Ebla Mari and Dave Turner in The Old Oak. Photo: Sixteen Films
Ebla Mari and Dave Turner in The Old Oak. Photo: Sixteen Films
Ebla Mari and Dave Turner in The Old Oak. Photo: Sixteen Films
Ebla Mari and Dave Turner in The Old Oak. Photo: Sixteen Films

The Old Oak: Touching film about Syrian refugees resettling in England on Bafta longlist


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Ken Loach's film about Syrian refugees trying to integrate into a former English mining town is in the running for a Bafta.

The Old Oak, which is on the longlist for Outstanding British Film, centres on pub landlord TJ (Dave Turner), who strikes up a friendship with Syrian refugee Yara (Ebla Mari). Yara's family are among many new settlers in his neglected village in the north-east.

As tensions rise between the locals and new arrivals, TJ and Yara attempt to find a common ground for both communities to live in peace and thrive.

With The Old Oak, Loach, who is known for his socially critical films including the Palme d'Or winners The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006) and I, Daniel Blake (2016), completes a trilogy of films set in north-east England.

While I, Daniel Blake shone a spotlight on benefits sanctions and the desperation fuelling the expansion of food banks, Sorry We Missed You (2019) highlighted the impact of the gig economy and its effect on workers’ rights.

“We felt we needed to tell a third story, centred in the old mining communities,” Loach, 87, told Big Issue magazine last year.

The Old Oak is set in a former mining town in north-east England. Photo: Sixteen Films
The Old Oak is set in a former mining town in north-east England. Photo: Sixteen Films

“Because the whole area was coal mining, shipbuilding and steel, and all the old industry is gone. So what are the consequences for ordinary people?"

The Old Oak is infused with hope, he said.

“It’s about the struggle of hope to emerge, and the struggle of people to see hope,” he added.

“We couldn’t be in a more disastrous situation with civil society collapsing around us, health, education, homelessness, housing, student debt, poverty and hunger used as a weapon, transport collapsing.

“Every aspect of our life is collapsing, with the added danger from climate disaster. So, where you find hope in all that is the big question."

The Baftas longlist is the result of the first round of voting across all categories, with final nominations to be revealed on January 18. The awards ceremony is set to take place on February 18 in London.

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The specs: Fenyr SuperSport

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Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six

Transmission: Seven-speed automatic

Power: 800hp @ 7,100pm

Torque: 980Nm @ 4,000rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 13.5L / 100km

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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First ODI, October 22
Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

Second ODI, October 25
Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune

Third ODI, October 29
Venue TBC

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Engine: 1.5-litre turbo

Power: 181hp

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Transmission: 6-speed automatic

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Family: I have three siblings, one older brother (age 25) and two younger sisters, 20 and 13 

Favourite book: Asking for my favourite book has to be one of the hardest questions. However a current favourite would be Sidewalk by Mitchell Duneier

Favourite place to travel to: Any walkable city. I also love nature and wildlife 

What do you love eating or cooking: I’m constantly in the kitchen. Ever since I changed the way I eat I enjoy choosing and creating what goes into my body. However, nothing can top home cooked food from my parents. 

Favorite place to go in the UAE: A quiet beach.

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Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
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THE SPECS

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Transmission: six-speed automatic

Power: 165hp

Torque: 240Nm

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Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion

The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.

Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".

The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.

He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.

"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.

As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.

Updated: February 07, 2024, 1:04 PM