The world’s first “universal museum” was born in London in 1759, when the doors of the British Museum opened to the public for the first time. Seeded with artefacts donated by Sir Hans Sloane, it set out to showcase all the world’s civilisations. Visitors have been drawn to its extraordinary collections of treasures ever since.
The appreciation of different cultures has never been more important. Nowhere is that truer than in our region where terrorist groups like ISIL have done such damage in recent years. Radicalised minds start from the position that only the tiniest slither of human history is worthy of celebration. Everything else should be destroyed.
Proving them wrong is why the UAE invested in the new Louvre Abu Dhabi. It is remarkable not only for the sublime architecture of the building, which juts off the shores of Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi’s emerging cultural quarter. It is also the first universal museum in the Arab world, and one of the very few outside the West.
With its mission to gather all of human history under one roof, this new wonder of the world is a direct descendant of the British Museum. But its ground-breaking approach to displaying the works takes the concept further. Museums have traditionally arranged objects by civilisation, region or period. In Abu Dhabi, the joint Emirati and French curatorial team present the history of art as a global continuum, rather than isolated episodes of brilliance.
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Objects from all over the world are brought together so that visitors can appreciate connections across cultures and time. In one of the 12 galleries a visitor might encounter an ancient marker stone for pilgrims walking to Mecca displayed next to Christian reliquaries. European globes can be inspected next to maps made by Muslim navigators. A newly acquired Yemeni Torah can be admired next to a sixth-century Quran and a Gothic Bible. The beauty all three objects share will be obvious to any visitor.
As Emmanuel Macron, president of France, said at its inauguration, the museum is “a bridge between the continents that today some would like to divide”. In the words of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, on the same evening: “We don’t just aim for a dialogue between civilisations, rather an alliance between civilisations”.
Respect for different cultures and religions is already a hallmark of Abu Dhabi, the capital of a diverse country that already has much to offer to tourists and international business people.
But the Louvre is not just for our foreign guests to enjoy. It will be equally important to our own citizens as we develop a knowledge economy less tethered to global energy markets. The museum’s outreach programme intends to bring as many people as possible from all of our seven emirates. The national syllabus has been updated to take greater account of art history and the practice of art.
The UAE can already stake a claim to being the cultural capital of the Middle East. Art Dubai now ranks among the world’s great international art fairs. Abu Dhabi Art is also developing fast. Emirati artists have been represented at the UAE pavilion at the Venice Biennale since 2009. The Louvre is just one part of the UAE’s investment in education and culture. More are on their way, including the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi and the Zayed National Museum. The coming of the Arab world’s first universal museum is just the start of a cultural blossoming in the Gulf.
Sulaiman Almazroui is ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to the Court of St James’s in London
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2 Kuwaiti teams
Labour dispute
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2.0
Director: S Shankar
Producer: Lyca Productions; presented by Dharma Films
Cast: Rajnikanth, Akshay Kumar, Amy Jackson, Sudhanshu Pandey
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
History's medical milestones
1799 - First small pox vaccine administered
1846 - First public demonstration of anaesthesia in surgery
1861 - Louis Pasteur published his germ theory which proved that bacteria caused diseases
1895 - Discovery of x-rays
1923 - Heart valve surgery performed successfully for first time
1928 - Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin
1953 - Structure of DNA discovered
1952 - First organ transplant - a kidney - takes place
1954 - Clinical trials of birth control pill
1979 - MRI, or magnetic resonance imaging, scanned used to diagnose illness and injury.
1998 - The first adult live-donor liver transplant is carried out
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
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FINAL RECKONING
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg
Rating: 4/5
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Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Biog
Mr Kandhari is legally authorised to conduct marriages in the gurdwara
He has officiated weddings of Sikhs and people of different faiths from Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Russia, the US and Canada
Father of two sons, grandfather of six
Plays golf once a week
Enjoys trying new holiday destinations with his wife and family
Walks for an hour every morning
Completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Loyola College, Chennai, India
2019 is a milestone because he completes 50 years in business
THE BIO
BIO:
Born in RAK on December 9, 1983
Lives in Abu Dhabi with her family
She graduated from Emirates University in 2007 with a BA in architectural engineering
Her motto in life is her grandmother’s saying “That who created you will not have you get lost”
Her ambition is to spread UAE’s culture of love and acceptance through serving coffee, the country’s traditional coffee in particular.
WWE TLC results
Asuka won the SmackDown Women's title in a TLC triple threat with Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair
Dean Ambrose won the Intercontinental title against Seth Rollins
Daniel Bryan retained the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against AJ Styles
Ronda Rousey retained the Raw Women's Championship against Nia Jax
Rey Mysterio beat Randy Orton in a chairs match
Finn Balor defeated Drew McIntyre
Natalya beat Ruby Riott in a tables match
Braun Strowman beat Baron Corbin in a TLC match
Sheamus and Cesaro retained the SmackDown Tag Titles against The Usos and New Day
R-Truth and Carmella won the Mixed Match Challenge by beating Jinder Mahal and Alicia Fox
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What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
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Reduced risk of dementia
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Our legal advisor
Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation.
Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.
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Company profile
Company name: Suraasa
Started: 2018
Founders: Rishabh Khanna, Ankit Khanna and Sahil Makker
Based: India, UAE and the UK
Industry: EdTech
Initial investment: More than $200,000 in seed funding
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League quarter-final second leg:
Juventus 1 Ajax 2
Ajax advance 3-2 on aggregate
Company profile
Name: Thndr
Started: October 2020
Founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: pre-seed of $800,000
Funding stage: series A; $20 million
Investors: Tiger Global, Beco Capital, Prosus Ventures, Y Combinator, Global Ventures, Abdul Latif Jameel, Endure Capital, 4DX Ventures, Plus VC, Rabacap and MSA Capital
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