With the start of the Beijing Winter Olympics only weeks away, many national teams from around the world are offering a first look at the uniforms they will be wearing as they represent their countries.
Many teams have partnered with internationally recognised brands to design outfits for the opening and closing ceremonies of the games, as well as for podium moments and travelling.
Here is a closer look at some of the uniforms revealed so far:
Team USA
Team USA’s official outfitter is Ralph Lauren, which last week revealed what athletes will be wearing for the opening ceremony. The specially created jackets feature hidden warming technology, along with a handy front pouch and a cinch waist on the anoraks, which come in navy and white.
The jackets include a smart, honeycomb-like fabric layer that expands or contracts in response to temperature changes — all without the use of a battery or wired technology.
Women athletes will parade at the start of the games on February 4 wearing red boots and red fleece trousers with predominantly navy jackets. The men’s looks are mostly white. Both will be wearing navy knit beanies and both have the large bonus pouch on the front of their jackets to go with roomy side pockets and graphic touches on sleeves.
Ralph Lauren went with navy for the gloves and all athletes will be provided with masks to help guard against Covid-19. Team USA’s paralympians will receive the same gear.
The team’s closing ceremony looks in a buffalo plaid design were unveiled in October.
Kim Kardashian's shapewear company Skims is also partnering with Team USA for the coming Olympics.
Each female athlete representing Team USA will receive the limited-edition loungewear, underwear and sleepwear collection.
The collection “was designed with these inspiring women in mind”, Kardashian said.
Podium outfits for Team USA have been designed by Nike. Athletes will wear light-blue hooded jackets with tracksuit bottoms in a darker blue. The outfits feature a Paralympic or Olympic patch on the left chest of the jacket, along with the Nike Swoosh, and “USA” printed on the back alongside the US flag. The garments feature Nike’s FlyEase technology to help athletes through the cold weather, as well as an oversized zip and magnetic closures for easier accessibility.
UK
Team GB will wear outfits by Ben Sherman for the opening and closing ceremonies of the games. The British brand, which is working with the Olympics team for the second time, unveiled the outfits in December. Designed around a deconstructed Union Jack flag, the opening ceremony outfits feature navy mini-dogtooth print trousers and a quilted navy peacoat with a reflective “Great Britain” logo on the back. The outfit includes a matching bobble-hat and scarf set, with a Chelsea boots to finish the look.
For the closing ceremony, the uniform features a blue crew neck checked sweater, dogtooth print trousers and a logo bobble-hat. The limited-edition knits feature the official Team GB badge and the Olympic rings on the chest.
To compete, athletes will wear kits designed by Adidas. In block colours of red, white and blue – the hues of the Union Jack flag – the outfits have been created in conjunction with Parley for the Oceans, the environmental group dedicated to repurposing ocean plastic.
The kit includes leggings, a lightweight jacket and a heavier puffer jacket, and the pieces are engineered to offer enhanced performance while being more environmentally aware. The Terrex Myshelter PrimaLoft Parley Jacket, for example, is filled with synthetic insulation that is 100 per cent recycled, including 40 per cent that has been reclaimed from coastal waters and spun into technical fabric by PrimaLoft.
For footwear, the women athletes will also wear the newly designed Ultraboost 22 trainers specially engineered by adidas.
Russia
The Russian team will be decked out in a diverse range of outfits that include a onesie, bum bags, full-faced ski masks, and a line of T-shirts and hoodies.
Zasport, the outfitter of the Russian Olympic team since 2017, has unveiled the red, white, blue and grey uniforms that bear the logo of the Russian Olympic Committee – three flames in the colours of the national flag with the Olympic rings below them – instead of the country's flag.
Russian athletes are barred from competing at major international events, including the Olympics, under their flag and with their anthem until December 2022.
The sanctions, initially imposed by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) but later halved to two years on appeal, were designed to punish Moscow for providing doctored laboratory data to international anti-doping authorities that could have helped identify drug cheats.
Australia
Skiers Brodie Summers, Britt Cox, Cooper Woods, Danielle Scott, Jakara Anthony and Matt Graham unveiled Australia’s uniforms earlier this month in Alpe d’Huez. Designed by Sportscraft, which has been the official supplier of the formal uniform for the Australian Olympic Team since 1996, the formal outfits feature dark green blazer-like wool-blend peacoat with buttons emblazoned with the Australian Olympic crest, along with the names of all 265 Australian Winter Olympians inscribed on the inside lining.
The jackets are accompanied by contemporary knitwear, including a grey roll-neck jumper and colour-blocked scarf. Athletes will also wear boots made by Australian footwear brand Volley.
What is the Supreme Petroleum Council?
The Abu Dhabi Supreme Petroleum Council was established in 1988 and is the highest governing body in Abu Dhabi’s oil and gas industry. The council formulates, oversees and executes the emirate’s petroleum-related policies. It also approves the allocation of capital spending across state-owned Adnoc’s upstream, downstream and midstream operations and functions as the company’s board of directors. The SPC’s mandate is also required for auctioning oil and gas concessions in Abu Dhabi and for awarding blocks to international oil companies. The council is chaired by Sheikh Khalifa, the President and Ruler of Abu Dhabi while Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, is the vice chairman.
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- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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Tries: Rieko Ioane, Nehe Milner-Skudder (2), Scott Barrett, Brodie Retallick, Ofa Tu'ungfasi, Lima Sopoaga, Codie Taylor. Conversions: Beauden Barrett (7). Penalty: Beauden Barrett
Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD)
What is THAAD?
It is considered to be the US' most superior missile defence system.
Production:
It was first created in 2008.
Speed:
THAAD missiles can travel at over Mach 8, so fast that it is hypersonic.
Abilities:
THAAD is designed to take out projectiles, namely ballistic missiles, as they are on their downward trajectory towards their target, otherwise known as the "terminal phase".
Purpose:
To protect high-value strategic sites, such as airfields or population centres.
Range:
THAAD can target projectiles both inside and outside of the Earth's atmosphere, at an altitude of 93 miles above the Earth's surface.
Creators:
Lockheed Martin was originally granted the contract to develop the system in 1992. Defence company Raytheon sub-contracts to develop other major parts of the system, such as ground-based radar.
UAE and THAAD:
In 2011, the UAE became the first country outside of the US to buy two THAAD missile defence systems. It then deployed them in 2016, becoming the first Gulf country to do so.
MATCH INFO
What: India v Afghanistan, first Test
When: Starts Thursday
Where: M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengalaru
FIGHT INFO
Men’s 60kg Round 1:
Ahmad Shuja Jamal (AFG) beat Krisada Takhiankliang (THA) - points
Hyan Aljmyah (SYR) beat Akram Alyminee (YEM) - retired Round 1
Ibrahim Bilal (UAE) beat Bhanu Pratap Pandit (IND) - TKO Round 1
Men’s 71kg Round 1:
Seyed Kaveh Soleyman (IRI) beat Abedel Rahman (JOR) - RSC round 3.
Amine Al Moatassime (UAE) walk over Ritiz Puri (NEP)
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
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The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
The biog
Name: Abeer Al Shahi
Emirate: Sharjah – Khor Fakkan
Education: Master’s degree in special education, preparing for a PhD in philosophy.
Favourite activities: Bungee jumping
Favourite quote: “My people and I will not settle for anything less than first place” – Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid.
GROUPS
Group Gustavo Kuerten
Novak Djokovic (x1)
Alexander Zverev (x3)
Marin Cilic (x5)
John Isner (x8)
Group Lleyton Hewitt
Roger Federer (x2)
Kevin Anderson (x4)
Dominic Thiem (x6)
Kei Nishikori (x7)
NYBL PROFILE
Company name: Nybl
Date started: November 2018
Founder: Noor Alnahhas, Michael LeTan, Hafsa Yazdni, Sufyaan Abdul Haseeb, Waleed Rifaat, Mohammed Shono
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Software Technology / Artificial Intelligence
Initial investment: $500,000
Funding round: Series B (raising $5m)
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Sinopharm vaccine explained
The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades.
“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.
"What is left is a skeleton of the virus so it looks like a virus, but it is not live."
This is then injected into the body.
"The body will recognise it and form antibodies but because it is inactive, we will need more than one dose. The body will not develop immunity with one dose," she said.
"You have to be exposed more than one time to what we call the antigen."
The vaccine should offer protection for at least months, but no one knows how long beyond that.
Dr Al Kaabi said early vaccine volunteers in China were given shots last spring and still have antibodies today.
“Since it is inactivated, it will not last forever," she said.
AUSTRALIA SQUAD
Steve Smith (capt), David Warner, Cameron Bancroft, Jackson Bird, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine, Chadd Sayers, Mitchell Starc.
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
