Stormont political leaders have flagged up the potential for Northern Ireland researchers to help boost international motor racing.

This came as First Minister Peter Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness began a five-day business mission to the United Arab Emirates and India.

The first leg of the trip saw discussions at Abu Dhabi’s Formula One race track on Yas Island, where the University of Ulster’s Sports Academy has been working in collaboration with the Automobile & Touring Club of the UAE (ATCUAE) to develop new standards within motor racing.

The talks were aimed at further development of their relationship, including the prospects for a jointly taught undergraduate sports management degree in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which would be accredited by the university.

Mr Robinson said: “The opportunity for the co-delivery of an undergraduate course in sports management will further enhance Northern Ireland’s relationships in the Gulf region and fits in with the Executive’s strategy to increase internationalisation.” More info

Recently, I found myself on Yas Island at lunchtime. A quick internet search revealed that despite the growing number of restaurants on the island, few of them are open at midday.

With cheerful splashes of colour, the interior of Origins makes an agreeable environment for an informal meal. The dessert counter (right) features an extensive choice of rolls, pastries and tarts as well as fresh fruit. Courtesy Origins at Yas Viceroy

An all-day dining restaurant serving international food presented buffet-style would not normally appeal to me, but because of the limited options, I ended up at Origins at the Yas Viceroy hotel.

I was pleasantly surprised with what I found. Plenty of light filters through the restaurant’s large windows, which lead out on to a terrace overlooking Yas Marina. Inside, the backdrop is very white and the room spacious, but the occasional neon yellow lamp, brightly coloured chairs and the flowers in the centre of each table add colour and a bit of character, as does chatter from a constant stream of customers.

The range of dishes on offer is certainly extensive, but not so large that you feel overwhelmed. If you don’t want your plate to take on a multinational, multicoloured appearance, with flavours blurring and each item blending into the next, you can stick to one cuisine and still eat well.

We started our meal at the cold counter, where, along with a good selection of fresh-looking salads, we found platters displaying different cuts of meat, wedges of cheese and pots of chutney, some seafood and a couple of vegetable and meat terrines. A quick stop at the bread station to pick up a crusty roll and our first course was complete.

The hummus was properly thick and creamy, moutabel had plenty of depth of flavour and the fattoush salad was well seasoned and pleasingly perky. The prawns, meanwhile, tasted fresh, and a smoked duck salad, featuring tender, tasty meat and crunchy sliced fennel, was nice. More info

Dec. 28 (Bloomberg) — The Abu Dhabi government agreed to buy assets valued at 16.8 billion dirhams ($4.57 billion) from Aldar Properties PJSC, the emirate’s biggest developer, to boost the company’s finances.

The government will purchase 760 residential units in the Al Raha Beach development and retire 5 billion dirhams of debt related to infrastructure on Yas Island, Aldar said in a statement today.

Developers in the United Arab Emirates are struggling to pay down debts after the credit crisis caused property values to plummet and drove speculators out of the market. Home prices in Abu Dhabi, the U.A.E. capital, may drop 30 percent more after declining as much as 55 percent from the market’s peak in mid- 2008, Dubai-based Rasmala Investment Bank Ltd. forecasted in October.

Aldar will receive 4.5 billion dirhams in the next two months as part of the agreement, and the balance will be paid over the next four years, according to the statement. The government also agreed to buy 5.7 billion dirhams of assets in Abu Dhabi’s city center, known as the Central Market.

More info

A SOUTHPORT DJ will be joining some of the biggest dance acts in the world when he performs at an international music festival.

Mark Pickup takes to the stage at Creamfields Live in Abu Dhabi next month, playing to more than 20,000 revellers.

He will be responsible for keeping the crowd going on Friday, December 9 as part of the two-day dance festival on Yas Island. Joining him on the bill are top artists such as Tinie Tempah, Deadmau5, Tiesto, Magnetic Man and Katy B.

The former Kingswood pupil has been making waves in the dance music world ever since he moved to the United Arab Emirates country three years ago.

Ranked in the top 20 of Middle East DJs last year, Mark, 35, has played alongside the best dance acts in the business including Pete Tong, Basement Jaxx, Sasha, David Guetta and Groove Armada.

Now a resident DJ at all the Ministry of Sound clubs in the Middle East, Mark’s career is going from strength to strength.

Speaking from his Dubai home he said: “I’m very excited about Creamfields Abu Dhabi. There are some top quality acts of the bill and there’s a massive choice for music fans.” More info

A new name went into the Yas Marina record books when Lewis Hamilton won the 2011 Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix for McLaren Mercedes.

In a sensational start to the 55-lap race Sebastian Vettel, whose Red Bull Renault started from pole position, spun off on the second corner with a deflating right rear tyre.

Although the World Champion limped back to pit lane the team could not repair the damage to his wheel and he was out of a race for the first time in 2011.

Hamilton streaked into the lead with a fast-starting Fernando Alonso’s Ferrari behind him, relinquished it for one lap at the first round of pit stops but was then never headed en route to his third win of the season and the 17th of his F1 career.

“One of my best races – I said that to myself as I slowed down,” said the 26-year-old Englishman. “I’m ecstatic, very happy to be back up here. I can get on my flight tonight and smile!”

Alonso came home second for Ferrari’s first podium finish in Abu Dhabi while Jenson Button was third – for the third time here – for McLaren.

Mark Webber’s hopes of securing a top result in Vettel’s absence disappeared when the team fumbled the Australian’s first pit stop, leaving him stationary for almost 10 seconds and effectively out of the running.

Switching to a three-stop strategy, Webber pitted with one lap left but still stayed comfortably ahead of Felipe Massa’s Ferrari. The Brazilian now has only one race, his home Grand Prix in two weeks, to avoid being the first Ferrari driver for 20 years to go through a whole season without getting on to the podium.

With Mercedes and Sahara Force India filling the spots from sixth to ninth, Kamui Kobayashi’s 10th-place finish for Sauber edged the Swiss team ahead of Toro Rosso again in the fight for seventh place in the Constructors’ Championship.

There were 20 classified finishers, with Virgin’s Jérôme D’Ambrosio, Toro Rosso’s Sébastien Buemi and Daniel Ricciardo of HRT the other men not to make the chequered flag.

Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain completed McLaren’s dominance during the weekend by cruising to victory in the Formula One Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit on Sunday.

Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel of Germany leads the field after the start during the Emirates Formula One Grand Prix at the Yas Marina racetrack , in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, Nov.13, 2011. (AP)

Hamilton staved off a strong challenge from Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso helped by some brilliant pit stops and the early retirement of reigning world champion and pole-sitter Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull to win his third race of the season by 8.4 seconds on a day when everything seemed to go for right for McLaren.

Vettel’s Red Bull team mate Mark Webber lost the battle for third place from Hamilton’s McLaren team mate Jenson Button after pitting on the penultimate lap of the only twilight race of the Formula One calendar.

“Mega job – mega job guys – as usual. I want to dedicate this win to my mum. Happy birthday and thanks for coming out here,” Hamilton said on the team radio.

“One of my best races – I said that to myself as I slowed down,” said the 26-year-old Englishman at the post-race press conference. “I’m ecstatic, very happy to be back up here. I can get on my flight tonight and smile.”

Asked if he was back on track after all his troubles, he said: “I don’t know. It’s early days.

“We’ve a great race in Brazil coming up, so I just need to try and keep the momentum.”

Alonso also felt he enjoyed “a fantastic race”, adding: “I had a very good start, a good first lap and the fight with Jenson.

“Then after the problem with Sebastian, I fought with Lewis, and at the last stop we stayed out two laps longer than Lewis.

“But in the last stint he had a bit more pace, so even if I had got ahead in the second stop, we probably wouldn’t have won, but it has been a good weekend.”

As for Button, his KERS issues proved a hindrance as he said: “On about lap 13 or 14 it went. I had to fend off Webber and Massa, which was interesting, and then I eventually got it back.

“But then it went again and I had to keep resetting it, which means it was very tricky, so coming home third I’m pretty happy.”

In a spectacular start to the only Middle East race this season, reigning world champion Vettel was forced to retire after spinning out on the opening lap. This was his first retirement in 20 races since suffering engine trouble in Korea last year. More info

Tunisian superstar Saber Al Robai wrapped up an incredible four-night musical extravaganza, which saw people groove to the beat of some of the world’s most popular local, regional, and international artists on the Abu Dhabi Corniche.

Beats on the Beach

The final night of the Yasalam beach party, Beats on the Beach, saw local group Desert Heat, North African beauty Hasna Zalagh, local rockers Juliana Down, UK rising star Eliza Doolittle, as well as Saber Al Robai create a magical and memorable night, as the free concert series concluded for another season.

On Wednesday night Beats on the Beach saw alternative rock band, The Flaming Trees, Danny Band, Korean pop sensation Seo In-Young, Hicham El Hajj, and Wyclef Jean rock the Abu Dhabi shores.

The beach party continued on Thursday night, when the Middle East’s best-selling female recording artist Najwa Karam attracted one of the most vocal crowds. Local band Dahab opened the night while Ayman Zbib, regarded as a ‘true pearl in the Arab world’, serenaded his adoring fans with his powerful and poetic love songs. Korean girl-group Nine Muses performed some of their favorite Asian hits before Jay Z’s protégé, J-Cole, lit up the stage, belting out hits off his debut album A Cole World: The Sideline Story.

Friday night drew one of the biggest crowds of the event; fans were unable to control their enthusiasm when British-Indian pop sensation Jay Sean got ‘down’ and made sure Abu Dhabi partied like it was the end of the world. Local band The Recipe hit the beats stage first followed by the magnificent Emirati beauty Aryam. Example and Fatboy Slim kept partygoers dancing late into the night.

Beats on the Beach is the last event held under Yasalam’s Live on the Corniche banner. The Yasalam program concludes in style tonight with one of the world’s most popular musicians, Paul McCartney, preparing to rock the Yas Arena. The Yasalam after-race concerts are exclusively for 2011 F1™ Etihad Airways Dhabi Grand Prix ticket holders.

For more information about Yasalam 2011, visit www.yasalam.ae

Formula One legend Michael Schumacher has denied that he was in talks with Mercedes to extend his contract beyond next season on a day when team mate Nico Rosberg committed his future to the German team.

Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg at the opening of the Airport Road showroom of Emirates Motor Company, Mercedes-Benz general distributor in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain and the flagship company of Al Fahim Group, on Thursday. (SUPPLIED)

Speaking on the sidelines of the Formula One Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Thursday, the seven-time world champion wanted more time to consider his future plans.

“According to some journalists, yes,” said Schumacher, who made his comeback last season at the age of 41 after a three-year hiatus.

“The reality, no. I need a little bit more time to see sort of about myself and how we are heading and some more input to see whether that is what I want or not.”

Just hours earlier, Mercedes announced that Schumacher’s team mate Nico Rosberg had agreed a new deal keeping him at the team beyond 2013.

The Mercedes drivers were special guests at the official opening of the Airport Road showroom of Emirates Motor Company (EMC), Mercedes-Benz general distributor in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain and the flagship company of Al Fahim Group on Thursday.

Popular for the rotating Mercedes-Benz star on Airport Road, EMC returns to one of the first showrooms in the country.

“We have witnessed the growth of this showroom from 1964 positioning us into becoming one of the most recognised locations and brands in the emirate,” said Rashed Abdul Jalil Al Fahim, Managing Director of Al Fahim Group.

Rosberg’s contract extension seemed to be a cause for celebration in the camp of the all-German pairing.

“I am very excited to have extended my contract with the team for a few more years,” the 26 year-old German driver said.

“To win in a Silver Arrow will be one of the highlights of my life so far, and I greatly enjoy helping to lead our team in our quest to become the best in Formula One.”

Rosberg registered three podium finishes in his first season with Mercedes, but has been less successful in 2011 managing only two fifth place finishes in China and Turkey.

“We are delighted to have extended our contract with Nico as we know that he is a driver who can win races and championships,” team principal Ross Brawn said.

“Nico has performed exceptionally well for our Silver Arrows team over the past two seasons, achieving results at the very limit of the technical capabilities of our current car.”

Brawn expressed his belief that the partnership with Schumacher would help push the team forward in 2012 and beyond.

“He has an excellent work ethic and, together with Michael, this gives us a driver pairing who consistently push the team to improve and progress. More

Sade’s unforgettable voice will mark the finale of this season’s Yas Island Show Weekends

YAS ISLAND SHOW Weekends’ 2011 season comes to a grand finale on Friday, December 16 with a performance by British band Sade.

Sade, led by sultry singer Sade Adu (pictured), have enjoyed phenomenal success throughout their 27-year career, selling over 55 million records. Up until 2011, it had been ten years since Sade last went on the road, but their current world tour is now the third highest grossing of the year.

The band have packed arenas in Europe, Russia, North and South America  performing to over 600,000 fans worldwide since springtime.

The December show will see a two-hour spell binding set, containing many of the London band’s timeless hits; from Smooth Operator to material from their Grammy-winning album Solider of Love.

Shatha Al Romaithi, Flash Entertainment spokesperson, said the live show will incorporate creative production, tasteful visuals, and artful stage effects.

“For many years, people have asked us to bring Sade to Abu Dhabi and we are delighted to finally confirm this show,” said Al Romaithi. “If people have seen her world tour already they will know it’s an elegant, understated and flawless performance. For Sade fans, or those looking to experience a true icon perform live, this is a rare event and it’s not to be missed”.

Tickets for Sade Live in Abu Dhabi are now on sale from www.thinkflash.ae. Tickets are priced at  General Admission: Dhs295, Grandstand: Dhs595 and Golden Circle: Dhs750. More

General managers of five of the seven Yas Island hotels have said the properties are already fully booked for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix period between November 11 and 13.

Raddison Blu Hotel, Yas Island

Thierry Perrot, area general manager for the Crowne Plaza & Staybridge Suites Abu Dhabi Yas Island expected full occupancy at the hotel, based on bookings already received, with around 10% growth on RevPar during the race period, compared to the same period last year, he told Hotelier Middle East.

Radisson Blu Hotel, Abu Dhabi Yas Island general manager Torbjorn Bodin said the hotel was also fully booked with expected RevPAR approximately 5% more than in 2010.

Similarly, Patrick Martinez, general manager for Yas Island Rotana & Centro Yas Island Abu Dhabi, said the Yas Island Rotana had already received all its bookings for the race period, while there were still “a few rooms” available at the Centro Yas Island.