It's Thursday lunchtime in the Hawksbill restaurant of the Saadiyat Beach Golf Club and, for a small group of diners, the weekend has already begun. The clink of glasses accompanies the deft serving of meals; traditional dark wood interiors and period photographs, complimenting the sweeping views of the greens beyond, give the feel of a place long-established. The Gary Player-designed course, the first beach-side golf course in the Gulf, has only been open since March, but since then, close to 20,000 rounds of golf have been played; next month sees the second consecutive year of the Saadiyat Beach Golf Classic.
Arriving at the course after driving on to Saadiyat Island - a 27-square-kilometre flat, barren expanse until very recently - is incongruous and dreamlike. But driving across the Sheikh Khalifa Highway, with water on both sides and mangroves stretching almost to the horizon, anyone who has lived in Abu Dhabi for any length of time also gets a physical sense of new worlds opening up. There's something of Key West about it, yet this is all new and we are merely at the beginning of dozens of developments on the island that, when completions start in just a few months, will begin to change the face of tourism in Abu Dhabi.
Behind the golf course is the first phase of an upscale residential development called the Saadiyat Beach Residential Community. The first 354 villas are under construction and all have already been sold or reserved. Opposite the clubhouse (already, a new clubhouse, designed by Frank Gehry, is slated to open in 2012) and across the green is the elegant new Park Hyatt hotel, due to open in the second quarter of next year. Further down is the vast St Regis (the first St Regis in the Middle East, it will have 380 rooms, 259 apartments and 32 luxury villas), where 15 cranes are currently working towards an opening at the end of 2011. And just behind all of this, looking west, is the newly defined skyline of Abu Dhabi and Al Reem islands, where a forest of towers is springing up like a new Manhattan. The landscape of Abu Dhabi is changing so fast I'm reminded of a comment by Rags to Riches author and honorary chairman of the Al Fahim Group, Mohammed AJ al Fahim, on the transformation of the city in the late 1960s: "There were trucks, bulldozers, cars and people everywhere ... It was like a scene from the creation of a film set - a whole city was being erected from scratch."
Within 20 years Saadiyat Island will be home to 145,000 people, and with flagship projects such as the Louvre, the Guggenheim and the Sheikh Zayed National Museum, it is central to Abu Dhabi's development as laid out in the 2030 plan. According to the Tourism Development and Investment Corporation (TDIC), the master developer of the site, business, culture, tourism and sports will all intersect here to create a "multifaceted, premier island destination of desire" offering a "unique invitation to the discerning traveller". Tourism is so central to Abu Dhabi's self-image ("Saadiyat Island will be an irresistible magnet attracting the world to Abu Dhabi, and taking Abu Dhabi to the world") that one of the emirate's most enviable sites has been chosen to cater to future visitors' every whim.
And it's when you get down to the beach - on my golf tour, next to the fifth and sixth holes (named, appropriately, "Dolphin view" and "Saadiyat breeze") - that you understand the draw. The nine-km natural beach is gorgeous, with white sand and aquamarine water. It's the perfect depth for swimming and so clean you can see through the waves as they break gently on the shore. As yet it's untouched; a nesting ground for the critically endangered hawksbill turtle, the golf course and all other developments are set back from the shoreline and the small dunes that front them will be preserved.The development plans to keep trampling feet in designated areas and a network of boardwalks will be used to cross the dunes.
Looking at the scale models of the developments on display at Emirates Palace and Al Manarat al Saadiyat, I'm impressed by the level of detail: even the palm trees in one hotel's landscaped grounds have floodlights; luxury villas have miniature sunbeds on their terraces and plants trailing on the pergolas. Yet one barely needs to look at these or the pop-up pocket guide one is given on arrival at the exhibition anymore: of the nine resorts planned for Saadiyat, five have been announced and are under imminent development: alongside the St Regis and Park Hyatt will be outposts of the Shangri-La, Rotana and Mandarin Oriental brands.
Further along Saadiyat beach is the chic and minimalistic Monte Carlo Beach Club. It's nearly finished - all the structural work is done and the cladding has gone on: water is about to be connected and teams of workmen are all over the site crafting the swimming pools, gyms and cardio rooms. Looking at the computer-generated images coming to life so close to that beach, I can hardly wait until it opens in three months' time and I'll be able to dip my toes in that water (entry policy permitting: it's an exclusive, Miami Beach type of place). For those with more money, there are villas being constructed across the road from here, too, in "Mediterranean", "Contemporary" and "Arabian" themes, with three to six bedrooms. With expatriates able to buy properties on 99-year leases, they will no doubt appeal to those looking for a luxury holiday home.
Elsewhere in the capital, ambitious new hotel developments are in advanced stages of development. Next year will see the opening of the new Rocco Forte hotel on Airport Road (for an interview with Olga Polizzi, see page 6) and the completion of the 66-storey, 600-room Jumeirah Etihad Towers hotel next to Emirates Palace. Other landmark developments include the Italianate Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi - Grand Canal opposite the Shangri-La Abu Dhabi, the Angsana Hotel and Resort in the Eastern Mangroves, the striking, 45-degree angled Regent Emirates Pearl and the modernist W Hotel Al Bateen Wharf. This is in addition to a clutch of new openings, including Rotana and Hyatt, in the Capital Gate district near Adnec.
It's all a far cry from Abu Dhabi's first hotel, the Beach Hotel, which was opened by the Bustani family near the present-day site of the Sheraton Corniche in 1964. "It was 25 rooms, and it was a big deal," recalls Mohammed al Fahim, whose Al Fahim Group co-owns the Fairmont Bab Al Bahr. "We didn't imagine back then that we would see so many hotels or so many rooms opening in Abu Dhabi. We never thought it was even possible. In fact, we never thought Abu Dhabi would ever be a tourist destination. It was frowned upon by the community in those days; people didn't want so many people peeping at them."
The Abu Dhabi Tourist Authority (ADTA), which sets targets for visitor numbers to Abu Dhabi, says 1.65 million people have visited so far this year, based on the number of hotel guests the emirate receives. It aims to attract 2.3 million in 2012 and 3.2 million by 2015, as part of a wider drive to diversify the economy away from its dependency on oil. Currently, tourism accounts for 10.7 per cent of Abu Dhabi's non-oil GDP. Abu Dhabi currently has 17,297 hotel rooms, a figure that will rise to 22,800 by the end of 2011 and a staggering 80,000 by 2030, by which time Abu Dhabi aims to be attracting 7.3 million visitors a year.
For al Fahim, the speed of this development carries risks. "I hope we don't overbuild and that hotels don't price themselves out of the market, because hotels are currently not operating at full occupancy and unless the government has big plans to fill them then what we have is already sufficient."
For the UAE's largest and fastest-growing hotel management company, Rotana, the continued growth of Abu Dhabi despite a global economic downturn represents a unique opportunity, and the group now accounts for 30 per cent of Abu Dhabi's hotel bookings. Rotana is currently opening between seven and 10 hotels a year; next year, of its seven openings in the Middle East, five will be in Abu Dhabi. "In five years' time we will have up to 20 hotels in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain," says Omer Kaddouri, Rotana's chief operating officer. "By 2012 we will have a total of 70 properties and we plan to increase this to 200 by 2030." Kaddouri attributes Rotana's success to the growing number of business events held in the city and its own marketing strategies. "The UAE buying London's Excel exhibition centre and strategies to bring conferences to Abu Dhabi are working. The government wants to ensure the hotels are full. We have also reached out to guests from new markets in eastern Europe, South America and the Far East - China, Malaysia and Hong Kong."
Another new market which is proving successful is Rotana's alcohol-free Rayhaan brand. In Abu Dhabi, the impressive Rotana Khaladiya Palace near Emirates Palace presents a new model of culturally sensitive travel that may be part of the key to differentiating Abu Dhabi from its competitors. The brand has a healthy but upmarket philosophy, shown at the Rayhaan by an impressive beachfront, the largest hotel swimming pool in the city and sophisticated restaurants and juice bars. "Not only has not having alcohol not affected our business, it has led to our expectations being surpassed," says Kaddouri. "The hotel is even proving popular with the German and Russian market."
Lawrence Franklin, the strategy and policy director of ADTA, says that 2012 was the "end point" of a "major consolidation phase" before the next wave of expansion in the city. "By this time we will already have an impressive range and quantity of accommodation offerings, a broad spread of attractions, a strong core of high profile and community events and a mature, increasingly sustainable tourism sector providing world-class services. The next wave of excitement will largely be underpinned by the roll out of the Saadiyat Cultural District.
"This critical infrastructure will be marketed and integrated into Abu Dhabi's overall tourism offering via ongoing global marketing campaigns, efficient public relations, an established series of trade and consumer shows and an effective international office network and a vertically and horizontally aligned tourism sector."
According to Sheena Westwood, associate professor and director of graduate programmes at Zayed University and a tourism specialist, the level of government support for tourism and its integration with business and sporting events makes tourism central to the wider development of Abu Dhabi, and makes it different to virtually any other destination in the world. "Tourism is being very strategically developed," shesays. "It cuts across everything that's happening in Abu Dhabi: hotels, sports, business events and mixed-use developments - everything has a tourism angle."
Tourism is seen as instrumental in cross-cultural exchange and religious understanding, Westwood says, though there is still a challenge in attracting people to the city. "There is still a low awareness of Abu Dhabi in geographical terms. Many people still don't understand where the UAE is or what it is. Tourism can help to challenge this and here there is a blank canvas with full government support and funding." The ongoing process of Emiratisation was important in this process, shesays, "because people want to explore but they also want an interaction. We need more qualified Emirati nationals with degrees in tourism, hospitality and events management, otherwise it's all going to be foreign expertise."
The ultimate challenge will be to maintain Abu Dhabi's profile as a tourist destination for decades to come, says Westwood. "At the moment Abu Dhabi has location and newness in its favour - people are always looking for something new. It's is still seen as exotic, but it's not enough to just build it, you have to maintain it. In the future you've got to sustain that in the face of competition."
rbehan@thenational.ae
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Friday (UAE kick-off times)
Levante v Real Mallorca (12am)
Leganes v Barcelona (4pm)
Real Betis v Valencia (7pm)
Granada v Atletico Madrid (9.30pm)
Sunday
Real Madrid v Real Sociedad (12am)
Espanyol v Getafe (3pm)
Osasuna v Athletic Bilbao (5pm)
Eibar v Alaves (7pm)
Villarreal v Celta Vigo (9.30pm)
Monday
Real Valladolid v Sevilla (12am)
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Tottenham v Ajax, Tuesday, 11pm (UAE).
Second leg
Ajax v Tottenham, Wednesday, May 8, 11pm
Games on BeIN Sports
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Primera Liga fixtures (all times UAE: 4 GMT)
Friday
Real Sociedad v Villarreal (10.15pm)
Real Betis v Celta Vigo (midnight)
Saturday
Alaves v Barcelona (8.15pm)
Levante v Deportivo La Coruna (10.15pm)
Girona v Malaga (10.15pm)
Las Palmas v Atletico Madrid (12.15am)
Sunday
Espanyol v Leganes (8.15pm)
Eibar v Athletic Bilbao (8.15pm)
Getafe v Sevilla (10.15pm)
Real Madrid v Valencia (10.15pm)
COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
Roll of honour 2019-2020
Dubai Rugby Sevens
Winners: Dubai Hurricanes
Runners up: Bahrain
West Asia Premiership
Winners: Bahrain
Runners up: UAE Premiership
UAE Premiership
Winners: Dubai Exiles
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes
UAE Division One
Winners: Abu Dhabi Saracens
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes II
UAE Division Two
Winners: Barrelhouse
Runners up: RAK Rugby
'HIJRAH%3A%20IN%20THE%20FOOTSTEPS%20OF%20THE%20PROPHET'
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The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
If you go...
Flying
There is no simple way to get to Punta Arenas from the UAE, with flights from Dubai and Abu Dhabi requiring at least two connections to reach this part of Patagonia. Flights start from about Dh6,250.
Touring
Chile Nativo offers the amended Los Dientes trek with expert guides and porters who are met in Puerto Williams on Isla Navarino. The trip starts and ends in Punta Arenas and lasts for six days in total. Prices start from Dh8,795.
The five types of long-term residential visas
Obed Suhail of ServiceMarket, an online home services marketplace, outlines the five types of long-term residential visas:
Investors:
A 10-year residency visa can be obtained by investors who invest Dh10 million, out of which 60 per cent should not be in real estate. It can be a public investment through a deposit or in a business. Those who invest Dh5 million or more in property are eligible for a five-year residency visa. The invested amount should be completely owned by the investors, not loaned, and retained for at least three years.
Entrepreneurs:
A five-year multiple entry visa is available to entrepreneurs with a previous project worth Dh0.5m or those with the approval of an accredited business incubator in the UAE.
Specialists
Expats with specialised talents, including doctors, specialists, scientists, inventors, and creative individuals working in the field of culture and art are eligible for a 10-year visa, given that they have a valid employment contract in one of these fields in the country.
Outstanding students:
A five-year visa will be granted to outstanding students who have a grade of 95 per cent or higher in a secondary school, or those who graduate with a GPA of 3.75 from a university.
Retirees:
Expats who are at least 55 years old can obtain a five-year retirement visa if they invest Dh2m in property, have savings of Dh1m or more, or have a monthly income of at least Dh20,000.
More on animal trafficking
The biog
Favourite books: 'Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Life' by Jane D. Mathews and ‘The Moment of Lift’ by Melinda Gates
Favourite travel destination: Greece, a blend of ancient history and captivating nature. It always has given me a sense of joy, endless possibilities, positive energy and wonderful people that make you feel at home.
Favourite pastime: travelling and experiencing different cultures across the globe.
Favourite quote: “In the future, there will be no female leaders. There will just be leaders” - Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook.
Favourite Movie: Mona Lisa Smile
Favourite Author: Kahlil Gibran
Favourite Artist: Meryl Streep
UAE SQUAD
Ahmed Raza (Captain), Rohan Mustafa, Jonathan Figy, CP Rizwan, Junaid Siddique, Mohammad Usman, Basil Hameed, Zawar Farid, Vriitya Aravind (WK), Waheed Ahmed, Karthik Meiyappan, Zahoor Khan, Darius D'Silva, Chirag Suri
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Richard Jewell
Director: Clint Eastwood
Stars: Paul Walter Hauser, Sam Rockwell, Brandon Stanley
Two-and-a-half out of five stars
Specs%20
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The specs: Lamborghini Aventador SVJ
Price, base: Dh1,731,672
Engine: 6.5-litre V12
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 770hp @ 8,500rpm
Torque: 720Nm @ 6,750rpm
Fuel economy: 19.6L / 100km
The%20specs
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A new relationship with the old country
Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates
The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.
ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.
ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.
ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.
DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.
Signed
Geoffrey Arthur Sheikh Zayed
Company profile
Name: Steppi
Founders: Joe Franklin and Milos Savic
Launched: February 2020
Size: 10,000 users by the end of July and a goal of 200,000 users by the end of the year
Employees: Five
Based: Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai
Financing stage: Two seed rounds – the first sourced from angel investors and the founders' personal savings
Second round raised Dh720,000 from silent investors in June this year
Should late investors consider cryptocurrencies?
Wealth managers recommend late investors to have a balanced portfolio that typically includes traditional assets such as cash, government and corporate bonds, equities, commodities and commercial property.
They do not usually recommend investing in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies due to the risk and volatility associated with them.
“It has produced eye-watering returns for some, whereas others have lost substantially as this has all depended purely on timing and when the buy-in was. If someone still has about 20 to 25 years until retirement, there isn’t any need to take such risks,” Rupert Connor of Abacus Financial Consultant says.
He adds that if a person is interested in owning a business or growing a property portfolio to increase their retirement income, this can be encouraged provided they keep in mind the overall risk profile of these assets.
Need to know
Unlike other mobile wallets and payment apps, a unique feature of eWallet is that there is no need to have a bank account, credit or debit card to do digital payments.
Customers only need a valid Emirates ID and a working UAE mobile number to register for eWallet account.
8 traditional Jamaican dishes to try at Kingston 21
- Trench Town Rock: Jamaican-style curry goat served in a pastry basket with a carrot and potato garnish
- Rock Steady Jerk Chicken: chicken marinated for 24 hours and slow-cooked on the grill
- Mento Oxtail: flavoured oxtail stewed for five hours with herbs
- Ackee and salt fish: the national dish of Jamaica makes for a hearty breakfast
- Jamaican porridge: another breakfast favourite, can be made with peanut, cornmeal, banana and plantain
- Jamaican beef patty: a pastry with ground beef filling
- Hellshire Pon di Beach: Fresh fish with pickles
- Out of Many: traditional sweet potato pudding
TECH%20SPECS%3A%20APPLE%20WATCH%20SERIES%209
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About RuPay
A homegrown card payment scheme launched by the National Payments Corporation of India and backed by the Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank
RuPay process payments between banks and merchants for purchases made with credit or debit cards
It has grown rapidly in India and competes with global payment network firms like MasterCard and Visa.
In India, it can be used at ATMs, for online payments and variations of the card can be used to pay for bus, metro charges, road toll payments
The name blends two words rupee and payment
Some advantages of the network include lower processing fees and transaction costs
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Friday (UAE kick-off times)
Cologne v Hoffenheim (11.30pm)
Saturday
Hertha Berlin v RB Leipzig (6.30pm)
Schalke v Fortuna Dusseldof (6.30pm)
Mainz v Union Berlin (6.30pm)
Paderborn v Augsburg (6.30pm)
Bayern Munich v Borussia Dortmund (9.30pm)
Sunday
Borussia Monchengladbach v Werder Bremen (4.30pm)
Wolfsburg v Bayer Leverkusen (6.30pm)
SC Freiburg v Eintracht Frankfurt (9on)
Results
STAGE
1 . Filippo Ganna (Ineos) - 0:13:56
2. Stefan Bissegger (Education-Nippo) - 0:00:14
3. Mikkel Bjerg (UAE Team Emirates) - 0:00:21
4. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) - 0:00:24
5. Luis Leon Sanchez (Astana) - 0:00:30
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) - 4:00:05
2. Joao Almeida (QuickStep) - 0:00:05
3. Mattia Cattaneo (QuickStep) - 0:00:18
4. Chris Harper (Jumbo-Visma) - 0:00:33
5. Adam Yates (Ineos) - 0:00:39
More on animal trafficking
Results
2.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 1,700m; Winner: AF Mezmar, Adam McLean (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer).
3pm: Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 2,000m; Winner: AF Ajwad, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel.
3.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 1,200m; Winner: Gold Silver, Sam Hitchcott, Ibrahim Aseel.
4pm: Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 1,000m; Winner: Atrash, Richard Mullen, Ana Mendez.
4.30pm: Gulf Cup Prestige (PA) Dh150,000 1,700m; Winner: AF Momtaz, Saif Al Balushi, Musabah Al Muhairi.
5pm: Handicap (TB) Dh40,000 1,200m; Winner: Al Mushtashar, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
Brief scores:
Liverpool 3
Mane 24', Shaqiri 73', 80'
Manchester United 1
Lingard 33'
Man of the Match: Fabinho (Liverpool)
UJDA CHAMAN
Produced: Panorama Studios International
Directed: Abhishek Pathak
Cast: Sunny Singh, Maanvi Gagroo, Grusha Kapoor, Saurabh Shukla
Rating: 3.5 /5 stars
RESULT
Valencia 3
Kevin Gameiro 21', 51'
Ferran Torres 67'
Atlanta 4
Josip Llicic 3' (P), 43' (P), 71', 82'
If you go
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Funchal via Lisbon, with a connecting flight with Air Portugal. Economy class returns cost from Dh3,845 return including taxes.
The trip
The WalkMe app can be downloaded from the usual sources. If you don’t fancy doing the trip yourself, then Explore offers an eight-day levada trails tour from Dh3,050, not including flights.
The hotel
There isn’t another hotel anywhere in Madeira that matches the history and luxury of the Belmond Reid's Palace in Funchal. Doubles from Dh1,400 per night including taxes.
The design
The protective shell is covered in solar panels to make use of light and produce energy. This will drastically reduce energy loss.
More than 80 per cent of the energy consumed by the French pavilion will be produced by the sun.
The architecture will control light sources to provide a highly insulated and airtight building.
The forecourt is protected from the sun and the plants will refresh the inner spaces.
A micro water treatment plant will recycle used water to supply the irrigation for the plants and to flush the toilets. This will reduce the pavilion’s need for fresh water by 30 per cent.
Energy-saving equipment will be used for all lighting and projections.
Beyond its use for the expo, the pavilion will be easy to dismantle and reuse the material.
Some elements of the metal frame can be prefabricated in a factory.
From architects to sound technicians and construction companies, a group of experts from 10 companies have created the pavilion.
Work will begin in May; the first stone will be laid in Dubai in the second quarter of 2019.
Construction of the pavilion will take 17 months from May 2019 to September 2020.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Dolittle
Director: Stephen Gaghan
Stars: Robert Downey Jr, Michael Sheen
One-and-a-half out of five stars
Company%20Profile
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