Fitness is this week's main theme, with Dubai Fitness Challenge and Active Abu Dhabi's Walk 1000 initiative under way. A monster truck showdown is also on the schedule, as well as an Indian food festival channelling a popular tourist hub in the South Asian country.
Here, The National rounds up seven things to do around the Emirates from November 4 to November 10.
Monday, November 4
Lace up your walking shoes in Abu Dhabi as Emirates Foundation and PureHealth launch Walk 100 to promote health and fitness across the capital.
The main event is a 1,000km walking challenge by 10 athletes from Al Sila, through the Liwa desert to Al Wathba, passing cultural and historical landmarks along the way. The journey will be documented, with the film showcase taking place next year. Members of the public will have opportunities to join the walk at different points throughout the month, with details to be made available on Active Abu Dhabi's Instagram account.
In the meantime, residents can download PureHealth's Pura application and clock in 6,000 steps per day as part of the 30-day walking challenge.
November 1 to November 30; more information on activeabudhabi.com
Tuesday, November 5
Dubai Fitness Challenge is back, which means several neighbourhoods in the city have transformed into open-air gyms. Tilal Al Ghaf is one of them, with free daily activities at the lagoon park.
Four fitness zones are on site, dedicated to a variety of workouts including spin classes, CrossFit and yoga. The activities are open to everyone, but it's perfect for people who live close by in Motor City, Arabian Ranches and Mira. A dedicated children's zone is also available. Classes can be booked in advance on the Fitcode app.
Until November 24; Tilal Al Ghaf; dubaifitnesschallenge.com
Wednesday, November 6
Beauty enthusiasts can head to Coca-Cola Arena as Sephoria begins. The three-day event by Sephora gathers some of the biggest beauty brands to showcase their products and engage with their customers. Guests can sample products, take photos in the funhouse-inspired decor and attend special masterclasses with moguls such as Huda Kattan of Huda Beauty, Mario Dedivanovic of Makeup by Mario and Chris Appleton of Color Wow.
Dozens of brands will be at the event, including Fenty Skin, Gucci, Laneige, Olaplex, Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez, Supergoop and Youth to the People.
Wednesday to Friday; 2pm-10pm; from Dh250; Coca-Cola Arena; 800 22 33 88
Thursday, November 7
The charm and flavours of Mall Road, a major tourist centre in India's Himachal Pradesh, are being recreated at Pahadi restaurant in Dubai.
Live food stations are on the cards, such as a chaat counter with kamal kakdi, spicy gol gappa and dahi bhalla; as well as a grill station with yellow chilli and amchoor paneer tikka, hariyali stuffed mushrooms, chargrilled lamb chops and jumbo prawns with Kashimi chilli glaze. Other Himalayan dishes on the menu include palak ka kapa with butter rotia and gawti murgh with butter naan. Round off the meal at the dessert counter, with dishes such as moong dal halwa and creamy kulfi.
Monday to Thursday, 6pm-2am; Friday to Sunday, 6pm-2am; until November 30; Bur Dubai; 052 399 7543
Friday, November 8
Drop by Dubai Design District to stroll around the area's numerous art installations and displays, as part of the ongoing Dubai Design Week. Among the highlights is a large-scale floral installation handcrafted from recycled materials by Dutch artist Linda Nieuwstad and an outdoor pavilion by Dubai-based studio Bone made entirely of prefabricated earth blocks. Visitors can also check out the inaugural Editions Art and Design, which features more than 50 galleries, design studios and collectives selling limited-edition art, from photographs to prints and ceramics.
Wedneday to Saturday, from noon; from Dh50; Dubai Design District; downtowndesign.com
Saturday, November 9
Fitness and environmental consciousness will combine at Eco Walk 2024 on Saturday, taking place at Expo City Dubai. About 2,000 ghaf seeds will be planted at the event, and the organisers will also distribute an additional 5,000 seeds to visitors. The free event will start with a 2km walk, followed by the tree-planting ceremony at Al Forsan Park. Eco-friendly food will be served and visitors are encouraged to wear green clothing.
Saturday, 7am-12.30pm; Dubai Expo City; ecowalk@jyk.ae
Sunday, November 10
Glowing monster trucks will take over Etihad Arena on Sunday. The Hot Wheels glow party is perfect for families and will feature several recognisable monster trucks such as Tiger Shark, Mega Wrex, Demo Derby and Gunkster. Aside from the show, a dance party is also on the cards, as well as dazzling light shows. Visitors can also enjoy Hot Wheels giveaways.
Friday, from 6.30pm; Saturday, from 11am and 6.30pm; Sunday, from 11am; from Dh160; Etihad Arena; abu-dhabi.platinumlist.net
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
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Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
If you go
Flight connections to Ulaanbaatar are available through a variety of hubs, including Seoul and Beijing, with airlines including Mongolian Airlines and Korean Air. While some nationalities, such as Americans, don’t need a tourist visa for Mongolia, others, including UAE citizens, can obtain a visa on arrival, while others including UK citizens, need to obtain a visa in advance. Contact the Mongolian Embassy in the UAE for more information.
Nomadic Road offers expedition-style trips to Mongolia in January and August, and other destinations during most other months. Its nine-day August 2020 Mongolia trip will cost from $5,250 per person based on two sharing, including airport transfers, two nights’ hotel accommodation in Ulaanbaatar, vehicle rental, fuel, third party vehicle liability insurance, the services of a guide and support team, accommodation, food and entrance fees; nomadicroad.com
A fully guided three-day, two-night itinerary at Three Camel Lodge costs from $2,420 per person based on two sharing, including airport transfers, accommodation, meals and excursions including the Yol Valley and Flaming Cliffs. A return internal flight from Ulaanbaatar to Dalanzadgad costs $300 per person and the flight takes 90 minutes each way; threecamellodge.com
'The Lost Daughter'
Director: Maggie Gyllenhaal
Starring: Olivia Colman, Jessie Buckley, Dakota Johnson
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
hall of shame
SUNDERLAND 2002-03
No one has ended a Premier League season quite like Sunderland. They lost each of their final 15 games, taking no points after January. They ended up with 19 in total, sacking managers Peter Reid and Howard Wilkinson and losing 3-1 to Charlton when they scored three own goals in eight minutes.
SUNDERLAND 2005-06
Until Derby came along, Sunderland’s total of 15 points was the Premier League’s record low. They made it until May and their final home game before winning at the Stadium of Light while they lost a joint record 29 of their 38 league games.
HUDDERSFIELD 2018-19
Joined Derby as the only team to be relegated in March. No striker scored until January, while only two players got more assists than goalkeeper Jonas Lossl. The mid-season appointment Jan Siewert was to end his time as Huddersfield manager with a 5.3 per cent win rate.
ASTON VILLA 2015-16
Perhaps the most inexplicably bad season, considering they signed Idrissa Gueye and Adama Traore and still only got 17 points. Villa won their first league game, but none of the next 19. They ended an abominable campaign by taking one point from the last 39 available.
FULHAM 2018-19
Terrible in different ways. Fulham’s total of 26 points is not among the lowest ever but they contrived to get relegated after spending over £100 million (Dh457m) in the transfer market. Much of it went on defenders but they only kept two clean sheets in their first 33 games.
LA LIGA: Sporting Gijon, 13 points in 1997-98.
BUNDESLIGA: Tasmania Berlin, 10 points in 1965-66
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How to register as a donor
1) Organ donors can register on the Hayat app, run by the Ministry of Health and Prevention
2) There are about 11,000 patients in the country in need of organ transplants
3) People must be over 21. Emiratis and residents can register.
4) The campaign uses the hashtag #donate_hope
The Pope's itinerary
Sunday, February 3, 2019 - Rome to Abu Dhabi
1pm: departure by plane from Rome / Fiumicino to Abu Dhabi
10pm: arrival at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
Monday, February 4
12pm: welcome ceremony at the main entrance of the Presidential Palace
12.20pm: visit Abu Dhabi Crown Prince at Presidential Palace
5pm: private meeting with Muslim Council of Elders at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
6.10pm: Inter-religious in the Founder's Memorial
Tuesday, February 5 - Abu Dhabi to Rome
9.15am: private visit to undisclosed cathedral
10.30am: public mass at Zayed Sports City – with a homily by Pope Francis
12.40pm: farewell at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
1pm: departure by plane to Rome
5pm: arrival at the Rome / Ciampino International Airport
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder MHEV
Power: 360bhp
Torque: 500Nm
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Price: from Dh282,870
On sale: now
What is a robo-adviser?
Robo-advisers use an online sign-up process to gauge an investor’s risk tolerance by feeding information such as their age, income, saving goals and investment history into an algorithm, which then assigns them an investment portfolio, ranging from more conservative to higher risk ones.
These portfolios are made up of exchange traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to indices such as US and global equities, fixed-income products like bonds, though exposure to real estate, commodity ETFs or gold is also possible.
Investing in ETFs allows robo-advisers to offer fees far lower than traditional investments, such as actively managed mutual funds bought through a bank or broker. Investors can buy ETFs directly via a brokerage, but with robo-advisers they benefit from investment portfolios matched to their risk tolerance as well as being user friendly.
Many robo-advisers charge what are called wrap fees, meaning there are no additional fees such as subscription or withdrawal fees, success fees or fees for rebalancing.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
A list of the animal rescue organisations in the UAE
Results
2.30pm: Expo 2020 Dubai – Conditions (PA) Dh80,000 (Dirt) 1,600m; Winner: Barakka, Ray Dawson (jockey), Ahmad bin Harmash (trainer)
3.05pm: Now Or Never – Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Turf) 1,600m; Winner: One Idea, Andrea Atzeni, Doug Watson
3.40pm: This Is Our Time – Handicap (TB) Dh82,500 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Perfect Balance, Tadhg O’Shea, Bhupat Seemar
4.15pm: Visit Expo 2020 – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Kaheall, Richard Mullen, Salem bin Ghadayer
4.50pm: The World In One Place – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 1.900m; Winner: Castlebar, Adrie de Vries, Helal Al Alawi
5.25pm: Vision – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: Shanty Star, Richard Mullen, Rashed Bouresly
6pm: Al Wasl Plaza – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 1,200m; Winner: Jadwal, Dane O’Neill, Doug Watson
Sri Lanka-India Test series schedule
- 1st Test India won by 304 runs at Galle
- 2nd Test India won by innings and 53 runs at Colombo
- 3rd Test August 12-16 at Pallekele
Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
