UAE win record 12 medals at MMA Youth World Championships

The UAE finished with a record 12 medals in the IMMAF Youth World Championships in Abu Dhabi to clinch fourth place in the overall table.

The historic haul included four golds, four silvers and four bronze, compared to four medals in last year's competition.

Fahad Al Hammadi wins fourth gold for UAE at IMMAF Youth World Championships

This year's competition saw UAE athletes Fahad Al Hammadi (Youth A/70.3kg division), Ghala Al Hammadi (Youth B/40kg division), Saif Alblooshi (Youth C/40kg division) and Zamzam Al Hammadi (Youth B/52kg division) win gold medals.

Ukraine topped the medals table with 11 golds, 16 silver and 14 bronze. They rounded off the final day of the four-day championships with two golds, a silver and a bronze.

The USA finished in second place with six golds, seven silvers and five bronze and Tajikistan were in third spot on six golds, three silvers and five bronze. The championships, held at the capital's Mubadala Arena, drew more than 600 athletes from 46 countries. It was the second year in a row that the UAE has hosted the event.

Brigadier Mohammed bin Dalmouj Al Dhaheri, board member of the UAE Jiu-Jitsu and Mixed Martial Arts Federation and chairman of the federation’s Mixed Martial Arts Committee, expressed his satisfaction with the success of the championships as well as the performance of the national team.

“The remarkable organisation and resounding success of the championship, which we proudly hosted for the second consecutive year, can be attributed to the unwavering support from the UAE’s visionary leadership and their continuous guidance for the country’s sports and athletes,” he said.

“The successful conclusion of the championships has once again solidified the UAE’s reputation as the world’s MMA capital.

“We extend our heartfelt congratulations to national team for their outstanding performance securing a historic achievement of 12 medals. Our aim is to build on this success in the upcoming edition of the World Mixed Martial Arts Championship, which will be hosted by Abu Dhabi next year.”

The UAE's Jasem Al Hosani failed to replicate his victory last year as the team ended the final day on Saturday without a medal.

The defending champion drew a first-round bye but went down to Belgian Said Akhmed in a unanimous decision in the round of eight in the 77.1-kilogramme weight division, which was eventually won by Ukrainian Yavhenii Kabanets.

Al Hosani won the solitary gold when the UAE made their debut in the Youth Worlds last year.

Mikheili Meskhi, coach of Georgia team, paid tribute to Abu Dhabi for hosting the championships.

“In the past few years, I have been following how Abu Dhabi has been hosting quite a few global sporting events, especially in combat sports,” he said.

“Given Abu Dhabi’s experience and world-class infrastructure, it’s not surprising that the MMA Youth Championship is being organised so well. It has truly been a great experience to participate here, with our athletes competing against some of the best.

“It’s a valuable learning experience as they get to test their skills in an international environment.”

F1 The Movie

Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Rating: 4/5

Anna and the Apocalypse

Director: John McPhail

Starring: Ella Hunt, Malcolm Cumming, Mark Benton

Three stars

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.

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

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

Dust and sand storms compared

Sand storm

Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
Travel distance: Limited
Source: Open desert areas with strong winds

Dust storm

Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
Duration: Can linger for days
Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
Source: Can be carried from distant regions

Married Malala

Malala Yousafzai is enjoying married life, her father said.

The 24-year-old married Pakistan cricket executive Asser Malik last year in a small ceremony in the UK.

Ziauddin Yousafzai told The National his daughter was ‘very happy’ with her husband.

Indoor cricket World Cup:
Insportz, Dubai, September 16-23

UAE fixtures:
Men
Saturday, September 16 – 1.45pm, v New Zealand
Sunday, September 17 – 10.30am, v Australia; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Monday, September 18 – 2pm, v England; 7.15pm, v India
Tuesday, September 19 – 12.15pm, v Singapore; 5.30pm, v Sri Lanka
Thursday, September 21 – 2pm v Malaysia
Friday, September 22 – 3.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 3pm, grand final

Women
Saturday, September 16 – 5.15pm, v Australia
Sunday, September 17 – 2pm, v South Africa; 7.15pm, v New Zealand
Monday, September 18 – 5.30pm, v England
Tuesday, September 19 – 10.30am, v New Zealand; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Thursday, September 21 – 12.15pm, v Australia
Friday, September 22 – 1.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 1pm, grand final

Company Profile:

Name: The Protein Bakeshop

Date of start: 2013

Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani

Based: Dubai

Size, number of employees: 12

Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)

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THE CLOWN OF GAZA

Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah

Starring: Alaa Meqdad

Rating: 4/5

VEZEETA PROFILE

Date started: 2012

Founder: Amir Barsoum

Based: Dubai, UAE

Sector: HealthTech / MedTech

Size: 300 employees

Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)

Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC

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.

Profile box

Company name: baraka
Started: July 2020
Founders: Feras Jalbout and Kunal Taneja
Based: Dubai and Bahrain
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $150,000
Current staff: 12
Stage: Pre-seed capital raising of $1 million
Investors: Class 5 Global, FJ Labs, IMO Ventures, The Community Fund, VentureSouq, Fox Ventures, Dr Abdulla Elyas (private investment)

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.