DUBAI // Dave Matasio was not part of the UAE's 22-man squad for the opening day of the Cup of Nations on Saturday, but he still had plenty of reason to attend.
The IT consultant was part of a small contingent of Kenyans, cheering on his home nation in their tense win over Brazil.
And all the while ,he was proudly wearing his white UAE No 6 shirt, which he will don for the first time in a competitive XVs international against the nation of his birth on Friday.
When the same scenario occurred in the Dubai Rugby Sevens two weeks ago, the Dubai Wasps flanker conceded he had mixed feelings.
"It is all the family of rugby," said Matasio, 34, who first moved to Dubai in October 2007 with his work in IT. "I had the chance to play for Kenya's sevens and XVs teams, but I never made it because of work.
"I feel like I am finishing my career at the top, because I have maybe one more year left and then I am done with it. I am glad to be part of the UAE team."
Matasio comes into the starting line up because Renier Els, the captain, sustained a knee injury in the loss to Brazil.
Matasio will pack down on the blindside, alongside the Abu Dhabi Harlequins duo of Jamie Clarke and Alistair Thompson.
"He is very physical, so it will be nice to bring in someone like that who can rough teams up," Wayne Marsters, the UAE coach, said.
Chris Gregory, who was part of the UAE side for the Sevens, returns at scrum-half. Gregory had opted out of the XVs format in the recent past but made himself available for Friday's game to assist a squad badly hit by injury and illness.
Today's fixtures
UAE v Kenya, 3pm
Hong Kong v Brazil, 5pm
Matches on Pitch Two, The Sevens, Al Ain Road, Dubai
How to help or find other cats to adopt
There are many that often look for volunteers or other types of assistance. They include:
Rescue Animals in Need United Arab Emirates
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
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Museum of the Future in numbers
- 78 metres is the height of the museum
- 30,000 square metres is its total area
- 17,000 square metres is the length of the stainless steel facade
- 14 kilometres is the length of LED lights used on the facade
- 1,024 individual pieces make up the exterior
- 7 floors in all, with one for administrative offices
- 2,400 diagonally intersecting steel members frame the torus shape
- 100 species of trees and plants dot the gardens
- Dh145 is the price of a ticket
Expo details
Expo 2020 Dubai will be the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia
The world fair will run for six months from October 20, 2020 to April 10, 2021.
It is expected to attract 25 million visits
Some 70 per cent visitors are projected to come from outside the UAE, the largest proportion of international visitors in the 167-year history of World Expos.
More than 30,000 volunteers are required for Expo 2020
The site covers a total of 4.38 sqkm, including a 2 sqkm gated area
It is located adjacent to Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai South
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
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The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn
Rating: 3.5/5
While you're here
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Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
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World Test Championship table
1 India 71 per cent
2 New Zealand 70 per cent
3 Australia 69.2 per cent
4 England 64.1 per cent
5 Pakistan 43.3 per cent
6 West Indies 33.3 per cent
7 South Africa 30 per cent
8 Sri Lanka 16.7 per cent
9 Bangladesh 0
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
More about Sheikh Sabah
The specs
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Wicked
UAE%20SQUAD
CHATGPT%20ENTERPRISE%20FEATURES
Banned items
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Drones
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Animals
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Fireworks/ flares
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Radios or power banks
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Laser pointers
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Glass
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Selfie sticks/ umbrellas
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Sharp objects
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Political flags or banners
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Bikes, skateboards or scooters
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US households add $601bn of debt in 2019
American households borrowed another $601 billion (Dh2.2bn) in 2019, the largest yearly gain since 2007, just before the global financial crisis, according to February data from the New York Federal Reserve Bank.
Fuelled by rising mortgage debt as homebuyers continued to take advantage of low interest rates, the increase last year brought total household debt to a record high, surpassing the previous peak reached in 2008 just before the market crash, according to the report.
Following the 22nd straight quarter of growth, American household debt swelled to $14.15 trillion by the end of 2019, the New York Fed said in its quarterly report.
In the final three months of the year, new home loans jumped to their highest volume since the fourth quarter of 2005, while credit cards and auto loans also added to the increase.
The bad debt load is taking its toll on some households, and the New York Fed warned that more and more credit card borrowers — particularly young people — were falling behind on their payments.
"Younger borrowers, who are disproportionately likely to have credit cards and student loans as their primary form of debt, struggle more than others with on-time repayment," New York Fed researchers said.
The specs: 2019 Chevrolet Bolt EV
Price, base: Dh138,000 (estimate)
Engine: 60kWh battery
Transmission: Single-speed Electronic Precision Shift
Power: 204hp
Torque: 360Nm
Range: 520km (claimed)
Analysis
Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more