Ernie Els has won a rare victory against his golfing rival, Tiger Woods, in Dubai.
The first luxury villas around Els's golf course in the Dubailand development have been handed over and are being occupied, while Woods's project is still beset by problems.
Both golfers are involved with rival courses in the development, which is located in the desert hinterland of Dubai.
The 18-hole Ernie Els course, located in Dubai's Sport City, was opened to the public in January 2008. But the Tiger Woods project, which began construction in 2007, has been troubled by delays and cost overruns.
The setbacks to Woods's course are a further disappointment to the world's number one golfer, who has come under close public scrutiny in recent months following revelations that he was involved in a series of extramarital affairs.
A total of 305 villas has been completed within the 961-villa Victory Heights development that surrounds the Els-designed course. About 720 of the villas have been sold, its developer said.
"The Els golf course has been operating since 2008," said Talal Chihabi, a spokesman for the development. "We have already around 200 families living in these villas as we speak today, and more of them are coming within the coming few weeks.
Els, who finished 11th in last year's European Order of Merit, stayed in one of the villas while competing at the Dubai World Championship last November.
Progress has been slower at the nearby Tiger Woods Dubai, which is being built by Tatweer, the developer of Dubailand and a unit of the Dubai Holding conglomerate.
The golf course should have been opened in September last year, but has faced construction delays. The residential component of the project that includes 100 luxury villas, 75 mansions and 22 buildings being marketed as "palaces" is expected to be completed in the third quarter of this year.
Woods said last June that work had been suspended because of the economic downturn.
Woods's personal problems were unlikely to affect the sales appeal of his branded villas in Dubai, said Charles Neil, the chief executive of Landmark Properties, a property broker.
@Email:ngillet@thenational.ae
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
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Anxiety and work stress major factors
Anxiety, work stress and social isolation are all factors in the recogised rise in mental health problems.
A study UAE Ministry of Health researchers published in the summer also cited struggles with weight and illnesses as major contributors.
Its authors analysed a dozen separate UAE studies between 2007 and 2017. Prevalence was often higher in university students, women and in people on low incomes.
One showed 28 per cent of female students at a Dubai university reported symptoms linked to depression. Another in Al Ain found 22.2 per cent of students had depressive symptoms - five times the global average.
It said the country has made strides to address mental health problems but said: “Our review highlights the overall prevalence of depressive symptoms and depression, which may long have been overlooked."
Prof Samir Al Adawi, of the department of behavioural medicine at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman, who was not involved in the study but is a recognised expert in the Gulf, said how mental health is discussed varies significantly between cultures and nationalities.
“The problem we have in the Gulf is the cross-cultural differences and how people articulate emotional distress," said Prof Al Adawi.
“Someone will say that I have physical complaints rather than emotional complaints. This is the major problem with any discussion around depression."
Daniel Bardsley
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially