The Bengali actor Soumitra Chatterjee, who starred in some of the most famous films of Satyajit Ray, including The Apu Trilogy, has been chosen for the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke award, the highest film award in India.
Amitabh Bachchan congratulated Chatterjee, who was Ray's preferred actor for complex roles, the way Mario Mastrioanni was for Federico Fellini or Toshiro Mifune was for Akira Kurosawa.
Chatterjee made his debut in the 1959 film Apur Sansar. He went on to play key roles in Ray's classics such as Charulata, Ghaire Baire and the Feluda series, which remains hugely popular with children.
"Congratulations Soumitra ... such a magnificent journey in cinema," tweeted Bachchan, who also pointed out the significance of the award as the Hindi film industry celebrates its centennial next year.
* Anjali A
Egyptian teenager wins Arab Idol
The 17-year-old Egyptian singer Carmen Suleiman was crowned Arab Idol at the close of the MBC1 show's first season on Saturday night, winning against her opponent, Dunia Batma from Morocco.
Platinum Records will produce Suleiman's first album. She will also sign a contract with Pepsi International and join their growing roster of celebrity endorsers. Her third prize, a surprise to all watching, was a 2012 Chevrolet Corvette.
The evening featured performances from two of the judges - the Emirati singer Ahlam and the Lebanese musician Ragheb Alameh - as well as performances by the Tunisian singer Latifa, who was the guest of honour during the finale.
* Hala Khalaf
PETA slams Kim Kardashian
After Kim Kardashian announced she will press charges against the woman who threw flour on her at a hosting event on Thursday, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) have called out the reality television star for her selfishness.
"If she presses charges, at least people will be constantly reminded of her selfish, callous disregard for the cruel deaths that she causes by wearing fur," PETA told TMZ in a statement.
"If anything, Kim should get a life, the very thing that she denies animals."
The animal rights group also said they are willing to help the accused woman with her defence costs.
Acclaimed Irish films come to the UAE
St Patrick's Day may have already passed, but the Irish Embassy is keeping things going with a series of film screenings across the UAE. At the NYU City Campus at 6pm tonight, it's Ken Loach's award-winning The Wind that Shakes the Barley, followed by The Field from Jim Sheridan, tomorrow.
The Wind that Shakes the Barley will be screening again in Dubai at the Bonnington Hotel on April 3, and The Field on April 4 at the Rotana Hotel in Al Ain. Each screening will be accompanied by a selection of Irish short films. For more information, visit www.irelandonscreenuae.weebly.com.
* Alex Ritman
Bollywood couple to go on film spree
The best friends Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar, the producer-director pair behind Bollywood's two biggest hits last year, Don 2 and Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, have laughed off rumours that they are parting ways and instead announced their most ambitious expansion so far.
The duo said their production company Excel Entertainment will make six films in the next 10 months: a film by Akhtar, two films directed by Akhtar's sibling Zoya, one film by Abhishek Kapoor, another by Abhinay Deo and a project by a new director.
The Aamir Khan-starrer Talaash will be the next big release from the studio.
* Anjali A
Hello! magazine comes to Pakistan
Pakistan is better known for bombs than bombshells, but a few enterprising Pakistanis hope to alter that perception with the launch of a local version of the well-known celebrity magazine Hello!.
"The side of Pakistan that is projected time and time again is negative," said CEO Zahraa Saifullah. "There is a glamorous side of Pakistan, and we want to tap into that."
"We are trying to be happy in a war zone," said consulting editor Wajahat Khan. "We are trying to celebrate what is still alive in a difficult country."
Khan said they would do everything they could to protect the security of the people they profile, but he wasn't overly concerned.
"I don't think terrorist networks are going to be reading Hello! anytime soon," he said.
* AP
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Company%20Profile
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SPECS
Toyota land Cruiser 2020 5.7L VXR
Engine: 5.7-litre V8
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 362hp
Torque: 530Nm
Price: Dh329,000 (base model 4.0L EXR Dh215,900)
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.”
How to improve Arabic reading in early years
One 45-minute class per week in Standard Arabic is not sufficient
The goal should be for grade 1 and 2 students to become fluent readers
Subjects like technology, social studies, science can be taught in later grades
Grade 1 curricula should include oral instruction in Standard Arabic
First graders must regularly practice individual letters and combinations
Time should be slotted in class to read longer passages in early grades
Improve the appearance of textbooks
Revision of curriculum should be undertaken as per research findings
Conjugations of most common verb forms should be taught
Systematic learning of Standard Arabic grammar
The%20Witcher%20-%20season%20three
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EVarious%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EHenry%20Cavill%2C%20Freya%20Allan%2C%20Anya%20Chalotra%3Cstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
SPECS
Nissan 370z Nismo
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Transmission: seven-speed automatic
Power: 363hp
Torque: 560Nm
Price: Dh184,500
