The UAE won its first Olympic gold medal 19 years ago this month.
Sheikh Ahmed bin Hasher, a sharpshooter, earned the accolade in the men’s double trap competition at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.
In the shotgun-shooting sport, contestants aim to break clay discs that are fired into the air at rapid speeds. As opposed to traditional trap shooting, double trap features two clay discs being hurled simultaneously. Shooters stand 14.6m from the apparatus that fires the clay targets and are allowed one shot at each disc.
The men’s double trap competition at the 2004 Summer Olympics comprised two rounds. The top six contestants of the qualifying segment moved on to the final round. Besides the UAE, shooters from Sweden, China, Germany and India took part in the final.
China’s Wang Cheng won the bronze medal and Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore from India was awarded the silver.
Sheikh Ahmed’s gold medal win is particularly remarkable, given that he had only taken up the sport when he was 34, seven years before the 2004 Summer Olympics. The first Summer Olympics he took part in were in 2000. After becoming a gold medallist, he took part again in 2008. But because of a heart condition, he was forced to sit out the 2012 London Olympics and retired from the sport. However, he coached English sport shooter Peter Wilson, who secured the gold medal in the 2012 London Olympics.
Sheikh Ahmed is still the only Emirati athlete to win a gold medal at the Olympics. The country earned a bronze in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro through Moldovan-born Emirati judoka Sergiu Toma in the the 81kg judo category, when he beat Italy’s Matteo Marconcini for the third medal.
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
Women’s World T20, Asia Qualifier
UAE results
Beat China by 16 runs
Lost to Thailand by 10 wickets
Beat Nepal by five runs
Beat Hong Kong by eight wickets
Beat Malaysia by 34 runs
Standings (P, W, l, NR, points)
1. Thailand 5 4 0 1 9
2. UAE 5 4 1 0 8
3. Nepal 5 2 1 2 6
4. Hong Kong 5 2 2 1 5
5. Malaysia 5 1 4 0 2
6. China 5 0 5 0 0
Final
Thailand v UAE, Monday, 7am
War on waste
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Price, base / as tested Dh207,846 / Dh220,000
Engine 6.2L V8
Transmission Eight-speed automatic
Power 420hp @ 5,600rpm
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Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
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FFP EXPLAINED
What is Financial Fair Play?
Introduced in 2011 by Uefa, European football’s governing body, it demands that clubs live within their means. Chiefly, spend within their income and not make substantial losses.
What the rules dictate?
The second phase of its implementation limits losses to €30 million (Dh136m) over three seasons. Extra expenditure is permitted for investment in sustainable areas (youth academies, stadium development, etc). Money provided by owners is not viewed as income. Revenue from “related parties” to those owners is assessed by Uefa's “financial control body” to be sure it is a fair value, or in line with market prices.
What are the penalties?
There are a number of punishments, including fines, a loss of prize money or having to reduce squad size for European competition – as happened to PSG in 2014. There is even the threat of a competition ban, which could in theory lead to PSG’s suspension from the Uefa Champions League.
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The biog
DOB: March 13, 1987
Place of birth: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia but lived in Virginia in the US and raised in Lebanon
School: ACS in Lebanon
University: BSA in Graphic Design at the American University of Beirut
MSA in Design Entrepreneurship at the School of Visual Arts in New York City
Nationality: Lebanese
Status: Single
Favourite thing to do: I really enjoy cycling, I was a participant in Cycling for Gaza for the second time this year
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Power: 362hp
Torque: 530Nm
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The national orchestra
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
Brief scoreline:
Manchester United 0
Manchester City 2
Bernardo Silva 54', Sane 66'
How much of your income do you need to save?
The more you save, the sooner you can retire. Tuan Phan, a board member of SimplyFI.com, says if you save just 5 per cent of your salary, you can expect to work for another 66 years before you are able to retire without too large a drop in income.
In other words, you will not save enough to retire comfortably. If you save 15 per cent, you can forward to another 43 working years. Up that to 40 per cent of your income, and your remaining working life drops to just 22 years. (see table)
Obviously, this is only a rough guide. How much you save will depend on variables, not least your salary and how much you already have in your pension pot. But it shows what you need to do to achieve financial independence.
EA Sports FC 26
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S
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From Europe to the Middle East, economic success brings wealth - and lifestyle diseases
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In Britain, heart disease, lung cancer and Alzheimer’s remain among the leading causes of death, and people there are spending more time suffering from health problems.
The UK is expected to spend $421.4 billion on healthcare by 2040, up from $239.3 billion in 2014.
And development assistance for health is talking about the financial aid given to governments to support social, environmental development of developing countries.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Number of Chinese tourists coming to UAE in 2017 was... 1.3m
Alibaba’s new ‘Tech Town’ in Dubai is worth... $600m
China’s investment in the MIddle East in 2016 was... $29.5bn
The world’s most valuable start-up in 2018, TikTok, is valued at... $75bn
Boost to the UAE economy of 5G connectivity will be... $269bn
MATCH INFO
New Zealand 176-8 (20 ovs)
England 155 (19.5 ovs)
New Zealand win by 21 runs
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Stars:Zaf Efron, Anthony Hayes
Rating:3/5
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Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
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Inside%20Out%202
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