As against-the-odds sporting narratives go, the UAE's task this evening against Japan, Asia's one great rugby superpower, is just as great as any faced by Rocky Balboa in the films of the same name.
Happily for the national team, some of their players have spent the preceding weeks in the HSBC Asian Five Nations doing all they can to get into character.
With a shaved head, a broken nose and a shiner of a black-eye, Chris Jones-Griffiths was the embodiment of the UAE's indomitable team spirit in the opening two matches.
Having been without a game last week, the bruises have started to fade, but the Abu Dhabi Harlequins prop is willing to do it all over again for the cause today.
"It happened in the first ruck of the first game of the A5N [Asian Five Nations]," Jones-Griffiths, 30, a quantity surveyor from north Wales, said of the injuries incurred in the opening draw in Sri Lanka. "I threw myself in blind, and I just recall a sharp pain to the side of my cheek.
"It swelled up completely so I basically had a golf ball on the side of my face. The physio came on, put a blob of Vaseline on the side of my face, and I thought, 'There is no way I am going off here.'
"That spurred me on to get more physical with the Sri Lankans, then 20 minutes later I broke my nose in another collision. By the end of the game I resembled Sly [Sylvester]Stallone in Rocky. It has more or less cleared up now, but if it happens again [today], so be it. I will take the punishment for the win."
Over the course of the opening two matches against the Sri Lankans and then Kazakahstan - after which the UAE remain undefeated - Jones-Griffiths has been outstanding.
So good was he on a quagmire field in Colombo, he was picked out for special praise by Bruce Birtwistle, the head coach, who usually prefers to focus on the collective rather than individual endeavours.
"Chris just had an absolute storming game," Birtwistle said, citing his 16 carries - "all but one of them going forward" - as evidence of his fine work in the loose.
"It is not very often that I will walk into a changing room and single somebody out, but his performance was quite superb, especially in those conditions."
The numbers are more indicative of a loose-forward than a front row, which is perhaps not surprising given Jones-Griffiths has only moved to prop very recently.
He arrived in Abu Dhabi three-and-a-half years ago as a back-rower, but the city's club were well stocked in that position, prompting him to move forward in the pack in search of game time.
He only finally gave in to the inevitable and agreed to be a full-time front-rower in January this year.
His success in the position for the UAE so far has been remarkable, given his inexperience. As a marker of how far he has come, his opposite number this evening, Kesuke Hatakeyama, will have played more Test matches (16) than Jones-Griffiths has spent weeks in that position.
"He has gone on to do wonderful things for the UAE so far and, as a club, we are so proud of him," Alistair Thompson, the head coach who has overseen his transformation at Abu Dhabi, said.
"Chris was injured for part of the season, and he changed to prop from second row. He only played one or two full games for us in the front row.
"Since he started working with the UAE, he has stayed injury free, worked very hard on his fitness, and he has been like a different player.What he lacks in experience he will more than make up for in what he is willing to give for the team."
Jones-Griffiths's mother, father and brother have decided to travel from their native Anglesey to the UAE to watch the latest edition of his unlikely bloom as an international rugby player.
"When I came out here, my body was battered and I was very close to just throwing the towel in and giving the game up completely," Jones-Griffiths said.
"I arrived in Abu Dhabi, and realised that the best way to get to know people is to join the local rugby club. Within a couple of weeks I was running out in the Gulf Cup semi-final in Doha.
"At that point in time I had no aspirations for playing international rugby, but it is something that has happened very quickly over the last six months. It is fantastic."
See a video of the UAE team in training
Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
Padmaavat
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Starring: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, Jim Sarbh
3.5/5
The biog
Nickname: Mama Nadia to children, staff and parents
Education: Bachelors degree in English Literature with Social work from UAE University
As a child: Kept sweets on the window sill for workers, set aside money to pay for education of needy families
Holidays: Spends most of her days off at Senses often with her family who describe the centre as part of their life too
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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.”
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If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
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 SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
ICC Awards for 2021
MEN
Cricketer of the Year – Shaheen Afridi (Pakistan)
T20 Cricketer of the Year – Mohammad Rizwan (Pakistan)
ODI Cricketer of the Year – Babar Azam (Pakistan)
Test Cricketer of the Year – Joe Root (England)
WOMEN
Cricketer of the Year – Smriti Mandhana (India)
ODI Cricketer of the Year – Lizelle Lee (South Africa)
T20 Cricketer of the Year – Tammy Beaumont (England)
Dr Amal Khalid Alias revealed a recent case of a woman with daughters, who specifically wanted a boy.
A semen analysis of the father showed abnormal sperm so the couple required IVF.
Out of 21 eggs collected, six were unused leaving 15 suitable for IVF.
A specific procedure was used, called intracytoplasmic sperm injection where a single sperm cell is inserted into the egg.
On day three of the process, 14 embryos were biopsied for gender selection.
The next day, a pre-implantation genetic report revealed four normal male embryos, three female and seven abnormal samples.
Day five of the treatment saw two male embryos transferred to the patient.
The woman recorded a positive pregnancy test two weeks later.
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
On sale: Now
The specs
Engine: 2-litre 4-cylinder and 3.6-litre 6-cylinder
Power: 220 and 280 horsepower
Torque: 350 and 360Nm
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Price: from Dh136,521 VAT and Dh166,464 VAT
On sale: now
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
The specs
Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
Power: 320bhp
Torque: 605Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh219,000
On sale: Now
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
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