• Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah waves to well-wishers during a procession as part of the Golden Jubilee celebrations in Bandar Seri Begawan. Rudolf Portillo / EPA
    Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah waves to well-wishers during a procession as part of the Golden Jubilee celebrations in Bandar Seri Begawan. Rudolf Portillo / EPA
  • Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah and Queen Saleha ride in a royal chariot. Roslan Rahman / AFP Photo
    Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah and Queen Saleha ride in a royal chariot. Roslan Rahman / AFP Photo
  • Two men pose for a photograph while waiting for the royal procession. Roslan Rahman / AFP Photo
    Two men pose for a photograph while waiting for the royal procession. Roslan Rahman / AFP Photo
  • People watch Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah ride past on a royal chariot. Roslan Rahman / AFP Photo
    People watch Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah ride past on a royal chariot. Roslan Rahman / AFP Photo
  • Children wait to see Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah. Ahim Rani / Reuters
    Children wait to see Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah. Ahim Rani / Reuters
  • Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah waves to people as he passes by. Ahim Rani / Reuters
    Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah waves to people as he passes by. Ahim Rani / Reuters
  • People wait to see Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah during a street procession to mark his golden jubilee of his accession to the throne in Bandar Seri Begawan. Ahim Rani / Reuters
    People wait to see Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah during a street procession to mark his golden jubilee of his accession to the throne in Bandar Seri Begawan. Ahim Rani / Reuters
  • Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah waves to well-wishers. Rudolf Portillo / EPA
    Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah waves to well-wishers. Rudolf Portillo / EPA

Sultan of Brunei marks golden jubilee with lavish celebrations


  • English
  • Arabic

Brunei's sultan will mark 50 years on the throne with lavish celebrations including a glittering procession, a 21-gun salute and a ceremony at his vast, golden-domed palace.

The festivities for Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah - which will include the monarch being carried past huge crowds of well-wishers in a chariot - are the centrepiece of events to mark his golden jubilee.

The 71 year old, the world's second-longest reigning monarch, ascended to the throne  in October, 1967.

His decades ruling one of the world's few absolute monarchies have seen the country gain full independence from Britain and living standards soar to among the highest in the world due to abundant oil and gas reserves.

But the reign of Sultan Hassanal, one of the world's richest men, has also been marked by controversies.

These include the sensational family feud which revealed details of his brother Prince Jefri Bolkiah's jet-set lifestyle.

The jubilee will be a chance for citizens to focus on celebrating the life and times of Hassanal, a father-figure monarch who remains widely revered.

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The festivities will begin with the sultan and his wife inspecting a royal guard of honour, followed by a gun salute.

They will hold an audience at the sultan's palace, a vast complex of resplendent white buildings with golden domes and almost 1,800 rooms, which will be attended by guests including members of the royal family and ministers.

The climax of Thursday's events, which are part of over two weeks of jubilee celebrations, will be a procession through the capital Bandar Seri Begawan.

The sultan and his wife will be pulled on an ornately decorated, gold chariot by 50 of their subjects, with about 80,000 well-wishers expected to line the route.

Marching bands and members of the armed forces and military will also take part in the procession.

South East Asian leaders and Middle Eastern royalty will attend a banquet in Brunei Friday to mark the jubilee.

They include Indonesian president Joko Widodo, Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak, Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, according to organisers.

Bridget Welsh, a South East Asia expert from John Cabot University, said the sultan was using the jubilee celebrations to "re-affirm the nature of the Brunei state, and the personalistic nature of that state around him".

"He's always had a cult of personality around his monarchy," she said.

The sultan only comes behind one sovereign in terms of having the longest reign - Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, who ascended to the throne in 1952.

Brunei, with a population of about 400,000, has been ruled by the same royal family for 600 years.

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T20 World Cup Qualifier

October 18 – November 2

Opening fixtures

Friday, October 18

ICC Academy: 10am, Scotland v Singapore, 2.10pm, Netherlands v Kenya

Zayed Cricket Stadium: 2.10pm, Hong Kong v Ireland, 7.30pm, Oman v UAE

UAE squad

Ahmed Raza (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Rameez Shahzad, Darius D’Silva, Mohammed Usman, Mohammed Boota, Zawar Farid, Ghulam Shabber, Junaid Siddique, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Waheed Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Zahoor Khan

Players out: Mohammed Naveed, Shaiman Anwar, Qadeer Ahmed

Players in: Junaid Siddique, Darius D’Silva, Waheed Ahmed

What is a robo-adviser?

Robo-advisers use an online sign-up process to gauge an investor’s risk tolerance by feeding information such as their age, income, saving goals and investment history into an algorithm, which then assigns them an investment portfolio, ranging from more conservative to higher risk ones.

These portfolios are made up of exchange traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to indices such as US and global equities, fixed-income products like bonds, though exposure to real estate, commodity ETFs or gold is also possible.

Investing in ETFs allows robo-advisers to offer fees far lower than traditional investments, such as actively managed mutual funds bought through a bank or broker. Investors can buy ETFs directly via a brokerage, but with robo-advisers they benefit from investment portfolios matched to their risk tolerance as well as being user friendly.

Many robo-advisers charge what are called wrap fees, meaning there are no additional fees such as subscription or withdrawal fees, success fees or fees for rebalancing.

Key developments

All times UTC 4

THE BIG THREE

NOVAK DJOKOVIC
19 grand slam singles titles
Wimbledon: 5 (2011, 14, 15, 18, 19)
French Open: 2 (2016, 21)
US Open: 3 (2011, 15, 18)
Australian Open: 9 (2008, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 19, 20, 21)
Prize money: $150m

ROGER FEDERER
20 grand slam singles titles
Wimbledon: 8 (2003, 04, 05, 06, 07, 09, 12, 17)
French Open: 1 (2009)
US Open: 5 (2004, 05, 06, 07, 08)
Australian Open: 6 (2004, 06, 07, 10, 17, 18)
Prize money: $130m

RAFAEL NADAL
20 grand slam singles titles
Wimbledon: 2 (2008, 10)
French Open: 13 (2005, 06, 07, 08, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20)
US Open: 4 (2010, 13, 17, 19)
Australian Open: 1 (2009)
Prize money: $125m

Scores

Day 2

New Zealand 153 & 56-1
Pakistan 227

New Zealand trail by 18 runs with nine wickets remaining

Sarfira

Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad

Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal 

Rating: 2/5

Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.

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Springtime in a Broken Mirror,
Mario Benedetti, Penguin Modern Classics

 

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League semi-final, second leg result:

Ajax 2-3 Tottenham

Tottenham advance on away goals rule after tie ends 3-3 on aggregate

Final: June 1, Madrid

How to wear a kandura

Dos

  • Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion 
  • Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
  • Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work 
  • Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester

Don’ts 

  • Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal 
  • Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
Kanye%20West
%3Cp%3EYe%20%E2%80%94%20the%20rapper%20formerly%20known%20as%20Kanye%20West%20%E2%80%94%20has%20seen%20his%20net%20worth%20fall%20to%20%24400%20million%20in%20recent%20weeks.%20That%E2%80%99s%20a%20precipitous%20drop%20from%20Bloomberg%E2%80%99s%20estimates%20of%20%246.8%20billion%20at%20the%20end%20of%202021.%3Cbr%3EYe%E2%80%99s%20wealth%20plunged%20after%20business%20partners%2C%20including%20Adidas%2C%20severed%20ties%20with%20him%20on%20the%20back%20of%20anti-Semitic%20remarks%20earlier%20this%20year.%3Cbr%3EWest%E2%80%99s%20present%20net%20worth%20derives%20from%20cash%2C%20his%20music%2C%20real%20estate%20and%20a%20stake%20in%20former%20wife%20Kim%20Kardashian%E2%80%99s%20shapewear%20firm%2C%20Skims.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Neymar's bio

Total club appearances 411

Total goals scored 241

Appearances for Barca 186

Goals scored for Barca 105

LOVE%20AGAIN
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Jim%20Strouse%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStars%3A%20Priyanka%20Chopra%20Jonas%2C%20Sam%20Heughan%2C%20Celine%20Dion%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%202%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Wicked: For Good

Director: Jon M Chu

Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater

Rating: 4/5

Punchy appearance

Roars of support buoyed Mr Johnson in an extremely confident and combative appearance

How to apply for a drone permit
  • Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
  • Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
  • Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
  • Submit their request
What are the regulations?
  • Fly it within visual line of sight
  • Never over populated areas
  • Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
  • Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
  • Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
  • Should have a live feed of the drone flight
  • Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
Match info

Karnataka Tuskers 110-3

J Charles 35, M Pretorius 1-19, Z Khan 0-16

Deccan Gladiators 111-5 in 8.3 overs

K Pollard 45*, S Zadran 2-18

First Person
Richard Flanagan
Chatto & Windus 

Super heroes

Iron Man
Reduced risk of dementia
Alcohol consumption could be an issue

Hulk
Cardiac disease, stroke and dementia from high heart rate

Spider-Man
Agility reduces risk of falls
Increased risk of obesity and mental health issues

Black Panther
Vegetarian diet reduces obesity
Unknown risks of potion drinking

Black Widow
Childhood traumas increase risk of mental illnesses

Thor
He's a god

MATCH DETAILS

Barcelona 0

Slavia Prague 0

MATCH INFO

Iceland 0 England 1 (Sterling pen 90 1)

Man of the match Kari Arnason (Iceland)

The bio

Favourite book: Peter Rabbit. I used to read it to my three children and still read it myself. If I am feeling down it brings back good memories.

Best thing about your job: Getting to help people. My mum always told me never to pass up an opportunity to do a good deed.

Best part of life in the UAE: The weather. The constant sunshine is amazing and there is always something to do, you have so many options when it comes to how to spend your day.

Favourite holiday destination: Malaysia. I went there for my honeymoon and ended up volunteering to teach local children for a few hours each day. It is such a special place and I plan to retire there one day.