Avatar: The Way of Water, is the sequel to the highest-grossing film of all time, 2009’s Avatar. Photo: Supplied
Avatar: The Way of Water, is the sequel to the highest-grossing film of all time, 2009’s Avatar. Photo: Supplied
Avatar: The Way of Water, is the sequel to the highest-grossing film of all time, 2009’s Avatar. Photo: Supplied
Avatar: The Way of Water, is the sequel to the highest-grossing film of all time, 2009’s Avatar. Photo: Supplied

Al Ghurair Centre at heart of action this Dubai Shopping Festival



Dubai Shopping Festival - one of the most anticipated retail events of the year - is back.

And Al Ghurair Centre continues to be at the heart of the action.

The mall’s huge array of stores are primed for the annual fixture, which includes the return of the Deira destination’s highly awaited ‘spin and win’ campaign in which customers can spin their way to a Dh1 million jackpot, along with other cash prizes.

This festive season also sees the Dubai movie viewing experience reach a new level of immersion with the opening of Star Cinemas’ latest multiplex at Al Ghurair Centre.

Adding to the retail excitement for visitors this Dubai Shopping Festival, the mall is providing enticing in-store offers from favourite brands, including Bath & Body Works, Matalan, Naturalizer, and many more.

The mall boasts a huge array of 250 shops stores covering everything from fashion for men, women and children, eyewear, luggage, health and sports gear through to watches, cosmetics, electronics and luxury items including jewellery and perfumes.

And for those feeling lucky during this latest edition of DSF, anyone spending Dh200 at any store in Al Ghurair Centre is being given a chance to enter the digital draw.

Participating customers are simply required to submit their shopping receipts at the customer service desk for their chance to spin the wheel. The digital raffle draw is rewarding 25 winners who can land cash prizes of Dh10,000, Dh15,000, Dh20,000, Dh25,000, Dh30,000, and Dh40,000. Draw winners will be announced on December 25 - Christmas Day - and on January 1, 8, 15, 22, and 29.

The Dubai movie viewing experience reaches a new level of immersion with the opening of Star Cinemas’ latest multiplex at Al Ghurair Centre. Photo: supplied
The Dubai movie viewing experience reaches a new level of immersion with the opening of Star Cinemas’ latest multiplex at Al Ghurair Centre. Photo: supplied

Every film fan, meanwhile, can feel like a winner at the latest addition to the Al Ghurair Centre offering as state-of-the-art Dolby Cinema arrives to give the big screen experience a whole new dimension.

The opening of Star Cinemas’ latest multiplex at Al Ghurair Centre comes equipped with the best audio and visual technologies and is a flagship of the brand, delivering more than 1,500 plush, comfortable seats that further add to the movie viewing experience.

Featuring a 176-seat auditorium, the Dolby Cinema provides guests with the full Dolby experience, namely technology that unlocks a film’s emotional impact by allowing moviegoers to see the delicate details and ultra-vivid colours of Dolby Vision and experience the immersive sound of Dolby Atmos.

Dolby Cinema was developed to enrich all types of motion picture genres, from Hollywood blockbusters to on-trend arthouse features, all the latest Hindi and Tamil titles, and everything in between.

It is an ideal way to enter the immersive world of long-awaited cinema ‘event’ Avatar: The Way of Water, sequel to the highest-grossing film of all time, 2009’s Avatar.

Thanks to Dolby’s advanced qualities, film-goers can experience this highly-praised cinematic title in the way it was intended - with unmatched picture quality, incredible brightness, ultra-vivid colours and exceptional 3D separation and accuracy, adding up to a unique experience that will place audiences in the heart of the fictional world of Pandora.

DSF runs until January 29.

You can visit www.alghuraircentre.com to discover all of Al Ghurair Centre’s activities during the festival as well as information about the mall’s rewards app with special offers such as buy one, get one free meal deals in the centre’s 60-plus restaurant options for when your appetite comes calling.

The Transfiguration

Director: Michael O’Shea

Starring: Eric Ruffin, Chloe Levine

Three stars

UAE players with central contracts

Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Rameez Shahzad, Shaiman Anwar, Adnan Mufti, Mohammed Usman, Ghulam Shabbir, Ahmed Raza, Qadeer Ahmed, Amir Hayat, Mohammed Naveed and Imran Haider.

Company%C2%A0profile
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Who's who in Yemen conflict

Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government

Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council

Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south

Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory

Tamkeen's offering
  • Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
  • Option 2: 50% across three years
  • Option 3: 30% across five years 
Section 375

Cast: Akshaye Khanna, Richa Chadha, Meera Chopra & Rahul Bhat

Director: Ajay Bahl

Producers: Kumar Mangat Pathak, Abhishek Pathak & SCIPL

Rating: 3.5/5

The specs
  • Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
  • Power: 640hp
  • Torque: 760nm
  • On sale: 2026
  • Price: Not announced yet
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

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

Fund-raising tips for start-ups

Develop an innovative business concept

Have the ability to differentiate yourself from competitors

Put in place a business continuity plan after Covid-19

Prepare for the worst-case scenario (further lockdowns, long wait for a vaccine, etc.) 

Have enough cash to stay afloat for the next 12 to 18 months

Be creative and innovative to reduce expenses

Be prepared to use Covid-19 as an opportunity for your business

* Tips from Jassim Al Marzooqi and Walid Hanna

How has net migration to UK changed?

The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.

It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.

The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.

The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.

Zombieland: Double Tap

Director: Ruben Fleischer

Stars: Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone

Four out of five stars 

The specs

Engine 60kwh FWD

Battery Rimac 120kwh Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide (LiNiMnCoO2) chemistry

Power 204hp Torque 360Nm

Price, base / as tested Dh174,500 

The specs

Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo

Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed

Power: 271 and 409 horsepower

Torque: 385 and 650Nm

Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000

Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.

Based: Riyadh

Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany

Founded: September, 2020

Number of employees: 70

Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions

Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds  

Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices

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The currency conundrum

Russ Mould, investment director at online trading platform AJ Bell, says almost every major currency has challenges right now. “The US has a huge budget deficit, the euro faces political friction and poor growth, sterling is bogged down by Brexit, China’s renminbi is hit by debt fears while slowing Chinese growth is hurting commodity exporters like Australia and Canada.”

Most countries now actively want a weak currency to make their exports more competitive. “China seems happy to let the renminbi drift lower, the Swiss are still running quantitative easing at full tilt and central bankers everywhere are actively talking down their currencies or offering only limited support," says Mr Mould.

This is a race to the bottom, and everybody wants to be a winner.

Updated: December 26, 2022, 11:59 AM