Kool and the Gang. AFP Photo / Jean Christophe Magnenet
Kool and the Gang. AFP Photo / Jean Christophe Magnenet

Kool and The Gang in Dubai soon



The American funk legends Kool and The Gang will be flying into Dubai soon for a day-long recording session with a leading Arab singer. Speaking exclusively to The National from Morocco's Mawazine Festival, the bassist Robert Bell confirmed the band will soon be in the UAE to collaborate on a song with "one of your top artists", whose name he could not reveal. He added: "I do know the whole thing is produced by Coca-Cola." A revealing clue: the music television series Coke Studio Middle East, shown on MBC, is produced in Dubai and has artists teaming up to record a new fusion track. The programme's previous season which was broadcast last year, had collaborations between the Egyptian pop star Sherine and the rapper Nelly, while the UAE's Shamma Hamdan sang with the British R&B singer Jay Sean. Regarding a UAE concert, Bell said they are looking to return to Abu Dhabi in 2015.

Jolie: We won’t change our security on red carpet

Angelina Jolie says she and Brad Pitt won't tighten their security policies after he was accosted on the red carpet in Los Angeles on May 28. "People like that are an exception to the rule," she said. "Most fans are just wonderful. We've had a wonderful experience over the years ... and it will not change the way we behave." Jolie was in Shanghai to promote Maleficent, the retelling of Sleeping Beauty, with Pitt and three of their six children. – AP

Priyanka Chopra resorts to legal action to stop film

Priyanka Chopra has sent a legal notice to her ex-boyfriend, Aseem Merchant, who is producing a biopic on her former manager, Prakash Jaju, according to The Times of India. Titled 67 Days, the film allegedly focuses on Chopra's relationship with Jaju, who served eight days in prison after they had a fallout. "If she has any objection, then we shall drop the film," Jaju said in a statement. "I don't want to hurt her sentiments. The film is about me, not Priyanka." Merchant said his legal team is "looking into the matter". – The National staff

John Abraham and Shoojit Sircar to make football film

Shoojit Sircar will bring the story of a little-known Indian footballer to the big screen, according to IBN Live. Sibdas Bhaduri, who successfully led a team of barefooted Indians against British footballers in pre-independent India in 1911, is the subject of the filmmaker's latest biopic, which is titled 1911 and stars John Abraham. – The National staff

Jimmy Page remasters Zeppelin catalogue

Jimmy Page has remastered Led Zeppelin's entire catalogue. As a producer on the recordings, Page possessed many studio takes and after heard hundreds of hours of music. Nine freshly mastered studio albums will be released three at a time. The first set arrives next week. Each album has a companion disc, previously unheard, to give fans "an extra perspective". – AP

Angels frontman dies at 67

Doc Neeson, the charismatic singer and songwriter for the Australian rock band The Angels, died from brain cancer on June 4. He was 67. Bernard "Doc" Neeson died in his sleep at his family's Sydney home, his friend and publicist Catherine Swinton said. The Angels were Australia's highest-paid band by the late 1970s and continued with a string of hits into the 1990s. – AP

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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

The Farewell

Director: Lulu Wang

Stars: Awkwafina, Zhao Shuzhen, Diana Lin, Tzi Ma

Four stars

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The%20Specs
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The%20specs%3A%20Taycan%20Turbo%20GT
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MEDIEVIL%20(1998)
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The story in numbers

18

This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens

450,000

More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps

1.5 million

There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m

73

The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association

18,000

The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme

77,400

The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study

4,926

This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee

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Racecard

5pm: Al Maha Stables – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,600m

5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,600m

6pm: Emirates Fillies Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh100,000 (T) 1,600m

6.30pm: Emirates Colts Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh100,000 (T) 1,600m

7pm: The President’s Cup – Group 1 (PA) Dh2,500,000 (T) 2,200m

7.30pm: The President’s Cup – Listed (TB) Dh380,000 (T) 1,400m

Confirmed%20bouts%20(more%20to%20be%20added)
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MADAME%20WEB
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Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
Director: Venkat Prabhu
Rating: 2/5
MWTC info

Tickets to the MWTC range from Dh100 and can be purchased from www.ticketmaster.ae or by calling 800 86 823 from within the UAE or 971 4 366 2289 from outside the country and all Virgin Megastores. Fans looking to attend all three days of the MWTC can avail of a special 20 percent discount on ticket prices.

Veil (Object Lessons)
Rafia Zakaria
​​​​​​​Bloomsbury Academic