Series six of Game of Thrones is ‘the best yet’
The writers and producers behind Game of Thrones say the latest season is their best yet. David Benioff and Dan Weiss told Entertainment Weekly that after watching the final cuts of all 10 episodes of series six, they said they were better than they hoped. "We're always reluctant to say it's 'the best season yet' because so much of that is in the eyes of the beholder," said Weiss. "And Dan and I are so close to it that it's impossible to be unbiased. But that's my sense – watching them all together now, this is the best one we've done. It's also the one I'm proudest of, because it was the hardest." Game of Thrones returns to HBO on April 24. – The National staff
Presenters announced for MTV Awards
Charlize Theron, Chris Hemsworth and Jessica Chastain are among the star-studded line-up of presenters at the first round of the 25th anniversary edition of the MTV Movie Awards. The three actors all feature in The Huntsmen: Winter's War, a fantasy film set for release next month. Seth Rogen and Zac Efron from Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising, Olivia Munn from X-Men: Apocalypse and supermodel Gigi Hadid will also present gongs. The awards will be broadcast on April 11 and hosted by Kevin Hart and Dwayne Johnson. – The National staff
Rihanna is back on top of the charts
R&B star Rihanna reclaimed the top spot on the weekly US Billboard 200 album chart on Monday. Anti, her eighth album, moved to No 1 from No 3, with sales of 54,000 units from albums, songs and streaming activity, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Anti has sold nearly 300,000 copies in the United States since its February release. Apart from sales, a million copies were given to fans who signed up for music-streaming platform Tidal. Rihanna's Anti world tour also kicked off last week and the singer will play in Europe this summer. British singer Adele's 25 album is in the No 2 spot and Canadian pop star Justin Bieber's Purpose climbed two spots to No 3. – Reuters
Katy Perry to duet with Dolly Parton
Country singer Dolly Parton and pop star Katy Perry will perform together at next month's Academy of Country Music Awards, where Parton will receive the Tex Ritter Award on April 3 in Las Vegas for her 2015 NBC movie Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors. The honour is given to a movie receiving major exposure featuring country music. The pair are expected to sing the title track Coat of Many Colors. Other performers include Luke Bryan, Carrie Underwood, Kenny Chesney and Chris Stapleton. – AP
Emma Stone to play JFK’s sister in new movie
The Spider-Man actress is set to play Rose Marie (Rosemary) Kennedy in a new film, according to Variety. The film, which is still in the very early production stages, will be produced by Steve Golin and Doug Wald, whose movie Spotlight won Best Film at the Oscars this year. The script tells the story of the first-born daughter to Rose Fitzgerald and Joseph Kennedy Sr and the eldest sister of President John F Kennedy and senators Robert F Kennedy and Ted Kennedy. After displaying behavioural problems that caused her to fall behind the achievements of her siblings due to a mental disability that was a long-kept secret, Joseph Kennedy arranged one of the first prefrontal lobotomies for her when she was 23. The procedure was botched and left her permanently incapacitated. – The National staff
Amanat Ali blames weather for bad vocals
Pakistani singer Shafqat Amanat Ali, who gave a patchy rendition of his country’s national anthem at the India-Pakistan World T20 cricket match in Kolkata on Saturday, says the weather was to blame, although Indian superstar Amitabh Bachchan sang his country’s national anthem without a hitch. Amanat Ali faced the ire of his fans on social media, who accused him of forgetting the lyrics to the anthem and bringing bad luck to the cricket team, which lost to India. “The only thing which is to be blamed was weather as it rained a lot on Saturday and it upset the whole schedule,” said Amanat Ali. “We couldn’t do anything with the rain, due to which we couldn’t do an audio check and I was not aware of the problem waiting for me out there.” – IANS
Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Your rights as an employee
The government has taken an increasingly tough line against companies that fail to pay employees on time. Three years ago, the Cabinet passed a decree allowing the government to halt the granting of work permits to companies with wage backlogs.
The new measures passed by the Cabinet in 2016 were an update to the Wage Protection System, which is in place to track whether a company pays its employees on time or not.
If wages are 10 days late, the new measures kick in and the company is alerted it is in breach of labour rules. If wages remain unpaid for a total of 16 days, the authorities can cancel work permits, effectively shutting off operations. Fines of up to Dh5,000 per unpaid employee follow after 60 days.
Despite those measures, late payments remain an issue, particularly in the construction sector. Smaller contractors, such as electrical, plumbing and fit-out businesses, often blame the bigger companies that hire them for wages being late.
The authorities have urged employees to report their companies at the labour ministry or Tawafuq service centres — there are 15 in Abu Dhabi.
THE%20FLASH
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Andy%20Muschietti%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Sasha%20Calle%2C%20Ben%20Affleck%2C%20Ezra%20Miller%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The biog
Hobbies: Salsa dancing “It's in my blood” and listening to music in different languages
Favourite place to travel to: “Thailand, as it's gorgeous, food is delicious, their massages are to die for!”
Favourite food: “I'm a vegetarian, so I can't get enough of salad.”
Favourite film: “I love watching documentaries, and am fascinated by nature, animals, human anatomy. I love watching to learn!”
Best spot in the UAE: “I fell in love with Fujairah and anywhere outside the big cities, where I can get some peace and get a break from the busy lifestyle”
Brief scores:
QPR 0
Watford 1
Capoue 45' 1
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
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.
SPECS
Engine: 4-litre V8 twin-turbo
Power: 630hp
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: 8-speed Tiptronic automatic
Price: From Dh599,000
On sale: Now
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.
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Cargoz%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EDate%20started%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20January%202022%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Premlal%20Pullisserry%20and%20Lijo%20Antony%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2030%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Seed%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
