A dedicated doctor is hoping to inspire UAE residents to follow in his footsteps, as he gets set to embark on a 40-day trek from Abu Dhabi to Makkah.
Dr Khaled Jamal Al Suwaidi, an Emirati academic specialising in international relations, has shed almost 50 kilograms in just three years after lacing up his running shoes to boost his health.
In February, the super-fit 34-year-old, now a trim 72kg, completed a 327-kilometre run from Fujarah to Port Zayed in Abu Dhabi.
Dr Al Suwaidi took on the challenge to help raise awareness about the work of the Cancer Patient Care Society (Rahma), a patient support group established by his father.
Now he is going a step further by planning to run an energy sapping 2,070km journey from the UAE to Saudi Arabia, to inspire others to get "out of their comfort zone", while also honouring the lives of martyrs of the UAE and Arab coalition in Yemen.
“Running for 40 consecutive days to Makkah will be a great challenge,” said Dr Al Suwaidi, who aims to cover 50km a day.
“The danger of physical collapse is a real possibility as the road will be through desert terrain, changing temperatures and vast tracts of land without any people living there.
“There will also be the presence of different animals, some of them dangerous, so I have to be ready.
“All these factors are potential challenges, so it is not only about developing my physical abilities to cope, but also the mental strength that will be required.
“The psychological readiness to overcome the dangers and unexpected surprises is something I have to prepare for.”
During the run, he will carry the flags of the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
“This run is considered an expression of appreciation of the ties between the UAE and Saudi Arabia, as well as for the noble role of the two countries in defending security, peace, and stability in the Gulf,” he said.
A decision to change his diet and take up regular exercise came after he became a father and doctors said he was at high risk of diabetes.
A damning verdict on the health of the nation was delivered in a recent World Health Organisation report that found almost half the UAE was not completing the recommended weekly amount of exercise.
Almost 50 per cent of women and 39 per cent of men are not doing the 150 minutes of weekly exercise to defend against lifestyle-related illness such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
Around the world, an estimated 1.4 billion people were not doing enough exercise to stay healthy, almost a fifth of the global population, the WHO report said.
Mabina Daniel Lengweng, managing partner at Vigour Energy personal coaching services in Dubai, said technology is making our lives easier, but is encouraging laziness.
“Unfortunately nowadays with cars, technology, elevators and escalators, we have removed all activity in our life,” he said.
“To be successful, we find 80 per cent of any exercise programme is based on the quality of their nutrition and diet.”
Nutrition and diet will be the foundation on which Dr Al Suwaidi’s challenge is built, and could determine if he succeeds or fails.
He is currently training daily for an average of seven hours, beginning with two hours of running from 5am and continuing after work for a further two hours. Regular gym sessions have been built into his lifestyle to help prevent injuries by strengthening his body.
Other preparations include a specific diet heavy in natural grain and proteins, as well as plenty of fruit, vegetables and water.
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Read more:
Portrait of a Nation: Emirati runner shows there's no fast track to health but change can be achieved
Emirati's 327km ultra running challenge in 3 days for cancer charity
Global study places UAE residents' sedentary lifestyles in the spotlight
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That diet has already helped Dr Al Suwaidi set an impressive milestone of running of 182 consecutive days, clocking up 5,850km, since changing his life.
He now hopes to show that others can follow a similar path.
“This initiative comes as a request to the youth of the UAE to leave their comfort zone and train themselves to meet the challenges of life,” he said.
“Young people can unleash their inner powers to achieve their great potential.
“I have stressed this idea in many of my lectures and meetings with university students and young people. I’ve talked about my own experiences with obesity and how I have overcome those problems.
“My life has changed from someone who was threatened with diabetes due to being overweight in 2015, to someone who can accomplishes great achievements in the Arab world.”
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Sanju
Produced: Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Rajkumar Hirani
Director: Rajkumar Hirani
Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Vicky Kaushal, Paresh Rawal, Anushka Sharma, Manish’s Koirala, Dia Mirza, Sonam Kapoor, Jim Sarbh, Boman Irani
Rating: 3.5 stars
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
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.”
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
Rajasthan Royals 153-5 (17.5 ov)
Delhi Daredevils 60-4 (6 ov)
Rajasthan won by 10 runs (D/L method)
UAE FIXTURES
October 18 – 7.30pm, UAE v Oman, Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
October 19 – 7.30pm, UAE v Ireland, Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
October 21 – 2.10pm, UAE v Hong Kong, Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
October 22 – 2.10pm, UAE v Jersey, Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
October 24 – 10am, UAE v Nigeria, Abu Dhabi Cricket Oval 1
October 27 – 7.30pm, UAE v Canada, Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
October 29 – 2.10pm, Playoff 1 – A2 v B3; 7.30pm, Playoff 2 – A3 v B2, at Dubai International Stadium.
October 30 – 2.10pm, Playoff 3 – A4 v Loser of Play-off 1; 7.30pm, Playoff 4 – B4 v Loser of Play-off 2 at Dubai International Stadium
November 1 – 2.10pm, Semifinal 1 – B1 v Winner of Play-off 1; 7.30pm, Semifinal 2 – A1 v Winner of Play-off 2 at Dubai International Stadium
November 2 – 2.10pm, Third place Playoff – B1 v Winner of Play-off 1; 7.30pm, Final, at Dubai International Stadium
Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
