The long-list for this year’s International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF) has been announced, with 16 novels in contention for one of the region’s biggest literary prize.
The authors list showcases the breadth of the region’s writing talent with three writers under the age of 40 and two debut novels.
The entries were selected from a total of 159 works ranging from 18 countries. A final shortlist of six books, in addition to the identities of the judging panel, will be revelead on February 9. The eventual prize will once again be awarded in a ceremony in the capital on the eve of the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair on April 26.
Run with the support of the Booker Prize Foundation in London and funded by the Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi), each shortlisted finalist will receive $10,000 (Dh36,700) with a further $50,000 going to the winner in addition to a guaranteed English translation of their novel.
Palestine and Egypt are the best-represented countries on this year's longlist, with three entries apiece. Palestinian author Rabai Al-Madhoun (Destinies: Concerto of the Holocaust and the Nakba) and Egyptian Mohamed Mansi Qandil (The Black Brigade) both make a return to the honour roll, having both appeared on 2010s shortlist. The two first-time authors hail from Morocco: Tareq Bakari with Numedia and Abdennour Mezzine with Letters of the Storm. "This is an impressive longlist of novels that hail from different parts of the Arab world," said Professor Yasir Suleiman chair of the award's board of trustees, comments. "They address abiding issues that touch different aspects of our humanity in vivid and often disturbing ways that challenge preconceived ideas. Technically mature and sometimes demanding, the longlist lives up to the IPAF tradition of enticing the readers into new worlds of the creative imagination."
With an English translation provided to the winner, previous authors have also found success beyond the English-speaking world.
The award's inaugural winner in 2008, Sunset Oasis by Egypt's Bahaa Taher, was published in English by Sceptre the following year and has since gone on to be translated into a further eight languages, including Spanish.
The 2013 winner, The Bamboo Stalk by Kuwaiti author Saud Alsanousi, received its English translation last year, while 2011 joint winner The Dove's Necklace by Saudi author and poet Raja Alem will be published in the March. The 2014 IPAF winner Frankenstein in Baghdad by Iraqi novelist Ahmed Saadawi has also secured English publication with Oneworld in the UK and Penguin Books in the US with a release date yet to be announced. There has been no word yet regarding the English translation of last year's IPAF winner, he Italian by Tunisian novelist Shukri Mabkhout.
The 2016 International Prize for Arabic Fiction longlist
• Here by Taleb Alrefai (Kuwait)
• Hymns of Temptation Laila al-Atrash (Palestine/Jordan)
• Numedia by Tareq Bakari (Morocco)
• The Temple of Silken Fingers by Ibrahim Farghali (Egypt)
• People of the Palms by Janan Jasim Halawi (Iraq)
• Mariam's Journey by Mahmoud Hasan Al Jasim (Syria)
• Desertified Waters by Hazim Kamaledin (Iraq)
• Destinies: Concerto of the Holocaust and the Nakba by Rabai Al-Madhoun (Palestine)
• Letters of the Storm by Abdennour Mezzine (Morocco)
• Warsaw a Little While Ago by Ahmed Muhsin (Lebanon)
• The Prophecy Saga by Hamed Al Nazir (Sudan)
• The Black Birgade by Mohamed Mansi Qandil (Egypt)
• Mercury by Mohamed Rabie (Egypt)
• Praise for the Women of the Family by Mahmoud Shukair (Palestine)
• A Sky Close to Our House by Shahla Ujayli (Syria)
• The Guard of the Dead by George Yaraq (Lebanon)
For details visit www.arabicfiction.org
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The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
India team for Sri Lanka series
Test squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Priyank Panchal, Mayank Agarwal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Shubhman Gill, Rishabh Pant (wk), KS Bharath (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Jayant Yadav, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Sourabh Kumar, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah.
T20 squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Surya Kumar Yadav, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Deepak Hooda, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Avesh Khan
Visit Abu Dhabi culinary team's top Emirati restaurants in Abu Dhabi
Yadoo’s House Restaurant & Cafe
For the karak and Yoodo's house platter with includes eggs, balaleet, khamir and chebab bread.
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Al Mrzab Restaurant
For the shrimp murabian and Kuwaiti options including Kuwaiti machboos with kebab and spicy sauce.
Al Derwaza
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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Tributes from the UAE's personal finance community
• Sebastien Aguilar, who heads SimplyFI.org, a non-profit community where people learn to invest Bogleheads’ style
“It is thanks to Jack Bogle’s work that this community exists and thanks to his work that many investors now get the full benefits of long term, buy and hold stock market investing.
Compared to the industry, investing using the common sense approach of a Boglehead saves a lot in costs and guarantees higher returns than the average actively managed fund over the long term.
From a personal perspective, learning how to invest using Bogle’s approach was a turning point in my life. I quickly realised there was no point chasing returns and paying expensive advisers or platforms. Once money is taken care off, you can work on what truly matters, such as family, relationships or other projects. I owe Jack Bogle for that.”
• Sam Instone, director of financial advisory firm AES International
"Thought to have saved investors over a trillion dollars, Jack Bogle’s ideas truly changed the way the world invests. Shaped by his own personal experiences, his philosophy and basic rules for investors challenged the status quo of a self-interested global industry and eventually prevailed. Loathed by many big companies and commission-driven salespeople, he has transformed the way well-informed investors and professional advisers make decisions."
• Demos Kyprianou, a board member of SimplyFI.org
"Jack Bogle for me was a rebel, a revolutionary who changed the industry and gave the little guy like me, a chance. He was also a mentor who inspired me to take the leap and take control of my own finances."
• Steve Cronin, founder of DeadSimpleSaving.com
"Obsessed with reducing fees, Jack Bogle structured Vanguard to be owned by its clients – that way the priority would be fee minimisation for clients rather than profit maximisation for the company.
His real gift to us has been the ability to invest in the stock market (buy and hold for the long term) rather than be forced to speculate (try to make profits in the shorter term) or even worse have others speculate on our behalf.
Bogle has given countless investors the ability to get on with their life while growing their wealth in the background as fast as possible. The Financial Independence movement would barely exist without this."
• Zach Holz, who blogs about financial independence at The Happiest Teacher
"Jack Bogle was one of the greatest forces for wealth democratisation the world has ever seen. He allowed people a way to be free from the parasitical "financial advisers" whose only real concern are the fat fees they get from selling you over-complicated "products" that have caused millions of people all around the world real harm.”
• Tuan Phan, a board member of SimplyFI.org
"In an industry that’s synonymous with greed, Jack Bogle was a lone wolf, swimming against the tide. When others were incentivised to enrich themselves, he stood by the ‘fiduciary’ standard – something that is badly needed in the financial industry of the UAE."
Brief scoreline
Switzerland 0
England 0
Result: England win 6-5 on penalties
Man of the Match: Trent Alexander-Arnold (England)
U19 World Cup in South Africa
Group A: India, Japan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka
Group B: Australia, England, Nigeria, West Indies
Group C: Bangladesh, Pakistan, Scotland, Zimbabwe
Group D: Afghanistan, Canada, South Africa, UAE
UAE fixtures
Saturday, January 18, v Canada
Wednesday, January 22, v Afghanistan
Saturday, January 25, v South Africa
UAE squad
Aryan Lakra (captain), Vriitya Aravind, Deshan Chethyia, Mohammed Farazuddin, Jonathan Figy, Osama Hassan, Karthik Meiyappan, Rishabh Mukherjee, Ali Naseer, Wasi Shah, Alishan Sharafu, Sanchit Sharma, Kai Smith, Akasha Tahir, Ansh Tandon
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Company name: baraka
Started: July 2020
Founders: Feras Jalbout and Kunal Taneja
Based: Dubai and Bahrain
Sector: FinTech
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Stage: Pre-seed capital raising of $1 million
Investors: Class 5 Global, FJ Labs, IMO Ventures, The Community Fund, VentureSouq, Fox Ventures, Dr Abdulla Elyas (private investment)
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