Take advantage of the special World Cup deals put together by various hotels for a summer full of excitement.
The Sheraton Abu Dhabi Hotel & Resort will telecast all the major World Cup matches that start at 6pm and 10.30pm on a large screen by the resort's pool (entrance is free).
Guests can avail of the hotel's "all you can eat and drink" package, valid during game screenings and priced at US$53 (Dh195) per person. Those who come dressed in their national colours get the chance to win a coupon for three drinks.
The Tavern, the hotel pub, will also show all live World Cup matches. Until the semifinals, guests get to participate in the Daily Raffle Draw by guessing the game score. The winner gets a complimentary beverage and a snack platter for the next game.
To enter the Grand Raffle Draw (it runs until the quarterfinals), guests must predict the World Cup champions. The prize is two tickets from Austrian Airlines.
The World Cup room packages include single rooms from $162 (Dh595) and double rooms from from Dh795.
Visit www.sheratonabudhabihotel.com for screening schedules. For more information, call 02 667 3333.
Al Ain Rotana will screen live matches in a specially designed outdoor arena with an extra-long bar. The promotion includes various activities, limited edition club T-shirts, games and much more. Valid from June 11 to July 11.
For more information, call 03 703 1114 or visit www.rotana.com
Watch the migration of wildebeest from Tanzania's new Serengeti Soroi Lodge. Set to open on Tuesday, the lodge sits on a remote hill in the western corridor of Serengeti National Park, providing an excellent vantage point from which to catch all the action.
Guests can choose from 25 wood-floored chalets. Each chalet has an en suite bathroom that features a Turkish bath and an outdoor shower that offers stunning views of the Musabi plains 100 metres below.
The lodge also offers many facilities, including an infinity rock pool with a waterfall and a Nomadic African Spa (guests can ask to have their treatments in the privacy of their chalet or on the balcony).
Serengeti Soroi can be accessed by daily flights landing at the Seronera Airstrip, private charters or self-driven vehicles. The lodge lies about 68 kilometres from the airstrip.
Prices start from $485 (Dh1,780) per person per night based on two people sharing.
The 10-night "Best of Remote Tanzania" package costs from $7,158 (Dh26,290) per person based on two people sharing and includes three nights at Serengeti Soroi Lodge, three nights at Katavi Bush Lodge and four nights at Kungwe Beach Lodge in Mahale. This includes game drives and a walking safari in Katavi National Park (Tanzania's third-largest national reserve), chimpanzee tracking, a fishing trip, snorkelling and kayaking at Mahale.
Prices include park and camp fees, soft drinks, laundry at all lodges and airstrip transfers. Valid from June 1 to December 31, 2010.
For more information, visit www.kamili.co.uk.
Return flights on Emirates (www.emirates.com) from Dubai to to Dar es Salaam cost from $840 (Dh3,085) including taxes.
Head to South Africa and spend four nights at the Oyster Box Hotel in Durban for the price of three.
Situated right on the edge of the Indian Ocean, The Oyster Box hotel was named by Conde Nast Traveler as one of this year's "hot hotels".
The Stay 4 Pay 3 package costs from $900 (Dh3,300) per person, based on double occupancy in a Classic room. The price includes accommodation, daily breakfast, airport transfers and taxes. The offer excludes stays during the Fifa World Cup (June 6 to July 13) and cannot be combined with any other discount. Valid for visits from now until October 31.
Guests can choose to complete their African adventure by adding to their itinerary a three-night big game safari in KwaZulu Natal province.
Go bird-watching (there are more than 400 species to train your binoculars on) and wildlife tracking (look out for lions, cheetah and hyena), and enjoy a two-hour cruise in iSimangaliso Wetland Park, formerly known as St Lucia Park. Declared a World Heritage Site in 1999, iSimangaliso consists of 13 protected areas teeming with wild antelope, crocodiles and hippos, and a variety of waterfowl, including spectacular colonies of pelicans, herons and terns.
The Safari package includes three nights in luxury tents at the five-star Private Game Lodge, transfer from the Oyster Box via an air-conditioned vehicle, all meals (breakfast, lunch, high tea and dinner with house wine), the services of a certified guide and driver, a specialist wildlife guide, game drives in an open vehicle, Zulu dancing and a Boma dinner (a traditional African barbecue), a boat cruise on the St Lucia estuary, all entrance fees and airport transfers.
Until June 7, double rooms cost from $1,570 (Dh5,763) per person based on two people sharing. From July 14 to September 30, double rooms cost $875 (Dh3,213).
For more information, visit www.oysterboxhotel.com and www.safarisforafrica.co.za
'C'mon C'mon'
Director:Mike Mills
Stars:Joaquin Phoenix, Gaby Hoffmann, Woody Norman
Rating: 4/5
Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
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How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
Fixture: Ukraine v Portugal, Monday, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: BeIN Sports
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
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
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
Abu Dhabi traffic facts
Drivers in Abu Dhabi spend 10 per cent longer in congested conditions than they would on a free-flowing road
The highest volume of traffic on the roads is found between 7am and 8am on a Sunday.
Travelling before 7am on a Sunday could save up to four hours per year on a 30-minute commute.
The day was the least congestion in Abu Dhabi in 2019 was Tuesday, August 13.
The highest levels of traffic were found on Sunday, November 10.
Drivers in Abu Dhabi lost 41 hours spent in traffic jams in rush hour during 2019
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
The story in numbers
18
This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens
450,000
More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps
1.5 million
There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m
73
The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association
18,000
The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme
77,400
The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study
4,926
This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee
The Bio
Favourite place in UAE: Al Rams pearling village
What one book should everyone read: Any book written before electricity was invented. When a writer willingly worked under candlelight, you know he/she had a real passion for their craft
Your favourite type of pearl: All of them. No pearl looks the same and each carries its own unique characteristics, like humans
Best time to swim in the sea: When there is enough light to see beneath the surface
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 240hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 390Nm at 3,000rpm
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Price: from Dh122,745
On sale: now
Vidaamuyarchi
Director: Magizh Thirumeni
Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra
Rating: 4/5
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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.
The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
On sale: Now
SPEC SHEET
Display: 6.8" edge quad-HD dynamic Amoled 2X, Infinity-O, 3088 x 1440, 500ppi, HDR10 , 120Hz
Processor: 4nm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1/Exynos 2200, 8-core
Memory: 8/12GB RAM
Storage: 128/256/512GB/1TB
Platform: Android 12
Main camera: quad 12MP ultra-wide f/2.2, 108MP wide f/1.8, 10MP telephoto f/4.9, 10MP telephoto 2.4; Space Zoom up to 100x, auto HDR, expert RAW
Video: 8K@24fps, 4K@60fps, full-HD@60fps, HD@30fps, super slo-mo@960fps
Front camera: 40MP f/2.2
Battery: 5000mAh, fast wireless charging 2.0 Wireless PowerShare
Connectivity: 5G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC
I/O: USB-C
SIM: single nano, or nano and SIM, nano and nano, eSIM/nano and nano
Colours: burgundy, green, phantom black, phantom white, graphite, sky blue, red
Price: Dh4,699 for 128GB, Dh5,099 for 256GB, Dh5,499 for 512GB; 1TB unavailable in the UAE
RESULTS
5pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 2,200m
Winner: Jawal Al Reef, Fernando Jara (jockey), Ahmed Al Mehairbi (trainer)
5.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: AF Seven Skies, Bernardo Pinheiro, Qais Aboud
6pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m
Winner: Almahroosa, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel
6.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m
Winner: AF Sumoud, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,200m
Winner: AF Majalis, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
7.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh90,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: Adventurous, Sandro Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihe