As she puts the finishing touches to her game before kicking off her 2024 campaign in Australia later this month, Iga Swiatek is excited not just about the new season but about the highly anticipated comebacks of Naomi Osaka and Rafael Nadal.
Osaka is scheduled to return from her maternity leave at the Brisbane International in the opening week of January to contest her first tournament since September 2022.
The Japanese four-time grand slam champion, who gave birth to her daughter Shai in July, was awarded a wildcard for Brisbane, where Nadal is also expected to make his first competitive appearance since the 2023 Australian Open in January, having been sidelined with a hip injury that required surgery.
Swiatek, who is currently in Abu Dhabi for the World Tennis League exhibition event, will be keeping an eye on both returnees and is curious to see where their level will be at after their lengthy absences.
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“I really like to watch them, so just from a fan perspective I’m really happy that they are coming back and I’m going to be able to see their game,” said Swiatek at Yas Island’s Etihad Arena on Thursday.
“Rafa obviously is a huge inspiration for me, so I just hope he’s going to play nicely.
“Naomi, we may play against each other, so it’s pretty funny but I’m happy that she’s back and she could fulfil her other goals and now come back to playing tennis.
“I’m just curious how they’re going to play, if they’re going to be rusty or not but obviously they are both really experienced so I hope they’re going to go well.”
Step by step
Swiatek looked sharp in the set she won against 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina on Thursday and said she managed to test out some of the things she had been working on with her coach Tomasz Wiktorowski during this pre-season training block.
The Polish world No 1 is coming off yet another stellar campaign in which she added a fourth grand slam to her ever-growing trophy cabinet. Swiatek enters 2024 carrying an 11-match winning streak, having picked up titles in Beijing and at the WTA Finals in Cancun in her last two events of the year.
While she admittedly struggled to deal with the pressure at certain moments and faced stiff competition from Aryna Sabalenka during the season, Swiatek managed to wrestle back the top ranking from the Belarusian to end 2023 on a high.
“I feel like I could actually rest better this year [during offseason]. I worked on many stuff off court last year during pre-season but this time was more peaceful, so I really could focus on practising,” said the 22-year-old Swiatek.
“There wasn’t much for me to do besides tennis so I’m really happy that I was really locked into the work and I feel that gives me a lot of certainty that I did everything I could during pre-season to work on my game and do some technical stuff and just try to implement it.
“I’m not thinking too much about the things that are going to happen in the future. I’m really just focusing on the tournaments in Australia and I’m going to take it step by step this time.”
‘Olympic medal would be a dream come true’
Swiatek will begin 2024 by teaming up with Hubert Hurkacz and their fellow Poles at the United Cup in Perth.
The nation-vs-nation event will provide Swiatek the chance to play mixed doubles with Hurkacz – who is also her teammate at the WTL this weekend in Abu Dhabi – with the pair likely set to join forces at the Paris 2024 Olympics next summer.
Given her success at the French Open, where she has won three of her four majors, Swiatek will fancy her chances of clinching gold for Poland at the Olympics tennis tournament, which will be hosted at the same Roland Garros clay-court venue in Paris.
“Yes, for sure [it’s a big goal]. We’re going to have some time to think about that before the clay season obviously. But for now, I’m just thinking about Australia and trying not to go too far because the season is long and a lot of things can happen,” said Swiatek, who will likely play singles and mixed doubles in the Paris Games.
“But I’m really happy that I have the opportunity to play some mixed doubles with Hubi and to test it out and practise a little bit before the Olympics because getting a medal there would be a dream come true for sure.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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2.
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China
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3.
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UAE
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4.
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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6.
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Canada
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7.
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Singapore
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8.
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Australia
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9.
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Saudi Arabia
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10.
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South Korea
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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RESULTS
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Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
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.
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
Specs
Price, base: Dhs850,000
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 591bhp @ 7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm @ 3,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 11.3L / 100km
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Details
Kabir Singh
Produced by: Cinestaan Studios, T-Series
Directed by: Sandeep Reddy Vanga
Starring: Shahid Kapoor, Kiara Advani, Suresh Oberoi, Soham Majumdar, Arjun Pahwa
Rating: 2.5/5
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
SHADOWS%20AND%20LIGHT%3A%20THE%20EXTRAORDINARY%20LIFE%20OF%20JAMES%20MCBEY
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Dengue%20fever%20symptoms
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Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now