LONDON // From Ryan Giggs to Raheem Sterling, via Michael Owen, Wayne Rooney and Cesc Fabregas, the English Premier League has long been fertile breeding ground for up-and-coming talent. This is a breakdown of five young players for whom the 2014-15 campaign could provide a launchpad to stardom.
Luke Shaw (Manchester United)
After a fine season with Southampton that saw him dislodge Ashley Cole from the England squad, Shaw became the fourth most expensive defender in history when United paid an initial fee of £27 million ($45.6 million, 34 million euros) to take him to Old Trafford. New United manager Louis van Gaal’s decision to introduce a 3-4-1-2 formation should suit the buccaneering 19-year-old, who will have sole responsibility for providing width on the left flank. “Luke is a very talented young left-back with great potential,” said United assistant manager Giggs, the club’s last great left-sided player. “He has developed immensely during his time at Southampton and has all the attributes to become a top player.”
Kurt Zouma (Chelsea)
Zouma, 19, signed for Chelsea from Saint-Etienne in January for a fee of around £12 million before being loaned back to his formative club until the end of the 2013-14 season. The tall, powerful centre-back has been given Chelsea’s number five shirt by manager Jose Mourinho and scored his first goal for the club in a friendly against Slovenian side Olimpija Ljubljana last month. Although John Terry and Gary Cahill will start the campaign as first-choice centre-backs, Chelsea’s commitments on four fronts mean that the France Under-21 international should get opportunities to impress. “Mourinho said to me, ‘Are you ready?’” Zouma told Chelsea TV shortly after arriving in July. “I told him, ‘Yeah, I’m ready.’”
Calum Chambers (Arsenal)
Chambers started last season as Southampton’s second-choice right-back behind Nathaniel Clyne, but after breaking into the first team, he was signed by Arsenal for a reported initial fee of around £11 million. The 19-year-old produced very sure-footed displays in his three pre-season appearances despite playing in an unfamiliar role at centre-back. “I am impressed by Calum’s character, by how quickly he is adapting and how secure he is when he plays,” said new Arsenal captain Mikel Arteta. “He is mature, a normal guy and I think he is going to be a very important player for us in the next few years.”
John Stones (Everton)
Having started his career with home-town club Barnsley, Stones joined Everton in January 2013 and broke into the first team last season, making 26 appearances in central defence and at right-back. The 20-year-old’s performances caught the eye of England manager Roy Hodgson and he was put on standby for the World Cup, appearing in pre-tournament friendlies against Peru and Ecuador. “He’s just a player that’s never really flustered,” said Everton team-mate Leighton Baines. “He’s got fantastic composure. He’s a really good footballer, made for the international scene to play centre-half, because he’ll take the ball out from the back and rarely gives it away.”
Ben Davies (Tottenham Hotspur)
An injury to Neil Taylor enabled the dashing Davies to establish himself as Swansea City’s first-choice left-back in the 2012-13 season and he held onto the role last season despite Taylor’s return to fitness, playing in 34 league games and scoring twice. The 21-year-old Wales international joined Tottenham in July in a part-exchange deal involving Gylfi Sigurdsson and will now compete with Danny Rose and Jan Vertonghen for the left-back berth at White Hart Lane. “I had never thought or wanted to leave Swansea, but an opportunity like this doesn’t come up often in your career,” he said.
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Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten
Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a month before Reaching the Last Mile.
Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
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.
Where to donate in the UAE
The Emirates Charity Portal
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Al Noor Special Needs Centre
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Emirates Airline Foundation
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
Emirates Red Crescent
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Noor Dubai Foundation
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
At Everton Appearances: 77; Goals: 17
At Manchester United Appearances: 559; Goals: 253
ULTRA PROCESSED FOODS
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
