Sheikh Ahmed bin Hamdan Al Nahyan was the toast of the Al Gharbia Watersports Festival when the curtain came down on the second staging of the 10-day event.
At the closing of the competition on Saturday, held at the Mirfa public beach in Al Gharbia, around 120km west of the capital, the winners of the myriad events − which ranged from kite-surfing to beach football − were feted.
Wakeboarding, surf-ski kayaking, modern and traditional sail boat racing and beach volleyball were among the events contested by competitors from the UAE, Europe, South Africa and Australia.
The performance of Sheikh Ahmed was arguably the stand-out display of the extravaganza. He was crowned champion of the freestyle kite-surfing contest after fighting off 65 other athletes. Rashed al Falasi's relentless efforts secured him second place, followed by Saeed Butti al Zarif in third.
Sheikh Ahmed also claimed a silver medal in the UAE Nationals Race. Al Zarif won the gold medal and Ibrahim Saeed al Hameli was third.
The women's kite-surfing race was a European 1-2-3 with Katharina Kailin of Switzerland finishing first, ahead of Austria's Astrid Pitrchi and Belgium's Ann Smith. Meanwhile, in the youth race, Poland's Casper Cizinsi won the gold medal, followed by South Africa's Mark Hoss and Rafael Lauri of France in third.
The festivities also saw the Bani Yas team crowned beach football champions after they beat Al Ain University in the final.
Another highlight of the festival was the inaugural Butinah Race for traditional rowing boats.
Al Barq, owned by Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed, the President of the UAE, was a comprehensive winner. Among the other 15 boats in the two-mile race were Elyas, owned by the Vital Premises and Utilities Protection Agency, Al Zaabi, owned by Hamed Mohamed al Zaabi and Abu Al Abyad, owned by Ahmed Mohammed al Shehhi.
Towards the finish, Al Barq, captained by Mohammed Abdel Aziz Ibrahim, pulled clear to secure first place and scored the festival's cup and the gold medal. He was followed by Al Zaabi, captained by Talal Saif al Zaabi, and Elyas, captained by Ahmed al Nubi Saeed.
The Butinah 22-foot dhow race took place on the second day of the event. Maleeh raced to victory, captained by Majed Ahmed Khadem al Meheiri who won Dh25,000. Al Wasl, captained by Khalaf Butti al Merri, won Dh15,000 for second place, and Mozahem, captained by Ateeq Ahmed al Mazrouei, finished third and won Dh10,000.
The kayak race was also held on the second day, with Australia making a clean sweep in the three categories: Open, 20km and 10km.
Spectators were able to witness the promising performance of young athletes in the schools swimming competitions.
Khaled Ismail finished first in the first round of the 50m preparatory schools student competition in 1min 40.21 secs. Ibrahim Ismail was second and Mohammed Abdel Rahman third.
The second round was won by Ibrahim Salem, who was followed closely by Ahmed Abdul Rahman and Ammar Abdullah.
The 50m contest for high school students was also fiercely contested, with Ibrahim Khamis claiming first in 1min, 31.32sec, followed by Ahmed Yousef and Mohammed Abdullah.
sports@thenational.ae
Wenger's Arsenal reign in numbers
1,228 - games at the helm, ahead of Sunday's Premier League fixture against West Ham United.
704 - wins to date as Arsenal manager.
3 - Premier League title wins, the last during an unbeaten Invincibles campaign of 2003/04.
1,549 - goals scored in Premier League matches by Wenger's teams.
10 - major trophies won.
473 - Premier League victories.
7 - FA Cup triumphs, with three of those having come the last four seasons.
151 - Premier League losses.
21 - full seasons in charge.
49 - games unbeaten in the Premier League from May 2003 to October 2004.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
RESULT
Norway 1 Spain 1
Norway: King (90 4')
Spain: Niguez (47')
Iftar programme at the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding
Established in 1998, the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding was created with a vision to teach residents about the traditions and customs of the UAE. Its motto is ‘open doors, open minds’. All year-round, visitors can sign up for a traditional Emirati breakfast, lunch or dinner meal, as well as a range of walking tours, including ones to sites such as the Jumeirah Mosque or Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood.
Every year during Ramadan, an iftar programme is rolled out. This allows guests to break their fast with the centre’s presenters, visit a nearby mosque and observe their guides while they pray. These events last for about two hours and are open to the public, or can be booked for a private event.
Until the end of Ramadan, the iftar events take place from 7pm until 9pm, from Saturday to Thursday. Advanced booking is required.
For more details, email openminds@cultures.ae or visit www.cultures.ae
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Blue%20Beetle
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
The Penguin
Starring: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz
Creator: Lauren LeFranc
Rating: 4/5
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
MATCH INFO
Manchester United 2
(Martial 30', McTominay 90 6')
Manchester City 0
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Key changes
Commission caps
For life insurance products with a savings component, Peter Hodgins of Clyde & Co said different caps apply to the saving and protection elements:
• For the saving component, a cap of 4.5 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 90 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• On the protection component, there is a cap of 10 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 160 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• Indemnity commission, the amount of commission that can be advanced to a product salesperson, can be 50 per cent of the annualised premium for the first year or 50 per cent of the total commissions on the policy calculated.
• The remaining commission after deduction of the indemnity commission is paid equally over the premium payment term.
• For pure protection products, which only offer a life insurance component, the maximum commission will be 10 per cent of the annualised premium multiplied by the length of the policy in years.
Disclosure
Customers must now be provided with a full illustration of the product they are buying to ensure they understand the potential returns on savings products as well as the effects of any charges. There is also a “free-look” period of 30 days, where insurers must provide a full refund if the buyer wishes to cancel the policy.
“The illustration should provide for at least two scenarios to illustrate the performance of the product,” said Mr Hodgins. “All illustrations are required to be signed by the customer.”
Another illustration must outline surrender charges to ensure they understand the costs of exiting a fixed-term product early.
Illustrations must also be kept updatedand insurers must provide information on the top five investment funds available annually, including at least five years' performance data.
“This may be segregated based on the risk appetite of the customer (in which case, the top five funds for each segment must be provided),” said Mr Hodgins.
Product providers must also disclose the ratio of protection benefit to savings benefits. If a protection benefit ratio is less than 10 per cent "the product must carry a warning stating that it has limited or no protection benefit" Mr Hodgins added.
Company%20profile
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Company%20Profile
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Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
CREW
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERajesh%20A%20Krishnan%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ETabu%2C%20Kareena%20Kapoor%20Khan%2C%20Kriti%20Sanon%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Four%20scenarios%20for%20Ukraine%20war
%3Cp%3E1.%20Protracted%20but%20less%20intense%20war%20(60%25%20likelihood)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E2.%20Negotiated%20end%20to%20the%20conflict%20(30%25)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E3.%20Russia%20seizes%20more%20territory%20(20%25)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E4.%20Ukraine%20pushes%20Russia%20back%20(10%25)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cem%3EForecast%20by%20Economist%20Intelligence%20Unit%3C%2Fem%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
