All of me loved all of John Legend’s concert at Louvre Abu Dhabi last weekend.
It was my first-ever live concert and boy was it spectacular. Let’s just say, I came with high expectations and left with higher hopes. As a fellow spectator told me, I have set the bar high for my next one.
Coming from India, where we do have a lot of concerts, I have always been put off by the idea of getting pushed and shoved by an unruly crowd. I mean, it happens daily on public transport, why would I willingly volunteer for the experience in the name of recreation?
So when the opportunity presented itself in a city as safe and mesmerising as Abu Dhabi, I jumped.
Louvre Abu Dhabi, celebrating the fifth anniversary of its opening, was the perfect magical backdrop, while the Legend served us hits one after the other.
The floating stage could have been a bit bigger but I wasn’t complaining as they projected the show on one of the white cuboid blocks beneath the magnificent Jean Nouvel-designed dome.
The stands were packed, the weather was about right and Legend walked in with a swagger that would easily beat Chrissy Teigen’s ramp walk. Seriously.
First of all, he started the concert on time. I mean, if you are doing that in 2022, you have my respect. Thank you for not being fashionably late.

Secondly, midway through the concert, as he sang his love songs, he asked us, an international audience, to turn around and express our love for each other. You should have seen the grin on everybody’s face as they started saying ‘I love you’ randomly to strangers. It was funny and sweet. As he rightly said, if the past few months have shown us anything, it is that the world needs more love.
Some waved, some screamed, some danced, some sang. It was a concert for all and Legend wanted us to know that from the start.
Not only did he impress us with his vocals, but his performance was on point. The mic stand was dropped, there was a swirl here and a jiggle there and not once did he wipe the gleaming sweat off his face. This man was not lip syncing and thank God for that.
He started with Ordinary People and us ordinary people crooned with him:
Take it slow, oh-oh This time we'll take it slow
Well, nobody was in a hurry for this concert to end.
While John also sang Minefields, Used to Love U and Nervous, the highlight of the night was seeing him take to the piano to perform the crowd favourite All of Me.
I attended the concert alone, but a group of enthusiastic women were next to me and were quick to tell me I was part of their tribe for the night.

So I had great company and we shared mementoes and clicked photos and kept telling each other how lucky we were.
Indeed, I came out of the concert feeling fortunate and happy.
John Legend lived up to the hype of being one of the 17 EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony) winners. Now, I want more of this live concert scene and maybe even better, if not the same, if that's even possible.
Suggestions are welcome, but they'd need to beat this spectacular venue.
Impressionism at Louvre Abu Dhabi: new exhibition blends brushstrokes and brilliance — in pictures
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'Bazille Studio' (1870), oil on canvas by Frederic Bazille and Edouard Manet. Victor Besa / The National -

'Floor Scrapers' (1875), oil on canvas by Gustave Caillebotte. Victor Besa / The National -

'In the Cafe' (1880), oil on canvas by Gustave Caillebotte. Victor Besa / The National -

'The Bezique Game' (1880), oil on canvas by Gustave Caillebotte. Victor Besa / The National -

'Spring' (1857), oil on canvas by Charles-Francois Daubigny. Victor Besa / The National -

'Woman with a Coffee Pot' (1890-95), oil on canvas by Paul Cezanne. Victor Besa / The National -

Sylvie Patry, chief curator and deputy director for Collections and Curatorial Affairs at Musée d’Orsay. Victor Besa / The National -

'Apples and Oranges' (1839), oil on canvas by Paul Cezanne. Victor Besa / The National -

'The Pastures under a Cloudy Sky' (1856-60), oil on canvas by Constant Troyon. Victor Besa / The National -

'Family Reunion' (1867-1841), oil on canvas by Frederic Bazille. Victor Besa / The National -

'The Cup of Chocolate' (1877-78), oil on canvas by Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Victor Besa / The National -

'The Ice Floes' (1880), oil on canvas by Claude Monet. Victor Besa / The National -

'The Improvised Field Hospital' (1865), oil on canvas by Frederic Bazille. Victor Besa / The National -

'A Studio at Les Batignolles' (1870), oil on canvas by Henri Fantin-Latour. Victor Besa / The National -

'The Two Sisters' (1863), oil on canvas by James Tissot. Victor Besa / The National -

'Rue Montorgueil, Paris' (1878), oil on canvas by Claude Monet. Victor Besa / The National -

'Saint-Lazare Railway Station' (1877), oil on canvas by Claude Monet. Victor Besa / The National -

'The Balcony' (1868-69), oil on canvas by Edouard Manet. Victor Besa / The National -

'Floor Scrapers' by Gustave Cailebotte, oil on canvas. Khushnum Bhandari / The National -

The exhibition is running until February. Khushnum Bhandari / The National -

It highlights how the French artists, known as 'the impressionists', were rebels of their time. Khushnum Bhandari / The National -

Their vibrant brushstrokes and outdoor landscapes broke conventional art rules in the 19th century. Khushnum Bhandari / The National -

'The Lady with the Glove' by Carlos-Duran. Khushnum Bhandari / The National
Tips for used car buyers
- Choose cars with GCC specifications
- Get a service history for cars less than five years old
- Don’t go cheap on the inspection
- Check for oil leaks
- Do a Google search on the standard problems for your car model
- Do your due diligence. Get a transfer of ownership done at an official RTA centre
- Check the vehicle’s condition. You don’t want to buy a car that’s a good deal but ends up costing you Dh10,000 in repairs every month
- Validate warranty and service contracts with the relevant agency and and make sure they are valid when ownership is transferred
- If you are planning to sell the car soon, buy one with a good resale value. The two most popular cars in the UAE are black or white in colour and other colours are harder to sell
Tarek Kabrit, chief executive of Seez, and Imad Hammad, chief executive and co-founder of CarSwitch.com
MO
Top Hundred overseas picks
London Spirit: Kieron Pollard, Riley Meredith
Welsh Fire: Adam Zampa, David Miller, Naseem Shah
Manchester Originals: Andre Russell, Wanindu Hasaranga, Sean Abbott
Northern Superchargers: Dwayne Bravo, Wahab Riaz
Oval Invincibles: Sunil Narine, Rilee Rossouw
Trent Rockets: Colin Munro
Birmingham Phoenix: Matthew Wade, Kane Richardson
Southern Brave: Quinton de Kock
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Pathaan
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Company profile
Company name: Nestrom
Started: 2017
Co-founders: Yousef Wadi, Kanaan Manasrah and Shadi Shalabi
Based: Jordan
Sector: Technology
Initial investment: Close to $100,000
Investors: Propeller, 500 Startups, Wamda Capital, Agrimatico, Techstars and some angel investors
Key developments in maritime dispute
2000: Israel withdraws from Lebanon after nearly 30 years without an officially demarcated border. The UN establishes the Blue Line to act as the frontier.
2007: Lebanon and Cyprus define their respective exclusive economic zones to facilitate oil and gas exploration. Israel uses this to define its EEZ with Cyprus
2011: Lebanon disputes Israeli-proposed line and submits documents to UN showing different EEZ. Cyprus offers to mediate without much progress.
2018: Lebanon signs first offshore oil and gas licencing deal with consortium of France’s Total, Italy’s Eni and Russia’s Novatek.
2018-2019: US seeks to mediate between Israel and Lebanon to prevent clashes over oil and gas resources.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
While you're here
Damien McElroy: It's too early to say who will win the vaccine hurdle race
Mustafa Alrawi: To get the 'jab' done, governments must show patience and empathy
Editorial: The fight against Covid-19 should be guided by science
While you're here
Ed Husain: The far left is trying to hijack Muslim minds in the West
Sulaiman Hakemy: Why it is very important to lose elections
Rashmee Roshan Lall: US race relations in three words
The specs: 2018 Chevrolet Trailblazer
Price, base / as tested Dh99,000 / Dh132,000
Engine 3.6L V6
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power 275hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 350Nm @ 3,700rpm
Fuel economy combined 12.2L / 100km
The Bio
Hometown: Bogota, Colombia
Favourite place to relax in UAE: the desert around Al Mleiha in Sharjah or the eastern mangroves in Abu Dhabi
The one book everyone should read: 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It will make your mind fly
Favourite documentary: Chasing Coral by Jeff Orlowski. It's a good reality check about one of the most valued ecosystems for humanity
GYAN’S ASIAN OUTPUT
2011-2015: Al Ain – 123 apps, 128 goals
2015-2017: Shanghai SIPG – 20 apps, 7 goals
2016-2017: Al Ahli (loan) – 25 apps, 11 goals
While you're here
Michael Young: Where is Lebanon headed?
Kareem Shaheen: I owe everything to Beirut
Raghida Dergham: We have to bounce back
A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
- 2018: Formal work begins
- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
The biog
Name: Dhabia Khalifa AlQubaisi
Age: 23
How she spends spare time: Playing with cats at the clinic and feeding them
Inspiration: My father. He’s a hard working man who has been through a lot to provide us with everything we need
Favourite book: Attitude, emotions and the psychology of cats by Dr Nicholes Dodman
Favourit film: 101 Dalmatians - it remind me of my childhood and began my love of dogs
Word of advice: By being patient, good things will come and by staying positive you’ll have the will to continue to love what you're doing
MATCH INFO
Day 2 at Mount Maunganui
England 353
Stokes 91, Denly 74, Southee 4-88
New Zealand 144-4
Williamson 51, S Curran 2-28
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Buy farm-fresh food
The UAE is stepping up its game when it comes to platforms for local farms to show off and sell their produce.
In Dubai, visit Emirati Farmers Souq at The Pointe every Saturday from 8am to 2pm, which has produce from Al Ammar Farm, Omar Al Katri Farm, Hikarivege Vegetables, Rashed Farms and Al Khaleej Honey Trading, among others.
In Sharjah, the Aljada residential community will launch a new outdoor farmers’ market every Friday starting this weekend. Manbat will be held from 3pm to 8pm, and will host 30 farmers, local home-grown entrepreneurs and food stalls from the teams behind Badia Farms; Emirates Hydroponics Farms; Modern Organic Farm; Revolution Real; Astraea Farms; and Al Khaleej Food.
In Abu Dhabi, order farm produce from Food Crowd, an online grocery platform that supplies fresh and organic ingredients directly from farms such as Emirates Bio Farm, TFC, Armela Farms and mother company Al Dahra.
Teachers' pay - what you need to know
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
The specs: Volvo XC40
Price: base / as tested: Dh185,000
Engine: 2.0-litre, turbocharged in-line four-cylinder
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 250hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 350Nm @ 1,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 10.4L / 100km
Brief scores:
Southampton 2
Armstrong 13', Soares 20'
Manchester United 2
Lukaku 33', Herrera 39'
The specs: 2018 Nissan Patrol Nismo
Price: base / as tested: Dh382,000
Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 428hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 560Nm @ 3,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.7L / 100km
FIGHT%20CARD
BLACK%20ADAM
RACE RESULTS
1. Valtteri Bottas (FIN/Mercedes) 1hr 21min 48.527sec
2. Sebastian Vettel (GER/Ferrari) at 0.658sec
3. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS/Red Bull) 6.012
4. Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes) 7.430
5. Kimi Räikkönen (FIN/Ferrari) 20.370
6. Romain Grosjean (FRA/Haas) 1:13.160
7. Sergio Pérez (MEX/Force India) 1 lap
8. Esteban Ocon (FRA/Force India) 1 lap
9. Felipe Massa (BRA/Williams) 1 lap
10. Lance Stroll (CAN/Williams) 1 lap
11. Jolyon Palmer (GBR/Renault) 1 lap
12. Stoffel Vandoorne (BEL/McLaren) 1 lap
13. Nico Hülkenberg (GER/Renault) 1 lap
14. Pascal Wehrlein (GER/Sauber) 1 lap
15. Marcus Ericsson (SWE/Sauber) 2 laps
16. Daniil Kvyat (RUS/Toro Rosso) 3 laps
While you're here
Con Coughlin: Nato must renew its sense of common purpose
Sholto Byrnes: In today's times, what is Nato really good for?
C Uday Bhaskar: Could the 'Quad' become Asia's new Nato?
RESULTS
2.15pm: Al Marwan Group Holding – Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (Dirt) 1,200m
Winner: SS Jalmod, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Ibrahim Al Hadhrami (trainer)
2.45pm: Sharjah Equine Hospital – Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,000m
Winner: Ghallieah, Sebastien Martino, Jean-Claude Pecout
3.15pm: Al Marwan Group Holding – Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,700m
Winner: Inthar, Saif Al Balushi, Khalifa Al Neyadi
3.45pm: Al Ain Stud Emirates Breeders Trophy – Conditions (PA) Dh50,000 (D) 1,700m
Winner: MH Rahal, Richard Mullen, Elise Jeanne
4.25pm: Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Cup – Prestige Handicap (PA) Dh100,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: JAP Aneed, Ray Dawson, Irfan Ellahi
4.45pm: Sharjah Equine Hospital – Handicap (TB) Dh40,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Edaraat, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi
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AWARDS
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FIGHT CARD
Bantamweight Hamza Bougamza (MAR) v Jalal Al Daaja (JOR)
Catchweight 67kg Mohamed El Mesbahi (MAR) v Fouad Mesdari (ALG)
Lighweight Abdullah Mohammed Ali (UAE) v Abdelhak Amhidra (MAR)
Catchweight 73kg Mostafa Ibrahim Radi (PAL) v Yazid Chouchane (ALG)
Middleweight Yousri Belgaroui (TUN) v Badreddine Diani (MAR)
Catchweight 78kg Rashed Dawood (UAE) v Adnan Bushashy (ALG)
Middleweight Sallaheddine Dekhissi (MAR) v Abdel Emam (EGY)
Catchweight 65kg Rachid Hazoume (MAR) v Yanis Ghemmouri (ALG)
Lighweight Mohammed Yahya (UAE) v Azouz Anwar (EGY)
Catchweight 79kg Omar Hussein (PAL) v Souhil Tahiri (ALG)
Middleweight Tarek Suleiman (SYR) v Laid Zerhouni (ALG)
Gulf Under 19s final
Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B
PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar









