SOCHI, RUSSIA // With tensions running high over Crimea, a fledgling Russian team shocked the United States on Tuesday night in a sledge hockey clash at the Sochi Paralympics.
In a match that brought back echoes of previous “Cold Wars” waged on the ice between the US and the former Soviet Union, Russia got goals from Ilia Volkov and Konstantin Shikhov to defeat the 2010 gold medallists 2-1.
With the Games taking place in the shadow of Russia’s intervention in Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula just west of Sochi, each team boasted several players who are military veterans.
The US included two marines, Paul Schaus and Josh Sweeney, who became amputees after injuries received in Afghanistan.
Russia had five military athletes on their team, including Vadim Selyukin, who lost both legs in the war in Chechnya and went on to become one of the biggest sledge hockey advocates in Russia.
Before the match, Russia’s coach, Sergei Samoilov, was tense. He said the Sochi stadiums full of roaring fans are a bit too much to take for some of the younger players on the team, which is a mix of war veterans and boys as young as 17.
Hockey has always been more than just a sport in Russia. The stinging loss of the star-studded national ice hockey team to the US at the Olympics last month led to a stream of conspiracy theories. The coach was sacked.
Samoilov, who has painstakingly created the sledge-hockey team over four years of trial and error, denied that the game yesterday was a sort of rematch. The two sports have nothing to do with one another, he said.
But Anatoly Yegorov, the president of the sledge hockey association, said the pressure from the media and fans was partly the desire for the Russian victory to balance out the loss to the Americans in February. “Of course, it’s symbolic,” he said.
Sledge hockey, also called sled hockey in the US, was invented in a Swedish rehabilitation centre in the 1960s and has become a fan favourite in several western countries.
The sport is at least as physical as regular ice hockey, with players poised on a single metal frame set on two blades.
They then use two specially adapted hockey sticks – one to pass and shoot the puck and the other to move around the ice.
In Russia it remains obscure, with Samoilov taking two years of promoting and travelling to find enough players, let alone sponsors. “There wasn’t a great response,” he said. “Guys were very, very suspicious of this sport.”
At one point, Samoilov reached out to the US for help, he said.
“Americans came and we had a masterclass,” he said. “I never even knew the details of tuning the sleds or the tips of the hockey sticks. But, as they say, don’t feed us fish, instead teach us how to fish.”
Ahead of the match, Samoilov said that Russia could stand to do more for men who became disabled by serving their country.
“The country must be grateful that they went to the end,” he said.
‘Sochi Games exceeding all expectations,’ says IPC chief
The world Paralympics chief yesterday praised Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, for staging a “fantastic” Winter Paralympic Games and said the competition in Sochi was on track to become the most successful.
“The Games are exceeding all expectations in every single area,” Phil Craven, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) president said on Day 4 of the 10-day competition.
In a meeting at Putin’s residence in Sochi, Craven said the Games have been well-organised and “attended by amazing crowds, Russian crowds”.
The Briton told Putin: “With the organising committee and with your incredible support, we are having a fantastic Games here.”
More than 300,000 tickets have been sold for the event, eclipsing the previous Winter Paralympic record of 230,000 sold in Vancouver four years ago, the IPC said.
“To break the 300,000 barrier is sensational and I know the Organising Committee is working hard to try to create extra capacity to cater for the huge demand for tickets,” Craven said.
“No matter where the Games go, they have an ability to transform sports fans into sports fans for all, supporting all sides and all athletes.”
Putin echoed those sentiments.
“I was at some competitions and I must say that after a couple of minutes watching these competitions, one totally forgets that these are people with certain limited physical abilities. This, of course, produces a very strong emotional impression,” he said. “Of course we cannot but be pleased with our team’s progress at the competitions: 34 medals including 11 golds. We are very proud of our athletes.”
Organisers said they had raised US$95 million (Dh348.9m) from their marketing programme, a record for a Paralympic Winter Games.
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
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Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
Abu Dhabi GP weekend schedule
Friday
First practice, 1pm
Second practice, 5pm
Saturday
Final practice, 2pm
Qualifying, 5pm
Sunday
Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (55 laps), 5.10pm
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
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.
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hoopla%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EDate%20started%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMarch%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Jacqueline%20Perrottet%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2010%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPre-seed%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20required%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%24500%2C000%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
At a glance - Zayed Sustainability Prize 2020
Launched: 2008
Categories: Health, energy, water, food, global high schools
Prize: Dh2.2 million (Dh360,000 for global high schools category)
Winners’ announcement: Monday, January 13
Impact in numbers
335 million people positively impacted by projects
430,000 jobs created
10 million people given access to clean and affordable drinking water
50 million homes powered by renewable energy
6.5 billion litres of water saved
26 million school children given solar lighting
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
The specs: 2018 BMW R nineT Scrambler
Price, base / as tested Dh57,000
Engine 1,170cc air/oil-cooled flat twin four-stroke engine
Transmission Six-speed gearbox
Power 110hp) @ 7,750rpm
Torque 116Nm @ 6,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 5.3L / 100km
