Controversial Lebanese-Palestinian singer Fadl Shaker has made a comeback into the Arab pop world through a surprise new song released on May 8.
However, the career comeback is in danger of being scuppered due to the 49-year-old crooner being presently wanted by the Lebanese army.
After the release of the regal ballad Shab'an Min Al Tamtheel, which appeared on YouTube to promote the upcoming Egyptian Ramadan drama, Ladayna Iqwal Ukhra, the production company dropped the song from the series with a statement alluding to his legal problems in Lebanon.
The new ballad finds Shaker returning to the limelight after embracing a strictly conservative view of Islam six years ago that shunned popular music and landed him at odds with the Lebanese army.
After announcing his retirement, Shaker changed his name to Hajj Shaker and went on to pledge allegiance to Lebanese Sunni firebrand cleric Ahmed Al Assir.
His decision to take up arms with Al Assir's supporters in 2013 in clashes against the Lebanese army led to 18 soldiers dead and resulted in Shaker sentenced in-absentia to 15 years' imprisonment with hard labour.
Ever since, Shaker was spotted sporadically in events performing religiously inspired songs — also known as nasheeds — in Ain Al Hilweh, a Palestinian refugee camp which is located within a buffer zone not accessible to the Lebanese military.
Shaker’s latest song shrugs off any of the conservativeness of his latest material to embrace his radio friendly sound of old.
More significant was Shab'an Min Al Tamtheel was supposed to soundtrack the closing credits of Ladayna Iqwal Ukhra, which is to begin screening next week during the holy month of Ramadan on various regional channels.
In terms of exposure, Shaker couldn’t have asked for a better vehicle.
With Ramadan traditionally a period where families dine together at home, the guaranteed eyeballs during the evening hours provides a boon for broadcasters who often unleash their marquee dramas starring the region’s biggest actors with theme songs performed by musical counterparts.
With Ladayna Iqwal Ukhra starring the veteran Egyptian actress Youssra, Shaker's song significantly increased the hype surrounding the series and has already clocked over 400,000 streams since it landed on YouTube.
One can understand the reception as the song is in-line with his trademark style of sophisticated balladry; swooning strings sail over a brooding oud as Shaker’s smooth croon — now slightly dented with a few rasps from his cigar habit — sings of a “world that has enough lies, so what's the use of acting?”
Read more: Death sentence marks end to Lebanese cleric's dramatic rise and fall
From a career standpoint, Shab'an Min Al Tamtheel is the ideal comeback single. It has enough of the soul that earned Shaker the nickname of Malik Al Ihsas (The King of Emotions), with production modern enough not to make it a total throwback.
Unfortunately for Shaker, it has not been a smooth re-entry to the lime light.
Barely 48 hours has gone since the track’s release and the Cairo based production company, AG group, decided to remove the song from the series with a press release reiterating their support for Lebanon and its armed forces.
This was followed up by an interview, on May 9, with one of the series creators Medhat Al Adel on the Egyptian broadcaster Sada El Balad. He admitted “that we didn’t study the legal standpoint regarding Fadl Shaker in Lebanon. We basically made our decision from a purely artistic perspective".
As of yet there has been no official response from Shaker who has been funnelling news of his career through the social media account of his son and fellow singer Mohammed Shaker.
Born in the Lebanese city of Sidon, Shaker was discovered by the record label Stallions Company in 1997 and released three albums featuring compositions by renowned tunesmiths Salah El Sharnoby and Ahmed Sheta.
It was on the second album, 1999's Baya El Qolob, and its chart topping title track that cemented Shaker as the region's latest pop star and he went on to release more hits including the 2002 pan-Arab favourite Ya Ghayeb and El Maraya, in addition to performing international stages alongside pop star Mariah Carey and reggae great Jimmy Cliff.
His last album remains Baada Aal Bal, which was released in 2009 through the Dubai-based label Rotana Records.
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'Brazen'
Director: Monika Mitchell
Starring: Alyssa Milano, Sam Page, Colleen Wheeler
Rating: 3/5
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HOW TO WATCH
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10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
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- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
- Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
- Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
- Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
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Tuesday results:
- Singapore bt Malaysia by 29 runs
- UAE bt Oman by 13 runs
- Hong Kong bt Nepal by 3 wickets
Final:
Thursday, UAE v Hong Kong
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
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Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
How Filipinos in the UAE invest
A recent survey of 10,000 Filipino expatriates in the UAE found that 82 per cent have plans to invest, primarily in property. This is significantly higher than the 2014 poll showing only two out of 10 Filipinos planned to invest.
Fifty-five percent said they plan to invest in property, according to the poll conducted by the New Perspective Media Group, organiser of the Philippine Property and Investment Exhibition. Acquiring a franchised business or starting up a small business was preferred by 25 per cent and 15 per cent said they will invest in mutual funds. The rest said they are keen to invest in insurance (3 per cent) and gold (2 per cent).
Of the 5,500 respondents who preferred property as their primary investment, 54 per cent said they plan to make the purchase within the next year. Manila was the top location, preferred by 53 per cent.
'Top Gun: Maverick'
Rating: 4/5
Directed by: Joseph Kosinski
Starring: Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Miles Teller, Glen Powell, Ed Harris
Key changes
Commission caps
For life insurance products with a savings component, Peter Hodgins of Clyde & Co said different caps apply to the saving and protection elements:
• For the saving component, a cap of 4.5 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 90 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• On the protection component, there is a cap of 10 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 160 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• Indemnity commission, the amount of commission that can be advanced to a product salesperson, can be 50 per cent of the annualised premium for the first year or 50 per cent of the total commissions on the policy calculated.
• The remaining commission after deduction of the indemnity commission is paid equally over the premium payment term.
• For pure protection products, which only offer a life insurance component, the maximum commission will be 10 per cent of the annualised premium multiplied by the length of the policy in years.
Disclosure
Customers must now be provided with a full illustration of the product they are buying to ensure they understand the potential returns on savings products as well as the effects of any charges. There is also a “free-look” period of 30 days, where insurers must provide a full refund if the buyer wishes to cancel the policy.
“The illustration should provide for at least two scenarios to illustrate the performance of the product,” said Mr Hodgins. “All illustrations are required to be signed by the customer.”
Another illustration must outline surrender charges to ensure they understand the costs of exiting a fixed-term product early.
Illustrations must also be kept updatedand insurers must provide information on the top five investment funds available annually, including at least five years' performance data.
“This may be segregated based on the risk appetite of the customer (in which case, the top five funds for each segment must be provided),” said Mr Hodgins.
Product providers must also disclose the ratio of protection benefit to savings benefits. If a protection benefit ratio is less than 10 per cent "the product must carry a warning stating that it has limited or no protection benefit" Mr Hodgins added.
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Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
Greatest Royal Rumble results
John Cena pinned Triple H in a singles match
Cedric Alexander retained the WWE Cruiserweight title against Kalisto
Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt win the Raw Tag Team titles against Cesaro and Sheamus
Jeff Hardy retained the United States title against Jinder Mahal
Bludgeon Brothers retain the SmackDown Tag Team titles against the Usos
Seth Rollins retains the Intercontinental title against The Miz, Finn Balor and Samoa Joe
AJ Styles remains WWE World Heavyweight champion after he and Shinsuke Nakamura are both counted out
The Undertaker beats Rusev in a casket match
Brock Lesnar retains the WWE Universal title against Roman Reigns in a steel cage match
Braun Strowman won the 50-man Royal Rumble by eliminating Big Cass last
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Price, base / as tested Dh274,000 (estimate)
Engine 3.0-litre inline six-cylinder
Gearbox Nine-speed automatic
Power 245hp @ 4,200rpm
Torque 500Nm @ 1,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined 6.4L / 100km
The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
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