He thinks he might have wasted his life. Not all of it, you understand. Certainly not two decades during which his old band Oasis sold 70 million albums, swigged from champagne flutes at the British prime minister’s Downing Street residence and played Wembley Stadium. No, the bit before that. From the ages of 17 to 27 to be exact. A complete lost decade. Noel Gallagher has been thinking about it a lot recently.
Music: The National listens
Music reviews, festivals and all things sound related
Music
"When I was 17 I was a typical north-west scally, going to football matches, smoking dope and collecting my dole. I became a self-taught expert on Prisoner Cell Block H and WWF wrestling and the local guide for magic mushrooms. People say to me 'Oh, but you must have been writing songs, getting your foot on the first rung of the ladder'. I didn't even notice the ladder was there. The people I hung out with – if you had any ambitions you were seen as a bit of sissy so I didn't even pick up a guitar."
He’s been thinking about this time again because, since the acrimonious break-up of Oasis in 2009, he has in effect been unemployed again. There has been a long lay-off during which time he has had a third child, re-married, moved house and thankfully written some new songs. Now at last he has a new job too: Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds are about to release their first album.
“I was better at being unemployed this time round,” he says. “I got more done. Didn’t stay up too late. No mushrooms.”
We are drinking coffee on a sunny café terrace in east London. An office block overlooks us and some female workers spot him and start waving and cheering. He waves back. When they go on a bit too long, he knots his eyebrows quizzically and you can see why some people used to call him "Parker" after the monobrowed Thunderbirds character.
Being instantly recognised, I say, after a long absence and the demise of the band that made him famous, must be reassuring.
“I don’t know about reassuring. I’m trying something new and you never know how people will react. I think there’s goodwill. But that soon disappears if you haven’t got the songs.”
His brother Liam's rival band, Beady Eye, have had a six-month head-start and enjoyed a raft of "not as terrible as we all feared" reviews. But Noel Gallagher believes that he has the songs to put this rivalry to bed. Wisely, he has taken the precaution of recording them with a band with none of the personnel issues of the old one. Backed by unknown side-men and, as if to emphasise his post-Oasis creative liberation, the High Flying Birds have recorded two albums. The imminent High Flying Birds album and a psychedelic sister album recorded with the electronic dance rock pioneers The Amorphous Androgynous, which will be released in 2012.
“I’m easing everyone in gently,” Gallagher laughs. “You get the recognisable me first time round. And then next year you get the mind-blowing version.”
What drives the most successful British rock stars of the past 20 years? Well, classic post-divorce angst for a start. In the fall-out from the split with his brother it has become a point of principle to show just who the real talent was. Noel Gallagher is prepared to admit that Liam was the handsome, charismatic front man but he is at pains to prove that it was always he who wrote the Oasis classics. And if the melodies aren't enough, then new song titles such as If I Had a Gun and The Death of You & Me surely tell their own story.
Gallagher realises that the High Flying Birds put him deeply out of his comfort zone for the first time in 20 years. He will once more be proving himself in venues where, as he says, he can see the “whites of people’s eyes”. He is hedging his bets a little: he will play small venues to begin with plus a smattering of Oasis songs. But he is adamant that the days of working with his brother are over.
“Of course it’s sad that those songs will never be played in the stadiums where they belong. No one regrets that more than me. But… you have to look forward. There are new challenges. No one can say that we didn’t make the most of it.”
He looks different. Gallagher has rarely been one for major overhauls in style, whether it be clothes or music. The Oasis 20-year supremacy was conducted almost entirely in kagoules. But today Gallagher is dressed like a Mod on his summer holidays. Smart yellow polo shirt, jeans, deck shoes. And beyond this, he has the special sheen of the multi-millionaire. Expertly slicked hair. Good teeth. A fat ruby ring even Elizabeth Taylor might have thought a little brash.
There can be no doubt though that there has been considerable soul searching in the two years since his old band broke up. Gallagher joined and re-named Liam’s band Rain when he was 23. Their first album was released when he was 27. He was 30 by the time Britpop was in full cry. By today’s standards he was a late developer. And this is why, when he thinks about the decade of unemployment in his late teens, he is determined not to waste his life this time round.
"These X Factor generation kids are writing songs at 13 and they expect to be signed at 16. They are so business-minded it's untrue. At 17 I was just embarking on 10 years of dole culture and if I'd known what the possibilities were I would have fast-forwarded through it. Ten years is a long time sitting on your arse."
This time round he has been far more businesslike, and not just in terms of music. He got married to his long-term girlfriend Sara MacDonald after 11 years together. They moved from the flat in London’s Marylebone to a proper family house in Maida Vale. In 2010 they had another baby, Sonny.
“We moved to get a garden. I’ve never had a place with a garden in London. That’s the truth.” He says. “You need a garden for the kids.”
There have been surprises to the stay-at-home life. The day they moved to Maida Vale there was a ring on the door bell. It was their new neighbour with a cake.
“Really sweet of them,” says Gallagher tentatively. “It made me think. I’d never bake a f***ing cake for a new neighbour. I’m a bit cold, not a very community-minded person. Because I was never around that much I’d barely raise an eyebrow if there was a new neighbour. As long as they weren’t noisy or chucking beer cans over the wall. I suppose I just want to be left alone. I’m not that warm a person which I should probably try and change a bit.”
MacDonald seems to be having some success here. Take Gallagher's marriage proposal for example. The way he describes it, it sounds like a scene from a 1970s sitcom: one evening he was on the sofa watching the BBC documentary series Coast. He thinks it might have been an item about a silted-up estuary on the Humber.
MacDonald came up to him and said: “Just so you know, I’m not getting married when I’m past 40.”
Glancing up from the TV, Gallagher says his response was: “How old are you now?”
MacDonald was 39 and a few months. He proposed. He even rang her parents for permission, but here, too, he might have got the chivalrous tone slightly wrong.
“Her dad said: ‘I can’t tell. Are you asking me or telling me?’?”
Gallagher is hampered by an old-school alpha-male code when describing his more warm, tender feelings. Explaining to me how wonderful his relationship with MacDonald has been, he says:
“I don’t want to sound like a complete c*** but the reason I never asked before is because our 11 years together has been brilliant. We have had such a good time.”
He isn't great at expressing his feelings. But at the same time, no pop star is more forthright than Noel Gallagher. It was this attitude that fuelled Oasis. And it was this same alpha masculinity that led to an intriguing phone call from the X Factor boss Simon Cowell earlier this year.
Gallagher was at home playing pirates in the kitchen with his son Donovan when Cowell called. He asked him to replace him as a judge on The X Factor while he went to concentrate on the American version of the show. Cowell saw something of himself in Gallagher: a no nonsense alpha male. Initially Gallagher was interested. He has met Cowell and admires him for being honest and straight-talking.
But Cowell explained that being a judge meant having contestants back to your house during the show’s boot-camp stage. Gallagher thought about his new garden.
“Can you f***ing imagine?” he says. “I’m in me new f***ing garden and there’s a fat waitress from Bradford standing in my daffodils singing ‘Flying Without Wings’. I’d be like: ‘Sh*t song. Fat Arse. F*** off.’?”
Cowell learnt a valuable lesson: there is a special designation beyond alpha male inhabited only by the Gallagher brothers. The X Factor offer was withdrawn. Still, there was a personal price to be paid. Anaïs, Gallagher's daughter (by his first marriage to Meg Mathews), went mental.
"I'm not kidding. She literally could not cope or accept the fact that I did not want to be on X Factor. Kids that age do not give a monkeys about Oasis or what their dad does. They just know that Simon Cowell is the nearest thing we have to a God on this earth and I've just turned down a chance to work with him. The way she went on about it, you'd think I'd run him over. Never seen anger like it, I swear."
It became accepted Oasis folklore that it was Liam who was the loose cannon, the wild one. Noel always seemed calmer, cleverer, the long-suffering songwriter who held it all together. Since their break-up Liam (backed up by his Beady Eye bandmates) has complained it was always his brother who was the grumpy old man, the little Hitler, prone to tantrums.
Is that true? Is Noel hard to live with?
“I’m not getting into all that,” he says testily. “But look at any successful band. There is a Jagger and a Keith Richards. Jagger makes it happen, Richards falls out of a f***ing tree.”
Noel Gallagher certainly seems untroubled now. In fact, after years on the road, he says that he absolutely loves home-life. He has recently mastered the internet after getting an iPad and a computer. He is also master of a new kitchen. He doesn’t want to sound soft so he won’t name a signature dish, but says he likes blueberries. The kitchen also has other uses. When he plays pirates with 4-year-old Donovan he can get lost in the game for hours as the battle rages round the breakfast bar.
“I think I am a typical dad in that during the first week of the holidays I am in heaven and I love the kids and I think I am a great dad. Week two and you start to chafe at the edges a bit and think ‘I’m nothing more than a servant’ and it gets to be a bit of an arse ache.”
His daily routine does bear a striking resemblance to the days on the dole in his teens. He watches a lot of daytime TV: Sky news, football, Coast, cookery programmes. The difference is, he doesn't have to worry about money or sign on. And of course there will be a guitar around and a song might come. And a mate might call. And not the type to think he is a sissy for playing an instrument. It could be Russell Brand or Paul Weller or the two boisterous lads from Kasabian.
“My telly is bigger than back then,” he laughs. “That’s the main difference. All I ever wanted was a bigger telly.”
The Gallagher file
Born Noel Thomas David Gallagher May 29, 1967 in Longsight, Manchester, England.
Learnt to play guitar At the age of 13 while on six months' probation for robbing a corner shop.
Family Wife Sara MacDonald; sons Donovan Rory MacDonald Gallagher, 4, and Sonny Patrick MacDonald Gallagher, 1; daughter Anaïs Gallagher, 11, with ex-wife Meg Mathews.
First job Working for his father's building company.
Worst job Working on a construction site.
Hero Neil Young.
Last book read Agent ZigZag by Ben Macintyre. It's a great story about a south-London thief who gets caught by the Nazis and is forced to use his skills with explosives to blow up a factory in England. Except he turns double agent and doesn't. It's brilliant.
Biggest regret Being on the dole so long.
Favourite quote It's from Neil Young. Someone asked him how come he's been in so many different bands. He said: "No one band is big enough for what I've got".
Can't live without Blueberries. Seriously, it's my favourite fruit.
Secret pleasure Mungo Jerry. A great band.
Can't stand The list is a long one. I'd have to say London traffic.
Craziest thing ever done The list is even longer. Making Be Here Now in a severely dishevelled state is up there.
Person to be stranded with on a desert isle The missus. It would be a strange man who chose someone else just a few weeks after marrying her, eh?
The never-without-something-to-say Noel
"See, I don't know what I am. If I was an atheist I'd just write songs about not believing in God – but I don't know what I am"
– www.clashmusic.com, October 2, 2008
"I'm not saying I'm the greatest songwriter in the world. Usually, I'm saying, 'These are the greatest songwriters in the world. And I'm gonna put them all in this song.'"
– Guitar World, May 1996
"People think I'm controversial for the answers I give to silly questions in interviews, but... I'm not thinking about insulting... people; I say what I genuinely feel is in my heart"
– Etalk Daily, 2005
"I'm sorry, but Jay-Z? No chance. Glastonbury. It's wrong"
– BBC News, April 12, 2008
"I believe that I, as a person, can only change things once every five years and that's by voting, and my point is that even casting that vote means that the same guy gets in, the only difference is one has a red tie and the other has a blue one. That's all it means, so I think that I should start the Gallagher Party"
– BBC2 NewsNight, February 14, 2007
"I can't help but offend people. I've got a certain turn of phrase and way with words, that when written down, they look bad"
– www.rollingstone.com, August 11, 2011
"Jack White, right, has just done a song for Coca-Cola. End of. He ceases to be in the club. And he looks like Zorro on doughnuts"
–www.contactmusic.com, December 8, 2005
"Paul McCartney, one of the best songwriters of all time, has only produced manure for the past 25 years."
– thescotsman.scotsman.com,– September 20, 2011
Follow us on Twitter and keep up to date with the latest in arts and lifestyle news at twitter.com/LifeNationalUAE
Other must-tries
Tomato and walnut salad
A lesson in simple, seasonal eating. Wedges of tomato, chunks of cucumber, thinly sliced red onion, coriander or parsley leaves, and perhaps some fresh dill are drizzled with a crushed walnut and garlic dressing. Do consider yourself warned: if you eat this salad in Georgia during the summer months, the tomatoes will be so ripe and flavourful that every tomato you eat from that day forth will taste lacklustre in comparison.
Badrijani nigvzit
A delicious vegetarian snack or starter. It consists of thinly sliced, fried then cooled aubergine smothered with a thick and creamy walnut sauce and folded or rolled. Take note, even though it seems like you should be able to pick these morsels up with your hands, they’re not as durable as they look. A knife and fork is the way to go.
Pkhali
This healthy little dish (a nice antidote to the khachapuri) is usually made with steamed then chopped cabbage, spinach, beetroot or green beans, combined with walnuts, garlic and herbs to make a vegetable pâté or paste. The mix is then often formed into rounds, chilled in the fridge and topped with pomegranate seeds before being served.
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
'The Batman'
Stars:Robert Pattinson
Director:Matt Reeves
Rating: 5/5
%20Ramez%20Gab%20Min%20El%20Akher
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECreator%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ramez%20Galal%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ramez%20Galal%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStreaming%20on%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMBC%20Shahid%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
Gully Boy
Director: Zoya Akhtar
Producer: Excel Entertainment & Tiger Baby
Cast: Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Kalki Koechlin, Siddhant Chaturvedi
Rating: 4/5 stars
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Zayed Sustainability Prize
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.”
Leap of Faith
Michael J Mazarr
Public Affairs
Dh67
Elvis
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Baz%20Luhrmann%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Austin%20Butler%2C%20Tom%20Hanks%2C%20Olivia%20DeJonge%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
RESULTS
6pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-2 – Group 1 (PA) $55,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
Winner: Rajeh, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Musabah Al Muhairi (trainer)
6.35pm: Oud Metha Stakes – Rated Conditions (TB) $60,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Get Back Goldie, William Buick, Doug O’Neill
7.10pm: Jumeirah Classic – Listed (TB) $150,000 (Turf) 1,600m
Winner: Sovereign Prince, James Doyle, Charlie Appleby
7.45pm: Firebreak Stakes – Group 3 (TB) $150,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Hypothetical, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer
8.20pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-2 – Group 2 (TB) $350,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner: Hot Rod Charlie, William Buick, Doug O’Neill
8.55pm: Al Bastakiya Trial – Conditions (TB) $60,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner: Withering, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass
9.30pm: Balanchine – Group 2 (TB) $180,000 (T) 1,800m
Winner: Creative Flair, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
Turkish Ladies
Various artists, Sony Music Turkey
The%20end%20of%20Summer
%3Cp%3EAuthor%3A%20Salha%20Al%20Busaidy%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EPages%3A%20316%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EPublisher%3A%20The%20Dreamwork%20Collective%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs: 2018 BMW X2 and X3
Price, as tested: Dh255,150 (X2); Dh383,250 (X3)
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged inline four-cylinder (X2); 3.0-litre twin-turbo inline six-cylinder (X3)
Power 192hp @ 5,000rpm (X2); 355hp @ 5,500rpm (X3)
Torque: 280Nm @ 1,350rpm (X2); 500Nm @ 1,520rpm (X3)
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic (X2); Eight-speed automatic (X3)
Fuel consumption, combined: 5.7L / 100km (X2); 8.3L / 100km (X3)
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
Fight card
1. Bantamweight: Victor Nunes (BRA) v Siyovush Gulmamadov (TJK)
2. Featherweight: Hussein Salim (IRQ) v Shakhriyor Juraev (UZB)
3. Catchweight 80kg: Rashed Dawood (UAE) v Khamza Yamadaev (RUS)
4. Lightweight: Ho Taek-oh (KOR) v Ronald Girones (CUB)
5. Lightweight: Arthur Zaynukov (RUS) v Damien Lapilus (FRA)
6. Bantamweight: Vinicius de Oliveira (BRA) v Furkatbek Yokubov (RUS)
7. Featherweight: Movlid Khaybulaev (RUS) v Zaka Fatullazade (AZE)
8. Flyweight: Shannon Ross (TUR) v Donovon Freelow (USA)
9. Lightweight: Mohammad Yahya (UAE) v Dan Collins (GBR)
10. Catchweight 73kg: Islam Mamedov (RUS) v Martun Mezhulmyan (ARM)
11. Bantamweight World title: Jaures Dea (CAM) v Xavier Alaoui (MAR)
12. Flyweight World title: Manon Fiorot (FRA) v Gabriela Campo (ARG)
How%20champions%20are%20made
%3Cp%3E%0D%3Cstrong%3EDiet%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%0D%3Cbr%3E7am%20-%20Protein%20shake%20with%20oats%20and%20fruits%0D%3Cbr%3E10am%20-%205-6%20egg%20whites%0D%3Cbr%3E1pm%20-%20White%20rice%20or%20chapati%20(Indian%20bread)%20with%20chicken%0D%3Cbr%3E4pm%20-%20Dry%20fruits%20%0D%3Cbr%3E7.30pm%20-%20Pre%20workout%20meal%20%E2%80%93%20grilled%20fish%20or%20chicken%20with%20veggies%20and%20fruits%0D%3Cbr%3E8.30pm%20to%20midnight%20workout%0D%3Cbr%3E12.30am%20%E2%80%93%20Protein%20shake%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETotal%20intake%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204000-4500%20calories%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESaidu%E2%80%99s%20weight%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20110%20kg%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStats%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Biceps%2019%20inches.%20Forearms%2018%20inches%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Major honours
ARSENAL
BARCELONA
- La Liga - 2013
- Copa del Rey - 2012
- Fifa Club World Cup - 2011
CHELSEA
- Premier League - 2015, 2017
- FA Cup - 2018
- League Cup - 2015
SPAIN
- World Cup - 2010
- European Championship - 2008, 2012
UAE squad to face Ireland
Ahmed Raza (captain), Chirag Suri (vice-captain), Rohan Mustafa, Mohammed Usman, Mohammed Boota, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Waheed Ahmad, Zawar Farid, CP Rizwaan, Aryan Lakra, Karthik Meiyappan, Alishan Sharafu, Basil Hameed, Kashif Daud, Adithya Shetty, Vriitya Aravind
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
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
HOW%20TO%20ACTIVATE%20THE%20GEMINI%20SHORTCUT%20ON%20CHROME%20CANARY
%3Cp%3E1.%20Go%20to%20%3Cstrong%3Echrome%3A%2F%2Fflags%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E2.%20Find%20and%20enable%20%3Cstrong%3EExpansion%20pack%20for%20the%20Site%20Search%20starter%20pack%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E3.%20Restart%20Chrome%20Canary%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E4.%20Go%20to%20%3Cstrong%3Echrome%3A%2F%2Fsettings%2FsearchEngines%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20in%20the%20address%20bar%20and%20find%20the%20%3Cstrong%3EChat%20with%20Gemini%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20shortcut%20under%20%3Cstrong%3ESite%20Search%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E5.%20Open%20a%20new%20tab%20and%20type%20%40%20to%20see%20the%20Chat%20with%20Gemini%20shortcut%20along%20with%20other%20Omnibox%20shortcuts%20to%20search%20tabs%2C%20history%20and%20bookmarks%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
RACECARD
6pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 – Group 1 (PA) $50,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
6.35pm: Festival City Stakes – Conditions (TB) $60,000 (D) 1,200m
7.10pm: Dubai Racing Club Classic – Listed (TB) $100,000 (Turf) 2,410m
7.45pm: Jumeirah Classic Trial – Conditions (TB) $150,000 (T) 1,400m
8.20pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 – Group 2 (TB) $250,000 (D) 1,600m
8.55pm: Cape Verdi – Group 2 (TB) $180,000 (T) 1,600m
9.30pm: Dubai Dash – Listed (TB) $100,000 (T) 1,000m
The Settlers
Director: Louis Theroux
Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz
Rating: 5/5
The specs
Engine: 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 380hp at 5,800rpm
Torque: 530Nm at 1,300-4,500rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Price: From Dh299,000 ($81,415)
On sale: Now
Race card for Super Saturday
4pm: Al Bastakiya Listed US$250,000 (Dh918,125) (Dirt) 1,900m.
4.35pm: Mahab Al Shimaal Group 3 $200,000 (D) 1,200m.
5.10pm: Nad Al Sheba Conditions $200,000 (Turf) 1,200m.
5.45pm: Burj Nahaar Group 3 $200,000 (D) 1,600m.
6.20pm: Jebel Hatta Group 1 $300,000 (T) 1,800m.
6.55pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round 3 Group 1 $400,000 (D) 2,000m.
7.30pm: Dubai City of Gold Group 2 $250,000 (T) 2,410m.
Empires%20of%20the%20Steppes%3A%20A%20History%20of%20the%20Nomadic%20Tribes%20Who%20Shaped%20Civilization
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EAuthor%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EKenneth%20W%20Harl%3Cstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EPublisher%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EHanover%20Square%20Press%3Cstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EPages%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E576%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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.
