A celebration of Japanese culture, history and innovation, the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games was launched with a spectacular opening ceremony on Friday.
Many of the events are now underway, and below are the pick of the athletes in action from the Mena region on Saturday.
Archery - mixed team
Yumenoshima Ranking Field
The archers are at it today, in the mixed team event, of which the full competition will be concluded with bronze medal and gold medal matches. The Egyptian and Tunisian teams are in the mix.
Artistic Gymnastics (men)
Ariake Gymnastics Centre
Among those to watch are 2021 African Championships gold medallist, Egypt’s Omar Mohamed, and three-time Olympian Alexander Shatilov from Israel.
Badminton
Musashino Forest Plaza
Badminton gets underway with representatives from Egypt and Israel among the many teams looking prize medals away from the Chinese.
Look out for Syrian-born Aram Mahmoud, who will be competing on the Refugee Olympic Team (ROT), as he takes on world No 7 Jonatan Christie from Indonesia. In a recent interview Aram said he would be “playing not only for my country, but for refugees all around the world - there are a lot of people who need that motivation to achieve the unexpected.”
Boxing - Various preliminaries
Kokugican Arena
The preliminary boxing rounds in all women’s and four of the eight men’s weight classes.
A big fight to watch will be Algeria’s Abdelhafid Benchabla, who was just shy of a medal in Beijing, London and Rio, finishing in fifth in the light heavyweight classes in all three games. He will be fighting 2017 World Championship bronze medallist Sanjar Tursunov from Uzbekistan.
The first inter-regional contest of the Games comes in the evening session between Iran’s Daniyal Shahbakhsh and Morocco’s Mohamed Hamout in the men’s featherweight (52kg-57kg).
Road Cycling - men’s race
Fuji International Speedway
On the back of his second Tour de France victory, UAE Team Emirates cyclist Tadej Pogacar is hot favourite, riding for Slovenia. There will be cyclists from Iran, Morocco, Eritrea and Algeria to keep an eye on.
Fencing - women's epee and men’s sabre
Makuharri Messe
World No 11 in women’s epee is Tunisia’s Sarra Besbes, who will be taking on Italy’s Federica Isola in what promises to be a thrilling encounter.
There will be representatives in action from Algeria, Egypt and Iran.
Handball - men
Yoyogi National Stadium
The men’s Bahraini handball team will be making their Olympic debut when they take on four-time and 2012 silver medallists Sweden.
As world ranked No 15, Egypt are hoping to get off to a strong start. The Pharoahs will be playing their opening game against Portugal.
Shooting - women’s 10m air rifle and men’s air pistol
Asaka Shooting Range
Iran will be the nation to watch in the 10m events. World ranked No 4, Javad Foroughi, will be hoping to continue the momentum from his ISSF World Cup win last month.
Worth also keeping tabs on is Iran’s women’s 10m air rifle team that picked up gold in the ISSF World Cup. Armina Sadeghian and Fatemeh Karamzadeh will both be aiming for the podium.
Swimming
Tokyo Aquatics Centre
It’s a busy evening session to open up the swimming at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre. Look out for 20-year old Jordanian Amro Al-Wir in the men’s 100m breaststroke.
Expect to see athletes from Egypt and Israel in this session.
Table Tennis - women’s and wen’s singles, doubles and mixed
Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium
The Chinese have had a firm grip on table-tennis throughout ping-pong’s Olympic history, winning 28 of all 32 gold medals awarded.
In action is 12-year-old Syrian Hend Zaza, the youngest Olympian at the 2020 Games, and the only Syrian to have ever made the Olympics by qualification.
From this region, the heavyweights to watch are the Egyptian pair, Omar Assar and Dina Meshref, who will be taking on South Korea’s Sangsu Lee and Jihee Jeon in the mixed doubles.
Taekwondo - women’s 49kg, men’s 58kg
Plenty of talent from the region on the opening day of Taekwondo. The biggest name is Iranian world No 5 Armin Seighalani in the men’s 58kg weight class. Also look out for 20-year-old Moroccan Oumaima Bouchti, ranked world No 15 in the women’s 49kg, and gold medallist at the African Championships this year.
MATCH INFO
Newcastle United 1 (Carroll 82')
Leicester City 2 (Maddison 55', Tielemans 72')
Man of the match James Maddison (Leicester)
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
Babumoshai Bandookbaaz
Director: Kushan Nandy
Starring: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Bidita Bag, Jatin Goswami
Three stars
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
The biog
Profession: Senior sports presenter and producer
Marital status: Single
Favourite book: Al Nabi by Jibran Khalil Jibran
Favourite food: Italian and Lebanese food
Favourite football player: Cristiano Ronaldo
Languages: Arabic, French, English, Portuguese and some Spanish
Website: www.liliane-tannoury.com
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
%20Ramez%20Gab%20Min%20El%20Akher
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECreator%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ramez%20Galal%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ramez%20Galal%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStreaming%20on%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMBC%20Shahid%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Klopp at the Kop
Matches 68; Wins 35; Draws 19; Losses 14; Goals For 133; Goals Against 82
- Eighth place in Premier League in 2015/16
- Runners-up in Europa League in 2016
- Runners-up in League Cup in 2016
- Fourth place in Premier League in 2016/17
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EShaffra%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDIFC%20Innovation%20Hub%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Emetaverse-as-a-Service%20(MaaS)%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Ecurrently%20closing%20%241.5%20million%20seed%20round%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Epre-seed%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFlat6Labs%20Abu%20Dhabi%20and%20different%20PCs%20and%20angel%20investors%20from%20Saudi%20Arabia%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Enine%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
It's up to you to go green
Nils El Accad, chief executive and owner of Organic Foods and Café, says going green is about “lifestyle and attitude” rather than a “money change”; people need to plan ahead to fill water bottles in advance and take their own bags to the supermarket, he says.
“People always want someone else to do the work; it doesn’t work like that,” he adds. “The first step: you have to consciously make that decision and change.”
When he gets a takeaway, says Mr El Accad, he takes his own glass jars instead of accepting disposable aluminium containers, paper napkins and plastic tubs, cutlery and bags from restaurants.
He also plants his own crops and herbs at home and at the Sheikh Zayed store, from basil and rosemary to beans, squashes and papayas. “If you’re going to water anything, better it be tomatoes and cucumbers, something edible, than grass,” he says.
“All this throwaway plastic - cups, bottles, forks - has to go first,” says Mr El Accad, who has banned all disposable straws, whether plastic or even paper, from the café chain.
One of the latest changes he has implemented at his stores is to offer refills of liquid laundry detergent, to save plastic. The two brands Organic Foods stocks, Organic Larder and Sonnett, are both “triple-certified - you could eat the product”.
The Organic Larder detergent will soon be delivered in 200-litre metal oil drums before being decanted into 20-litre containers in-store.
Customers can refill their bottles at least 30 times before they start to degrade, he says. Organic Larder costs Dh35.75 for one litre and Dh62 for 2.75 litres and refills will cost 15 to 20 per cent less, Mr El Accad says.
But while there are savings to be had, going green tends to come with upfront costs and extra work and planning. Are we ready to refill bottles rather than throw them away? “You have to change,” says Mr El Accad. “I can only make it available.”
THREE
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Nayla%20Al%20Khaja%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Jefferson%20Hall%2C%20Faten%20Ahmed%2C%20Noura%20Alabed%2C%20Saud%20Alzarooni%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%203.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
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
MATCH INFO
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City, Tuesday, 11pm (UAE)
Matches can be watched on BeIN Sports
All Black 39-12 British & Irish Lions
The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%201.5-litre%204-cylinder%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ECVT%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E119bhp%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E145Nm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDh%2C89%2C900%20(%2424%2C230)%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Enow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Match info
UAE v Bolivia, Friday, 6.25pm, Maktoum bin Rashid Stadium, Dubai
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
The specs: Fenyr SuperSport
Price, base: Dh5.1 million
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 800hp @ 7,100pm
Torque: 980Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 13.5L / 100km
