Martin Amis, Kate Mosse and Alexander McCall Smith are among more than 100 celebrated writers taking part in this year's Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, between March 10 and 13 at the InterContinental Hotel, Dubai Festival City. Tickets for the individual events, including author sessions, readings and seminars, are priced from Dh39, although admission to many of the attractions, such as the Fringe Festival, will be free. Tickets are available now from selected Magrudy's shops or the festival's website at www.eaifl.com. Here are some of this year's highlights:
Wednesday, March 10
The launch of Khalid al Budoor's collection of historic Emirati poetry, entitled Looking Back With Love. Plus the appearance of the International Prize for Arabic Fiction winners Youssef Ziedan and Bahaa Taher with a session on emerging Emirati writers and an interview with Martin Amis, discussing his latest novel The Pregnant Widow.
Thursday, March 11
Author sessions with the Indian journalist and writer Shobhaa Dé (Bollywood Nights), the renowned BBC broadcaster John Simpson and the best-selling author of The No 1 Ladies Detective Agency, Alexander McCall Smith. There will be a session of Arabic poetry, with the renowned contemporary Arab poets Amjad Nasser, Iman Mersal and Samer Abou Hawwash taking the stage together.
Friday, March 12
Audiences with the BBC broadcaster, Kate Adie and the novelists Chris Cleave, (The Other Hand), Vikas Swarup (Slumdog Millionaire), and Yann Martel (Life Of Pi) plus the leading graphic novelist Marjane Satrapi (Persepolis). The BBC Security Correspondent Frank Gardiner will appear via video link from London to discuss his new book Far Horizons. The Indian novelist Amit Chaudhuri and local musicians will bring the evening to a close with a musical finale.
Saturday, March 13
An "in conversation" event with Wilfred Thesiger's biographer, Alexander Maitland, a cookery demonstration with the leading Indian food writer Anjum Anand, and the writer and journalist Tim Butcher on the adventures that inspired his bestseller Blood River.
Programme for Children
There will be 17 sessions on children's books and authors, on Friday March 12 and Saturday March 13 with a line-up including Roger McGough, Jacqueline Wilson, Darren Shan, Garth Nix, Polly Dunbar, Conn Iggulden and Caroline Lawrence.
Simultaneous translation will be available for all sessions. For more details and further events, see www.eaifl.com
DubaiKIdz.biz
Recently revamped and relaunched, this online directory devoted to all things family is an essential bookmark for anyone with children, especially first-time parents and new residents. There's extensive information on things to do and places to go, news and updates on schools and nurseries, articles written by UAE mums for UAE mums, a free newsletter service and a fancy new interactive map of nurseries in the Dubai area. There are small sections for residents Sharjah and Abu Dhabi, but a brand new site for the capital is planned later this year.
Definitely not love songs
Some of you will celebrate Valentine's Day with romantic dinners, chocolates, roses and expressions of love. This playlist is for those who won't: a mix of hurtin' and hatin' with a little bit of humour.
? Valentine's Day Is Over, Billy Bragg
? This Is Not A Love Song, Public Image Ltd
? Love Stinks, J Geils Band
? Valentine's Day, Linkin Park
? Anti-Love Song, Betty Davis
? How Soon Is Now, The Smiths
? Idiot Wind, Bob Dylan
? Vicious, Lou Reed
? Your Ex-Lover Is Dead, Stars
? Love Will Tear Us Apart, Joy Division
(or try The Broken Social Scene cover)
? Die, Die My Darling,The Misfits
? (Your Love Is Like) Nuclear Waste, Tuff Darts
? She Hates Me, Puddle of Mudd
? Song For The Dumped, Ben Folds Five
? Feb 14, Drive-By Truckers
? No Children, The Mountain Goats
? 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover, Paul Simon
? These Boots Were Made For Walkin', Nancy Sinatra
? Love Hurts, Nazareth
? Another Love Song, Queens of the Stone Age
? Love Is Unkind, Danko Jones
? Dancing With Myself, Billy Idol
Entries to the 2010 M magazine and Kitab short story competition close this Friday, February 19. The story must be entitled "Moving Messages" but can be on any theme or subject and be 2,000 words or fewer, written in English. The winner will have their short story published in the magazine and win a Toshiba laptop courtesy of Kitab, the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair. The runner-up will also have their story published and win Dh1,000 worth of book tokens supplied by Jashanmal Bookstores. E-mail entries to hfrithpowell@thenational.ae or post entries with your name, address and mobile number clearly marked to: Helena Frith Powell, M magazine, The National, Abu Dhabi Media Company, PO Box 111434, Abu Dhabi. Or deliver to Abu Dhabi Media Company on 15th Street, marked clearly for the attention of Helena Frith Powell, M magazine, The National, and call 02 414 5319. No employee or relative of an employee at either Abu Dhabi Media Company or the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair is eligible to enter. The judges' decision is final. The story must be the author's original work.
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
UK’s AI plan
- AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
- £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
- £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
- £250m to train new AI models
Series info
Test series schedule 1st Test, Abu Dhabi: Sri Lanka won by 21 runs; 2nd Test, Dubai: Play starts at 2pm, Friday-Tuesday
ODI series schedule 1st ODI, Dubai: October 13; 2nd ODI, Abu Dhabi: October 16; 3rd ODI, Abu Dhabi: October 18; 4th ODI, Sharjah: October 20; 5th ODI, Sharjah: October 23
T20 series schedule 1st T20, Abu Dhabi: October 26; 2nd T20, Abu Dhabi: October 27; 3rd T20, Lahore: October 29
Tickets Available at www.q-tickets.com
Stat Fourteen Fourteen of the past 15 Test matches in the UAE have been decided on the final day. Both of the previous two Tests at Dubai International Stadium have been settled in the last session. Pakistan won with less than an hour to go against West Indies last year. Against England in 2015, there were just three balls left.
Key battle - Azhar Ali v Rangana Herath Herath may not quite be as flash as Muttiah Muralitharan, his former spin-twin who ended his career by taking his 800th wicket with his final delivery in Tests. He still has a decent sense of an ending, though. He won the Abu Dhabi match for his side with 11 wickets, the last of which was his 400th in Tests. It was not the first time he has owned Pakistan, either. A quarter of all his Test victims have been Pakistani. If Pakistan are going to avoid a first ever series defeat in the UAE, Azhar, their senior batsman, needs to stand up and show the way to blunt Herath.
The language of diplomacy in 1853
Treaty of Peace in Perpetuity Agreed Upon by the Chiefs of the Arabian Coast on Behalf of Themselves, Their Heirs and Successors Under the Mediation of the Resident of the Persian Gulf, 1853
(This treaty gave the region the name “Trucial States”.)
We, whose seals are hereunto affixed, Sheikh Sultan bin Suggar, Chief of Rassool-Kheimah, Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon, Chief of Aboo Dhebbee, Sheikh Saeed bin Buyte, Chief of Debay, Sheikh Hamid bin Rashed, Chief of Ejman, Sheikh Abdoola bin Rashed, Chief of Umm-ool-Keiweyn, having experienced for a series of years the benefits and advantages resulting from a maritime truce contracted amongst ourselves under the mediation of the Resident in the Persian Gulf and renewed from time to time up to the present period, and being fully impressed, therefore, with a sense of evil consequence formerly arising, from the prosecution of our feuds at sea, whereby our subjects and dependants were prevented from carrying on the pearl fishery in security, and were exposed to interruption and molestation when passing on their lawful occasions, accordingly, we, as aforesaid have determined, for ourselves, our heirs and successors, to conclude together a lasting and inviolable peace from this time forth in perpetuity.
Taken from Britain and Saudi Arabia, 1925-1939: the Imperial Oasis, by Clive Leatherdale
Timeline
1947
Ferrari’s road-car company is formed and its first badged car, the 125 S, rolls off the assembly line
1962
250 GTO is unveiled
1969
Fiat becomes a Ferrari shareholder, acquiring 50 per cent of the company
1972
The Fiorano circuit, Ferrari’s racetrack for development and testing, opens
1976
First automatic Ferrari, the 400 Automatic, is made
1987
F40 launched
1988
Enzo Ferrari dies; Fiat expands its stake in the company to 90 per cent
2002
The Enzo model is announced
2010
Ferrari World opens in Abu Dhabi
2011
First four-wheel drive Ferrari, the FF, is unveiled
2013
LaFerrari, the first Ferrari hybrid, arrives
2014
Fiat Chrysler announces the split of Ferrari from the parent company
2015
Ferrari launches on Wall Street
2017
812 Superfast unveiled; Ferrari celebrates its 70th anniversary
Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
