Lara Dutta has announced she'll be making a sequel to Chalo Dilli - Chalo China. Yogen Shah / India Today Group / Getty Images
Lara Dutta has announced she'll be making a sequel to Chalo Dilli - Chalo China. Yogen Shah / India Today Group / Getty Images

JLo to headline concert at Dubai World Cup

Also, Piers Morgan's CNN show gets cancelled; Lara Dutta to star in Chalo Dilli sequel; Paula Deen apologises; Sam Worthington arrested in New York City.

The National staff with agencies

February 24, 2014

Jennifer Lopez will headline the concert that closes the 19th edition of the Dubai World Cup on March 29. The world's richest day of horse races, held at Meydan Racecourse, is the finale of the three-month Dubai World Cup Carnival. Admission to the post-race concert is exclusive to 2014 Dubai World Cup day ticket holders and Apron Views patrons, who can upgrade for an additional Dh650 to Golden Circle tickets. Visit www.ticketmaster.ae for more details. – The National staff

Piers Morgan’s CNN talk show is ending

Piers Morgan's three-year run as the host of a show on CNN is ending because of lacklustre ratings. CNN said on Sunday that the show's final episode might be as soon as next month. Morgan, a prolific tweeter with nearly four million followers (his Twitter motto is "One day you're the cock of the block, the next day a feather duster"), has been strangely silent, but was quoted in a story posted online as saying that CNN's audience has tired of hearing a Briton weigh in on American cultural issues. The former British tabloid editor has also been a judge on NBC's America's Got Talent and a contestant on Celebrity Apprentice. CNN did not comment on Morgan's future with the channel. – The National staff

Lara Dutta to star in Chalo Dilli sequel

Three years after her comedy Chalo Dilli (We're off to Delhi) hit cinemas, the actress Lara Dutta is planning its sequel, Chalo China. "Chalo China will be shot in multiple locations across Asia, including Thailand, Malaysia and China. This film is not set in India," Dutta said, adding that her investment banker character will return in "all her manicured glory". Vinay Pathak will reprise his role as the loud sari salesman Manu Gupta. The Chalo Dilli director Shashant Shah has been replaced by Shashanka Ghosh. The film is due out later this year. – The National staff

Paula Deen apologises again for racist slurs

The former US Food Network star Paula Deen turned a beachside cooking demonstration in Miami into a public apology for the racist comments that ruined her career last year. "We have come off of a very hard summer my family and I, my team, my partners," she said to a cheering crowd of several hundred fans on Sunday. "But you know, I have heard on more than one occasion … that I've never apologised. So if anybody did not hear me apologise, I would like to apologise to those who did not hear me." Last summer, the TV host was accused by a former employee of racial discrimination; Deen admitted using racial slurs in the past. – The National staff

Actor Sam Worthington arrested in NYC

Police say the actor Sam Worthington has been arrested in New York City for punching a photographer who is said to have kicked Worthington’s girlfriend on the shin. The 37-year-old Avatar actor was arrested on an assault charge following the incident on Sunday evening. The Australian actor was released and is due back in court on Wednesday. Police did not say what caused the scuffle. The photographer, 37-year-old Sheng Li, was arrested on charges of reckless endangerment, assault and harassment. He’s being held pending arraignment. It wasn’t immediately clear if both had lawyers. – AP

At a glance

Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.

 

Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year

 

Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month

 

Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30 

 

Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse

 

Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth

 

Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances

The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting

2. Prayer

3. Hajj

4. Shahada

5. Zakat 

Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Neighbourhood Watch
The Settlers

Director: Louis Theroux

Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz

Rating: 5/5

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. 

Afro%20salons
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Politics in the West
Tomorrow 2021
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How has net migration to UK changed?

The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.

It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.

The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.

The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.

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.”

From Zero

Artist: Linkin Park

Label: Warner Records

Number of tracks: 11

Rating: 4/5

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FINAL RECKONING

Director: Christopher McQuarrie

Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg

Rating: 4/5

Teachers' pay - what you need to know

Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:

- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools

- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say

- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance

- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs

- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills

- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month

- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues

Tomorrow 2021
ICC Women's T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier 2025, Thailand

UAE fixtures
May 9, v Malaysia
May 10, v Qatar
May 13, v Malaysia
May 15, v Qatar
May 18 and 19, semi-finals
May 20, final

PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES

Saturday (UAE kick-off times)

Watford v Leicester City (3.30pm)

Brighton v Arsenal (6pm)

West Ham v Wolves (8.30pm)

Bournemouth v Crystal Palace (10.45pm)

Sunday

Newcastle United v Sheffield United (5pm)

Aston Villa v Chelsea (7.15pm)

Everton v Liverpool (10pm)

Monday

Manchester City v Burnley (11pm)

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Our commentary on Brexit
UAE currency
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Green ambitions
  • Trees: 1,500 to be planted, replacing 300 felled ones, with veteran oaks protected
  • Lake: Brown's centrepiece to be cleaned of silt that makes it as shallow as 2.5cm
  • Biodiversity: Bat cave to be added and habitats designed for kingfishers and little grebes
  • Flood risk: Longer grass, deeper lake, restored ponds and absorbent paths all meant to siphon off water 
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While you're here
The National's picks

4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young

Tomorrow 2021
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
More from Neighbourhood Watch
How to help

Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200

Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
How it works

A $10 hand-powered LED light and battery bank

Device is operated by hand cranking it at any time during the day or night 

The charge is stored inside a battery

The ratio is that for every minute you crank, it provides 10 minutes light on the brightest mode

A full hand wound charge is of 16.5minutes 

This gives 1.1 hours of light on high mode or 2.5 hours of light on low mode

When more light is needed, it can be recharged by winding again

The larger version costs between $18-20 and generates more than 15 hours of light with a 45-minute charge

No limit on how many times you can charge

 

The years Ramadan fell in May

1987

1954

1921

1888

Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Our commentary on Brexit
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

On Women's Day
Asia Cup Qualifier

Final
UAE v Hong Kong

TV:
Live on OSN Cricket HD. Coverage starts at 5.30am

While you're here