Travel news: Festive island offers in the Maldives



The Hideaway Beach Resort & Spa, Dhonakulhi, Maldives, can help you start your Christmas celebrations with its seasonal package. The experience kicks off with a Christmas Eve dinner at Matheefaru restaurant, featuring a festive menu and a traditional drumming show from the resort's in-house band. Those with children can sign them up for the Santa's Little Helpers programme, which includes a treasure hunt aboard a traditional Maldivian dhoni boat, a visit from Santa on Christmas day – including toys and treats – and snorkelling lessons. When families book in for seven days, from December 22 to 29, they'll receive a stay in a deluxe water villa with a pool, on a half-board basis. The package cost from Dh57,555 for two adults and two children, including return flights with FlyDubai, return seaplane transfers to the resort, the Christmas Eve dinner and taxes.

Indonesia launches Muslim tourist guide

To help Muslim tourists travelling through Indonesia, the country's Ministry of Tourism has launched a new interactive visitors' guide. The 70-page directory, entitled Wonderful Indonesia: Many Lands. Timeless Culture. One Journey, is part of a campaign to make the country a top destination for Muslim tourists. It includes suggestions on where to shop, what attractions to see, the best halal restaurants and hotels to visit and places to pray throughout the country. The guide is published in English and Arabic, and can be downloaded here.

Boogie into the new year in Malta

Get your dancing shoes on in the Mediterranean to see in 2016. The Corinthia Palace Hotel & Spa, Malta, is holding a 1940s-themed "Swing Around the Clock" New Year's Eve party, featuring savoury snacks, sweet desserts and drinks at the Villa Corinthia restaurant. Visitors will then spend the evening kicking up their heels to the sound of a live jazz band, before counting down to the new year. The party costs €210 (Dh848) per person. The hotel is also offering a special overnight rate for the month of December, starting from €143 (Dh577) per person, including taxes, but excluding breakfast.

Get artsy on new worldwide tours

The travel company Cox & Kings has unveiled its new collection of Royal Academy of Arts worldwide tours. The company has 11 tours that focus on the art and architecture of different destinations. Travellers can explore the Basilica San Marco in Venice, visit the Bachkovo Monastery in Bulgaria and meet the curator of the Larco Museum in Lima, Peru. A lecturer accompanies each group, and many of the tours include exclusive visits and special access to areas not open to the general public. Tours start from March 2016, and include international flights, transfers, sightseeing, accommodation and breakfast.

alane@thenational.ae

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How to come clean about financial infidelity
  • Be honest and transparent: It is always better to own up than be found out. Tell your partner everything they want to know. Show remorse. Inform them of the extent of the situation so they know what they are dealing with.
  • Work on yourself: Be honest with yourself and your partner and figure out why you did it. Don’t be ashamed to ask for professional help. 
  • Give it time: Like any breach of trust, it requires time to rebuild. So be consistent, communicate often and be patient with your partner and yourself.
  • Discuss your financial situation regularly: Ensure your spouse is involved in financial matters and decisions. Your ability to consistently follow through with what you say you are going to do when it comes to money can make all the difference in your partner’s willingness to trust you again.
  • Work on a plan to resolve the problem together: If there is a lot of debt, for example, create a budget and financial plan together and ensure your partner is fully informed, involved and supported. 

Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching

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.

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
Dubai Bling season three

Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed 

Rating: 1/5

Company Profile 

Founder: Omar Onsi

Launched: 2018

Employees: 35

Financing stage: Seed round ($12 million)

Investors: B&Y, Phoenician Funds, M1 Group, Shorooq Partners

Game Changer

Director: Shankar 

Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram

Rating: 2/5

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36 - Australia v England at Birmingham, May 1902

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42 - New Zealand v Australia in Wellington, March 1946

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