Destiny's Child perform during the half-time show of the NFL Super Bowl. Jeff Haynes / Reuters
Destiny's Child perform during the half-time show of the NFL Super Bowl. Jeff Haynes / Reuters

Destiny's Child reunite at Super Bowl



Beyoncé strutted and shimmied her way through Sunday's Super Bowl half-time show, where she reunited with her Destiny's Child bandmates. The singer called out to the crowd several times during her first songs, Love on Top, Crazy in Love, End of Time and Baby Boy, to emphasise that she was singing live after recently admitting to singing along to a pre-recorded track of the US national anthem at Barack Obama's inauguration. Beyoncé was later joined by Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams, from her former girl group Destiny's Child, and they sang their hits Bootylicious and Independent Women as well as Beyoncé's Single Ladies. It was the trio's first public performance since 2006. Last month, the group released Nuclear, their first song in about a decade. – Reuters

Duncan Jones to direct Warcraft

The British filmmaker Duncan Jones has signed up to direct a movie based on the popular video game World of Warcraft – a major step up for the director behind the acclaimed low-budget space drama Moon (2009) and the sci-fi thriller Source Code (2011). On Twitter, the 41-year-old Jones, who is David Bowie's son, posted: "So the gauntlet was thrown down ages ago: can you make a proper movie of a video game. I've always said it's possible. Got to do it now!" The script is by Charles Leavitt, who wrote 2006's Blood Diamond. – Reuters

Giamatti in talks to play villain in Spider-Man 2

Paul Giamatti is in talks to join The Amazing Spider-Man 2. He will play the sequel's villain, The Rhino. Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone are reprising their roles as Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy. Other newcomers include Jamie Foxx (as Electro), Shailene Woodley (Mary Jane Watson) and Dane DeHaan (Harry Osborne). The film, directed by Marc Webb, begins production this month. Giamatti is currently shotting the John F Kennedy assassination drama Parkland with Zac Efron and Jacki Weaver. – IANS

Meryl Streep headlines Into the Woods

Meryl Streep has been roped in to star in a big-screen adaptation of the hit Stephen Sondheim musical Into the Woods. The musical arranger David Krane says he can't wait to reunite with Streep after working with her on the 1977 stage production Happy End. "Disney is going to make the movie and I will do the arrangements. Meryl Streep will play the leading role of the witch," Krane told BroadwayWorld.com. The film will be directed by Rob Marshall (Chicago and Nine). Other stars rumoured to be part of the movie are Christine Baranski, James Corden, Anna Kendrick and Patrick Wilson. – IANS

Sam Mendes and Tori Amos set for stage

The return of the Skyfall director Sam Mendes and a musical by Tori Amos are among productions scheduled for the 50th anniversary season at Britain's National Theatre. Mendes will direct a production of Shakespeare's King Lear, starring Simon Russell Beale, opening next January. The 2013 season will also see The Light Princess, a musical adaptation of a 19th-century fairy tale, by Amos and the playwright Samuel Adamson. – AP

Engine: 3.5-litre V6

Transmission: eight-speed automatic

Power: 290hp

Torque: 340Nm

Price: Dh155,800

On sale: now

'Operation Mincemeat' 

Director: John Madden 

 

Cast: Colin Firth, Matthew Macfayden, Kelly Macdonald and Penelope Wilton

 

Rating: 4/5

 
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Gully Boy

Director: Zoya Akhtar
Producer: Excel Entertainment & Tiger Baby
Cast: Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Kalki Koechlin, Siddhant Chaturvedi​​​​​​​
Rating: 4/5 stars

Essentials

The flights
Emirates, Etihad and Malaysia Airlines all fly direct from the UAE to Kuala Lumpur and on to Penang from about Dh2,300 return, including taxes. 
 

Where to stay
In Kuala Lumpur, Element is a recently opened, futuristic hotel high up in a Norman Foster-designed skyscraper. Rooms cost from Dh400 per night, including taxes. Hotel Stripes, also in KL, is a great value design hotel, with an infinity rooftop pool. Rooms cost from Dh310, including taxes. 


In Penang, Ren i Tang is a boutique b&b in what was once an ancient Chinese Medicine Hall in the centre of Little India. Rooms cost from Dh220, including taxes.
23 Love Lane in Penang is a luxury boutique heritage hotel in a converted mansion, with private tropical gardens. Rooms cost from Dh400, including taxes. 
In Langkawi, Temple Tree is a unique architectural villa hotel consisting of antique houses from all across Malaysia. Rooms cost from Dh350, including taxes.

The bio

Job: Coder, website designer and chief executive, Trinet solutions

School: Year 8 pupil at Elite English School in Abu Hail, Deira

Role Models: Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk

Dream City: San Francisco

Hometown: Dubai

City of birth: Thiruvilla, Kerala

Jigra
Director: Vasan Bala
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
Rated: 3.5/5
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.

Joker: Folie a Deux

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson

Director: Todd Phillips 

Rating: 2/5

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Company%20profile
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4

Hotel Silence
Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir
Pushkin Press

Moon Music

Artist: Coldplay

Label: Parlophone/Atlantic

Number of tracks: 10

Rating: 3/5

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Airev
Started: September 2023
Founder: Muhammad Khalid
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: Generative AI
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
 
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Our legal consultants

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

Zakat definitions

Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.

Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.

Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.

Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.