Ben Stiller talks about his cancer battle
Actor and director Ben Stiller has revealed he suffered from prostate cancer two years ago, and that early screening saved his life. The Zoolander star, 50, was diagnosed in June 2014 and he was declared cancer free three months after undergoing surgery. "So, I had cancer a couple of years ago and I wanted to talk about it. And the test that saved my life," Stiller tweeted linking to an essay on website Medium.com about his experience. He described the three months between his diagnosis and treatment as "a crazy rollercoaster ride with which about 180,000 men a year in America can identify". Stiller said he felt lucky that he had taken an early blood test called the Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) test. "Taking the PSA test saved my life," wrote Stiller. "Literally. That's why I'm writing this now." - Reuters
Aamir Khan latest film Secret Superstar wraps up
Bollywood actor Aamir Khan, known for experimenting with widely differing looks in each film, has wrapped up shooting for his latest film Secret Superstar. The 51-year-old superstar sports a sleek hairstyle and trimmed beard in the film. Secret Superstar, sees the directorial debut of Khan's former manager Advait Chandan. Khan will be seen in a special role as the mentor of an aspiring singer in the film. He started shooting scenes for the film as recently as September and wrapped it up with breakneck speed this week. Khan will next be seen in sports biopic Dangal this December. — Sonali Kokran
Self-lacing Nike trainers up for grabs
Sports giant Nike are giving away the first batch of self-lacing trainers that were made famous in the Back to the Future II movie from 1989. ESPN reports that Nike announced that only 89 pairs will be available through an online draw that began this week. Entries to the raffle are $10 each, with the proceeds going to the Michael J Fox Foundation to help fight for a cure to Parkinson's disease. Four additional pairs will be auctioned off in Hong Kong, London and New York during the next five weeks. Winners of the raffle will be informed on October 17. — The National staff
Intense tennis rivalry to hit big screens
A new film has been made about tennis rivals Bjorn Borg, from Sweden, and John McEnroe, from the United States. Borg/McEnroe stars Swedish actor Sverrir Gudnason as Borg and American star Shia LaBeouf as McEnroe and traces the rivalry between the two tennis players in the 1980 Wimbledon final, which is considered one of the best tennis matches ever played. It was their different styles of playing tennis as well as their temperament that made their rivalry more intense in the eyes of spectators. The film is currently being filmed in Sweden and is scheduled to be released after next summer. — Reuters
Disney announces Mulan release date
The live action version of Disney's Mulan has a release date of November 2, 2018. E! Online reports that after the project was announced in March last year, Disney launched a global search for a Chinese actress to play the lead role. Although no director has yet been announced, the movie is being fast-tracked. — The National staff
Litigation postpones Hindi film release date
Indian Hindi film 31st October starring Soha Ali Khan and Vir Das-starrer has run into legal trouble. A petition has been filed in the Delhi High Court to stop the film's release, claiming it is "an attack on the secular fabric of India and is contrary to the ideology of the country's oldest political party". The film is about the 1984 riots that happened in the aftermath of the assassination of former Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi. While the petition does not explicitly name Gandhi, it claims "the action and words used by the characters are of offending nature" and seek to tarnish the reputation of political figures and are provocative in nature. The public interest litigation is aimed towards pressurising the filmmakers to delete several scenes, which has caused the film's release to be postponed to October 20. — Sonali Kokran
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl
Power: 153hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 200Nm at 4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Price: Dh99,000
On sale: now
Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
Company Profile
Company name: Namara
Started: June 2022
Founder: Mohammed Alnamara
Based: Dubai
Sector: Microfinance
Current number of staff: 16
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Family offices
Pad Man
Dir: R Balki
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor, Radhika Apte
Three-and-a-half stars
Company profile
Company name: Fasset
Started: 2019
Founders: Mohammad Raafi Hossain, Daniel Ahmed
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $2.45 million
Current number of staff: 86
Investment stage: Pre-series B
Investors: Investcorp, Liberty City Ventures, Fatima Gobi Ventures, Primal Capital, Wealthwell Ventures, FHS Capital, VN2 Capital, local family offices
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
Bio
Born in Dubai in 1994
Her father is a retired Emirati police officer and her mother is originally from Kuwait
She Graduated from the American University of Sharjah in 2015 and is currently working on her Masters in Communication from the University of Sharjah.
Her favourite film is Pacific Rim, directed by Guillermo del Toro
RoboCop: Rogue City
Developer: Teyon
Publisher: Nacon
Console: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and PC
Rating: 3/5
If you go
The flights
There are various ways of getting to the southern Serengeti in Tanzania from the UAE. The exact route and airstrip depends on your overall trip itinerary and which camp you’re staying at.
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Kilimanjaro International Airport from Dh1,350 return, including taxes; this can be followed by a short flight from Kilimanjaro to the Serengeti with Coastal Aviation from about US$700 (Dh2,500) return, including taxes. Kenya Airways, Emirates and Etihad offer flights via Nairobi or Dar es Salaam.
Kill
Director: Nikhil Nagesh Bhat
Starring: Lakshya, Tanya Maniktala, Ashish Vidyarthi, Harsh Chhaya, Raghav Juyal
Rating: 4.5/5
TWISTERS
Director: Lee Isaac Chung
Starring: Glenn Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Anthony Ramos
Rating: 2.5/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Clinicy
Started: 2017
Founders: Prince Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman, Abdullah bin Sulaiman Alobaid and Saud bin Sulaiman Alobaid
Based: Riyadh
Number of staff: 25
Sector: HealthTech
Total funding raised: More than $10 million
Investors: Middle East Venture Partners, Gate Capital, Kafou Group and Fadeed Investment
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).
Company Profile
Name: Direct Debit System
Started: Sept 2017
Based: UAE with a subsidiary in the UK
Industry: FinTech
Funding: Undisclosed
Investors: Elaine Jones
Number of employees: 8
Sarfira
Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
Rating: 2/5
Poacher
Director: Richie Mehta
Starring: Nimisha Sajayan, Roshan Mathew, Dibyendu Bhattacharya
Rating: 3/5
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Friday
Granada v Real Betis (9.30pm)
Valencia v Levante (midnight)
Saturday
Espanyol v Alaves (4pm)
Celta Vigo v Villarreal (7pm)
Leganes v Real Valladolid (9.30pm)
Mallorca v Barcelona (midnight)
Sunday
Atletic Bilbao v Atletico Madrid (4pm)
Real Madrid v Eibar (9.30pm)
Real Sociedad v Osasuna (midnight)
Company profile
Name: Steppi
Founders: Joe Franklin and Milos Savic
Launched: February 2020
Size: 10,000 users by the end of July and a goal of 200,000 users by the end of the year
Employees: Five
Based: Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai
Financing stage: Two seed rounds – the first sourced from angel investors and the founders' personal savings
Second round raised Dh720,000 from silent investors in June this year
Company Profile
Company name: Hoopla
Date started: March 2023
Founder: Jacqueline Perrottet
Based: Dubai
Number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Investment required: $500,000