What we're loving: rice tea, blisstree.com and Eastern Mangroves Hotel


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For years I've been trying to add green tea to my "attempting to help myself repertoire", but I just never seem to be able to stomach the stuff. While I can down cup after cup of herbal ginger tea, I have been searching for a way to reap the benefits of green tea. I've finally found the answer: Numi Organic Tea's Toasted Rice brew. While the box says it is nutty and savory smooth, it just reminds me of a warm cup of toasted rice. Odd, yes, but it tastes unlike anything I've ever had - and in a good way. Now, on to my next self-improvement endeavor, yoga. The tea is available at Al Maya Supermarket in Dubai Marina and costs Dh22.75.

* Kerri Abrams

My new addiction is the health news website Blisstree.com, which delightfully curates the best of health and wellness news from the internet. I love their body-image positive messages, recipes, tips, product reviews and sleek news roundups. They also offer regular slide shows, delivering along with beautiful photography and helpful tips. Recent offerings include 10 Fall Vegetarian Pizza Recipes and 5 Ways to Trash Negative Thoughts for Fat-Talk Free Week. The information and recommendations on this website have the same feel as the kind of information best friends would share: tried, tested and well worth the effort and price.

* Ann Marie McQueen

I recently stayed at the Eastern Mangroves Hotel; Spa by Anantara in Abu Dhabi and was really impressed. Compared to many the hotel is relatively small - which I liked - and although it's located just off the highway, it feels properly removed from the hustle and bustle of the city - the views of the mangroves and lagoons certainly help in this department. Although we'd intended to simply lounge by the pool, the sight of kayakers heading off into the distance soon gave me itchy feet. I've kayaked through the mangroves before, but this session was particularly good; we set off on our 90-minute journey at 5pm and returned with aching arms just as dusk was falling- a sunset swim capped the afternoon of nicely. For more information about the Eastern Mangroves Hotel & Spa by Anantara and their Activity and Spa Escape Package see: abu-dhabi.anantara.com.

* Emily Shardlow

Prep your hair while your slumber - an interesting concept indeed. The velcro rollers are designed to flatten like a sponge when you lie down, allowing you a peaceful night's sleep all while giving you voluminous, bouncy hair. The sleep-in-rollers come inside a complimentary pink drawstring bag containing two packs of ten jumbo rollers that are rather large in diameter, with small bristles that attach to the head - make sure to use a hair pin to fasten them into place. The big question is, can you feel them when you sleep? Well yes, a little, but not enough to call uncomfortable and they are extremely easy to gently pull out when you waken. A must for anyone that longs for big hair without the fuss. The rollers come in sets of 20 for Dh160, with gift sets including 20 rollers, a bun ring and diamante tail comb priced at Dh550.

*Katie Trotter

 

Rock in a Hard Place: Music and Mayhem in the Middle East
Orlando Crowcroft
Zed Books

Slow loris biog

From: Lonely Loris is a Sunda slow loris, one of nine species of the animal native to Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore

Status: Critically endangered, and listed as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature red list due to growing demand in the global exotic pet trade. It is one of the most popular primate species found at Indonesian pet markets

Likes: Sleeping, which they do for up to 18 hours a day. When they are awake, they like to eat fruit, insects, small birds and reptiles and some types of vegetation

Dislikes: Sunlight. Being a nocturnal animal, the slow loris wakes around sunset and is active throughout the night

Superpowers: His dangerous elbows. The slow loris’s doe eyes may make it look cute, but it is also deadly. The only known venomous primate, it hisses and clasps its paws and can produce a venom from its elbow that can cause anaphylactic shock and even death in humans

The major Hashd factions linked to Iran:

Badr Organisation: Seen as the most militarily capable faction in the Hashd. Iraqi Shiite exiles opposed to Saddam Hussein set up the group in Tehran in the early 1980s as the Badr Corps under the supervision of the Iran Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). The militia exalts Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei but intermittently cooperated with the US military.

Saraya Al Salam (Peace Brigade): Comprised of former members of the officially defunct Mahdi Army, a militia that was commanded by Iraqi cleric Moqtada Al Sadr and fought US and Iraqi government and other forces between 2004 and 2008. As part of a political overhaul aimed as casting Mr Al Sadr as a more nationalist and less sectarian figure, the cleric formed Saraya Al Salam in 2014. The group’s relations with Iran has been volatile.

Kataeb Hezbollah: The group, which is fighting on behalf of the Bashar Al Assad government in Syria, traces its origins to attacks on US forces in Iraq in 2004 and adopts a tough stance against Washington, calling the United States “the enemy of humanity”.

Asaeb Ahl Al Haq: An offshoot of the Mahdi Army active in Syria. Asaeb Ahl Al Haq’s leader Qais al Khazali was a student of Mr Al Moqtada’s late father Mohammed Sadeq Al Sadr, a prominent Shiite cleric who was killed during Saddam Hussein’s rule.

Harakat Hezbollah Al Nujaba: Formed in 2013 to fight alongside Mr Al Assad’s loyalists in Syria before joining the Hashd. The group is seen as among the most ideological and sectarian-driven Hashd militias in Syria and is the major recruiter of foreign fighters to Syria.

Saraya Al Khorasani:  The ICRG formed Saraya Al Khorasani in the mid-1990s and the group is seen as the most ideologically attached to Iran among Tehran’s satellites in Iraq.

(Source: The Wilson Centre, the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation)

What vitamins do we know are beneficial for living in the UAE

Vitamin D: Highly relevant in the UAE due to limited sun exposure; supports bone health, immunity and mood.Vitamin B12: Important for nerve health and energy production, especially for vegetarians, vegans and individuals with absorption issues.Iron: Useful only when deficiency or anaemia is confirmed; helps reduce fatigue and support immunity.Omega-3 (EPA/DHA): Supports heart health and reduces inflammation, especially for those who consume little fish.

ARSENAL IN 1977

Feb 05 Arsenal 0-0 Sunderland

Feb 12 Manchester City 1-0 Arsenal

Feb 15 Middlesbrough 3-0 Arsenal

Feb 19 Arsenal 2-3 West Ham

Feb 26 Middlesbrough 4-1 Arsenal (FA Cup)

Mar 01 Everton 2-1 Arsenal

Mar 05  Arsenal 1-4 ipswich

March 08 Arsenal 1-2 West Brom

Mar 12 QPR 2-1 Arsenal

Mar 23 Stoke 1-1 Arsenal

Apr 02  Arsenal 3-0 Leicester

The%20specs
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World record transfers

1. Kylian Mbappe - to Real Madrid in 2017/18 - €180 million (Dh770.4m - if a deal goes through)
2. Paul Pogba - to Manchester United in 2016/17 - €105m
3. Gareth Bale - to Real Madrid in 2013/14 - €101m
4. Cristiano Ronaldo - to Real Madrid in 2009/10 - €94m
5. Gonzalo Higuain - to Juventus in 2016/17 - €90m
6. Neymar - to Barcelona in 2013/14 - €88.2m
7. Romelu Lukaku - to Manchester United in 2017/18 - €84.7m
8. Luis Suarez - to Barcelona in 2014/15 - €81.72m
9. Angel di Maria - to Manchester United in 2014/15 - €75m
10. James Rodriguez - to Real Madrid in 2014/15 - €75m

While you're here
LIVERPOOL%20TOP%20SCORERS
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Third Test

Day 3, stumps

India 443-7 (d) & 54-5 (27 ov)
Australia 151

India lead by 346 runs with 5 wickets remaining