Kit Harington portrays Jon Snow in Game of Thrones. AP
Kit Harington portrays Jon Snow in Game of Thrones. AP

Game of Thrones to get dedicated fan convention



Game of Thrones is to get its very own fan convention. Fan site Watchers on the Wall has announced that it will host a three-day convention in Nashville, Tennessee, from June 30 to July 2, 2017. The agenda will include panels, performances, workshops, speeches and a chance to get autographs from and photos with people connected to the show. Zack Luye, co-director of the fan site, said no detail will go unnoticed. The book series from George R R Martin began in 1996 and the TV adaptation is HBO's most popular programme. The organisers haven't yet announced who from the show will participate. – AP

Salman Khan’s brother urges clarification

Actor Arbaaz Khan hopes his superstar brother Salman Khan gives a clarification on his controversial "raped woman" statement due to his massive fan following. Salman has been at the centre of controversy after he claimed in an interview that he felt like a "raped woman" walking out of the ring in his role as a wrestler in his upcoming film Sultan. "There is no doubt that in what Salman said, the intention was not bad. Sometimes you say something out of context but your intention is not bad. But if you become oversensitive over it then you can create a controversy out of anything," Arbaaz said at the logo launch of his film Jeena Isi Ka Naam Hai. "I am sure that Salman must have realised that the comparison he made was not appropriate and for that, if he feels that he needs to apologise, he will apologise. I don't think I am entitled to say that he has to apologise or not. " Salman's father, writer Salim Khan, has already apologised on his behalf in a series of tweets terming the "simile, example, context" wrong but the "intention right". – IANS

Rolling Stones exhibition goes international

The Rolling Stones are to take Exhibitionism, a showcase of more than 500 recording and artefacts from the band's archive, to New York City in November. This follows the end of the exhibition's five month London run in September at London's Saatchi Gallery. November will mark the exhibit's North American debut at the Industria Superstudio in the West Village – tickets will go on sale in September. Mick Jagger said in a statement the exhibit is "not going to be like walking into a museum. It's going to be an event, an experience". Exhibitionism will include music, art, design, film, video, fashion and performance. Artefacts will include guitars, costumes, personal diaries and audio clips. The London leg closes on September 4. – AP

Stars unite for car race

It wasn’t just the cars drawing fans to Le Mans for the annual 24-hour race over the weekend. Celebrities Brad Pitt, Jason Statham and Jackie Chan were also at the race in North-West France, where drivers from all over the world compete to win the coveted trophy. Actor Jason Statham said he was thrilled to be at the event. “You know, there are a lot of people here,” he said. “The atmosphere is great so I’m really enjoying my time so far.” The race was won in dramatic fashion by the Porsche team car driven by Switzerland’s Neel Jani, Frenchman Roland Dumas and Germany’s Marc Lieb. – Reuters

Cowell hopes to reunite Spice Girls

Music mogul Simon Cowell is reportedly "desperate" to team up with British pop-girl group Spice Girls for their new album. The 56-year-old – who famously failed to sign the girl group when they auditioned for him at the beginning of their career – doesn't want to "miss out" this time. "Simon is desperate to make a new Spice Girls album. He doesn't want to miss out after the first time around. He spent the The X Factor auditions last week quizzing Mel B about the band and said he would do something mega if they signed with him," a source told the British newspaper The Sun. "He kept asking if they were going to be producing new music and said if so, he wants to do it with them. He even went as far as warning Mel that they would better not talk to any other labels before meeting with him." – IANS

COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Co%20Chocolat%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202017%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Iman%20and%20Luchie%20Suguitan%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Food%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%241%20million-plus%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Fahad%20bin%20Juma%2C%20self-funding%2C%20family%20and%20friends%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Volvo ES90 Specs

Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)

Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp

Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm

On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region

Price: Exact regional pricing TBA

The years Ramadan fell in May

1987

1954

1921

1888

THE BIO

Occupation: Specialised chief medical laboratory technologist

Age: 78

Favourite destination: Always Al Ain “Dar Al Zain”

Hobbies: his work  - “ the thing which I am most passionate for and which occupied all my time in the morning and evening from 1963 to 2019”

Other hobbies: football

Favorite football club: Al Ain Sports Club

 

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

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. 

'Gehraiyaan'
Director:Shakun Batra

Stars:Deepika Padukone, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Ananya Panday, Dhairya Karwa

Rating: 4/5

How has net migration to UK changed?

The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.

It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.

The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.

The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.

BMW M5 specs

Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor

Power: 727hp

Torque: 1,000Nm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh650,000

Student Of The Year 2

Director: Punit Malhotra

Stars: Tiger Shroff, Tara Sutaria, Ananya Pandey, Aditya Seal 

1.5 stars

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills

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.”

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