While the UAE is fast becoming a hot touring spot for high-profile international comedians, local comic talent is limited to sporadic open mic nights and the occasional regional comedy showcase. Wednesday, however, presents a genuine opportunity to see one of the country's promising talents take the stage.
The Comedy Suite returns to the funky vinyl Dubai record store, The Flipside, with a special Arabic edition featuring Ali bin Swelah. The Emirati funny man – well, funny kid – makes his stage return after spending the year conquering social media with Instagram skits that earned him nearly 400,000 followers.
The 20-year-old explains that it was time to get back to the fundamentals and look his audience straight in the eye. “I look at myself as a stand-up comedian first,” he says. “I been so busy doing all these videos that I realised I was missing the stage. It will be a great chance to share my experiences and tell people what I have been up to.”
And that’s a lot. Over the space of three years, bin Swelah – whose real name is Ali Saleh – has dropped nearly 300 micro-comedy sketches on Instagram. The 60-second videos, on the account b9w.e, tackle a variety of social issues facing Arab youth across the region and use comedy that ranges from dry satire to slapstick.
This month alone, bin Swelah released topical videos examining the plethora of cards advertising massage services found on car dashboards (his take is the perpetrators evade the authorities through the use of a time machine), the agony of returning to school from the summer break (he is a Men in Black character erasing the weepy kid's holiday memories) and the struggle of avoiding an annoying acquaintance at the Corniche.
Bin Swelah, who was born in Al Ain before moving to Banyias, explains he runs a pretty tight operation. Starring his friends, the videos are shot using a standard digital camera and often edited himself. That leanness allows him to turn inspiration to produced skit within days.
“A lot of these videos are based on real-life situations,” he says. “They mostly come from me listening to people’s stories and experiences. They would share some of the things they went through in the course of their day and that gives me the idea. Many people don’t realise that what they go through is actually funny.”
One example is that yearly dilemma of end-of-year exams. In one video, bin Swelah achieving what a good satirist does, to expose the absurdity of some of our life choices.
Posted nearly two years ago, the video begins with bin Swelah talking to the camera stating “during the school year...” before cutting to him dancing joyfully to a boisterous club song. He then returns as solemn host to say, “but once the exams approach…” and the video cuts to bin Swelah the student. He is in tears as he raises his hands in prayer pleading to God to let him pass.
In another skit, he and a friend attend a job interview where they quickly realise communicating in English is a required skill.
"Are you an animal?" the Emirati manager asks, to which both applicants give a resounding yes. "Now, that actually came from a real-life situation," bin Swelah recalls. "This was someone who was looking for a job. So he goes to this interview where he knew they needed English but he gave it a shot anyway. The only English he knows is 'hello, my name is Ali' and 'yes' and 'no'. He spent the whole interview just saying 'yes' and 'no' without actually knowing what they were saying."
The struggle of the region’s youth to gain employment is a recurring theme in bin Sweilah’s skits. In another inspired video, dropped in February, he is sharing a coffee with an Emirati businessman in a restaurant. The gentleman is puzzled by how bin Swelah remained jobless despite the countless job fairs he has attended.
“I went to many,” he bemoans in the video. “You go to the fair and you approach the staff to apply but they say ‘habib, you need to apply online’.”
The elder is unconvinced: “So all these people who are at the fair to help you, what you are saying is that you didn’t get anything out of it?”
Bin Swelah replies: “Of course I did. The first thing I got was some great flash drives. Then there were all those sweets that we can have. And now, they are starting to give us portable phone chargers. It is great.”
Bin Swelah makes a point in stating these videos are not mere spoofs. He says he is not interested in producing content without a purpose.
“There is a lesson behind every story, and for me they are all about positivity. I want to talk about things that relate to young people, to encourage young people to aim high, to study, work hard and achieve success. I just tell them in my own way,” he says.
Bin Swelah discovered he had a great knack for spinning a good tale during his high school years in Al Ain. It was the playground that planted the seed for his stand-up career. While he admits he wasn’t coolest kid at school, bin Swelah says he always had a good story to tell his peers.
“I would tell my friends about the things that I have seen the other day and, before you know it, there was big circle and people were listening.
“I realised that people were enjoying the way I was telling these stories. I would make them laugh and they would be intrigued about where I was going with it.”
Bin Swelah knew he was onto something potentially life-changing once he began performing impromptu stand-up gigs around Abu Dhabi and started posting his sporadic skit videos online.
A fully-fledged member of region’s social media savvy generation – bin Swelah is active in Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat – he explains these platforms have levelled the playing field when it comes to discovering talent.
“It is a totally different situation now in that you don’t have to spend all your time or money trying to get an agent or know someone in a television channel,” he says.
“Everyone has a chance now and you get an immediate reaction to your work. Instead of getting an agent to support you, it is the online audience who are the agents. They are the ones that are going to spread your name and get you the opportunities. But you need to keep producing good work at the same time.”
Bin Swelah says Wednesday's appearance at The Flipside will mark the next stage of his comedy career, which will allow him to focus more on his live performances. “It has been a while, so I do view the show as challenge for myself,” he says. “But I have learned to have confidence in myself. Hopefully, this will lead to other chances such as stage plays or more touring. I just want to go out there and meet people and show what I can do, and, of course, see if there are any more stories to tell.”
Ali bin Swelah performs at The Comedy Suite, The Flipside Al Serkal Avenue, Dubai, Wednesday. Doors open at 7.30pm, show starts at 8.30pm
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
Meydan race card
6pm Dubai Trophy – Conditions(TB) $100,000 (Turf) 1,200m
6.35Dubai Trophy – Conditions(TB) $100,000 (Turf) 1,200m
1,800m
7.10pm Jumeirah Derby Trial – Conditions (TB) $60,000 (T)
1,800m ,400m
7.45pm Al Rashidiya – Group 2 (TB) $180,000 (T) 1,800m
8.20pm Al Fahidi Fort – Group 2 (TB) $180,000 (T) 1,400m
8.55pm Dubawi Stakes – Group 3 (TB) $150,000 (D) 1,200m
9.30pm Aliyah – Rated Conditions (TB) $80,000 (D) 2,000m
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Alaan%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202021%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Parthi%20Duraisamy%20and%20Karun%20Kurien%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20FinTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%247%20million%20raised%20in%20total%20%E2%80%94%20%242.5%20million%20in%20a%20seed%20round%20and%20%244.5%20million%20in%20a%20pre-series%20A%20round%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
History's medical milestones
1799 - First small pox vaccine administered
1846 - First public demonstration of anaesthesia in surgery
1861 - Louis Pasteur published his germ theory which proved that bacteria caused diseases
1895 - Discovery of x-rays
1923 - Heart valve surgery performed successfully for first time
1928 - Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin
1953 - Structure of DNA discovered
1952 - First organ transplant - a kidney - takes place
1954 - Clinical trials of birth control pill
1979 - MRI, or magnetic resonance imaging, scanned used to diagnose illness and injury.
1998 - The first adult live-donor liver transplant is carried out
Racecard
5.25pm: Etihad Museum – Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Turf) 1,200m
6pm: Al Shindaga Museum – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (Dirt) 1,200m
6.35pm: Poet Al Oqaili – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 1,400m
7.10pm: Majlis Ghurfat Al Sheif – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,600m
7.45pm: Hatta – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 1,400m
8.20pm: Al Fahidi – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 2,200m
8.55pm: Zabeel Trophy – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh120,000 (T) 1,600m
9.30pm: Coins Museum – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh95,000 (D) 1,600m
10.05pm: Al Quoz Creative – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 1,000m
'The Batman'
Stars:Robert Pattinson
Director:Matt Reeves
Rating: 5/5
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
What is an FTO Designation?
FTO designations impose immigration restrictions on members of the organisation simply by virtue of their membership and triggers a criminal prohibition on knowingly providing material support or resources to the designated organisation as well as asset freezes.
It is a crime for a person in the United States or subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to knowingly provide “material support or resources” to or receive military-type training from or on behalf of a designated FTO.
Representatives and members of a designated FTO, if they are aliens, are inadmissible to and, in certain circumstances removable from, the United States.
Except as authorised by the Secretary of the Treasury, any US financial institution that becomes aware that it has possession of or control over funds in which an FTO or its agent has an interest must retain possession of or control over the funds and report the funds to the Treasury Department.
Source: US Department of State
SNAPSHOT
While Huawei did launch the first smartphone with a 50MP image sensor in its P40 series in 2020, Oppo in 2014 introduced the Find 7, which was capable of taking 50MP images: this was done using a combination of a 13MP sensor and software that resulted in shots seemingly taken from a 50MP camera.
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Red Sparrow
Dir: Francis Lawrence
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Egerton, Charlotte Rampling, Jeremy Irons
Three stars
The End of Loneliness
Benedict Wells
Translated from the German by Charlotte Collins
Sceptre
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
Top 10 most polluted cities
- Bhiwadi, India
- Ghaziabad, India
- Hotan, China
- Delhi, India
- Jaunpur, India
- Faisalabad, Pakistan
- Noida, India
- Bahawalpur, Pakistan
- Peshawar, Pakistan
- Bagpat, India
