Fitcamp
Start your weekend with circuit training in Dubai’s Al Barsha Park. This 60-minute workout has grown since launching in December, and now attracts up to 30 participants every Friday, from 8.30am. Overlooking the lake, to the left of the main entrance, sessions target all fitness levels. They involve a 10-minute warm-up, followed by two rounds of 30-second exercises, which typically include lifting and slamming weighted ropes, TRX pull-ups and lateral raises. A 15- or 20-second break separates each activity.
Personal trainers Sarah Crowther and Naj Ganyana are behind the classes. “We want to help people move their bodies and improve their health without spending a small fortune on gym membership or expensive classes,” Crowther says. “Fitcamp is mostly circuit-based with the odd team competition and fun group activity thrown in for good measure.”
Crowther and Ganyana shout words of encouragement via microphones connected to wireless headsets. Background music includes motivational remixes of music by the likes of Adele and Rihanna.
A 10-minute cool-down completes the hour-long class, which involves all major muscle groups and helps burn fat. With a responsive WhatsApp group, the class is sociable and a great way to make new friends. Bring a towel and bottle of water.
• Pre-booking is essential; for more information, call or WhatsApp 052 834 9936 or 056 548 4397.
Yoga
There are a variety of free yoga sessions popping up across the UAE. One of our favourites is the Wednesday night hatha class at Umm Suqeim Park, next to Dubai’s Kite Beach. Targeting all fitness levels, each posture can be completed to varying degrees of difficulty, with standing poses, hip openers and backbends all part of the mix. Running from 7.30pm to 9pm, the classes are held on the grass to the left of the main entrance opposite the beach.
Instructor Natalia Fata takes participants through a relaxing and rewarding 90 minutes. “Everyone comes with baggage and stress,” she says. “Within 20 to 25 minutes, we’re all moving together, and by the end, we have found peace and comfort. Anyone can come no matter what their age, religion, gender or background.”
About 60 to 80 students attend each week. Bring a mat, water and warm jumper for the cool down.
• For more information, call Natalia Fata on 055 860 0677 or visit www.yogawithnati.com
Parkour
For something different, try one of the weekly parkour “jams” in Abu Dhabi. A training discipline that uses movement to get from one point to the other, parkour includes running, climbing, swinging and vaulting, and is usually practised in urban spaces. Often featured in movies, it has become increasingly popular in recent years.
Today, anyone from complete beginners to seasoned pros can participate in the two-hour sessions every Friday in the capital. The location changes each week, so check the Meetup group (www.meetup.com/uaeparkour) for details. Attracting between 10 and 30 participants, the jams include a light warm-up before instructors teach new techniques. These might include how to climb a wall, how to do flips and how to land safely from a jump without hurting your knees or back. "It's a great atmosphere," organiser Iyad Al Mrouj says. "We'll have some guys doing simple stuff over and over, and then one guy doing a really hard movement. The jams are spread over a wide area and sometimes large crowds gather to watch."
• Jams start from 3pm. For more information, call Iyad Al Mrouj on 056 127 7818 or visit www.uaeparkour.com
Nike+ Run Club
Run your fastest kilometre at Nike Running Club’s Tuesday speed sessions. Held at 8pm at Gate 1 of Zabeel Park, Dubai, the classes feature 400-metre interval training with Nike coaches and pacers. Those looking to build their fitness from scratch, may prefer the Friday “Ready Set Go” sessions at Burj Park in Downtown Dubai. Coaches check stride and gear, and set up beginners for a lifetime of running.
A third “Just Do It” class on Sundays is ideal for long-distance runners. Starting from Dubai Marina Mall promenade, the group sets off at a slower pace and covers up to 9km in each session. Finally, for ladies only, Monday’s 8pm class sets off on a 3km to 4km route from Sunset Beach.
“We have a session for everyone,” says Rafael Roots, an NRC coach. “Whether you’re a beginner or an intermediate or advanced runner, we cater to all fitness levels. Many people, beginners included, have gone on to become triathletes or marathon runners.”
• To reserve a space, visit www.gonike.me/NRCDubai
Trekking training
Anyone wanting to target their quads and glutes should consider trekking training at Yas Marina Circuit. Held from 7pm to 8pm every Tuesday night, sessions are designed to help mountain climbers scale peaks more efficiently. They also offer an excellent overall workout, and whether you’re planning to conquer the next giant summit or not, you can dramatically increase your fitness level, strength and even hand-to-eye coordination with this great cardio workout.
Run by Amy Subaey, director of UAE Trekkers, sessions involve climbing up and down sets of stairs in a variety of styles including running, skipping and hopping. Students might also walk down stairs backwards or bear-crawl up and down.
“We often take in five flights of stairs, but if you’re a beginner you just do whatever you can,” Subaey says. “In between sets, we do planks and other body-weight exercises. There’s a great vibe at Yas Marina Circuit. It’s very sociable and a fun place to be.”
There are usually eight to 10 people at each class.
• For more information, call 055 886 2327 or email info@uae-trekkers.com
weekend@thenational.ae
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
How Beautiful this world is!
The%20Roundup%20%3A%20No%20Way%20Out
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Marathon results
Men:
1. Titus Ekiru(KEN) 2:06:13
2. Alphonce Simbu(TAN) 2:07:50
3. Reuben Kipyego(KEN) 2:08:25
4. Abel Kirui(KEN) 2:08:46
5. Felix Kemutai(KEN) 2:10:48
Women:
1. Judith Korir(KEN) 2:22:30
2. Eunice Chumba(BHR) 2:26:01
3. Immaculate Chemutai(UGA) 2:28:30
4. Abebech Bekele(ETH) 2:29:43
5. Aleksandra Morozova(RUS) 2:33:01
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
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.”
UAE SQUAD
Khalid Essa (Al Ain), Ali Khaseif (Al Jazira), Adel Al Hosani (Sharjah), Mahmoud Khamis (Al Nasr), Yousef Jaber (Shabab Al Ahli Dubai), Khalifa Al Hammadi (Jazira), Salem Rashid (Jazira), Shaheen Abdelrahman (Sharjah), Faris Juma (Al Wahda), Mohammed Shaker (Al Ain), Mohammed Barghash (Wahda), Abdulaziz Haikal (Shabab Al Ahli), Ahmed Barman (Al Ain), Khamis Esmail (Wahda), Khaled Bawazir (Sharjah), Majed Surour (Sharjah), Abdullah Ramadan (Jazira), Mohammed Al Attas (Jazira), Fabio De Lima (Al Wasl), Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Khalfan Mubarak (Jazira), Habib Fardan (Nasr), Khalil Ibrahim (Wahda), Ali Mabkhout (Jazira), Ali Saleh (Wasl), Caio (Al Ain), Sebastian Tagliabue (Nasr).
Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
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Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
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
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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.
Try out the test yourself
Q1 Suppose you had $100 in a savings account and the interest rate was 2 per cent per year. After five years, how much do you think you would have in the account if you left the money to grow?
a) More than $102
b) Exactly $102
c) Less than $102
d) Do not know
e) Refuse to answer
Q2 Imagine that the interest rate on your savings account was 1 per cent per year and inflation was 2 per cent per year. After one year, how much would you be able to buy with the money in this account?
a) More than today
b) Exactly the same as today
c) Less than today
d) Do not know
e) Refuse to answer
Q4 Do you think that the following statement is true or false? “Buying a single company stock usually provides a safer return than a stock mutual fund.”
a) True
b) False
d) Do not know
e) Refuse to answer
The “Big Three” financial literacy questions were created by Professors Annamaria Lusardi of the George Washington School of Business and Olivia Mitchell, of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Answers: Q1 More than $102 (compound interest). Q2 Less than today (inflation). Q3 False (diversification).
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MO
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Qosty Byogaani
Starring: Hani Razmzi, Maya Nasir and Hassan Hosny
Four stars
'The Batman'
Stars:Robert Pattinson
Director:Matt Reeves
Rating: 5/5
