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The fortunes of Russia’s super-rich have tumbled by $32 billion this year, with the escalating conflict in Ukraine poised to make that wealth destruction much larger.
US President Joe Biden on Tuesday unleashed sanctions targeting Russia’s sale of sovereign debt abroad and the country’s elites, and said he is sending an unspecified number of additional troops to the Baltic in a move to defend Nato countries.
Gennady Timchenko heads the list of Russian billionaires who have seen their fortunes drop, with almost a third of his wealth disappearing this year, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a listing of the world’s 500 richest people.
The son of a Soviet military officer, Mr Timchenko, 69, who met and befriended Russian President Vladimir Putin during the early 1990s, now has a fortune of about $16bn, with the bulk of his wealth derived from a stake in Russian gas producer Novatek, according to Bloomberg’s wealth index.
Fellow Novatek shareholder Leonid Mikhelson’s fortune has tumbled $6.2bn this year, while Lukoil chairman Vagit Alekperov’s net worth has declined by about $3.5bn in the same period. The energy company’s stock has slid by about 17 per cent.
The country’s 23 billionaires currently have a cumulative net worth of $343bn, according to the wealth list, down from $375bn at the end of 2021.
Markets slumped further this week after Mr Putin recognised two separatist republics in Ukraine, leading Germany to suspend the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline with Russia and the UK to impose sanctions on five of the country’s banks and three of its wealthy individuals, including Mr Timchenko.
Also on the UK’s sanctions list are Boris Rotenberg, 65, and his nephew, Igor, 48, whose families made their fortune through gas-pipeline construction company Stroygazmontazh.
Igor’s father, Arkady, one of Mr Putin’s former judo sparring partners, sold the pipeline company in 2019 for about $1.3bn. He purchased a minority stake from his younger brother, Boris, five years earlier when both siblings and Mr Timchenko were hit with US sanctions over Russia’s annexation of Crimea.
Additionally, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday that he would not meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov this week because it “does not make sense” given Russia’s moves in Ukraine.
Key findings
- Over a period of seven years, a team of scientists analysed dietary data from 50,000 North American adults.
- Eating one or two meals a day was associated with a relative decrease in BMI, compared with three meals. Snacks count as a meal. Likewise, participants who ate more than three meals a day experienced an increase in BMI: the more meals a day, the greater the increase.
- People who ate breakfast experienced a relative decrease in their BMI compared with “breakfast-skippers”.
- Those who turned the eating day on its head to make breakfast the biggest meal of the day, did even better.
- But scrapping dinner altogether gave the best results. The study found that the BMI of subjects who had a long overnight fast (of 18 hours or more) decreased when compared even with those who had a medium overnight fast, of between 12 and 17 hours.
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Brief scores:
Scotland 371-5, 50 overs (C MacLeod 140 no, K Coetzer 58, G Munsey 55)
England 365 all out, 48.5 overs (J Bairstow 105, A Hales 52; M Watt 3-55)
Result: Scotland won by six runs
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South Africa v India schedule
Tests: 1st Test Jan 5-9, Cape Town; 2nd Test Jan 13-17, Centurion; 3rd Test Jan 24-28, Johannesburg
ODIs: 1st ODI Feb 1, Durban; 2nd ODI Feb 4, Centurion; 3rd ODI Feb 7, Cape Town; 4th ODI Feb 10, Johannesburg; 5th ODI Feb 13, Port Elizabeth; 6th ODI Feb 16, Centurion
T20Is: 1st T20I Feb 18, Johannesburg; 2nd T20I Feb 21, Centurion; 3rd T20I Feb 24, Cape Town
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Squads
Pakistan: Sarfaraz Ahmed (c), Babar Azam (vc), Abid Ali, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail, Mohammad Hasnain, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Shadab Khan, Usman Shinwari, Wahab Riaz
Sri Lanka: Lahiru Thirimanne (c), Danushka Gunathilaka, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Avishka Fernando, Oshada Fernando, Shehan Jayasuriya, Dasun Shanaka, Minod Bhanuka, Angelo Perera, Wanindu Hasaranga, Lakshan Sandakan, Nuwan Pradeep, Isuru Udana, Kasun Rajitha, Lahiru Kumara
Test series fixtures
(All matches start at 2pm UAE)
1st Test Lord's, London from Thursday to Monday
2nd Test Nottingham from July 14-18
3rd Test The Oval, London from July 27-31
4th Test Manchester from August 4-8
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if you go
The flights
Emirates flies to Delhi with fares starting from around Dh760 return, while Etihad fares cost about Dh783 return. From Delhi, there are connecting flights to Lucknow.
Where to stay
It is advisable to stay in Lucknow and make a day trip to Kannauj. A stay at the Lebua Lucknow hotel, a traditional Lucknowi mansion, is recommended. Prices start from Dh300 per night (excluding taxes).
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