• Timothee Chalamet, Lyna Khoudri, Wes Anderson, Tilda Swinton, Bill Murray, Benicio Del Toro and Alexandre Desplat attend the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
    Timothee Chalamet, Lyna Khoudri, Wes Anderson, Tilda Swinton, Bill Murray, Benicio Del Toro and Alexandre Desplat attend the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
  • Timothee Chalamet and Adrien Brody attend the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
    Timothee Chalamet and Adrien Brody attend the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
  • Spike Lee and Tonya Lewis Lee attends the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
    Spike Lee and Tonya Lewis Lee attends the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
  • Timothee Chalamet and Bill Murray attend the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
    Timothee Chalamet and Bill Murray attend the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
  • Tilda Swinton attends the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
    Tilda Swinton attends the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
  • Benicio del Toro attends the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
    Benicio del Toro attends the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
  • Timothee Chalamet attends the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
    Timothee Chalamet attends the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
  • Owen Wilson attends the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
    Owen Wilson attends the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
  • Maggie Gyllenhaal attends the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
    Maggie Gyllenhaal attends the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
  • Kat Graham attends the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
    Kat Graham attends the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
  • Adrien Brody and Georgina Chapman attend the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
    Adrien Brody and Georgina Chapman attend the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
  • Iris Law attends the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
    Iris Law attends the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
  • Anna Cleveland attends the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
    Anna Cleveland attends the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
  • Dylan Penn attends the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
    Dylan Penn attends the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
  • Melanie Laurent attends the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
    Melanie Laurent attends the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
  • Oliver Stone and Jung Sun-jung attend the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
    Oliver Stone and Jung Sun-jung attend the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
  • Clotilde Courau attends the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
    Clotilde Courau attends the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
  • Julian Perretta and Kambree Dalton attend the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
    Julian Perretta and Kambree Dalton attend the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
  • Jarvis Cocker attends the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
    Jarvis Cocker attends the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
  • Kimberley Garner attends the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
    Kimberley Garner attends the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
  • Mahlagha Jaberi attends the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
    Mahlagha Jaberi attends the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
  • Honor Swinton Byrne attends the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
    Honor Swinton Byrne attends the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
  • Marcelo Vieira and Clarisse Alves attend the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
    Marcelo Vieira and Clarisse Alves attend the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
  • Marta Pozzan attends the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
    Marta Pozzan attends the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
  • Mael Rouin Berrandou, Dali Benssalah and Sofian Khammes attend the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
    Mael Rouin Berrandou, Dali Benssalah and Sofian Khammes attend the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
  • Nieves Alvarez attends the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
    Nieves Alvarez attends the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
  • Aymerick Moucouveia, Camelia Jordana, Naomi Diaz and Yann Kidou attend the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
    Aymerick Moucouveia, Camelia Jordana, Naomi Diaz and Yann Kidou attend the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
  • Christian Louboutin attends the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
    Christian Louboutin attends the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
  • Rahul Jain and Pallavi Lodha attend the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
    Rahul Jain and Pallavi Lodha attend the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
  • Song Kang-ho, Mati Diop and Kleber Mendonca Filho attend the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
    Song Kang-ho, Mati Diop and Kleber Mendonca Filho attend the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
  • Huang Miyi attends the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
    Huang Miyi attends the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
  • Farnoush Hamidian, left, attends the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
    Farnoush Hamidian, left, attends the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
  • Mohammed Al Turki attends the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
    Mohammed Al Turki attends the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
  • Bill Murray attends the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
    Bill Murray attends the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
  • Linh Dan Pham attends the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
    Linh Dan Pham attends the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
  • Noemie Merlant attends the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
    Noemie Merlant attends the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
  • Lena Mahfouf attends the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
    Lena Mahfouf attends the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
  • Natasha Poly attends the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
    Natasha Poly attends the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
  • Kiera Chaplin attends the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
    Kiera Chaplin attends the screening of 'The French Dispatch' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
  • Hugo Selignac, Karim Leklou and Adele Exarchopoulos attend a screening of 'Bac Nord' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
    Hugo Selignac, Karim Leklou and Adele Exarchopoulos attend a screening of 'Bac Nord' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
  • Louis Garrel, Julia Boeme and Laetitia Casta attend a screening of 'Bac Nord' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
    Louis Garrel, Julia Boeme and Laetitia Casta attend a screening of 'Bac Nord' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
  • Tahar Rahim attends a screening of 'Bac Nord' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
    Tahar Rahim attends a screening of 'Bac Nord' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
  • Laetitia Casta attends a screening of 'Bac Nord' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
    Laetitia Casta attends a screening of 'Bac Nord' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
  • Camille Charriere attends a screening of 'Bac Nord' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021
    Camille Charriere attends a screening of 'Bac Nord' at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021

Cannes Film Festival 2021: red carpet rolls out for 'The French Dispatch' premiere


Emma Day
  • English
  • Arabic

Some of Hollywood's most famous names graced the Cannes Film Festival on Monday night for one of the event's most highly anticipated premieres.

Wes Anderson's comedy-drama The French Dispatch was screened at the cinematic celebration, with a number of the film's stars in attendance.

Benicio Del Toro, Bill Murray, Adrien Brody and Owen Murray all walked the red carpet in their finest eveningwear, with actresses Maggie Gyllenhaal, Kat Graham and Melanie Laurent also turning up for the glitzy premiere.

Scroll through the gallery above to see all the stars at the premiere of 'The French Dispatch' at Cannes Film Festival 2021.

Tilda Swinton, who plays a staff member of the fictitious French Dispatch newspaper in the film, wore a head-turning Haider Ackermann look for the event, featuring contrasting pink and orange tones and almost chainmail-like sequinned sleeves.

Timothee Chalamet, meanwhile, who plays a revolutionary student in Anderson's latest, opted for a metallic silver suit by Tom Ford, paired with blinding-white leather boots.

The French Dispatch was the latest film to premiere at Cannes, now in its 74th year, after the festival was cancelled entirely in 2020 owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The film, centred around a weekly literary magazine situated in the fictional French city of Ennui-sur-Blase, was originally due to premiere at last year's festival. The makers of the movie opted to delay its release, and it is due to hit cinemas in October.

Star Lea Seydoux, who was due to attend the Cannes event, was forced to cancel her plans after testing positive for Covid-19. The French actress has been fully vaccinated against the virus, but tested positive while working on a film, her publicist confirmed on Saturday.

This year, Cannes has introduced an advance booking system for screenings, those attending from outside the European Union must submit to regular Covid-19 testing, and mask-wearing is mandatory.

- Additional reporting by AP


COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEducatly%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2020%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EUAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMohmmed%20El%20Sonbaty%2C%20Joan%20Manuel%20and%20Abdelrahman%20Ayman%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEducation%20technology%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%20size%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%242%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEnterprise%20Ireland%2C%20Egypt%20venture%2C%20Plus%20VC%2C%20HBAN%2C%20Falak%20Startups%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

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.”

Timeline

2012-2015

The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East

May 2017

The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts

September 2021

Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act

October 2021

Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence 

December 2024

Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group

May 2025

The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan

July 2025

The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan

August 2025

Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision

October 2025

Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange

November 2025

180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE

 

 

FIXTURES

All kick-off times 10.45pm UAE ( 4 GMT)

Tuesday
Mairobr v Liverpool
Spartak Moscow v Sevilla
Feyenoord v Shakhtar Donetsk
Manchester City v Napoli
Monaco v Besiktas
RB Leipzig v Porto
Apoel Nicosia v Borussia Dortmund
Real Madrid v Tottenham Hotspur

Wednesday
Benfica v Manchester United
CSKA Moscow v Basel
Bayern Munich v Celtic
Anderlecht v Paris Saint-Germain
Qarabag v Atletico Madrid
Chelsea v Roma
Barcelona v Olympiakos
Juventus v Sporting Lisbon

Buy farm-fresh food

The UAE is stepping up its game when it comes to platforms for local farms to show off and sell their produce.

In Dubai, visit Emirati Farmers Souq at The Pointe every Saturday from 8am to 2pm, which has produce from Al Ammar Farm, Omar Al Katri Farm, Hikarivege Vegetables, Rashed Farms and Al Khaleej Honey Trading, among others. 

In Sharjah, the Aljada residential community will launch a new outdoor farmers’ market every Friday starting this weekend. Manbat will be held from 3pm to 8pm, and will host 30 farmers, local home-grown entrepreneurs and food stalls from the teams behind Badia Farms; Emirates Hydroponics Farms; Modern Organic Farm; Revolution Real; Astraea Farms; and Al Khaleej Food. 

In Abu Dhabi, order farm produce from Food Crowd, an online grocery platform that supplies fresh and organic ingredients directly from farms such as Emirates Bio Farm, TFC, Armela Farms and mother company Al Dahra. 

Avatar: Fire and Ash

Director: James Cameron

Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana

Rating: 4.5/5

The%20trailblazers
%3Cp%3ESixteen%20boys%20and%2015%20girls%20have%20gone%20on%20from%20Go-Pro%20Academy%20in%20Dubai%20to%20either%20professional%20contracts%20abroad%20or%20scholarships%20in%20the%20United%20States.%20Here%20are%20two%20of%20the%20most%20prominent.%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EGeorgia%20Gibson%20(Newcastle%20United)%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EThe%20reason%20the%20academy%20in%20Dubai%20first%20set%20up%20a%20girls%E2%80%99%20programme%20was%20to%20help%20Gibson%20reach%20her%20potential.%20Now%20she%20plays%20professionally%20for%20Newcastle%20United%20in%20the%20UK.%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EMackenzie%20Hunt%20(Everton)%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EAttended%20DESS%20in%20Dubai%2C%20before%20heading%20to%20the%20UK%20to%20join%20Everton%20full%20time%20as%20a%20teenager.%20He%20was%20on%20the%20bench%20for%20the%20first%20team%20as%20recently%20as%20their%20fixture%20against%20Brighton%20on%20February%2024.%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed 

Updated: July 13, 2021, 9:04 AM