• Fazal Hakeem, limousine driver for Careem
Average daily steps: 3,995
My day: I don't have a desk job, but I spend a lot of time in the car. On average, it's about 10 hours a day. I keep fit by going to the gym a few times a week, mostly on the weekends, and doing weights to keep my strength up. I also love cricket – being from Pakistan – and play the game with my friends early in the morning and at night when we can.
Wearing the Jawbone Up: I was not surprised by the number of steps I do each day and if I wasn't driving so much, I would love to walk more. I am active when I can be – it's all about finding the time.
• Stuart Keane, senior-owners representative, Tourism Development & Investment Company
Average daily steps: 4,142
My day: I have a desk job, so I am sitting most of the day. I do, however, try to make time for some exercise.
Wearing the Jawbone Up: Wearing the fitness tracker made me think more about the number of steps I take and it encouraged me to try walking more during the work day. I was a little surprised by the low number of steps – I thought I would walk more. Unfortunately, I'm not sure my desk job would let me achieve 10,000 steps.
• Sue Doshi, housewife
Average daily steps: 7,911
My day: I'm a reasonably active person. I normally exercise four or five times a week, but tend to be a bit lazy at weekends.
Wearing the Jawbone Up: On the first day, I thought a lot more about my steps and whether I needed to use the car for a short trip. It made me realise that I need to exercise more at the weekends, which tend to be my chill-out time. I was surprised and really pleased that when I do my morning walk, it smashes my target for the day.
• Sinead Rose , primary-school teacher, Abu Dhabi, Educational Council
Average daily steps: 9,046
My day: In a typical day, I am on my feet, but not continually walking. When I go home though, I am sloth-like and rest. I don't have a regular exercise routine, but I would like to incorporate something since I am now more aware of how inactive I am.
Wearing the Jawbone Up: I was really excited to see that on my first day I had reached over 10,000 steps, but I soon realised that was due to a school field trip where I was walking a lot. This trial week helped me to see what my general step count is and from here on in I will aim to increase my daily activity.
• Silvia Razgova, photographer, The National
Average daily steps: 10,171
My day: I tend to move around throughout the day while I'm shooting, but the challenge to remain active is the post-production work, which ties me to a computer for hours on end. To avoid sitting, I have switched my desk to a standing one, and I also exercise three to five times a week, combining metabolic conditioning with strength training and cardio.
Wearing the Jawbone Up: I wasn't surprised by the number of steps I do, but I thought it may have been more considering how my body feels after a long day of shooting. On the fourth day of wearing the "gizmo", as I call it, I was ill and so my step count was a lot lower, which was disappointing. This exercise has made me more aware of the importance of staying active overall, rather than just exercising for intensive bursts of time and then lounging around.
• Justin Galea, director of food and beverage, Le Royal Méridien Abu Dhabi
Average daily steps: 9,981
My day: I spend long hours at work and have mixed days of activity. My role is split between the office and operation – there are days when I do not spend any time in the office and days when I am at my desk for up to 14 hours. My level of activity outside of working hours is very limited – it is mostly made up of short walks.
Wearing the Jawbone Up: It made me aware when I needed to walk more. To reach 10,000 steps a day, I would need to be more aware of the days when I do a lot of sitting and block times in my diary to allow me to be more active. There are also a few of us in the building with a Jawbone, so we compete to see who has the higher step count.
• Ayoub Omar, relationship manager, banking
Average daily steps: 10,210
My day: I spend a lot of time out of the office going to meetings, but about 60 per cent of my day is spent at my desk.
Wearing the Jawbone Up: It gave me greater awareness of what I do on a day-to-day basis and what can be achieved with some extra effort. I initially had no idea of how many steps I would normally take, but I was able to pass the goal of 10,000 steps each day, except for the days I was unwell. Wearing the Jawbone encouraged me to think about the ways I can increase my daily level of activity, such as taking the stairs instead of the elevator, when I can.
• Yamuna Tamang, restaurant captain, Anantara Eastern Mangroves
Average daily steps: 17,251
My day: Normally I work six days a week from 2pm to 11pm, and I am usually standing or walking around. The restaurant is quite big so there can be a lot of walking back and forth to seat people when they arrive, check on drinks orders, etc. Outside of work, I don't exercise and use my time to relax. I only averaged 2,000 steps outside of working hours.
Wearing the Jawbone Up: I hadn't really given much consideration to the number of steps I take per day, although, since I am always on my feet, I assumed it would be reasonably high. I wasn't aware before the challenge that there is a recommended number of steps per day, so it's interesting to realise that I unintentionally surpass this almost every day.
• Ajab Khan, activity guide, Qasr Al Sarab Desert resort
Average daily steps: 22,461
My day: As an activity guide, I spend most of my days outdoors doing physical activities such as desert walks and camel treks. Sometimes I stay at the activity desk for a few hours, but not on a daily basis.
Wearing the Jawbone Up: Given my job, I was not surprised by my step count, but it was interesting to know how many steps I do compared with other people, such as those working in an office. Before wearing the Jawbone, I had never given much thought to the number of steps I do and I did not know that 10,000 steps a day is the recommended amount. It was also interesting to see that I walk twice as much when I am working, but it makes sense because on my days off, I go to the city to relax and visit friends.
• Mohammed Khalifah, registered nurse, Imperial College London Diabetes Centre
Average daily steps: 20,477
My day: My job as a nurse involves a lot of activity, especially walking. I spend very little time sitting down during the day and normally exercise outside of working hours, too. I make sure I have some form of physical activity every day.
Wearing the Jawbone Up: It encouraged me to walk more and with the app allowing me to see the progress of others, it appealed to my competitive side. It made me think of bigger challenges, for example, walking from Abu Dhabi to Dubai. Twenty-thousand steps seems like a lot of steps, but it is my normal daily routine of work and a little exercise.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Tips for taking the metro
- set out well ahead of time
- make sure you have at least Dh15 on you Nol card, as there could be big queues for top-up machines
- enter the right cabin. The train may be too busy to move between carriages once you're on
- don't carry too much luggage and tuck it under a seat to make room for fellow passengers
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
The Cairo Statement
1: Commit to countering all types of terrorism and extremism in all their manifestations
2: Denounce violence and the rhetoric of hatred
3: Adhere to the full compliance with the Riyadh accord of 2014 and the subsequent meeting and executive procedures approved in 2014 by the GCC
4: Comply with all recommendations of the Summit between the US and Muslim countries held in May 2017 in Saudi Arabia.
5: Refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of countries and of supporting rogue entities.
6: Carry out the responsibility of all the countries with the international community to counter all manifestations of extremism and terrorism that threaten international peace and security
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Types of policy
Term life insurance: this is the cheapest and most-popular form of life cover. You pay a regular monthly premium for a pre-agreed period, typically anything between five and 25 years, or possibly longer. If you die within that time, the policy will pay a cash lump sum, which is typically tax-free even outside the UAE. If you die after the policy ends, you do not get anything in return. There is no cash-in value at any time. Once you stop paying premiums, cover stops.
Whole-of-life insurance: as its name suggests, this type of life cover is designed to run for the rest of your life. You pay regular monthly premiums and in return, get a guaranteed cash lump sum whenever you die. As a result, premiums are typically much higher than one term life insurance, although they do not usually increase with age. In some cases, you have to keep up premiums for as long as you live, although there may be a cut-off period, say, at age 80 but it can go as high as 95. There are penalties if you don’t last the course and you may get a lot less than you paid in.
Critical illness cover: this pays a cash lump sum if you suffer from a serious illness such as cancer, heart disease or stroke. Some policies cover as many as 50 different illnesses, although cancer triggers by far the most claims. The payout is designed to cover major financial responsibilities such as a mortgage or children’s education fees if you fall ill and are unable to work. It is cost effective to combine it with life insurance, with the policy paying out once if you either die or suffer a serious illness.
Income protection: this pays a replacement income if you fall ill and are unable to continue working. On the best policies, this will continue either until you recover, or reach retirement age. Unlike critical illness cover, policies will typically pay out for stress and musculoskeletal problems such as back trouble.
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Results
Stage 7:
1. Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto Soudal - 3:18:29
2. Sam Bennett (IRL) Deceuninck-QuickStep - same time
3. Phil Bauhaus (GER) Bahrain Victorious
4. Michael Morkov (DEN) Deceuninck-QuickStep
5. Cees Bol (NED) Team DSM
General Classification:
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates - 24:00:28
2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers - 0:00:35
3. Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep - 0:01:02
4. Chris Harper (AUS) Jumbo-Visma - 0:01:42
5. Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo - 0:01:45
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.”
Results
6.30pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (Dirt) 1,200m
Winner: Barack Beach, Richard Mullen (jockey), Satish Seemar (trainer).
7.05pm: Handicap Dh170,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Way Of Wisdom, Connor Beasley, Satish Seemar.
7.40pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner: Woodditton, Connor Beasley, Ahmad bin Harmash.
8.15pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Secret Trade, Sandro Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
8.50pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Mark Of Approval, Antonio Fresu, Mahmood Hussain.
9.25pm: Handicap Dh165,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Tradesman, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
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