Mohamed Abdalla Al Zaabi, CEO, Miral Asset Management at the 25th Arabian Travel Market, Dubai. The Abu Dhabi-based developer behind Yas Island’s main leisure attractions forecasts more visitors. Leslie Pableo/The National
Mohamed Abdalla Al Zaabi, CEO, Miral Asset Management at the 25th Arabian Travel Market, Dubai. The Abu Dhabi-based developer behind Yas Island’s main leisure attractions forecasts more visitors. Leslie Pableo/The National
Mohamed Abdalla Al Zaabi, CEO, Miral Asset Management at the 25th Arabian Travel Market, Dubai. The Abu Dhabi-based developer behind Yas Island’s main leisure attractions forecasts more visitors. Leslie Pableo/The National
Mohamed Abdalla Al Zaabi, CEO, Miral Asset Management at the 25th Arabian Travel Market, Dubai. The Abu Dhabi-based developer behind Yas Island’s main leisure attractions forecasts more visitors. Lesl

Abu Dhabi’s Miral forecasts 10% increase in footfall at Yas Island this year


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Miral Asset Management, the Abu Dhabi-based developer behind Yas Island’s main leisure attractions, forecasts a 10 per cent increase in footfall to the island in 2018 compared with last year, as it completes 50 per cent of the entertainment destination and prepares to roll out a combined ticketing structure in June.

"Last year we achieved 27 million visitors and we are targeting this year a 10 per cent increase on that," Mohamed Al Zaabi, chief executive of Miral, told The National in Dubai.

The increase will be driven primarily by the launch of the $1 billion Warner Brothers World Abu Dhabi on 25 July – the first Warner Bros-branded indoor theme park in the world.

In addition, Splash, the latest attraction at Yas Waterworld, will open in June, and two new attractions at Ferrari World, taking the total number of rides there to 39 and marking 50 per cent of the total planned development of the island.

Mr Al Zaabi said a key growth driver would be the launch of a combined ticketing platform for Yas Island’s hotel and leisure facilities, targeted for the end of June.

“Over the last 12 months, we have been busy creating a new platform that will help us to integrate assets together and sell them to customers in weekend and ‘stay and play’ packages,” he said. “We believe this will be a game-changer.”

The packages will be purchased online and initially offer cut-price deals on hotel and theme park visits. In time, more Yas Island attractions will be added to each package, including boat tours and race track tickets.

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The chief executive declined to reveal the pricing structure as it is dependent on demand, season and availability. These are “attractive packages” he said, offering “better value for money” than if you were to buy each component separately.

“My team is working closely with hotels to tailor packages for our local and international guests,” he added.

Miral will launch a Yas Island mobile app in the coming few days, which will provide each customer with a unique ‘Yas Island ID’ they can use across other apps planned for Yas Waterworld, Ferrari World and Warner Bros, and to gain access to Yas Island Wi-Fi whenever they visit.

“So eventually we’ll learn about you and what you are interested in and we can customise better experiences for you,” Mr Al Zaabi said. This will also help to generate more repeat visits.

Abu Dhabi’s listed real estate company Aldar Properties is also helping to drive footfall on the island with a string of residential schemes under construction or in the pipeline, including Yas Acres and West Villas.

“For the first time ever we have people calling Yas Island home,” Mr Al Zaabi said. Miral is also developing a Dh12bn mixed-use project called Yas Bay spanning 14 million square feet towards the south of the island.

Mr Al Zaabi remains optimistic that Yas Island will have the region’s first-ever aerial cable car to transport people around the island by 2020. Two years ago, it signed a memorandum of understanding with Los Angeles-based company Skytran to research the plans.

Skytran will shortly begin testing the cable car and, subject to the outcome of the tests, Miral intends to sign a contract in 2019 for the company to build the first phase of the project, a 1-kilometre-long air-conditioned link between Ferrari World and Warner Bros. “That will be a very unique experience,” he said.

'Manmarziyaan' (Colour Yellow Productions, Phantom Films)
Director: Anurag Kashyap​​​​​​​
Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Vicky Kaushal​​​​​​​
Rating: 3.5/5

Mountain%20Boy
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One in four Americans don't plan to retire

Nearly a quarter of Americans say they never plan to retire, according to a poll that suggests a disconnection between individuals' retirement plans and the realities of ageing in the workforce.

Experts say illness, injury, layoffs and caregiving responsibilities often force older workers to leave their jobs sooner than they'd like.

According to the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Centre for Public Affairs Research, 23 per cent of workers, including nearly two in 10 of those over 50, don't expect to stop working. Roughly another quarter of Americans say they will continue working beyond their 65th birthday.

According to government data, about one in five people 65 and older was working or actively looking for a job in June. The study surveyed 1,423 adults in February this year.

For many, money has a lot to do with the decision to keep working.

"The average retirement age that we see in the data has gone up a little bit, but it hasn't gone up that much," says Anqi Chen, assistant director of savings research at the Centre for Retirement Research at Boston College. "So people have to live in retirement much longer, and they may not have enough assets to support themselves in retirement."

When asked how financially comfortable they feel about retirement, 14 per cent of Americans under the age of 50 and 29 per cent over 50 say they feel extremely or very prepared, according to the poll. About another four in 10 older adults say they do feel somewhat prepared, while just about one-third feel unprepared. 

"One of the things about thinking about never retiring is that you didn't save a whole lot of money," says Ronni Bennett, 78, who was pushed out of her job as a New York City-based website editor at 63.

She searched for work in the immediate aftermath of her layoff, a process she describes as akin to "banging my head against a wall." Finding Manhattan too expensive without a steady stream of income, she eventually moved to Portland, Maine. A few years later, she moved again, to Lake Oswego, Oregon. "Sometimes I fantasise that if I win the lottery, I'd go back to New York," says Ms Bennett.

 

2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups

Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.

Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.

Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.

Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).

Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.

Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.

Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.

Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.

Dust and sand storms compared

Sand storm

  • Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
  • Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
  • Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
  • Travel distance: Limited 
  • Source: Open desert areas with strong winds

Dust storm

  • Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
  • Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
  • Duration: Can linger for days
  • Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
  • Source: Can be carried from distant regions
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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List of alleged parties

 

May 12, 2020: PM and his wife Carrie attend 'work meeting' with at least 17 staff 

May 20, 2020: They attend 'bring your own booze party'

Nov 27, 2020: PM gives speech at leaving party for his staff 

Dec 10, 2020: Staff party held by then-education secretary Gavin Williamson 

Dec 13, 2020: PM and his wife throw a party

Dec 14, 2020: London mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey holds staff event at Conservative Party headquarters 

Dec 15, 2020: PM takes part in a staff quiz 

Dec 18, 2020: Downing Street Christmas party 

'Shakuntala Devi'

Starring: Vidya Balan, Sanya Malhotra

Director: Anu Menon

Rating: Three out of five stars

BEACH SOCCER WORLD CUP

Group A

Paraguay
Japan
Switzerland
USA

Group B

Uruguay
Mexico
Italy
Tahiti

Group C

Belarus
UAE
Senegal
Russia

Group D

Brazil
Oman
Portugal
Nigeria

WOMAN AND CHILD

Director: Saeed Roustaee

Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi

Rating: 4/5

The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo

The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
​​​​​​​Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km

Best Academy: Ajax and Benfica

Best Agent: Jorge Mendes

Best Club : Liverpool   

 Best Coach: Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)  

 Best Goalkeeper: Alisson Becker

 Best Men’s Player: Cristiano Ronaldo

 Best Partnership of the Year Award by SportBusiness: Manchester City and SAP

 Best Referee: Stephanie Frappart

Best Revelation Player: Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid and Portugal)

Best Sporting Director: Andrea Berta (Atletico Madrid)

Best Women's Player:  Lucy Bronze

Best Young Arab Player: Achraf Hakimi

 Kooora – Best Arab Club: Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia)

 Kooora – Best Arab Player: Abderrazak Hamdallah (Al-Nassr FC, Saudi Arabia)

 Player Career Award: Miralem Pjanic and Ryan Giggs

Poacher
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Company%20Profile
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Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021

Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.

The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.

These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.

“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.

“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.

“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.

“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”

Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.

There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.

“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.

“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.

“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”

Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Labour dispute

The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.


- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law 

While you're here
Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
  • Flexible work arrangements
  • Pension support
  • Mental well-being assistance
  • Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
  • Financial well-being incentives 
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