Sharjah Ruler meets Sultan of Oman in Muscat

Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Ruler of Sharjah, met the Sultan of Oman after arriving in Muscat on Thursday.

The Ruler of Sharjah was received by Sultan Haitham at Al Alam Palace in the Omani capital, state news agency Wam reported.

Sultan Haitham emphasised the strong relations between the UAE and Oman while the Sharjah Ruler spoke of his desire to see continued prosperity for Oman and its people.

Sultan Haitham praised Sheikh Dr Sultan for his contributions to preserving Arab culture and identity by documenting its history, referencing the Sharjah Ruler's book The Portuguese in the Sea of Oman, Events in Annals from 1497AD to 1757AD.

The Sultan of Oman described the book as "a valuable addition to both Arab and international literary and historical collections".

Sheikh Dr Sultan was greeted on arrival at the Royal Airport by Khalid bin Hilal Al Busaidi, Minister of Diwan of the Royal Court.

Sheikh Dr Sultan also appeared at the Muscat International Book Fair where he signed copies of his book.

The book chronicles the movements of Portuguese fleets as they made their way to India, as well as the events and battles that took place during the 260-year period, Sharjah Government Media Office reported.

The 21-volume book, written in Arabic and English, has 10,500 pages, with each volume containing a collection of letters and documents. Sheikh Dr Sultan's tome contains almost 1,140 documents collected from around the world.

The book also contains complete books and rare works by Portuguese authors, published for the first time, the media office said.

Sheikh Dr Sultan visited the pavilion of the North Al Sharqiyah Governorate at the book fair in Muscat, the theme of which is 'Cultural Diversity, the Richness of Civilisations', where he was guest of honour.

Moon Music

Artist: Coldplay

Label: Parlophone/Atlantic

Number of tracks: 10

Rating: 3/5

India squads

Test squad against Afghanistan: Rahane (c), Dhawan, Vijay, Rahul, Pujara, Karun, Saha, Ashwin, Jadeja, Kuldeep, Umesh, Shami, Pandya, Ishant, Thakur.

T20 squad against Ireland and England: Kohli (c), Dhawan, Rohit, Rahul, Raina, Pandey, Dhoni, Karthik, Chahal, Kuldeep, Sundar, Bhuvneshwar, Bumrah, Pandya, Kaul, Umesh.

ODI squad against England: Kohli (c), Dhawan, Rohit, Rahul, Shreyas, Rayudu, Dhoni, Karthik, Chahal, Kuldeep, Sundar, Bhuvneshwar, Bumrah, Pandya, Kaul, Umesh

The specs: 2019 GMC Yukon Denali

Price, base: Dh306,500
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Power: 420hp @ 5,600rpm
Torque: 621Nm @ 4,100rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.9L / 100km

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Avatar: Fire and Ash

Director: James Cameron

Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana

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US households add $601bn of debt in 2019

American households borrowed another $601 billion (Dh2.2bn) in 2019, the largest yearly gain since 2007, just before the global financial crisis, according to February data from the New York Federal Reserve Bank.

Fuelled by rising mortgage debt as homebuyers continued to take advantage of low interest rates, the increase last year brought total household debt to a record high, surpassing the previous peak reached in 2008 just before the market crash, according to the report.

Following the 22nd straight quarter of growth, American household debt swelled to $14.15 trillion by the end of 2019, the New York Fed said in its quarterly report.

In the final three months of the year, new home loans jumped to their highest volume since the fourth quarter of 2005, while credit cards and auto loans also added to the increase.

The bad debt load is taking its toll on some households, and the New York Fed warned that more and more credit card borrowers — particularly young people — were falling behind on their payments.

"Younger borrowers, who are disproportionately likely to have credit cards and student loans as their primary form of debt, struggle more than others with on-time repayment," New York Fed researchers said.