk, leaves and blossom contains Barm which is the secret of healing. You can enjoy the best types of honey from this tree every year in May and June. It is an historical witness to the life of the Emirati nation which represents the harsh desert and mountain environments
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Saturday (UAE kick-off times)
Cologne v Union Berlin (5.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Borussia Dortmund (5.30pm)
Hertha Berlin v Eintracht Frankfurt (5.30pm)
Paderborn v Werder Bremen (5.30pm)
Wolfsburg v Freiburg (5.30pm)
Bayern Munich v Borussia Monchengladbach (8.30pm)
Sunday
Mainz v Augsburg (5.30pm)
Schalke v Bayer Leverkusen (8pm)
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.”
