Second Bieber show in Dubai announced
A second Justin Bieber concert has been announced. The 19-year-old Canadian pop star will perform at Dubai Seven Stadium on May 5, a day after his first performance. "The Beliebers just won't let us off the hook," says Thomas Ovesen, the chief executive of the promoter Done Events. Tickets, priced from Dh350, are available at www.justinbieberdubai.com. Tickets for Bieber's May 4 show quickly sold out when they went on sale in September. In other Bieber news, his entry into a guest book on Friday at the Anne Frank House museum in Amsterdam sparked criticism on the museum's Facebook page. "Truly inspiring to be able to come here. Anne was a great girl. Hopefully, she would have been a Belieber," he wrote. This triggered a flood of comments on Facebook, many criticising Bieber for writing something they perceive to be insensitive. The museum's spokeswoman Maatje Mostart said the museum didn't see anything offensive in his remarks. – The National staff / AP
Avengers takes top prize at MTV awards
The Avengers won three awards at Sunday's MTV Movie Awards, including Movie of the Year. "What's the opposite of humbled? We're Biebered to be standing here," said the film's director Joss Whedon as he accepted the golden popcorn trophy. The show's host Rebel Wilson, who opened and closed the show wearing Iron Man-style armour, won Breakthrough Performance for her work in Pitch Perfect. Silver Lining Playbook's Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence were also honoured for their performances. Emma Watson received the Trailblazer Award. The performers included Macklemore, Ryan Lewis and Selena Gomez, who debuted her new song, Come and Get It. – AP
Matt Damon and wife renew vows
Matt Damon and his wife, Luciana Barroso, renewed their wedding vows of eight years on the Caribbean island of Saint Lucia on Saturday. The party was held at Sugar Beach Resort. Guests included Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner, Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Reports indicate Damon spent nearly US$1 million (Dh3.67m) to rent out the entire resort. – AP
Deftones bassist dies at 42
Chi Cheng, the bassist for the band Deftones, died on Sunday after struggling to recover from injuries suffered in a car crash more than four years ago. He was 42. Deftones won a Best Metal Performance Grammy in 2001. Cheng, who played five albums with the band, was a "powerful bassist who was larger than life on stage", the Recording Academy said. – AP
Woman charged with stalking Jackman
Hugh Jackman was working out in a gym on Saturday in New York City when a woman rushed in, crying and shouting that she loved him. Police say that Kathleen Thurston, 47, pulled out a razor covered with hair and threw it at him, then fled and was arrested. Jackman wasn't hurt. The actor told a radio station on Sunday that the run-in was frightening. Thurston has been charged with stalking and awaits arraignment. The police say she has approached the actor and his family before. – AP
Bruno Mars’s sisters get their own TV show
Bruno Mars, who entertained his Dubai fans last Friday, isn't the only singer in the family. The 27-year-old's four sisters will appear in a new reality series documenting the recording process of their debut album. The show will be broadcast later this year on the US cable network WEtv. Tiara, Tahiti and Presley Hernandez are moving from Hawaii to Los Angeles to join their older sister Jamie. The sisters perform as The Lylas. Mars, born Peter Hernandez, moved from Hawaii to live with Jamie in Los Angeles in 2002 after graduating from high school. – AP
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RESULTS
6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 Group 1 (PA) Dh119,373 (Dirt) 1,600m
Winner: Brraq, Adrie de Vries (jockey), Jean-Claude Pecout (trainer)
7.05pm: Handicap (TB) Dh102,500 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Taamol, Connor Beasley, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
7.40pm: Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (Turf) 1,800m
Winner: Eqtiraan, Connor Beasley, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
8.15pm: UAE 1000 Guineas Trial (TB) Dh183,650 (D) 1,400m
Winner: Soft Whisper, Pat Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor.
9.50pm: Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Hypothetical, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer.
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 1,000m
Winner: Etisalat, Sando Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihe
The Bio
Name: Lynn Davison
Profession: History teacher at Al Yasmina Academy, Abu Dhabi
Children: She has one son, Casey, 28
Hometown: Pontefract, West Yorkshire in the UK
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite Author: CJ Sansom
Favourite holiday destination: Bali
Favourite food: A Sunday roast
More from Aya Iskandarani
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
MATCH INFO
Quarter-finals
Saturday (all times UAE)
England v Australia, 11.15am
New Zealand v Ireland, 2.15pm
Sunday
Wales v France, 11.15am
Japan v South Africa, 2.15pm
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
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Fixtures
Tuesday - 5.15pm: Team Lebanon v Alger Corsaires; 8.30pm: Abu Dhabi Storms v Pharaohs
Wednesday - 5.15pm: Pharaohs v Carthage Eagles; 8.30pm: Alger Corsaires v Abu Dhabi Storms
Thursday - 4.30pm: Team Lebanon v Pharaohs; 7.30pm: Abu Dhabi Storms v Carthage Eagles
Friday - 4.30pm: Pharaohs v Alger Corsaires; 7.30pm: Carthage Eagles v Team Lebanon
Saturday - 4.30pm: Carthage Eagles v Alger Corsaires; 7.30pm: Abu Dhabi Storms v Team Lebanon
Cinco in numbers
Dh3.7 million
The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown
46
The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.
1,000
The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]
50
How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday
3,000
The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
1.1 million
The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.
more from Janine di Giovanni
Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
Get inspired
Here are a couple of Valentine’s Day food products that may or may not go the distance (but have got the internet talking anyway).
Sourdough sentiments: Marks & Spencer in the United Kingdom has introduced a slow-baked sourdough loaf dusted with flour to spell out I (heart) you, at £2 (Dh9.5). While it’s not available in the UAE, there’s nothing to stop you taking the idea and creating your own message of love, stencilled on breakfast-inbed toast.
Crisps playing cupid: Crisp company Tyrells has added a spicy addition to its range for Valentine’s Day. The brand describes the new honey and chilli flavour on Twitter as: “A tenderly bracing duo of the tantalising tingle of chilli with sweet and sticky honey. A helping hand to get your heart racing.” Again, not on sale here, but if you’re tempted you could certainly fashion your own flavour mix (spicy Cheetos and caramel popcorn, anyone?).
