With the 95th Academy Awards just days away, speculation about who will be the big winners on the night is at fever pitch.
While Everything Everywhere All at Once is expected to clean up, there are still plenty of categories in which there's everything to play for.
Will Bollywood breakthrough with a Best Original Song win? Can Ke Huy Quan secure an Oscar, crowning his Hollywood comeback story? And will Austin Butler’s years-long dedication to embodying Elvis Presley finally pay off?
Here are The National's predictions in the seven main categories.
Best Picture
Nominees:
All Quiet on the Western Front
Avatar: The Way of Water
The Banshees of Inisherin
Elvis
Everything Everywhere All at Once
The Fabelmans
Tár
Top Gun: Maverick
Triangle of Sadness
Women Talking
Despite a handful of Hollywood blockbuster movies up for contention — Avatar: The Way of Water, Top Gun: Maverick, Elvis — it’s the quieter films that have been making the most noise in this category. None more so than Everything Everywhere All at Once, which has racked up 11 nominations across all categories.
While fans would love to see Tom Cruise win his first Oscar for his role in Top Gun: Maverick, there’s an overriding feeling that it’s a little too populist to win. Early frontrunners Tár and The Banshees of Inisherin have lost campaign steam in the final stretch.
With Everything Everywhere All at Once named one of the Top 10 Films of 2022 at the American Film Institute Awards, as well as Best Picture at the Critics' Choice Movie Awards and Hollywood Critics Association Award, it's the clear favourite.
Prediction: Everything Everywhere All at Once
Best Director
Nominees:
Todd Field, Tár
Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Everything Everywhere All at Once
Martin McDonagh, The Banshees of Inisherin
Ruben Ostlund, Triangle of Sadness
Steven Spielberg, The Fabelmans
Martin McDonagh’s loving paean to small-town Ireland in The Banshees of Inisherin won a lot of fans among the academy's voting members, framing the rolling green landscape as a third main character alongside Colin Farrell’s Padraic and Brendan Gleeson’s Colm.
Triangle of Sadness is thoughtful and sharp, in the vein of Parasite, and looks set to be a serious contender in the Best Original Screenplay category.
Having racked up an array of accolades in the run-up to the Oscars, including Best Director at the Critics' Choice Movie Awards and Outstanding Directing — Feature Film at the Directors Guild of America Awards, Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert — known collectively as the Daniels — are the clear favourites.
Prediction: Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Everything Everywhere All at Once
Best Actor
Nominees:
Austin Butler, Elvis
Colin Farrell, The Banshees of Inisherin
Brendan Fraser, The Whale
Paul Mescal, Aftersun
Bill Nighy, Living
Sadly for Bill Nighy and Paul Mescal, this is a three-horse race which, no offence to Brendan Fraser and Colin Farrell either, is actually a one-horse race.
Racking up 17 best actor accolades this awards season for his portrayal of Elvis Presley in Elvis, including a Bafta, Golden Globe and a People's Choice Award, Austin Butler is the clear favourite in this category, having immersed himself in a role so much it changed his accent.
Prediction: Austin Butler, Elvis
Best Actress
Nominees:
Cate Blanchett, Tár
Ana de Armas, Blonde
Andrea Riseborough, To Leslie
Michelle Williams, The Fabelmans
Michelle Yeoh, Everything Everywhere All at Once
Cate Blanchett’s controversial Lydia Tár, Ana de Armas’s headline-making turn as Marilyn Monroe and Andrea Riseborough’s alcoholic Leslie Rowland, not to mention the controversy over her inclusion on the list, make this one of the most interesting Best Actress categories in recent years. It also puts depictions of troubled women firmly in the cinematic conversation.
In any other year, Blanchett would have walked away with this, but Michelle Yeoh’s multi-universe-traversing Evelyn Wang is the favourite. She has swept the best actress category board this season, with wins at the Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild Awards and Independent Spirit Awards.
Prediction: Michelle Yeoh, Everything Everywhere All at Once
Best Supporting Actor
Nominees:
Brendan Gleeson, The Banshees of Inisherin
Brian Tyree Henry, Causeway
Judd Hirsch, The Fabelmans
Barry Keoghan, The Banshees of Inisherin
Ke Huy Quan, Everything Everywhere All at Once
Both Brendan Gleeson and Barry Keoghan’s appearance in this category for The Banshees of Inisherin will have split the vote for fans of the film, and the brevity of Judd Hirsch’s time onscreen in The Fabelmans will probably work against him.
If Ke Huy Quan’s name isn’t read out on the night, there’ll be a lot of hats being eaten in Hollywood.
Having dominated in this category at more than 60 film events this season, including the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, Saturn Awards, Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild Award, comeback king Quan, who returned to acting aged 48 three years ago after a long hiatus, is almost certainly about to be awarded the biggest honour in the industry, and deservedly so.
Prediction: Ke Huy Quan, Everything Everywhere All at Once
Best Supporting Actress
Nominees:
Angela Bassett, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Hong Chau, The Whale
Kerry Condon, The Banshees of Inisherin
Jamie Lee Curtis, Everything Everywhere All at Once
Stephanie Hsu, Everything Everywhere All at Once
While this year’s Oscars looks set to be almost a board sweep for Everything Everywhere All at Once, Best Supporting Actress remains a hotly contested category, largely thanks to the interesting life and career stories behind the nominees.
There’s child star-turned-Hollywood royalty Jamie Lee Curtis earning her first Oscar nomination in her 45-year career, Stephanie Hsu in what’s undoubtedly her breakout role, and Angela Bassett, whose portrayal of Queen Ramonda in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever won her the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress.
Prediction: Angela Bassett, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Best Music (Original Song)
Nominees:
Applause by Diane Warren, Tell It Like a Woman
Hold My Hand by Lada Gaga and Bloodpop, Top Gun: Maverick
Lift Me Up by Rihanna, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Naatu Naatu by Kala Bhairava, M M Keeravani, Rahul Sipligunj, RRR
This is a Life by Ryan Lott, David Byrne and Mitski, Everything Everywhere All at Once
With some big power ballads in the group, Rihanna’s Lift Me Up and Lady Gaga’s Hold My Hand, there’s scope for an upset as Hollywood has a history of loving a belter — see Common and John Legend's Glory from Selma in 2015 and Lady Gaga's Shallow from A Star is Born in 2019 for recent examples.
Ultimately, the night surely belongs to Naatu Naatu, from M M Keeravani, Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava. With recent wins at the Hollywood Critics Association and Golden Globes, it's a clear favourite.
Prediction: Naatu Naatu from RRR
How to improve Arabic reading in early years
One 45-minute class per week in Standard Arabic is not sufficient
The goal should be for grade 1 and 2 students to become fluent readers
Subjects like technology, social studies, science can be taught in later grades
Grade 1 curricula should include oral instruction in Standard Arabic
First graders must regularly practice individual letters and combinations
Time should be slotted in class to read longer passages in early grades
Improve the appearance of textbooks
Revision of curriculum should be undertaken as per research findings
Conjugations of most common verb forms should be taught
Systematic learning of Standard Arabic grammar
Breast cancer in men: the facts
1) Breast cancer is men is rare but can develop rapidly. It usually occurs in those over the ages of 60, but can occasionally affect younger men.
2) Symptoms can include a lump, discharge, swollen glands or a rash.
3) People with a history of cancer in the family can be more susceptible.
4) Treatments include surgery and chemotherapy but early diagnosis is the key.
5) Anyone concerned is urged to contact their doctor
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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%3Cp%3E1984%20-%20Apple%20unveiled%20the%20Macintosh%20on%20January%2024%3Cbr%3E1985%20-%20Steve%20Jobs%20departed%20from%20Apple%20and%20established%20NeXT%3Cbr%3E1986%20-%20Apple%20introduced%20the%20Macintosh%20Plus%2C%20featuring%20enhanced%20memory%3Cbr%3E1987%20-%20Apple%20launched%20the%20Macintosh%20II%2C%20equipped%20with%20colour%20capabilities%3Cbr%3E1989%20-%20The%20widely%20acclaimed%20Macintosh%20SE%2F30%20made%20its%20debut%3Cbr%3E1994%20-%20Apple%20presented%20the%20Power%20Macintosh%3Cbr%3E1996%20-%20The%20Macintosh%20System%20Software%20OS%20underwent%20a%20rebranding%20as%20Mac%20OS%3Cbr%3E2001%20-%20Apple%20introduced%20Mac%20OS%20X%2C%20marrying%20Unix%20stability%20with%20a%20user-friendly%20interface%3Cbr%3E2006%20-%20Apple%20adopted%20Intel%20processors%20in%20MacBook%20Pro%20laptops%3Cbr%3E2008%20-%20Apple%20introduced%20the%20MacBook%20Air%2C%20a%20lightweight%20laptop%3Cbr%3E2012%20-%20Apple%20launched%20the%20MacBook%20Pro%20with%20a%20retina%20display%3Cbr%3E2016%20-%20The%20Mac%20operating%20system%20underwent%20rebranding%20as%20macOS%3Cbr%3E2020%20-%20Apple%20introduced%20the%20M1%20chip%20for%20Macs%2C%20combining%20high%20performance%20and%20energy%20efficiency%3Cbr%3E2022%20-%20The%20M2%20chip%20was%20announced%3Cbr%3E2023%20-The%20M3%20line-up%20of%20chip%20was%20announced%20to%20improve%20performance%20and%20add%20new%20capabilities%20for%20Mac.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
Short-term let permits explained
Homeowners and tenants are allowed to list their properties for rental by registering through the Dubai Tourism website to obtain a permit.
Tenants also require a letter of no objection from their landlord before being allowed to list the property.
There is a cost of Dh1,590 before starting the process, with an additional licence fee of Dh300 per bedroom being rented in your home for the duration of the rental, which ranges from three months to a year.
Anyone hoping to list a property for rental must also provide a copy of their title deeds and Ejari, as well as their Emirates ID.
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
