A new month upon us means fresh content is heading our way via the streaming services.
Netflix's hit series You has another season and Zack Snyder is also returning with Army of Thieves, his prequel to Army of the Dead. Meanwhile Apple TV+ will unveil a new film centered on an alien invasion of Earth.
Whether it's the return of popular shows, or a blockbuster film, such as Marvel's Black Widow, there's plenty to get excited about in October.
Here, we round up the new series, films and documentaries coming to streaming platforms in the UAE this month ...
'Maid', Netflix, October 1
Inspired by The New York Times best-selling memoir, Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive by Stephanie Land, the limited series follows the story of a single mother named Alex who has to turn to housecleaning to make ends meet after she escapes an abusive relationship and has to overcome homelessness in order to create a better life for her daughter.
'Grey’s Anatomy', OSN Streaming, October 1
Now in its 18th season, the US medical drama series focuses on the personal and professional lives of surgical residents and their interns. It follows the titular character Dr Meredith Grey, who fans have seen go from intern to chief of general surgery over the course of the show.
'Diana: The Musical', Netflix, October 1
The musical is based on a book by Joe DiPietro on the life of Diana, Princess of Wales. Starting with Diana Spencer at age 19 and newly engaged to a prince she barely knows, the musical explores how she struggles to navigate her way within the British royal family. While she finds herself trapped in a loveless marriage, she soon finds her voice by helping those in need. The show takes a closer look at how she created a legacy that’s still long admired even after her death in 1997.
'Black Widow', OSN Streaming, October 3
The stand-alone Marvel film tells the story of Scarlett Johansson's character Natasha Romanoff and takes place after the events of Captain America: Civil War. It shows her confronting her history as a spy and the broken relationships she left in her wake long before she became an Avenger.
'Bad Sport', Netflix, October 6
From the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic figure skating scandal to South African cricket captain Hansie Cronje’s fall from grace, a new docuseries looks at six true stories of sports and crime as told by the athletes, coaches and law enforcement officials who were at the centre of it all.
'Justin Bieber: Our World', Amazon Prime, October 8
Fans can go behind-the-scenes with Canadian pop star Justin Bieber as he prepares for his first concert in three years as part of T-Mobile Presents New Year’s Eve Live with Justin Bieber. Closing out 2020 from the Beverly Hilton Hotel rooftop, the concert was live-streamed to millions of fans around the world. The film follows Bieber and his close-knit team in the month leading up to the show while also capturing personal moments between Bieber and his wife Hailey.
'The Sinner', OSN Streaming, October 14
Now in its fourth season, the show stars Bill Pullman as Harry Ambrose, a police detective who investigates crimes committed by unlikely culprits and attempts to uncover their motivations behind them. Only Pullman appears in every season, with the rest of the cast changing for each story.
'You', Netflix, October 15
The third season of the American psychological thriller series sees Joe and Love now married and raising their newborn son in the suburb Madre Linda in northern California. However, Joe continues to repeat a cycle of obsession with a growing interest in their next-door neighbour Natalie.
'I Know What You Did Last Summer', Amazon Prime Video, October 15
A reboot of the 1997 film, which is based off of a 1973 novel by Lois Duncan of the same name, I Know What You Did Last Summer is now a TV series. The show centres on a group of teenagers a year after their graduation night when a fatal car accident results in the death of a man. However, rather than reporting it, they decide to cover it up instead. The group is bound together by the incident but also being stalked by a killer who claims to know their secret.
'The Velvet Underground', Apple TV+, October 15
Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Todd Haynes, The Velvet Underground is the first major documentary to focus on the legacy of the American rock group. Formed in 1964, the band didn’t find much commercial success while together but in later years would be recognised as being one of the most influential. The film features in-depth interviews with key people at the time as well as never-before-seen performances and a special collection of recordings.
'Hightown', StarzPlay, October 17
The second season of the American crime drama follows a National Marine Fisheries Service agent named Jackie Quinones who has a hard-partying lifestyle. One evening she discovers the body of a murdered woman on the beach and takes her first steps towards becoming sober because of this trauma. However, she soon takes it upon herself to solve the murder and begins to spiral.
'Succession', OSN Streaming, October 18
The American satirical comedy show explores the themes of power, politics and family through the eyes of an ageing, ultra-wealthy media mogul and his four grown children. Now about to start its third season, the series centres on the Roy family, who are dysfunctional owners of Waystar RoyCo and fight for control of the company amid uncertainty over the health of the family’s patriarch, Logan Roy.
'Invasion', Apple TV+, October 22
After a series of strange events begin happening around the world, it soon becomes evident that they are connected. Set across many continents, the 10-episode series follows an alien invasion through the different perspectives of five ordinary people as they try to make sense of what’s happening around them.
'Love Life', StarzPlay, October 29
The first season of the HBO Max original followed the love life of Darby Carter (Anna Kendrick) from her first love to her last over the course of 10 episodes. Season two will pick up a similar format but follows a new main character, Marcus Watkins (William Jackson Harper), after he comes out of a long-term relationship with a woman he thought was going to be his forever person.
'Mesh Ana', OSN Streaming, October 29
The Arabic film stars Tamer Hosny as Hassan, who has fraying mental health after he wakes up one morning without full control of his limbs and spends the ensuing days physically lashing out at friends, family and members of the public. Each unprovoked attack is met with the plea “mesh ana", meaning "it’s not me". However, the comedy-drama also centres on his strong relationship with his sick mother, who is the centre of his life.
'Army of Thieves', Netflix, October 29
A prequel to Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead, the Netflix original film focuses on a small town bank teller named Dieter who gets drawn into an adventure when a mysterious woman recruits him to join a crew of criminals on Interpol’s most wanted list. Together they will attempt a heist of impossible-to-crack safes across Europe.
'Colin in Black & White', Netflix, October 29
From co-creators Ava DuVernay and Colin Kaepernick, the six-episode scripted drama tells the story of Kaepernick's formative years, looking at the experiences from his adolescent life that shaped him into the activist he is today. The series is narrated by Kaepernick, who appears as himself, and was written by Michael Starrbury, who serves as executive producer alongside DuVernay and Kaepernick.
Read more
10 highlights from Netflix's Tudum event: from 'Stranger Things' to 'The Witcher'
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Who has lived at The Bishops Avenue?
- George Sainsbury of the supermarket dynasty, sugar magnate William Park Lyle and actress Dame Gracie Fields were residents in the 1930s when the street was only known as ‘Millionaires’ Row’.
- Then came the international super rich, including the last king of Greece, Constantine II, the Sultan of Brunei and Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal who was at one point ranked the third richest person in the world.
- Turkish tycoon Halis Torprak sold his mansion for £50m in 2008 after spending just two days there. The House of Saud sold 10 properties on the road in 2013 for almost £80m.
- Other residents have included Iraqi businessman Nemir Kirdar, singer Ariana Grande, holiday camp impresario Sir Billy Butlin, businessman Asil Nadir, Paul McCartney’s former wife Heather Mills.
Hunting park to luxury living
- Land was originally the Bishop of London's hunting park, hence the name
- The road was laid out in the mid 19th Century, meandering through woodland and farmland
- Its earliest houses at the turn of the 20th Century were substantial detached properties with extensive grounds
Citizenship-by-investment programmes
United Kingdom
The UK offers three programmes for residency. The UK Overseas Business Representative Visa lets you open an overseas branch office of your existing company in the country at no extra investment. For the UK Tier 1 Innovator Visa, you are required to invest £50,000 (Dh238,000) into a business. You can also get a UK Tier 1 Investor Visa if you invest £2 million, £5m or £10m (the higher the investment, the sooner you obtain your permanent residency).
All UK residency visas get approved in 90 to 120 days and are valid for 3 years. After 3 years, the applicant can apply for extension of another 2 years. Once they have lived in the UK for a minimum of 6 months every year, they are eligible to apply for permanent residency (called Indefinite Leave to Remain). After one year of ILR, the applicant can apply for UK passport.
The Caribbean
Depending on the country, the investment amount starts from $100,000 (Dh367,250) and can go up to $400,000 in real estate. From the date of purchase, it will take between four to five months to receive a passport.
Portugal
The investment amount ranges from €350,000 to €500,000 (Dh1.5m to Dh2.16m) in real estate. From the date of purchase, it will take a maximum of six months to receive a Golden Visa. Applicants can apply for permanent residency after five years and Portuguese citizenship after six years.
“Among European countries with residency programmes, Portugal has been the most popular because it offers the most cost-effective programme to eventually acquire citizenship of the European Union without ever residing in Portugal,” states Veronica Cotdemiey of Citizenship Invest.
Greece
The real estate investment threshold to acquire residency for Greece is €250,000, making it the cheapest real estate residency visa scheme in Europe. You can apply for residency in four months and citizenship after seven years.
Spain
The real estate investment threshold to acquire residency for Spain is €500,000. You can apply for permanent residency after five years and citizenship after 10 years. It is not necessary to live in Spain to retain and renew the residency visa permit.
Cyprus
Cyprus offers the quickest route to citizenship of a European country in only six months. An investment of €2m in real estate is required, making it the highest priced programme in Europe.
Malta
The Malta citizenship by investment programme is lengthy and investors are required to contribute sums as donations to the Maltese government. The applicant must either contribute at least €650,000 to the National Development & Social Fund. Spouses and children are required to contribute €25,000; unmarried children between 18 and 25 and dependent parents must contribute €50,000 each.
The second step is to make an investment in property of at least €350,000 or enter a property rental contract for at least €16,000 per annum for five years. The third step is to invest at least €150,000 in bonds or shares approved by the Maltese government to be kept for at least five years.
Candidates must commit to a minimum physical presence in Malta before citizenship is granted. While you get residency in two months, you can apply for citizenship after a year.
Egypt
A one-year residency permit can be bought if you purchase property in Egypt worth $100,000. A three-year residency is available for those who invest $200,000 in property, and five years for those who purchase property worth $400,000.
Source: Citizenship Invest and Aqua Properties
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
'Champions'
Director: Manuel Calvo
Stars: Yassir Al Saggaf and Fatima Al Banawi
Rating: 2/5
Bangladesh tour of Pakistan
January 24 – First T20, Lahore
January 25 – Second T20, Lahore
January 27 – Third T20, Lahore
February 7-11 – First Test, Rawalpindi
April 3 – One-off ODI, Karachi
April 5-9 – Second Test, Karachi
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
It’ll be summer in the city as car show tries to move with the times
If 2008 was the year that rocked Detroit, 2019 will be when Motor City gives its annual car extravaganza a revamp that aims to move with the times.
A major change is that this week's North American International Auto Show will be the last to be held in January, after which the event will switch to June.
The new date, organisers said, will allow exhibitors to move vehicles and activities outside the Cobo Center's halls and into other city venues, unencumbered by cold January weather, exemplified this week by snow and ice.
In a market in which trends can easily be outpaced beyond one event, the need to do so was probably exacerbated by the decision of Germany's big three carmakers – BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi – to skip the auto show this year.
The show has long allowed car enthusiasts to sit behind the wheel of the latest models at the start of the calendar year but a more fluid car market in an online world has made sales less seasonal.
Similarly, everyday technology seems to be catching up on those whose job it is to get behind microphones and try and tempt the visiting public into making a purchase.
Although sparkly announcers clasp iPads and outline the technical gadgetry hidden beneath bonnets, people's obsession with their own smartphones often appeared to offer a more tempting distraction.
“It's maddening,” said one such worker at Nissan's stand.
The absence of some pizzazz, as well as top marques, was also noted by patrons.
“It looks like there are a few less cars this year,” one annual attendee said of this year's exhibitors.
“I can't help but think it's easier to stay at home than to brave the snow and come here.”
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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PROFILE
Name: Enhance Fitness
Year started: 2018
Based: UAE
Employees: 200
Amount raised: $3m
Investors: Global Ventures and angel investors
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Sarfira
Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
Rating: 2/5
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
The story in numbers
18
This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens
450,000
More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps
1.5 million
There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m
73
The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association
18,000
The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme
77,400
The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study
4,926
This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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.”
WORLD RECORD FEES FOR GOALKEEPERS
1) Kepa Arrizabalaga, Athletic Bilbao to Chelsea (£72m)
2) Alisson, Roma to Liverpool (£67m)
3) Ederson, Benfica to Manchester City (£35m)
4) Gianluigi Buffon, Parma to Juventus (£33m)
5) Angelo Peruzzi, Inter Milan to Lazio (£15.7m
FINAL SCORES
Fujairah 130 for 8 in 20 overs
(Sandy Sandeep 29, Hamdan Tahir 26 no, Umair Ali 2-15)
Sharjah 131 for 8 in 19.3 overs
(Kashif Daud 51, Umair Ali 20, Rohan Mustafa 2-17, Sabir Rao 2-26)
What vitamins do we know are beneficial for living in the UAE
Vitamin D: Highly relevant in the UAE due to limited sun exposure; supports bone health, immunity and mood.
Vitamin B12: Important for nerve health and energy production, especially for vegetarians, vegans and individuals with absorption issues.
Iron: Useful only when deficiency or anaemia is confirmed; helps reduce fatigue and support immunity.
Omega-3 (EPA/DHA): Supports heart health and reduces inflammation, especially for those who consume little fish.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Result:
1. Cecilie Hatteland (NOR) atop Alex - 31.46 seconds
2. Anna Gorbacheva (RUS) atop Curt 13 - 31.82 seconds
3. Georgia Tame (GBR) atop Cash Up - 32.81 seconds
4. Sheikha Latifa bint Ahmed Al Maktoum (UAE) atop Peanuts de Beaufour - 35.85 seconds
5. Miriam Schneider (GER) atop Benur du Romet - 37.53 seconds
6. Annika Sande (NOR) atop For Cash 2 - 31.42 seconds (4 penalties)
Who is Allegra Stratton?
- Previously worked at The Guardian, BBC’s Newsnight programme and ITV News
- Took up a public relations role for Chancellor Rishi Sunak in April 2020
- In October 2020 she was hired to lead No 10’s planned daily televised press briefings
- The idea was later scrapped and she was appointed spokeswoman for Cop26
- Ms Stratton, 41, is married to James Forsyth, the political editor of The Spectator
- She has strong connections to the Conservative establishment
- Mr Sunak served as best man at her 2011 wedding to Mr Forsyth
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Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Read more about the coronavirus
