By day, camels ruled Millions Street in Al Gharbia. By night, it belonged to drifters.
The air, usually alive with fireside chatter, was still at Al Dhafra. It was 10pm and the roads were empty.
Ten minutes from my tent, I accidentally drove into a drift contest.
Two cars raced towards me. Scores of cars were parked on the sidelines, beaming headlights onto the rough surface of Millions Street.
Pickup trucks skidded back and forth down its centre, young men precariously seated on window ledges, swinging ghutra headscarves into the air.
Spectators perched on sandbanks and car roofs, snuggled into leather jackets with ghutras wrapped tight against their faces as protection from the desert cold and sand sprayed by drifters who came too close.
The clandestine races were being filmed on dozens of mobile phones and would be uploaded in a matter of hours, like a Saudi YouTube video in the making. The kind of video that provided the inspiration for M.I.A.'s controversial Bad Girls video.
But here’s the thing. The guys I spoke to weren’t particularly bad boys. They were well mannered and polite and in Al Dhafra for a family holiday.
Guys like Saif, 23, a Saudi Arabian more intent on converting me to Islam than breaking any law. Saif had work in the morning. He had spent the day partying with beauty camels and would not sleep that night. He had a 850km drive back home to Dammam.
“Repeat after me,” said his friend, a waif in his early twenties. “There is no god but God and Mohammed is the....”
“No, no, no,” said Saif. “Not yet.”
“Why not?” asked his friend.
“In a minute. First let’s explain to her what is forbidden, what is not forbidden...”
The Saudis plotted my conversion to Islam, happily oblivious to the fact that I understood their conversation. Which was odd, you know, because we’d been talking in Arabic.
It was probably my fault for bringing religion into the discussion in the first place.
Saif puffed away on his cigarette. “Isn’t smoking forbidden?” I asked. “Yes. And music.” Music, clearly, the worse of the two in his mind.
Welcome to the sidelines of the Western Region stunt races.
They met in a different place every night. They had drag raced on the motorway the night before. The hard of Millions Street worked best for drifting, when drivers intentionally oversteer to make the car skid. Saif believed the drivers were Emirati, cheered by Saudi, Qatari and Emirati boys.
Stunt driving, deadly and popular, is one of the biggest hobbies for young men across the Gulf. Doctors have labelled reckless driving a pandemic, muftis have denounced it as sinful and police have launched undercover teams to stop illegal races planned on mobile networks.
Cars and camels have a close association. Half the fun of a camel race is the reckless pursuit of camels beside the track. The best part of a beauty contest is the parading with the winning camel and an entourage of cars with flashing lights, blaring music and honking horns.
In desert camps, people are free to drive over any dune they can conquer. Regrettably, a similar approach is taken to tarmac roads.
The combination of inexpensive petrol and large families means that many young Gulf men, and increasingly women, only enjoy real privacy behind the tinted windows of a 4x4.
Around the camel track or in the city, the car becomes an extension of the self. A 2011 government crackdown on modification garages has not stopped demand for vehicles customised with turbochargers, superchargers and exhaust headers.
Al Gharbia is infamous for drag races but dragsters are not exactly hardened criminals. They are young and invincible, they are bored and there is a fatalist belief that whatever happens is the will of God.
A 2008 survey of 260 traffic police in Al Ain found that 92 per cent believed "destiny" was the most likely causal factor for motor vehicle crash injuries and deaths.
Police have clamped down on illegal stunt driving but the sport remains resilient in Dubai and Ras Al Khaimah.
It affects us all. When speeding drivers tailgate and flash their lights on the Sheikh Zayed Road, it's easy to dismiss them as selfish louts.
Most youth genuinely don’t see this as bad behavior.
Flashing red and blue police lights cut down the centre of Millons Street a few minutes after my arrival. Drivers revved their engines. The street emptied in seconds.
“If I get arrested, will you help me?” shouted Saif as he started his 4x4.
With that, he disappeared into the night.
Family reunited
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was born and raised in Tehran and studied English literature before working as a translator in the relief effort for the Japanese International Co-operation Agency in 2003.
She moved to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies before moving to the World Health Organisation as a communications officer.
She came to the UK in 2007 after securing a scholarship at London Metropolitan University to study a master's in communication management and met her future husband through mutual friends a month later.
The couple were married in August 2009 in Winchester and their daughter was born in June 2014.
She was held in her native country a year later.
Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
TOP 5 DRIVERS 2019
1 Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 10 wins 387 points
2 Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes, 4 wins, 314 points
3 Max Verstappen, Red Bull, 3 wins, 260 points
4 Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, 2 wins, 249 points
5 Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 1 win, 230 points
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
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Bareilly Ki Barfi
Directed by: Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Starring: Kriti Sanon, Ayushmann Khurrana, Rajkummar Rao
Three and a half stars
Company%20Profile
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Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
RESULTS
6.30pm: Longines Conquest Classic Dh150,000 Maiden 1,200m.
Winner: Halima Hatun, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Ismail Mohammed (trainer).
7.05pm: Longines Gents La Grande Classique Dh155,000 Handicap 1,200m.
Winner: Moosir, Dane O’Neill, Doug Watson.
7.40pm: Longines Equestrian Collection Dh150,000 Maiden 1,600m.
Winner: Mazeed, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
8.15pm: Longines Gents Master Collection Dh175,000 Handicap.
Winner: Thegreatcollection, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
8.50pm: Longines Ladies Master Collection Dh225,000 Conditions 1,600m.
Winner: Cosmo Charlie, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
9.25pm: Longines Ladies La Grande Classique Dh155,000 Handicap 1,600m.
Winner: Secret Trade, Tadhg O’Shea, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
10pm: Longines Moon Phase Master Collection Dh170,000 Handicap 2,000m.
Winner:
SPEC SHEET
Display: 6.8" edge quad-HD dynamic Amoled 2X, Infinity-O, 3088 x 1440, 500ppi, HDR10 , 120Hz
Processor: 4nm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1/Exynos 2200, 8-core
Memory: 8/12GB RAM
Storage: 128/256/512GB/1TB
Platform: Android 12
Main camera: quad 12MP ultra-wide f/2.2, 108MP wide f/1.8, 10MP telephoto f/4.9, 10MP telephoto 2.4; Space Zoom up to 100x, auto HDR, expert RAW
Video: 8K@24fps, 4K@60fps, full-HD@60fps, HD@30fps, super slo-mo@960fps
Front camera: 40MP f/2.2
Battery: 5000mAh, fast wireless charging 2.0 Wireless PowerShare
Connectivity: 5G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC
I/O: USB-C
SIM: single nano, or nano and SIM, nano and nano, eSIM/nano and nano
Colours: burgundy, green, phantom black, phantom white, graphite, sky blue, red
Price: Dh4,699 for 128GB, Dh5,099 for 256GB, Dh5,499 for 512GB; 1TB unavailable in the UAE
ETFs explained
Exhchange traded funds are bought and sold like shares, but operate as index-tracking funds, passively following their chosen indices, such as the S&P 500, FTSE 100 and the FTSE All World, plus a vast range of smaller exchanges and commodities, such as gold, silver, copper sugar, coffee and oil.
ETFs have zero upfront fees and annual charges as low as 0.07 per cent a year, which means you get to keep more of your returns, as actively managed funds can charge as much as 1.5 per cent a year.
There are thousands to choose from, with the five biggest providers BlackRock’s iShares range, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisors SPDR ETFs, Deutsche Bank AWM X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.
Seemar’s top six for the Dubai World Cup Carnival:
1. Reynaldothewizard
2. North America
3. Raven’s Corner
4. Hawkesbury
5. New Maharajah
6. Secret Ambition
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Transmission: ten-speed
Power: 420bhp
Torque: 624Nm
Price: Dh325,125
On sale: Now
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
The biog
Favourite colour: Brown
Favourite Movie: Resident Evil
Hobbies: Painting, Cooking, Imitating Voices
Favourite food: Pizza
Trivia: Was the voice of three characters in the Emirati animation, Shaabiyat Al Cartoon
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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THE LOWDOWN
Romeo Akbar Walter
Rating: 2/5 stars
Produced by: Dharma Productions, Azure Entertainment
Directed by: Robby Grewal
Cast: John Abraham, Mouni Roy, Jackie Shroff and Sikandar Kher
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
The Dictionary of Animal Languages
Heidi Sopinka
Scribe
