Kathy Bates recovering from surgery

Hazanavicius in talks to direct Hanks

The French filmmaker Michel Hazanavicius, who won the Oscar in February for directing The Artist, is in talks to direct the Universal Pictures adaptation of the Erik Larson novel In the Garden of Beasts, the true story of the US ambassador William Dodd's experience in Germany in 1933. Tom Hanks has already signed on to star and produce the film. Natalie Portman is reportedly being courted to play Hanks' daughter in the harrowing pre-World War II tale.

Kathy Bates recovering from surgery

Kathy Bates has revealed that she has had a double mastectomy after being diagnosed with breast cancer. The actress, who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2003, has been silent on Twitter since May. "Hey all, sorry for the long silence. I was diagnosed with breast cancer two months ago and am recovering from a double mastectomy," she tweeted on Thursday. Bates, 64, told People magazine: "My family call me Kat because I always land on my feet and this is no exception." - AFP

It's a boy for Nick and Vanessa Lachey

Nick and Vanessa Lachey welcomed their first child, Camden John, on Wednesday. In a statement, the couple said: "Love has truly been redefined for both of us." The Lacheys wed last year. Last month, the 38-year-old Nick reunited with his band, 98 Degrees. Vanessa, 31, is a co-host on Wipeout. - AP

Klum denies relationship with bodyguard

Heidi Klum is denying that she had an affair with her bodyguard while married to Seal. On Katie Couric's talk show on Wednesday, Klum said she "never looked at another man" while they were together. But more recently, she and the family's bodyguard of four years have got to know each other "from a completely different side". Klum chose not to call it a relationship: "It's just started … He's a great man." Seal recently criticised Klum for having a relationship with the man before their divorce was finalised earlier this year. Seal and Klum had been married for seven years. - AP

Pharoah to play Obama on SNL

Lorne Michaels, the creator of Saturday Night Live, has announced that the 24-year-old comedian Jay Pharaoh will replace Fred Armisen as the show's resident Barack Obama, as SNL resumes its satirical commentary for another US presidential election. "It might be time to shake it up," he told the New York Times. Michaels confirmed that Taran Killam will play Paul Ryan and Jason Sudeikis will reprise his portrayals of Mitt Romney and Joe Biden.

Plan B nominated for Mercury prize

The rapper Plan B is the favourite among 12 finalists for Britain's prestigious Mercury music prize, honouring the best album of the year by a British or Irish band. The shortlist is heavy on emerging talents - eight of the nominated albums are debuts - and ranges across genres, from the jazz-rock act Roller Trio to the folk musicians Sam Lee and Ben Howard. The other finalists are Richard Hawley, Maccabees, Field Music, Jessie Ware, Lianne La Havas, Michael Kiwanuka, Django Django and Alt-J. The winner will be announced on November 1. - AP

Surianah's top five jazz artists

Billie Holliday: for the burn and also the way she told stories.

Thelonius Monk: for his earnestness.

Duke Ellington: for his edge and spirituality.

Louis Armstrong: his legacy is undeniable. He is considered as one of the most revolutionary and influential musicians.

Terence Blanchard: very political - a lot of jazz musicians are making protest music right now.

On Women's Day

Dr Nawal Al-Hosany: Why more women should be on the frontlines of climate action

Shelina Janmohamed: Why shouldn't a spouse be compensated fairly for housework?

Justin Thomas: Challenge the notion that 'men are from Mars, women are from Venus'

The National Editorial: Is there much to celebrate on International Women's Day 2021?

The Facility’s Versatility

Between the start of the 2020 IPL on September 20, and the end of the Pakistan Super League this coming Thursday, the Zayed Cricket Stadium has had an unprecedented amount of traffic.
Never before has a ground in this country – or perhaps anywhere in the world – had such a volume of major-match cricket.
And yet scoring has remained high, and Abu Dhabi has seen some classic encounters in every format of the game.

October 18, IPL, Kolkata Knight Riders tied with Sunrisers Hyderabad
The two playoff-chasing sides put on 163 apiece, before Kolkata went on to win the Super Over

January 8, ODI, UAE beat Ireland by six wickets
A century by CP Rizwan underpinned one of UAE’s greatest ever wins, as they chased 270 to win with an over to spare

February 6, T10, Northern Warriors beat Delhi Bulls by eight wickets
The final of the T10 was chiefly memorable for a ferocious over of fast bowling from Fidel Edwards to Nicholas Pooran

March 14, Test, Afghanistan beat Zimbabwe by six wickets
Eleven wickets for Rashid Khan, 1,305 runs scored in five days, and a last session finish

June 17, PSL, Islamabad United beat Peshawar Zalmi by 15 runs
Usman Khawaja scored a hundred as Islamabad posted the highest score ever by a Pakistan team in T20 cricket

LA LIGA FIXTURES

Friday Celta Vigo v Villarreal (midnight kick-off UAE)

Saturday Sevilla v Real Sociedad (4pm), Atletico Madrid v Athletic Bilbao (7.15pm), Granada v Barcelona (9.30pm), Osasuna v Real Madrid (midnight)

Sunday Levante v Eibar (4pm), Cadiz v Alaves (7.15pm), Elche v Getafe (9.30pm), Real Valladolid v Valencia (midnight)

Monday Huesca v Real Betis (midnight)

The National Archives, Abu Dhabi

Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.

Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en

The specs

Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor

Power: 320bhp

Torque: 605Nm

Transmission: Single-speed automatic

Price: From Dh219,000

On sale: Now

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.”

Real estate tokenisation project

Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.

The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.

Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.