National News

From Oxford scholarships to pioneering projects, the university’s 140 inaugural graduates are pushing boundaries around the world. The University of Oxford is the oldest in the English-speaking world and one of the most prestigious on the planet. To be accepted to study there is considered not just an honour, but an affirmation of one’s extraordinary intelligence, character and commitment. Postgraduate student Shamma Sohail Al Mazrui, a 22-year-old Emirati from Abu Dhabi, won a scholarship to Oxford last year. Her path there, however, began at a far younger university – here in the UAE. Ms Al Mazrui says enrolling at New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) was the best best decision she ever made. “Everything about NYUAD – from the students to the professors – made me challenge conventional ways of thinking and go out of my comfort zone to learn new topics.” While her undergraduate economics research focused on Emirati females’ perception of the labour market, she i...

Dongfeng Race Team, the joint leaders of the Volvo Ocean Race who broke their mast a day ago, were nursing their stricken boat towards dry land and safety on Tuesday. The breakage could hardly have happened at a worse place for the Chinese team, some 250 nautical miles away from Cape Horn in the midst of the treacherous Southern Ocean and in high winds on the fifth leg. The damage has robbed the 65-foot (20 metres) boat of much of its manoeuvrability and French bowman Kevin Escoffier was forced to cut off one of the sails, to avoid it doing more damage to the 100-foot high (30 metres) mast. He also cut away the top part of the mast. “After four extraordinary legs for our team, we’ve taken our first major punch. A very big one,” lamented French skipper Charles Caudrelier. He must now decide whether to try to carry out repairs in Ushuaia, Argentina, which they are scheduled to reach at 1115 GMT on Tuesday, and attempt to rejoin the leg. Alternatively, they could...

Every year thousands of bass music fans trek from across the globe to Croatia for Outlook Festival – a unique annual happening which sees DJs and acts invade a 19th Century military fort, setting up stages in and around the network of tunnels and moats that surround the abandoned ruins. Ahead of September’s event, the festival’s team are bringing a taste of the bass to the the UAE with a second annual Dubai Launch Party, headlined by Dub Phizix & Strategy and held in conjunction with local promoters Something Big. We got the lowdown from co-headliner, drum n’ bass DJ, and Outlook artist manager Ant TC1. The festival started in 2008, growing dramatically from an audience of less than 2,000 in its first year to more than 15,000 today. “It was quite a novel idea at the time, for outside UK promoters to come in like that and start a festival somewhere else. It started off attracting mainly people from Europe, but now it’s worldwide – we get people flying in from A...

With just three days to go before their sell-out show in Dubai, One Direction fever is at an all-time high as we await the imminent arrival of the boys for the final show of the current leg of their On the Road Again tour. While we know the band are more than capable of delivering a rousing performance – even now that they are down to four members following the shock departure of Zayn Malik last week – we spoke to Thomas Ovesen, the chief executive of the promoter Done Events, about the things the lads won’t be getting up to during their stay. No after-party There is no official One Direction after-party planned, so don’t fall victim to any opportunistic promoters trying to lure you into their nightspot with the prospect of seeing Niall Horan spinning the decks. Besides, if that was to actually happen, it would be a rather surreal experience, with half of the fans barred from entering the venue due to being underage, while the other, older, half inside wouldn’t dare show ...

KUWAIT CITY // Kuwait pledged US$500 million (Dh1.8 billion) while the UAE promised $100m at the third annual Syria donors conference in Kuwait City on Tuesday. “We are meeting here to face the biggest humanitarian catastrophe in the modern history of mankind,” said the Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmed Al Jaber Al Sabah, as he announced the pledge at the start of the conference. Kuwait promised the same amount last year. Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, UAE Minister of International Cooperation and Development, announced her country’s pledge. Representatives of other countries attending the conference are also expected to announce pledges later in the day. The United Nations launched an $8.4bn appeal for its Syria operations in the year ahead. With the Syrian conflict now in its fifth year, nearly 4 million Syrians are refugees and more than eight million are displaced inside the country. About 220,000 Syrians have been killed since peaceful protests agai...

Plans for a law to allow full foreign ownership of companies outside free zones in strategic sectors are at an advanced stage, the Minister of Economy said. At a the Annual Investment Meeting in Dubai on Monday, Sultan Al Mansouri promised a new “law of Foreign Direct Investment that allows 100 per cent ownership in some sectors outside free zones”. The law is intended to encourage innovation and technology transfer. It will likely require foreign companies that are granted 100 per cent ownership rights to provide support or expertise to sectors identified by the government as strategically important. It would only apply to some industry sectors. The Ministry of Economy declined to state which sectors would see a relaxation of foreign ow nership restrictions, and did not say when the law would be introduced. A first draft of the law has been approved by a Ministry of Justice committee, and the Cabinet. It will now be redrafted by the Ministry of Justice, before it...

ABU DHABI // Heavy fog led to a second morning of crashes and pile-ups on Monday. A 15-car pile-up on Sheikh Zayed Road near Al Samha resulted in one driver suffering minor injuries, while 20 cars were involved in an accident on Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road in Umm Al Quwain, but no injuries were reported. On Sunday, two Syrian women and a girl died when their car veered in front of a lorry in Hatta. And eight other accidents and pile-ups on Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai injured nine people and damaged 70 vehicles. Police have urged motorists to be cautious when driving in foggy conditions, which are set to continue on Tuesday morning. Col Mohammed Al Mazroui, head of Abu Dhabi traffic police, urged transport companies to encourage drivers to abide by road laws, especially in the fog. And Lt Col Jamal Al Ameri, also of the traffic police, said on Monday that accidents could be avoided if drivers increased space between vehicles and reduced their speed. “...

We talk to the head of W Motors in Dubai, which produced the Lykan Hypersport – the car that Vin Diesel’s Dom drives off Etihad Towers in Furious 7. When Furious 7 opens in UAE cinemas on Wednesday, April 2, fans will see Vin Diesel’s character Dom Toretto switch vehicles. Parking his beloved black Dodge Charger, Toretto takes the wheel of a rare and impressive Lykan Hypersport, the first Middle Eastern supercar and one of the world’s fastest. It goes from 0 to 60 in less than three seconds and has a top speed of 395kph. With a US$3.4 million (Dh12.5m) price tag, it is the most expensive car to feature in the Fast and Furious franchise. W Motors, a company based in Dubai, produces the car in Torino, Italy by Magna Steyr. The company’s chief executive, Ralph Debbas, 29 and from Lebanon, spoke to The National from Beijing just after he had shared the stage with the film’s stars Diesel, Jason Statham and Michelle Rodriguez at the film’s Chinese press event. He wi...

DUBAI // Yemenis who live in the UAE are fearful for their families and worry about a looming humanitarian crisis after the recent military escalation in their homeland. Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, was shaken by a series of airstrikes by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition this week targeting the Houthi rebels who have taken over the capital and overrun much of the country, forcing president Abdrabu Mansur Hadi to flee abroad. Abdulhakeem Rajeh, 32, from Sanaa, said: “I’ve been calling my family two or three times a day. The fear starts at night. They can’t leave the house, they’re stuck there. They can’t go to school. The situation was slightly better before the airstrikes but I guess it has to get worse before it gets better. The sound of the strikes scares my children.” Mr Rajeh said he has three children, his wife, brothers and mother all in the same house. “I call to console them,” he said. Amr Al Faqih, 29, from Taez, Yemen’s third largest city, which was taken over ...

Sometimes you need a break from the studio – and the British weather. And so it was that the girl band Little Mix jumped at the chance to jet off to Dubai to help launch the inaugural season of the local version of The X Factor. The brief respite from the winter chill this month would, say band members Jade Thirlwall, Perrie Edwards, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jesy Nelson, help with focus upon returning to London to finish their latest album. “The songs are done but we just need to now go up there and record it all,” says ­Thirlwall, 22. Edwards, who at 21 is the youngest member of the band, adds: “The writing process is so long and we have written more than 100 songs – now it’s just about picking the songs that will go on the album. “We are really happy with the whole process so far and I think it’s going to be amazing. But before all that, we are happy just to be here and help support The X Factor.” Her words are sincere, given that the British version of the ­p...

PETRA, JORDAN // It’s high season in Petra, an ancient city hewn from rose-coloured rock and Jordan’s biggest tourist draw. Yet nearby hotels stand virtually empty and only a trickle of tourists make their way through the slot canyon to the Treasury building where scenes of one of the Indiana Jones movies were filmed. Petra’s slump is part of a sharp decline in tourism as Jordan’s economy pays the price for regional turbulence and its high-profile role in the US-led battle against ISIL militants next door. Jordan’s involvement in the anti-ISIL coalition drew worldwide attention earlier this year, when it stepped up airstrikes against targets in Syria after the militants burned to death a Jordanian fighter pilot in a cage. With the harrowing images, war seemed to come closer and tourism suffered. Video of the pilot’s immolation, released by the militants in February, led to a surge in cancellations of hotel bookings in Jordan, tourism officials said. The to...

Not only has Mushrif Central Park finally opened, providing an amazing new public space for Abu Dhabi residents, but it is also a new venue for the beloved Ripe Food and Craft Market every Saturday, from 4pm to 9pm. On both of the market days so far, crowds flocked to the beautifully designed park to end the weekend on a high thanks to the community favourite the market has become. With food trucks, arts and crafts stalls, vendors, live music and children’s activities, there really is something for everyone at the market. But what about the rest of the week, when there are no stalls and tranquillity reigns? Is the park as much fun and worth a visit? We say yes, especially for parents with young kids. The park feels like a gift for families. Its many different areas help to educate children while they’re having fun in a clean, smoke-free, outdoor space. Here are seven reasons why you should take every opportunity to visit the park. The Music Garden Ther...

It’s the final countdown before the release tonight of Furious 7, a film that’s predicted to smash box-­office records. And it’s been almost a year since the film’s 120-strong cast and crew, including the director James Wan, actors Vin Diesel, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Jordana Brewster, ­Michelle Rodriguez and­­­­ Nathalie Emmanuel, descended on Abu Dhabi for the city’s first major ­Hollywood shoot. They shot some of the film’s most thrilling action scenes in locations including Etihad ­Towers, Emirates Palace, the Corniche and Al Dhafra. The cast told us about working together for years, going on without their “brother” Paul Walker and having a blast in the UAE. A Whole Lotta’ Love for the UAE For Diesel, Emmanuel and Ludacris, being on location here last year was their first opportunity to experience the culture and sights of the UAE. “I didn’t know what to expect,” says Diesel. “I’d travelled to other Arabic places – Tunisia, and Egypt. Maybe I thoug...