For some reason, the vigour of the Filipino music scene tends to go unrecognised beyond its national borders. Not even the remorseless efficiency of those hundreds of Pinoy hotel bands, fanning out in a diaspora across the Menasa region, manages to inspire much curiosity among the uninitiated. A pity: for a tiny country with some, to put the case mildly, horrifying political problems, it supports a diversity of musical scenes and subcultures that puts most of the eastern hemisphere to shame. Happily for Dubaians, the Rakrakan festival of Pinoy rock, now in its fourth year, provides a taster menu.
From the thrashy hard rock of Wolfgang to the mutant, disco-inflected reggae of Brownman Revival, the four-band bill covers a lot of ground. The young and handsome Callalily will distract those susceptible to big windswept choruses and feathery haircuts, but the most appealing outfit goes by the unprepossessing moniker Itchyworms. With a name like this, they ought to make the sort of sniggering, studiedly puerile lo-fi that Ween go in for. The fact that they number a Jazz Nicolas and a Jugs Jugueta among their ranks only heightens the suspicion that they're a put-on. But not so: they actually do the kind of polished, autumnal pop-rock that Crowded House used to excel at, full of whispering drums and elegant harmonic developments. For that reason alone, there's grounds to think that Filipino music has other facets beside the four on display here - see last year's Rakrakan bill for further proof. Still, if you want an idea of what you're missing, this certainly beats the hotel bar.
Carbon 12 is one of Dubai's most consistently interesting galleries. Despite a recent setback - it recently had to relocate to Al Quoz from a lonely exile in Marina View Towers - it's back with another spiky and engaging show, Pilot Plant Indicated, this time from the Norwegian painter Tor-Magnus Lundeby. He had a piece in Carbon 12's opening exhibition last year, which gives a fair introduction to his MO. Think insectile and mechanical forms picked out in fuzzy-felt colours against a wash of radioactive sludge. It sounds ghastly but in practice often achieves a tone of naivety and calm that can be rather inviting. Lundeby's canvases might be alien circuit diagrams, or space stations, or deep-sea creatures. Stare at one for a minute or two and you'll probably find yourself daydreaming happily about the coming of our robot overlords. Well, you might as well make peace with the idea somehow.
For the past few nights, the Swiss OpenAir Cinema at Dubai Media City has been offering outdoor screenings of Hollywood blockbusters. You've missed your chance to see New Moon on what is billed as the world's largest cinema screen. Still, zombies beat vampires any day of the week, and it so happens that on this particular day you can catch the horror comedy Zombieland, starring Woody Harrelson and a certain comic elder statesman whose identity and role in the film will be a pleasant surprise for those without internet connections. Later in the week there's King Conqueror, a Spanish historical drama about the 13th-century scourge of the Balearics, James I of Aragon. It stars Tim Roth as King Pedro II of Aragon, which sounds like something out of Napoleon Dynamite but is presumably a serious role. And if you want something a little mellower, there's Everything's Fine, a remake of a celebrated 1990 Italian family drama. This new version stars Robert De Niro as a widower seeking to reconnect with his family, which happens to include Drew Barrymore, Sam Rockwell and Kate Beckinsale. De Niro is reportedly better than he's been in years, which is modestly encouraging.
Finally, this Wednesday is the 38th anniversary of the founding of the nation. If I know National Day, then you should be able to find a fabulous fireworks display somewhere, but however you choose to celebrate it, have a good one.
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Mamo Year it started: 2019 Founders: Imad Gharazeddine, Asim Janjua Based: Dubai, UAE Number of employees: 28 Sector: Financial services Investment: $9.5m Funding stage: Pre-Series A Investors: Global Ventures, GFC, 4DX Ventures, AlRajhi Partners, Olive Tree Capital, and prominent Silicon Valley investors. 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: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
Company%20Profile
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%E2%80%98FSO%20Safer%E2%80%99%20-%20a%20ticking%20bomb
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (c), Chamani Senevirathne (vc), Subha Srinivasan, NIsha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Esha Oza, Ishani Senevirathne, Heena Hotchandani, Keveesha Kumari, Judith Cleetus, Chavi Bhatt, Namita D’Souza.
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Ticket prices
- Golden circle - Dh995
- Floor Standing - Dh495
- Lower Bowl Platinum - Dh95
- Lower Bowl premium - Dh795
- Lower Bowl Plus - Dh695
- Lower Bowl Standard- Dh595
- Upper Bowl Premium - Dh395
- Upper Bowl standard - Dh295
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Avatar%20(2009)
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COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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The biog
Name: Marie Byrne
Nationality: Irish
Favourite film: The Shawshank Redemption
Book: Seagull by Jonathan Livingston
Life lesson: A person is not old until regret takes the place of their dreams
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
Napoleon
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The specs
Price: From Dh529,000
Engine: 5-litre V8
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Power: 520hp
Torque: 625Nm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.8L/100km
Business Insights
- Canada and Mexico are significant energy suppliers to the US, providing the majority of oil and natural gas imports
- The introduction of tariffs could hinder the US's clean energy initiatives by raising input costs for materials like nickel
- US domestic suppliers might benefit from higher prices, but overall oil consumption is expected to decrease due to elevated costs
Women & Power: A Manifesto
Mary Beard
Profile Books and London Review of Books