African stars joined U2 frontman Bono on Friday as part of a campaign to use music to help empower women around the world. Bono and top African male musicians D'banj, Diamond and Banky W announced that they will be included in a remix of the song Strong Girl, a rallying cry for women's empowerment, which features leading African female talent. Bono, whose ONE advocacy group is the creative force behind the campaign for women's empowerment, said music can create awareness and help shift policies because politicians are driven by popular things. "Politicians in the end have to be elected, and what is popular drives all of their decisions," Bona said. "It's that simple. So if the subject is popular among the electorate, then it suddenly dawns on politicians that this is a subject they, too, feel strongly about." Sipho Moyo, Africa executive director of ONE, said the campaign hopes to create structural and policy changes globally that will ensure women are empowered. The ultimate goal is to eradicate extreme poverty by 2030. Moyo said that a United Nations meeting next month that will set the world's development agenda for the next 15 years should focus on boosting women's access to health, economic empowerment and political participation. That agenda addresses issues ranging from ending poverty "in all its forms everywhere" to ensuring quality education and affordable and reliable energy. It will be adopted at a summit just before the annual meeting of world leaders at the General Assembly in September. – AP
‘Send me songs’ plea by Celine Dion
Celine Dion is looking for help with her next two albums – and so on Friday, she put out the call: send me your songs. "It's open to everyone," the 47-year-old Canadian singer told French radio station RTL. "Any artist or composer can send me their art." The unusual appeal by the singer – best known for singing My Heart Will Go On, from the soundtrack of the hit 1997 movie Titanic – came as she returned to the stage in Las Vegas for a series of 40 concerts in the US city. She took a career break last year to help take care of her ailing 73-year-old husband Rene Angelil, who has throat cancer. Now she is returning, with performances lined up from now until 2019. She plans to release an album of French-language songs in 2016 and an English-language album in 2017. "They can be songs that let me reach new goals, to progress, to have a good time, to be passionate – because I would very much like to keep moving forward," she said. Her latest album, Loved Me Back to Life, came out in 2013. – AFP
Honorary Oscars for Spike Lee and Gena Rowlands
Director Spike Lee and actress Gena Rowlands will receive honorary Oscars this year and film star Debbie Reynolds will receive a humanitarian prize, Academy Award organisers have announced. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences highlighted the "extraordinary contributions" that the three legends have made to show business throughout their long careers. "We'll be celebrating their achievements with the knowledge that the work they have accomplished – with passion, dedication and a desire to make a positive difference – will also enrich future generations," Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs said. The honorees will receive their awards – identical to the Oscars that will be given out at the Academy Awards in February – at seventh annual Governors Awards, which will be held in Hollywood in November. None of the honorees have won an Oscar, though all have been nominated. Lee, 58, earned a best screenplay nomination for 1989's Do the Right Thing, and in 1997, his 4 Little Girls earned a best documentary nomination. His influence on the film industry has extended from mainstream hits such as Malcolm X and He Got Game to cutting examinations of contemporary urban American life in dozens of independent films. Rowlands received best actress nominations for 1974's A Woman under the Influence and 1980's Gloria. Reynolds, who will receive the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, first captivated audiences in 1952's Singin' in the Rain. She was later was nominated for an Oscar for her lead role in 1964's The Unsinkable Molly Brown, and helped found a group that works to combat mental health issues. – AFP
London Film Festival to honour Cate Blanchett
Academy Award winner Cate Blanchett will receive a major career honour at this year's London Film festival, where two of her latest films are screening. The Australian actress will be presented with the British Film Institute Fellowship during the ceremony on October 17. BFI chairman Greg Dyke said Thursday that Blanchett was "a compelling and brave actress whose mesmerising screen presence has captivated audiences since her earliest roles". Blanchett won Oscars for The Aviator and Blue Jasmine. She'll appear at the London festival in Todd Haynes' 1950s romance Carol, as well as in James Vanderbilt's Truth, which stars Blanchett as TV news producer Mary Mapes, who was fired over a story about former US president George W Bush's military service. The London Film Festival runs from October 7 to 18. –AP
Silence of the Lambs director to receive Venice Visionary award
Silence of the Lambs director Jonathan Demme will be presented with the Visionary Talent award at the Venice Film Festival. Demme, who will receive the prize on September 3, was described by Festival director Alberto Barbera as a member of "that generation of cinephile auteurs who revolutionised Hollywood in the 1970s" and who was capable of moving easily between studio and independent productions, and from fiction to documentary work. The 71-year-old is a regular in Venice and is chairman of the jury for the Horizons world cinema section of this year's festival, which runs September 2-12. He has made more 30 films in a career spanning five decades, including 1991's The Silence of the Lambs, for which he won the best director Oscar, the acclaimed Philadelphia (1993) and Married to the Mob (1988). His latest film, Ricki and the Flash, starring Meryl Streep as a rock star, is out in the UAE on Thursday. – AFP
Lucy Liu announces birth of son
There's a new guy in Elementary star Lucy Liu's life and he won't be hard to detect – a bouncing baby boy. The 46-year-old actress took to Instagram and Twitter to reveal that she is a new mum to Rockwell Lloyd Liu, "brought into the world via gestational carrier". He is her first child and a publicist said both mum and son "are healthy and happy". Liu plays Dr Joan Watson opposite Jonny Lee Miller's Sherlock Holmes in CBS crime drama Elementary. Her other on-screen credits include Ally McBeal, and the films Charlie's Angels and Kill Bill. – AP
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Company%20Profile
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THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
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The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
THE BIO
Favourite car: Koenigsegg Agera RS or Renault Trezor concept car.
Favourite book: I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes or Red Notice by Bill Browder.
Biggest inspiration: My husband Nik. He really got me through a lot with his positivity.
Favourite holiday destination: Being at home in Australia, as I travel all over the world for work. It’s great to just hang out with my husband and family.
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
Tips to keep your car cool
- Place a sun reflector in your windshield when not driving
- Park in shaded or covered areas
- Add tint to windows
- Wrap your car to change the exterior colour
- Pick light interiors - choose colours such as beige and cream for seats and dashboard furniture
- Avoid leather interiors as these absorb more heat
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
THE DETAILS
Director: Milan Jhaveri
Producer: Emmay Entertainment and T-Series
Cast: John Abraham, Manoj Bajpayee
Rating: 2/5
What is graphene?
Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
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Kibsons%20Cares
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THE%20SWIMMERS
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Company%20profile
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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.
Tips to avoid getting scammed
1) Beware of cheques presented late on Thursday
2) Visit an RTA centre to change registration only after receiving payment
3) Be aware of people asking to test drive the car alone
4) Try not to close the sale at night
5) Don't be rushed into a sale
6) Call 901 if you see any suspicious behaviour
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar
Director: Neeraj Pandey
Rating: 2.5/5
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Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million