The Samurai Blue, as Japan's football team have been nicknamed, have been drawn together with Oman, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. AFP

Asian Cup teams set for continental showpiece in UAE - in pictures



The UAE is buzzing with Asian Cup activity as the teams arrive to play in the continental competition, which kicks off on Saturday.

The tournament, being held in the Emirates for the second time, is nearly a month long with the final scheduled for February 1. It gets under way with the Group A match between the hosts and their regional rivals Bahrain at Zayed Sports City Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

You can check out pictures of teams arriving in the country and training by browsing the photo gallery above. To move on to the next photo, click on the arrows, or if using a mobile device, simply swipe.

______________

More on Asian Cup:

Groups, teams, tickets and all you need to know

In pictures: A look back on the last time the Emirates host the Asian Cup in 1996

Son Heung-min can ignite South Korea: Five players to watch at the Asian Cup

Bernd Stange counting on Syria fans to carry team through 2019 Asian Cup group phase

Jan Kocian wants Yemen to dream of big victories at 2019 Asian Cup

Aref Al Awani: Legacy for UAE football will come from Asian Cup

______________

Groups:

GROUP A: UAE, Bahrain, India, Thailand

GROUP B: Australia, Syria, Jordan, Palestine

GROUP C: South Korea, China, Kyrgyzstan, Philippines

GROUP D: Iran, Iraq, Vietnam, Yemen

GROUP E: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Lebanon, North Korea

GROUP F: Japan, Uzbekistan, Oman, Turkmenistan

Getting there
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Tbilisi from Dh1,025 return including taxes

Moon Music

Artist: Coldplay

Label: Parlophone/Atlantic

Number of tracks: 10

Rating: 3/5

The years Ramadan fell in May

1987

1954

1921

1888

A MINECRAFT MOVIE

Director: Jared Hess

Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa

Rating: 3/5

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)
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Revibe%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hamza%20Iraqui%20and%20Abdessamad%20Ben%20Zakour%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Refurbished%20electronics%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%20so%20far%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410m%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFlat6Labs%2C%20Resonance%20and%20various%20others%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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 
NO OTHER LAND

Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal

Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham

Rating: 3.5/5

Engine: 80 kWh four-wheel-drive

Transmission: eight-speed automatic

Power: 402bhp

Torque: 760Nm

Price: From Dh280,000

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
Libya's Gold

UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves. 

The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.

Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.