A journey inside the melodically challenged world of Dubai's would-be karaoke stars. From nine to five they work in offices in tall towers. They wear ironed shirts and belts that match their shoes. They answer telephone calls professionally and arrive five minutes early for meetings. You couldn't pick them out in a crowd. But at night, their office clothes disappear, replaced with ill-fitting jeans, plaid shirts and sometimes, costumes. On Friday nights, they travel in packs to places such as Rock Bottom in the Dubai Regent Palace Hotel, where the lights are low and the music is loud.
They are Dubai's karaoke diehards and they are here to rock. The DJ sitting on the stage announces the next performer, Pete, who will sing Aerosmith's I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing. Everyone here knows this red-faced, slender man, and everyone is heckling him: "Oh here we go!" someone yells. "I'm going to kill it," Pete says back to the crowd. But in the middle of his performance, the DJ stops the music to let him know he will not receive a prize for tonight's efforts: the DJ told Pete not to try to hit the high notes and he did anyway.
Laughs erupt, but Pete is unfazed. He closes his eyes and continues to belt it out. People in the audience sing along loudly, laughing and hugging each other. When the song finally ends, the crowd claps and screams and rushes to the stage. A stalky man called Haitham has appointed himself my guide to the night, to make sure I know what's really going on here. Haitham is 41 and works at a computer company during the day. He has been singing since he was 13, he tells me, and for him karaoke is just practice for the vocals he does with his band.
"I sing hard rock. You know, like Queen," he tells me. "I'm not serious at work. All I do there is gain weight. But when I'm on stage, that's when I come alive. I have charisma. I don't belong to anybody. I'll tell you when I'm about to sing. You can move up to the front so you can see me." But before Haitham is up, we have Ash, who wears army shorts, a white tank top, flip-flops and a cowboy hat stolen from one of the waitresses. Ash sings a Robbie Williams song, dangerously off key. Mid-performance the security guard walks past the stage and glances over at Ash, who gives the man a dirty look. "I hate you, too," he says, laughs, and continues the song. "This guy's an idiot," Haitham tells me.
Finally the DJ announces that Haitham is up, performing U2's One. He climbs up on stage, grabs the microphone and pulls it right up to his mouth. He sings on key, and the crowd loves it, half of them singing along at the top of their lungs into air-mikes. When his five minutes is up, Haitham leaves the stage to vigorous applause, sits back down and gives me the lowdown on the next singer. "This guy is good but he's sleazy," Haitham explains, leaning in close so no one hears him. "He wants to be young again."
A bulldog of a man wearing tight leather zebra-print pants and a matching waistcoat - open, exposing a tanned barrel chest - may have been the highlight of the evening (competition was fierce). Upon realising I was writing about the event, he refused to answer any questions and instead repeatedly mumbled the same sentence featuring the words "sue you". "I'd leave him alone," a passer-by advised. "We all know each other here and, uh… I wouldn't say he's the nicest."
Next up was a middle-aged man doing Brown Eyed Girl with an undeniable Essex accent. People danced, laughed, sang along; no one seemed to care or even notice that the singer couldn't sing. Next week, they'll do it all again. * Jessica Hume
Young women have more “financial grit”, but fall behind on investing
In an October survey of young adults aged 16 to 25, Charles Schwab found young women are more driven to reach financial independence than young men (67 per cent versus. 58 per cent). They are more likely to take on extra work to make ends meet and see more value than men in creating a plan to achieve their financial goals. Yet, despite all these good ‘first’ measures, they are investing and saving less than young men – falling early into the financial gender gap.
While the women surveyed report spending 36 per cent less than men, they have far less savings than men ($1,267 versus $2,000) – a nearly 60 per cent difference.
In addition, twice as many young men as women say they would invest spare cash, and almost twice as many young men as women report having investment accounts (though most young adults do not invest at all).
“Despite their good intentions, young women start to fall behind their male counterparts in savings and investing early on in life,” said Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, senior vice president, Charles Schwab. “They start off showing a strong financial planning mindset, but there is still room for further education when it comes to managing their day-to-day finances.”
Ms Schwab-Pomerantz says parents should be conveying the same messages to boys and girls about money, but should tailor those conversations based on the individual and gender.
"Our study shows that while boys are spending more than girls, they also are saving more. Have open and honest conversations with your daughters about the wage and savings gap," she said. "Teach kids about the importance of investing – especially girls, who as we see in this study, aren’t investing as much. Part of being financially prepared is learning to make the most of your money, and that means investing early and consistently."
Frankenstein in Baghdad
Ahmed Saadawi
Penguin Press
The Kites
Romain Gary
Penguin Modern Classics
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
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
The Birkin bag is made by Hermès.
It is named after actress and singer Jane Birkin
Noone from Hermès will go on record to say how much a new Birkin costs, how long one would have to wait to get one, and how many bags are actually made each year.
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More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Ant-Man and the Wasp
Director: Peyton Reed
Starring: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas
Three stars
The specs: 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk
Price, base: Dh399,999
Engine: Supercharged 6.2-litre V8
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 707hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 875Nm @ 4,800rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 16.8L / 100km (estimate)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Generational responses to the pandemic
Devesh Mamtani from Century Financial believes the cash-hoarding tendency of each generation is influenced by what stage of the employment cycle they are in. He offers the following insights:
Baby boomers (those born before 1964): Owing to market uncertainty and the need to survive amid competition, many in this generation are looking for options to hoard more cash and increase their overall savings/investments towards risk-free assets.
Generation X (born between 1965 and 1980): Gen X is currently in its prime working years. With their personal and family finances taking a hit, Generation X is looking at multiple options, including taking out short-term loan facilities with competitive interest rates instead of dipping into their savings account.
Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996): This market situation is giving them a valuable lesson about investing early. Many millennials who had previously not saved or invested are looking to start doing so now.
What is Genes in Space?
Genes in Space is an annual competition first launched by the UAE Space Agency, The National and Boeing in 2015.
It challenges school pupils to design experiments to be conducted in space and it aims to encourage future talent for the UAE’s fledgling space industry. It is the first of its kind in the UAE and, as well as encouraging talent, it also aims to raise interest and awareness among the general population about space exploration.
ZIMBABWE V UAE, ODI SERIES
All matches at the Harare Sports Club:
1st ODI, Wednesday - Zimbabwe won by 7 wickets
2nd ODI, Friday, April 12
3rd ODI, Sunday, April 14
4th ODI, Tuesday, April 16
UAE squad: Mohammed Naveed (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Chirag Suri, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Power: 110 horsepower
Torque: 147Nm
Price: From Dh59,700
On sale: now
Company%20Profile
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