Live updates: Follow the latest news on the UK general election
The northern English town of Sheffield was forged on steel, with much of that graft done by Yemeni workers who arrived in the 1950s.
Three generations on, the community is gearing up to vote in one of their own as a Labour MP for the city.
Lawyer Abtisam Mohamed is the party’s candidate at the general election for Sheffield Central, a constituency at the heart of the city. Should she win, Ms Mohamed will be the UK’s first MP of Yemeni descent.
Marginalised by language and class when they first came to work in Sheffield’s steel and smelting factories, British-Yemenis are now an active 10,000-strong community in the city.
But troubles plaguing the city such as poverty and lack of work opportunities mean trajectories like Ms Mohamed’s are still few and far between.
For Hend Al Yazeedi, a teacher and young mother in the constituency, Ms Mohamed was a sign of things changing for the better in the city and her community.
“She's an inspiration to the youth, but also the elders. We’re immensely proud of her, everybody looks up to her. I’m fully confident she will make a change. She does what she says,” she told The National.
Ms Al Yazeedi’s own father came to the UK in the 1960s as a steelworker from Yemen. “He was a very hard worker, determined to improve himself and build a better life for his family,” she said.
But today, she observed that young people from the community were leaving Sheffield in search of jobs elsewhere, in London or Manchester, and hoped a new government would work to address this.
“Most people travel out of Sheffield to gain experience and employability. There is a bit of frustration within the youth saying there isn’t a lot of opportunity to grow and develop,” she said.
“I have had family friends move to London or Manchester or elsewhere because of the prospects,” she said.
The lack of opportunities was echoed by Yazid Asker, an engineering student of Yemeni descent at Sheffield Hallam University, who will be looking for work after he graduates this year.
Yet seeing Ms Mohamed, a member of the Yemeni community, running as an MP made him feel more “optimistic” about his own prospects.
From Yafai to Sheffield
Ms Mohamed was born in Yemen and moved to the UK when she was a toddler, to join her father and grandfather who were already working in Sheffield.
Growing up, her parents made sure she learnt about her family's traditions and heritage, and though the children from the community may have gone to different schools, they regularly got together for weddings, weekly Arabic lessons and other events.
“They were trying as much as possible to speak to us in Arabic at home. There were some traditional events, weddings, we would wear deras, a traditional Yemeni dress, and jalabiyas at home,” she told The National in an interview earlier this year when she was a Labour councillor for Sheffield City.
Her family’s history in the steel factories drives her campaign, in which she calls for better community services and a “just” green transition of the city’s industries.
In an old photograph of herself as a toddler with her father, shared on social media, she remembers how the trade unions supplied clothes and toys for steelworkers during periods of strikes.
“For those like my dad, a steelworker, in carbon-intensive industries, we need a just transition and upskilling to shift away from fossil fuels,” she has said in her campaign statement.
“We must ensure our communities don’t lose out as we move towards net zero.”
City plagued by poverty and dwindling services
Sheffield Central is a safe Labour seat, but the challenges it faces are immense.
Though the city has seen some transformation in the last two decades with major banks opening bases and the regeneration of former industrial areas, it is among the poorest in the UK.
Around a third of children in the city are living in poverty, according to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
Chris Hardy, who runs the city’s largest network of foodbanks, S6, said the need was “relentless”, with more than 1,500 people collecting food parcels every week and other families seeking advice on paying bills and managing debt.
Every community in Sheffield was affected, he said. A mother who had been coming once a month two years ago was now collecting parcels weekly, he said.
“Poverty is about choice. That is the fundamental thing, choosing to buy your own food, choosing to put your lights and electricity on. When you've got nothing, then it's a choice that gets taken away from you,” he said.
In the packed warehouse with crates of canned food, basic household products and nappies, the stock would last only three weeks. These are distributed to the charity’s 13 community-run locations across the city.
Mr Hardy could not comment on specific parties during the general election period, he said, but said that cuts in government funding in recent years meant that services had deteriorated.
This included public transport, which was often too expensive for Sheffield’s poorest.
Ms Mohamed left school with four GCSEs, working for years in a call centre before returning to education, training first as a teacher, then a lawyer.
Her legal experience revealed a breadth of “unfair rules” that perpetuate inequality and poverty, and she believes a Labour government would help rewrite the laws to make them fairer.
Having set up Sheffield’s Race Equality Commission and supported the Black Lives Matter movement when she was a councillor, she promises to make the city fairer for ethnic minorities.
People who have known her, vouch for her. Dr Fatima Ali, a local GP living in the constituency, said she had met Ms Mohamed for legal advice when she brought her children to the UK from Libya, and will be voting for her at the election.
Among Dr Ali's concerns was the lack of after-school activities for her three children, aged from eight to 15. “There used to be daily activities, now they’re only weekly,” she said.
Ms Mohamed's campaign trail has taken in youth fitness centres, a concert for Gaza, and Victorian landmarks. She has the backing of Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, and posters bearing her name can be seen from the windows of the more affluent residential areas of the constituency.
Mohsin Obeid, a retired police officer from Upperthorpe, said Ms Mohamed would need to work “hard” to make herself known to many of the residents in the area.
“It's going to be very difficult for her. She’s a Muslim woman, and a Yemeni,” he said, fearing that the crisis in Yemen conveyed a negative image of Yemenis abroad.
“In the area here, I’d say 98 per cent of the people are English. I’ve asked a few of my English friends in the area, they haven’t got a clue who she is. The previous MP was a proper English person and had real involvement in their community,” he said.
Mr Obeid said he was the first Yemeni policeman in Sheffield, where he went on to lead special investigations.
Scepticism about the Labour party from all sides of the political spectrum is another challenge.
Chris Birt, who runs a small steelwork and a tool supply company in the city, feared a Labour government would prioritise “big business” over local ones like his.
An engineer by training, Mr Birt dropped out of university after two days and went on to grow his grandfather’s small business into a holding company, which now has a turnover of more than £2 million.
But it was struggling with growing “red tape” and staff shortages. “The last four or five years have been so hard. You spend more time doing paperwork than you can producing in this country,” he said.
“It’s the challenge of competing with big business. Everything has become techy, everyone likes a nice clean office, nobody wants to get their hands dirty.
“We’re at a disadvantage to the rest of the world. Corporation tax has gone up, there’s no benefit to owning a business any more.”
Labour leader Keir Starmer has said his own father was a toolmaker, but this was not enough to shed Mr Birt’s view that the Labour party would support local businesses. “He’s made it as a solicitor. It’s the world of big business isn’t it?” he said.
Mr Birt employs 19 people at the steelworks – which he said left his company in limbo as the biggest medium-sized business can have up to 250 employees. “You're not big enough to compete with the big boys, but you're too big. They need to recategorise,” he said.
Pressure over Labour's stance on Gaza
Labour candidates have also faced pressure to resign in protest at the party’s stance on Gaza. Though Labour has shifted to a more critical tone, the refusal to call for an end to arms sales to Israel, or to immediately recognise Palestine remains a sore point.
Sheffield is twinned with the Palestinian city of Nablus, and was the first UK city to recognise Palestine in 2019.
Yet a campaign called the Muslim Vote, which seeks to undermine Labour at the next election, endorsed Green candidate Angela Argenzio instead of Ms Mohamed.
A Muslim Vote poster promoting Ms Argenzio had been posted at a mosque in the constituency, one resident said.
At Sheffield University’s student camp for Gaza, a protester told The National they would not be voting for Labour.
Otter, 24, is a theatre professional from the south-west of England who recently moved to Sheffield due to lower housing prices. She asked not to be photographed or named, owing to backlash and threats people at the encampment had received.
Members of Otter’s family had been Conservatives all their lives, but she was more likely to vote for the Green party. “I’ve been made aware of the Greens' campaign in Sheffield by people in the encampment,” she said.
They had not yet looked at the local candidates for Sheffield – and would be voting with the party in mind.
“I definitely won’t be voting Labour even if the candidates have Middle Eastern backgrounds and are supportive of [the Palestinian cause]. Local candidates can believe one thing, but they’re still working for the party and representing their views,” she said.
Yet many Arabic-speakers in the city urged Ms Mohamed not to be disheartened – insisting that local issues should come before foreign policy.
“Forget what’s happening in Palestine,” said Mr Obaid, the retired policeman. “Concentrate on improving the lives of people around here.”
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MATCH INFO
Quarter-finals
Saturday (all times UAE)
England v Australia, 11.15am
New Zealand v Ireland, 2.15pm
Sunday
Wales v France, 11.15am
Japan v South Africa, 2.15pm
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
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.
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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.
Seemar’s top six for the Dubai World Cup Carnival:
1. Reynaldothewizard
2. North America
3. Raven’s Corner
4. Hawkesbury
5. New Maharajah
6. Secret Ambition
SPECS
Nissan 370z Nismo
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Transmission: seven-speed automatic
Power: 363hp
Torque: 560Nm
Price: Dh184,500
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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
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The five pillars of Islam
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Basquiat in Abu Dhabi
One of Basquiat’s paintings, the vibrant Cabra (1981–82), now hangs in Louvre Abu Dhabi temporarily, on loan from the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.
The latter museum is not open physically, but has assembled a collection and puts together a series of events called Talking Art, such as this discussion, moderated by writer Chaedria LaBouvier.
It's something of a Basquiat season in Abu Dhabi at the moment. Last week, The Radiant Child, a documentary on Basquiat was shown at Manarat Al Saadiyat, and tonight (April 18) the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is throwing the re-creation of a party tonight, of the legendary Canal Zone party thrown in 1979, which epitomised the collaborative scene of the time. It was at Canal Zone that Basquiat met prominent members of the art world and moved from unknown graffiti artist into someone in the spotlight.
“We’ve invited local resident arists, we’ll have spray cans at the ready,” says curator Maisa Al Qassemi of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.
Guggenheim Abu Dhabi's Canal Zone Remix is at Manarat Al Saadiyat, Thursday April 18, from 8pm. Free entry to all. Basquiat's Cabra is on view at Louvre Abu Dhabi until October
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
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEquestrian%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fstrong%3EAbdullah%20Humaid%20Al%20Muhairi%2C%20Abdullah%20Al%20Marri%2C%20Omar%20Al%20Marzooqi%2C%20Salem%20Al%20Suwaidi%2C%20and%20Ali%20Al%20Karbi%20(four%20to%20be%20selected).%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EJudo%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fstrong%3EMen%3A%20Narmandakh%20Bayanmunkh%20(66kg)%2C%20Nugzari%20Tatalashvili%20(81kg)%2C%20Aram%20Grigorian%20(90kg)%2C%20Dzhafar%20Kostoev%20(100kg)%2C%20Magomedomar%20Magomedomarov%20(%2B100kg)%3B%20women's%20Khorloodoi%20Bishrelt%20(52kg).%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E%3Cbr%3ECycling%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fstrong%3ESafia%20Al%20Sayegh%20(women's%20road%20race).%3Cstrong%3E%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ESwimming%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fstrong%3EMen%3A%20Yousef%20Rashid%20Al%20Matroushi%20(100m%20freestyle)%3B%20women%3A%20Maha%20Abdullah%20Al%20Shehi%20(200m%20freestyle).%3Cstrong%3E%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EAthletics%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fstrong%3EMaryam%20Mohammed%20Al%20Farsi%20(women's%20100%20metres).%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- 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
The specs
Engine: Turbocharged four-cylinder 2.7-litre
Power: 325hp
Torque: 500Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh189,700
On sale: now
Spider-Man: No Way Home
Director: Jon Watts
Stars: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon
Rating:*****
Best Academy: Ajax and Benfica
Best Agent: Jorge Mendes
Best Club : Liverpool
Best Coach: Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)
Best Goalkeeper: Alisson Becker
Best Men’s Player: Cristiano Ronaldo
Best Partnership of the Year Award by SportBusiness: Manchester City and SAP
Best Referee: Stephanie Frappart
Best Revelation Player: Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid and Portugal)
Best Sporting Director: Andrea Berta (Atletico Madrid)
Best Women's Player: Lucy Bronze
Best Young Arab Player: Achraf Hakimi
Kooora – Best Arab Club: Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia)
Kooora – Best Arab Player: Abderrazak Hamdallah (Al-Nassr FC, Saudi Arabia)
Player Career Award: Miralem Pjanic and Ryan Giggs
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
MATCH INFO
Syria v Australia
2018 World Cup qualifying: Asia fourth round play-off first leg
Venue: Hang Jebat Stadium (Malacca, Malayisa)
Kick-off: Thursday, 4.30pm (UAE)
Watch: beIN Sports HD
* Second leg in Australia scheduled for October 10
What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
- Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
- Tourism industry knowledge.
- Professional ethics.
HEADLINE HERE
- I would recommend writing out the text in the body
- And then copy into this box
- It can be as long as you link
- But I recommend you use the bullet point function (see red square)
- Or try to keep the word count down
- Be wary of other embeds lengthy fact boxes could crash into
- That's about it
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
OPTA'S PREDICTED TABLE
1. Liverpool 101 points
2. Manchester City 80
3. Leicester 67
4. Chelsea 63
5. Manchester United 61
6. Tottenham 58
7. Wolves 56
8. Arsenal 56
9. Sheffield United 55
10. Everton 50
11. Burnley 49
12. Crystal Palace 49
13. Newcastle 46
14. Southampton 44
15. West Ham 39
16. Brighton 37
17. Watford 36
18. Bournemouth 36
19. Aston Villa 32
20. Norwich City 29
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
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
How it works
1) The liquid nanoclay is a mixture of water and clay that aims to convert desert land to fertile ground
2) Instead of water draining straight through the sand, it apparently helps the soil retain water
3) One application is said to last five years
4) The cost of treatment per hectare (2.4 acres) of desert varies from $7,000 to $10,000 per hectare
Mia Man’s tips for fermentation
- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut
- Keep your hands and kitchen tools clean. Sanitize knives, cutting boards, tongs and storage jars with boiling water before you start.
- Mold is bad: the colour pink is a sign of mold. If yogurt turns pink as it ferments, you need to discard it and start again. For kraut, if you remove the top leaves and see any sign of mold, you should discard the batch.
- Always use clean, closed, airtight lids and containers such as mason jars when fermenting yogurt and kraut. Keep the lid closed to prevent insects and contaminants from getting in.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
How it works
A $10 hand-powered LED light and battery bank
Device is operated by hand cranking it at any time during the day or night
The charge is stored inside a battery
The ratio is that for every minute you crank, it provides 10 minutes light on the brightest mode
A full hand wound charge is of 16.5minutes
This gives 1.1 hours of light on high mode or 2.5 hours of light on low mode
When more light is needed, it can be recharged by winding again
The larger version costs between $18-20 and generates more than 15 hours of light with a 45-minute charge
No limit on how many times you can charge
The UN General Assembly President in quotes:
YEMEN: “The developments we have seen are promising. We really hope that the parties are going to respect the agreed ceasefire. I think that the sense of really having the political will to have a peace process is vital. There is a little bit of hope and the role that the UN has played is very important.”
PALESTINE: “There is no easy fix. We need to find the political will and comply with the resolutions that we have agreed upon.”
OMAN: “It is a very important country in our system. They have a very important role to play in terms of the balance and peace process of that particular part of the world, in that their position is neutral. That is why it is very important to have a dialogue with the Omani authorities.”
REFORM OF THE SECURITY COUNCIL: “This is complicated and it requires time. It is dependent on the effort that members want to put into the process. It is a process that has been going on for 25 years. That process is slow but the issue is huge. I really hope we will see some progress during my tenure.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
SERIES SCHEDULE
First Test, Galle International Stadium
July 26-30
Second Test, Sinhalese Sports Club Ground
August 3-7
Third Test, Pallekele International Cricket Stadium
August 12-16
First ODI, Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium
August 20
Second ODI, Pallekele International Cricket Stadium
August 24
Third ODI, Pallekele International Cricket Stadium
August 27
Fourth ODI, R Premadasa Stadium
August 31
Fifth ODI, R Premadasa Stadium
September 3
T20, R Premadasa Stadium
September 6
The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
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Roll of honour
Who has won what so far in the West Asia Premiership season?
Western Clubs Champions League - Winners: Abu Dhabi Harlequins; Runners up: Bahrain
Dubai Rugby Sevens - Winners: Dubai Exiles; Runners up: Jebel Ali Dragons
West Asia Premiership - Winners: Jebel Ali Dragons; Runners up: Abu Dhabi Harlequins
UAE Premiership Cup - Winners: Abu Dhabi Harlequins; Runners up: Dubai Exiles
West Asia Cup - Winners: Bahrain; Runners up: Dubai Exiles
West Asia Trophy - Winners: Dubai Hurricanes; Runners up: DSC Eagles
Final West Asia Premiership standings - 1. Jebel Ali Dragons; 2. Abu Dhabi Harlequins; 3. Bahrain; 4. Dubai Exiles; 5. Dubai Hurricanes; 6. DSC Eagles; 7. Abu Dhabi Saracens
Fixture (UAE Premiership final) - Friday, April 13, Al Ain – Dubai Exiles v Abu Dhabi Harlequins
