Whether you are in the market for speakers that double as a design feature, a coffee machine that'll satisfy all your cravings, or a notebook that's digital but also old-school, here's our pick of the coolest gadgets around.
WH-XB910N headphones
Sony’s new WH-XB910N overhead wireless headphones promise club-like bass, as well as improved noise cancelling and comfort. A dedicated bass duct on the headphones' housing is complemented by increased air-tightness between the driver units and eardrums, to help elevate the listening experience.
Dual Noise Sensor technology results in enhanced noise cancelling, while Precise Voice Pickup Technology combines two built-in microphones with advanced audio signal processing, to make sure your voice is picked up clearly and precisely during hands-free calls.
The WH-XB910N headphones also use Adaptive Sound Control, which senses where you are and what you’re doing, adjusting the ambient sound settings accordingly. And with 30 hours of battery life, they are the perfect companion when you are on the road.
$249.99, www.sony.com
800 Series Diamond
Bowers & Wilkins has expanded it 800 Series Diamond range with seven additional speaker models, each available in a satin walnut finish for the first time. Also new is a rigid, cast aluminium top section – replacing the previous wooden design – which has a leather finish.
The speakers feature Solid Body Tweeter-on-Top housing, with an elongated tube-loading system to produce an even more open sound for high frequencies. The 801 D4 speaker has a downwards-firing Flowport, solid aluminium plinth and constrained layer steel damping.
A series of other technological tweaks “deliver unprecedented performance”, according to the company, which is calling the new 800 Series Diamond “the finest range of loudspeakers Bowers & Wilkins has ever created”.
$35,000 (801 D4), www.bowerswilkins.com
Rocketbook Core
If you find yourself harking back to the analogue age, but are conscious of your sustainability credentials, Rocketbook has you covered. The company has worked with experts to create digital notebooks that replicate the pen-and-paper experience.
Although it feels like a traditional notebook, the Rocketbook Core is endlessly reusable and connects to all of your favourite Cloud services, so all your notes will be saved. When you write using a pen from the brand’s Pilot Frixion line, your musings will stick to Core pages as if they were regular paper, but add a drop of water and you’ll have a blank page to start over with.
$34, www.getrocketbook.com
Nespresso Vertuo Next
Nespresso has unveiled its most versatile at-home coffee machine yet, the Vertuo Next. It is designed to make a range of long and short drinks, from a 40 millilitre espresso to the new 535ml “Carafe Pour-Over Style”.
Intelligent Centrifusion technology reads and recognises the coffee variety being brewed using barcode technology and automatically adjusts its extraction parameters – such as infusion time, water temperature and flow rate, rotational speed and cup length.
“Modern coffee drinkers no longer want to settle for one style, even at home. With this in mind, the Vertuo system has been designed to deliver a wide range of brewing styles and sizes – all topped off with Vertuo’s signature crema,” says Yassir Max Corpataux, Nespresso coffee ambassador for the Middle East and Africa.
In line with Nespresso’s sustainability ambitions, the Vertuo Next machine is made from 50 per cent recycled plastics, with 100 per cent of its packaging from recycled sources and it is 99.5 per cent recyclable.
$272, www.nespresso.com
AirFan by Haxon
The AirFan by Haxon is a bit of a multitasker. It combines 20 different functions, acting as a fan, heater, air purifier, speaker, light and clock, in one streamlined design, which can be controlled via Alexa or Google Assistant.
Its makers are particularly proud of the fact that the device’s dual motors, intake and purification features each have a dedicated blower, meaning that noise is kept to a minimum. The fan has 10 adjustable speeds, while the heater has ten different settings, and the device can be set up horizontally or vertically depending on the user’s needs.
The air purifying element includes a UV-C lamp, Hepa H13 Carbon Filters and an Ionizer to keep your space germ and allergen-free. The AirFan is currently gathering funding on Kickstarter and is ready for pre-order, with production due to start in April.
From $199, www.haxson.com
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Batti Gul Meter Chalu
Producers: KRTI Productions, T-Series
Director: Sree Narayan Singh
Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Divyenndu Sharma, Yami Gautam
Rating: 2/5
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
'Moonshot'
Director: Chris Winterbauer
Stars: Lana Condor and Cole Sprouse
Rating: 3/5
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
Our legal advisor
Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation.
Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
more from Janine di Giovanni
Notable Yas events in 2017/18
October 13-14 KartZone (complimentary trials)
December 14-16 The Gulf 12 Hours Endurance race
March 5 Yas Marina Circuit Karting Enduro event
March 8-9 UAE Rotax Max Challenge
More from Neighbourhood Watch
Family reunited
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was born and raised in Tehran and studied English literature before working as a translator in the relief effort for the Japanese International Co-operation Agency in 2003.
She moved to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies before moving to the World Health Organisation as a communications officer.
She came to the UK in 2007 after securing a scholarship at London Metropolitan University to study a master's in communication management and met her future husband through mutual friends a month later.
The couple were married in August 2009 in Winchester and their daughter was born in June 2014.
She was held in her native country a year later.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
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