Why Brisbane?
Brisbane has an energy that even the catastrophic recent floods cannot drown. For decades it has been in the shadow of its larger, brasher and more glamorous sister city, Sydney. A foreigner's first thoughts of Australia undoubtedly involve the creamy white arches of the Sydney Opera House, the mighty steel span of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the stunning crescent of sand at Bondi Beach. Rather than lamenting this, Brisbane has got on with the job of making a name for itself, regardless of rivalry. It has developed its arts and music scene, pioneered architecture and design and re-energised its city centre with lanes for shopping and nightlife. The fact that it has done all this modestly, rather than boasting and showing off like other cities we could mention, makes Brisbane all the more attractive.
A comfortable bed
Until recently Brisbane lacked a seriously good and hip hotel scene, but two establishments are now pioneering what could become a cluster of cool places to stay. Both reflect Brisbane's confident, modern image. Limes Hotel, on Constance Street in Fortitude Valley (www.limeshotel.com.au, www.designhotels.com; 00 61 7 3852 9000; double rooms from about A$250 [Dh915] per night, including taxes), is a member of the stylish Design Hotels family. It is a 21-room urban retreat with special touches, such as individually hand-painted feature walls, iPod docks and free wireless, custom-made furniture, L'Occitane toiletries and an outdoor rooftop cinema for those balmy Brisbane nights. Nearby is the Emporium Hotel (www.emporiumhotel.com.au; 0061 7 3253 6999; double rooms from about A$270 [Dh990] per night, including taxes), which is also modern and sleek with dark-fabric curtains and Molton Brown products.
Find your feet
Brisbane is built around its eponymous river, which snakes languorously through the city centre en route to Moreton Bay and the Pacific Ocean. Get to know the river and you get to know the city, so hop on board the excellent CityCat express boats, which cruise down south of the city centre to the University of Queensland campus, before heading back north again. For the locals, the CityCats offer one of the most enviable commutes in the world but they are also perfect for visitors. The floods hit the CityCat service hard and the authorities predict it will be April or May before the boats are running again. If you are in town in September and October (spring) then you will be treated to a fabulous display of jacaranda trees, whose bright blossoms paint the riverside and are whirled into mauve blizzards by the breeze.
Meet the locals
One location where you are guaranteed to be outnumbered - and probably deafened - by the locals is the 42,000-seater sports stadium known as the Gabba. Sport is worshipped in Australia and the Gabba is a shrine. During summer (October to March) the stadium hosts interstate and international cricket matches and in winter (April to September) it's home to Australian Rules Football. Details and tickets can be found at www.thegabba.com.au. Another chance to mingle with the locals is at a game of lawn bowls, an ancient English game adopted with passion by Australia in the 19th century. The New Farm Bowls Club is a good place to start.
Book a table
In the past decade Brisbane has undergone a culinary revolution and now boasts some of Australia's best dining spots. Two to check out are Ortiga (www.ortiga.com.au), a stylish Spanish place with main courses from A$20 to A$35 (Dh73 to Dh130), and Anise (www.anise.com.au), which specialises in French cuisine and has mains from A$35 to A$42 (Dh128 to Dh154) and a five-course degustation menu from A$90 (Dh330).
If you want a slice of real Aussie dining culture, then head for the imposing 1889 building known as the Breakfast Creek Hotel where you can choose from one of 12 cuts of prime Queensland beef. After a trip to the Brekky Creek, steak may possibly never taste as good again. For breakfast with the locals and possibly the best coffee in the city, head to the suburb of West End and the rustic, brick-walled Gunshop Cafe (www.thegunshopcafe.com, breakfast mains from A$15 to A$20 [Dh55 to Dh73]).
Shopper's paradise
I believe no city can be considered truly modern and sophisticated without a collection of good bookshops, and Brisbane does not disappoint. As well as mainstream stores such as Borders, it has Folio Books on Albert Street, which has been a bookworm's hangout for years, and Pulp Fiction in Anzac Square Arcade off Edward Street, specialising in science fiction, crime and mystery. As well as architecture, design, art and music, Brisbane has also developed a compact and diverse fashion shopping scene. Aussie womenswear favourites Allanah Hill and Lisa Ho are present but try to find Brisbane-based designer DogStar (Edward Street) for Asian-infused couture. Men can find stylish shirts at Australian label Herringbone (city centre) and a range of fashions in a clutch of funky shops near the corner of Ann Street and Brunswick Street in Fortitude Valley.
What to avoid
Quite frankly, not much, but the city centre on a Saturday night can get rowdy, especially if the locals are celebrating a sporting achievement.
Don't miss
Brisbane boasts not one leading national art gallery but two - the soon to re-open Queensland Art Gallery and the adjacent Gallery of Modern Art - which house vast collections of Australian, Pacific, Aboriginal and Asian pieces as well as exhibitions and installations from home and abroad. Another must-see is the city's sub-tropical Botanic Gardens whose riverside location makes the perfect spot for a picnic after strolling by the river. Brisbane is slightly inland from the coast so if you have time and a penchant for the beach, head out of town and south to the inviting stretches of sand at the Gold Coast, or catch the ferry to Moreton Island, where dolphins frolic.
The specs: 2017 GMC Sierra 1500 Denali
Price, base / as tested Dh207,846 / Dh220,000
Engine 6.2L V8
Transmission Eight-speed automatic
Power 420hp @ 5,600rpm
Torque 624Nm @ 4,100rpm
Fuel economy, combined 13.5L / 100km
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Profile
Company name: Jaib
Started: January 2018
Co-founders: Fouad Jeryes and Sinan Taifour
Based: Jordan
Sector: FinTech
Total transactions: over $800,000 since January, 2018
Investors in Jaib's mother company Alpha Apps: Aramex and 500 Startups
Plan to boost public schools
A major shake-up of government-run schools was rolled out across the country in 2017. Known as the Emirati School Model, it placed more emphasis on maths and science while also adding practical skills to the curriculum.
It was accompanied by the promise of a Dh5 billion investment, over six years, to pay for state-of-the-art infrastructure improvements.
Aspects of the school model will be extended to international private schools, the education minister has previously suggested.
Recent developments have also included the introduction of moral education - which public and private schools both must teach - along with reform of the exams system and tougher teacher licensing requirements.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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
Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
Crazy Rich Asians
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeon, Gemma Chan
Four stars
The Details
Kabir Singh
Produced by: Cinestaan Studios, T-Series
Directed by: Sandeep Reddy Vanga
Starring: Shahid Kapoor, Kiara Advani, Suresh Oberoi, Soham Majumdar, Arjun Pahwa
Rating: 2.5/5
Everton%20Fixtures
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MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Destroyer
Director: Karyn Kusama
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Toby Kebbell, Sebastian Stan
Rating: 3/5
UAE release: January 31
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Types of fraud
Phishing: Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.
Smishing: The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.
Vishing: The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.
SIM swap: Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.
Identity theft: Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.
Prize scams: Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.
* Nada El Sawy
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”.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
