Live updates: Follow the latest news on Israel-Gaza
Oil prices were steady on Monday after recording their largest seven-day gain in a month last week on supply risks from the Israel-Gaza war.
Brent, the benchmark for two thirds of the world’s oil, was trading 1.19 per cent lower at $89.81 a barrel at 7.53pm UAE time while West Texas Intermediate, the gauge that tracks US crude, was down 0.95 per cent at $86.86 a barrel.
“The coming week will see energy traders continue to pay close attention to the Israel-Hamas war [and] key Chinese economic data,” said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda.
China’s third-quarter gross domestic product is expected to show the economy is “headed in the right direction”, Mr Moya said.
On Monday, the country’s central bank ramped up liquidity support to the banking system, as part of its efforts to support its economy, the world’s second largest.
The People's Bank of China conducted medium-term lending facility operations worth 789 billion yuan ($109.57 billion) to keep liquidity in the banking system adequate.
The rate on one-year policy loans was held at 2.5 per cent, unchanged from the previous operation.
China’s post-coronavirus economic recovery has lost momentum mainly due to a deepening property slump and weak consumer spending.
It has announced a string of stimulus measures, including halving stamp duty on stock transactions and easing mortgage rates.
On the supply side, traders are concerned about the Israel-Hamas war escalating into a broader regional conflict, potentially affecting crude supplies in an already tight market.
Israel is preparing for a ground offensive into Gaza and has warned about 1.1 million people in the northern half of the strip to evacuate.
Saudi Arabia and Russia have reaffirmed their combined supply cut of 1.3 million barrels per day up to the end of the year.
Meanwhile, the Opec+ alliance has enforced total production curbs of 3.66 million bpd, or about 3.7 per cent of global demand.
“The sharp sell-off in crude prices in early October has reinforced Saudi Arabia’s caution about unwinding its voluntary production cuts,” Energy Aspects said in a research note last week.
“We expect these to remain in place until year-end, as announced, and still see the potential they will be extended further into early 2024 to limit seasonal stock builds,” the data and intelligence provider said.
“We do not think Iranian oil production or exports are at risk of disruption due to the Israel-Hamas conflict.”
Last week, Opec stuck to its forecast for oil demand growth for 2023 and 2024 and said it expected the global economy to grow at a faster pace this year.
World oil demand will rise by 2.25 million bpd in 2024, compared with growth of 2.44 million bpd this year, the group said in its monthly oil market report.
However, the International Energy Agency slashed its oil demand growth forecast for next year, citing a “deteriorating economic climate”.
Is it worth it? We put cheesecake frap to the test.
The verdict from the nutritionists is damning. But does a cheesecake frappuccino taste good enough to merit the indulgence?
My advice is to only go there if you have unusually sweet tooth. I like my puddings, but this was a bit much even for me. The first hit is a winner, but it's downhill, slowly, from there. Each sip is a little less satisfying than the last, and maybe it was just all that sugar, but it isn't long before the rush is replaced by a creeping remorse. And half of the thing is still left.
The caramel version is far superior to the blueberry, too. If someone put a full caramel cheesecake through a liquidiser and scooped out the contents, it would probably taste something like this. Blueberry, on the other hand, has more of an artificial taste. It's like someone has tried to invent this drink in a lab, and while early results were promising, they're still in the testing phase. It isn't terrible, but something isn't quite right either.
So if you want an experience, go for a small, and opt for the caramel. But if you want a cheesecake, it's probably more satisfying, and not quite as unhealthy, to just order the real thing.
La Mer lowdown
La Mer beach is open from 10am until midnight, daily, and is located in Jumeirah 1, well after Kite Beach. Some restaurants, like Cupagahwa, are open from 8am for breakfast; most others start at noon. At the time of writing, we noticed that signs for Vicolo, an Italian eatery, and Kaftan, a Turkish restaurant, indicated that these two restaurants will be open soon, most likely this month. Parking is available, as well as a Dh100 all-day valet option or a Dh50 valet service if you’re just stopping by for a few hours.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The team
Videographer: Jear Velasquez
Photography: Romeo Perez
Fashion director: Sarah Maisey
Make-up: Gulum Erzincan at Art Factory
Models: Meti and Clinton at MMG
Video assistant: Zanong Maget
Social media: Fatima Al Mahmoud
Sukuk explained
Sukuk are Sharia-compliant financial certificates issued by governments, corporates and other entities. While as an asset class they resemble conventional bonds, there are some significant differences. As interest is prohibited under Sharia, sukuk must contain an underlying transaction, for example a leaseback agreement, and the income that is paid to investors is generated by the underlying asset. Investors must also be prepared to share in both the profits and losses of an enterprise. Nevertheless, sukuk are similar to conventional bonds in that they provide regular payments, and are considered less risky than equities. Most investors would not buy sukuk directly due to high minimum subscriptions, but invest via funds.
Gulf Under 19s final
Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B
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.
Yemen's Bahais and the charges they often face
The Baha'i faith was made known in Yemen in the 19th century, first introduced by an Iranian man named Ali Muhammad Al Shirazi, considered the Herald of the Baha'i faith in 1844.
The Baha'i faith has had a growing number of followers in recent years despite persecution in Yemen and Iran.
Today, some 2,000 Baha'is reside in Yemen, according to Insaf.
"The 24 defendants represented by the House of Justice, which has intelligence outfits from the uS and the UK working to carry out an espionage scheme in Yemen under the guise of religion.. aimed to impant and found the Bahai sect on Yemeni soil by bringing foreign Bahais from abroad and homing them in Yemen," the charge sheet said.
Baha'Ullah, the founder of the Bahai faith, was exiled by the Ottoman Empire in 1868 from Iran to what is now Israel. Now, the Bahai faith's highest governing body, known as the Universal House of Justice, is based in the Israeli city of Haifa, which the Bahais turn towards during prayer.
The Houthis cite this as collective "evidence" of Bahai "links" to Israel - which the Houthis consider their enemy.
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
RESULT
Arsenal 1 Chelsea 2
Arsenal: Aubameyang (13')
Chelsea: Jorginho (83'), Abraham (87')
The%20specs
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6 UNDERGROUND
Director: Michael Bay
Stars: Ryan Reynolds, Adria Arjona, Dave Franco
2.5 / 5 stars
