Beginners' luck paid off for an Emirati woman who scooped Dh77,777 ($21,175) in the UAE's richest raffle at the first time of asking.
Khuloud Juma Al Nuaimi, 35, was in disbelief after her name was called out during the live stream of the Emirates Draw on Sunday.
The Adnoc worker said she will use the windfall to wipe out Dh30,000 of debts, with the rest of the funds being put towards building a house for her family.
“I couldn’t believe it. I was watching the live stream on YouTube and when my name appeared, the first thing I thought was ‘is that my name on the screen?’ I checked my raffle ID numbers and they matched!” said Ms Al Nuaimi, who lives in Al Ain.
“My husband is travelling with his father for medical treatment, so I participated in his name as a surprise and I participated one more time for myself.
“This is the second time I've entered any type of raffle. I tried once six months ago but didn’t win. Then I heard about Emirates Draw so I participated and left it to God. When I won, I prayed and thanked him for winning.”
Ms Al Nuaimi was one of seven winners who each received Dh77,777 during Emirates Draw’s latest raffle for matching five of the seven numbers.
Abdullah Mohammed Aldossary, a father of six from Saudi Arabia, was with his family when he found out he had won.
“I’m so happy that I’m among the winners, especially since I only found out about Emirates Draw a week or 10 days ago,” he said.
“I selected my favourite numbers on the website and I thought that if God wills then I might win, and I did.”
A raffle ticket costs Dh50, which buys a pencil and coral poly. This is part of Emirates Draw’s Coral Reef Regeneration programme, which has helped to plant more than 3,000 coral polyps to date.
“Despite being a bit apprehensive at first, I was encouraged to participate when I realised I was actually purchasing a pencil and that no matter what the raffle results were, some of the proceeds would go towards helping the environment,” Mr Aldossary said.
The Emirates Draw grand prize for matching all seven numbers is Dh100 million.
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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.
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The specs
BMW M8 Competition Coupe
Engine 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8
Power 625hp at 6,000rpm
Torque 750Nm from 1,800-5,800rpm
Gearbox Eight-speed paddleshift auto
Acceleration 0-100kph in 3.2 sec
Top speed 305kph
Fuel economy, combined 10.6L / 100km
Price from Dh700,000 (estimate)
On sale Jan/Feb 2020
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
Sanju
Produced: Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Rajkumar Hirani
Director: Rajkumar Hirani
Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Vicky Kaushal, Paresh Rawal, Anushka Sharma, Manish’s Koirala, Dia Mirza, Sonam Kapoor, Jim Sarbh, Boman Irani
Rating: 3.5 stars
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
'Of Love & War'
Lynsey Addario, Penguin Press
Ahmed Raza
UAE cricket captain
Age: 31
Born: Sharjah
Role: Left-arm spinner
One-day internationals: 31 matches, 35 wickets, average 31.4, economy rate 3.95
T20 internationals: 41 matches, 29 wickets, average 30.3, economy rate 6.28
What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
- Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
- Tourism industry knowledge.
- Professional ethics.
Copa del Rey
Semi-final, first leg
Barcelona 1 (Malcom 57')
Real Madrid (Vazquez 6')
Second leg, February 27
The Cairo Statement
1: Commit to countering all types of terrorism and extremism in all their manifestations
2: Denounce violence and the rhetoric of hatred
3: Adhere to the full compliance with the Riyadh accord of 2014 and the subsequent meeting and executive procedures approved in 2014 by the GCC
4: Comply with all recommendations of the Summit between the US and Muslim countries held in May 2017 in Saudi Arabia.
5: Refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of countries and of supporting rogue entities.
6: Carry out the responsibility of all the countries with the international community to counter all manifestations of extremism and terrorism that threaten international peace and security
Ain Dubai in numbers
126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure
1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch
16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.
9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.
5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place
192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.
