Filipino girl group 4th Impact will perform a one-night-only concert on April 29 at Al Nasr Leisureland Ice Rink in Dubai.
The four sisters – Almira, Irene, Mylene and Celina Cercado – shot to fame after their appearance in the most recent series of The X Factor UK, in which they finished fifth.
“Excited for our Dubai tour!” 4th Impact told their fans on Twitter on Monday. “Just wondering if there are rules? What to wear … or something? Can you help us?”
Their tweet received hundreds of likes and replies, including several tips and photos of Dubai from fans in the UAE.
A video from 4th Impact's X Factor audition – showing them singing Bang Bang, the Jessie J, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj hit – topped YouTube's list of top-trending videos in the Philippines last year, with almost 50 million views.
The group are currently splitting their time between the Philippines and the United Kingdom, where they continue to perform across the nation.
In Manila, they are regulars on the popular weekend musical variety programme, ASAP, performing alongside the country's biggest stars. They also recently headlined Manila's Paradise International Music Festival, which also featured Kanye West, Wiz Khalifa and Rudimental.
In a previous interview with The National, eldest sister Almira said a record deal was in the works, with negotiations underway with two labels.
“We’re doing an album, of course – for this year,” she said. “We’re looking forward to our own music, our own original songs.”
The Cercados grew up in poverty in Santiago, a city in the northern Philippine province of Isabela. They flew to London last summer to audition for the reality-TV singing competition, in search of a better life.
Their 59-year-old father, Dominador, a junk dealer who pushes a cart and collects rubbish from the street, has been suffering from a brain tumour.
Through their parents’ hard work, all four sisters managed to attend university, supplementing their family’s income by entering singing competitions.
4th Impact are due to take on the stage in Dubai at 8pm. Doors open at 7pm. Ticket prices range from Dh100 to Dh200 at www.virginmegastore.me.
OneRepublic can’t wait for Manila – and pancit
American pop-rockers OneRepublic have been announced as the headline act at MTV Music Evolution Manila, a music festival on June 24 at the SM Mall of Asia Concert Grounds.
“Looking forward to Manila … and pancit canton,” the band posted on Twitter this week. Pancit canton, a type of stir-fried noodles, is one of the most popular Filipino dishes.
During their first concert in the Philippines, in 2013, OneRepublic’s frontman Ryan Tedder said the country’s “horrible traffic” was balanced by “the wonderful food”. He declared his love for chicken adobo and pancit canton, calling it “the best noodle dish I’ve ever had”.
After their 2013 show, the band tweeted: “Manila!!! Our love for you just multiplied 100 times. The show was amazing, greatest crowd in ages!”
Best known for their hit songs Counting Stars, Secrets and Love Runs Out, OneRepublic are working on their fourth studio album.
The MTV Music Evolution Manila show will also feature local headliners including Sarah Geronimo, Nadine Lustre and James Reid.
Filipino film to screen at Turkey festival
Independent Filipino film director Chuck Gutierrez's latest feature, Iisa (As One), will have its European premiere at the Ankara International Film Festival in Turkey, which opens today and runs until May 8.
Iisa, a film about the aftermath of the typhoon that hit the southern island of Mindanao in 2012, is the lone Filipino film in the festival line-up. It also screened recently at festivals in Uruguay and Cameroon.
Meanwhile, three Filipino films took home awards at the recent WorldFest Houston International Film and Video Festival – the oldest independent film festival in the world.
Tandem, a crime thriller directed by King Palisoc, won a silver prize, while Ari: My Life with a King, the debut film of Carlo Enciso Catu, won a bronze.
Veteran director Mel Chionglo's Iadya Mo Kami [Deliver Us], about a priest accused of murder, also won a silver prize. It had its world premiere in January at the Pune International Film Festival in India.
artslife@thenational.ae
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
RESULTS
Welterweight
Tohir Zhuraev (TJK) beat Mostafa Radi (PAL)
(Unanimous points decision)
Catchweight 75kg
Anas Siraj Mounir (MAR) beat Leandro Martins (BRA)
(Second round knockout)
Flyweight (female)
Manon Fiorot (FRA) beat Corinne Laframboise (CAN)
(RSC in third round)
Featherweight
Bogdan Kirilenko (UZB) beat Ahmed Al Darmaki
(Disqualification)
Lightweight
Izzedine Al Derabani (JOR) beat Rey Nacionales (PHI)
(Unanimous points)
Featherweight
Yousef Al Housani (UAE) beat Mohamed Fargan (IND)
(TKO first round)
Catchweight 69kg
Jung Han-gook (KOR) beat Max Lima (BRA)
(First round submission by foot-lock)
Catchweight 71kg
Usman Nurmogamedov (RUS) beat Jerry Kvarnstrom (FIN)
(TKO round 1).
Featherweight title (5 rounds)
Lee Do-gyeom (KOR) v Alexandru Chitoran (ROU)
(TKO round 1).
Lightweight title (5 rounds)
Bruno Machado (BRA) beat Mike Santiago (USA)
(RSC round 2).
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.”
Russia's Muslim Heartlands
Dominic Rubin, Oxford
The Comeback: Elvis And The Story Of The 68 Special
Simon Goddard
Omnibus Press
The%20Iron%20Claw
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Sean%20Durkin%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Zac%20Efron%2C%20Jeremy%20Allen%20White%2C%20Harris%20Dickinson%2C%20Maura%20Tierney%2C%20Holt%20McCallany%2C%20Lily%20James%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Trump v Khan
2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US
2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks
2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit
2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”
2022: Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency
July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”
Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.
Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”
