The DP World International League T20 will start on Friday, January 13, when Dubai Capitals face Abu Dhabi Knight Riders at the Dubai International Stadium.
The new competition is the first UAE-owned T20 franchise league involving leading international players – as well as some locally-based ones.
It will be played over the next four weeks across Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi, with the final to be played on February 12.
What is it?
The ILT20 has six franchise teams, comprising 84 International and 24 UAE-based players, and a 34-match season.
The opening fixture will be preceded by a performance from Badshah, the Indian rap artist, and RnB star Jason Derulo.
Who are the teams?
The opening fixture pits together two sides that are sister teams of IPL franchises – Delhi Capitals and Kolkata Knight Riders.
A third side, MI Emirates, is also affiliated to an IPL side – namely, Mumbai Indians.
The other three teams involved – Sharjah Warriors, Gulf Giants, and Desert Vipers – are independently-owned start-ups.
The Vipers are owned by Lancer Capital, whose portfolio of sports teams also includes Manchester United.
Who is playing?
A number of T20 World Cup winners – such as Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Evin Lewis and Sunil Narine – will be involved, while Marcus Stoinis is set to join at the conclusion of Australia’s Big Bash League.
The leading stars from India and Pakistan are absent, but Robin Uthappa and Yusuf Pathan are part of the Dubai Capitals squad.
What UAE players are involved?
Each squad includes four UAE players, with two guaranteed a place in the starting XI for each fixture.
Leading lights of the national team such as Muhammed Waseem, Vriitya Aravind and Karthik Meiyappan, will likely be vying for a starting berth.
Promising young talents such as Ali Naseer, Ronak Panoly and Aayan Khan will also be pushing for places.
Television
Matches will be screened live on CricLife in UAE and the Mena region.
Tickets
Tickets are available at https://dubai.platinumlist.net/ilt20/
Squads
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders
Sunil Narine (captain), Andre Russell, Connor Esterhuizen, Lahiru Kumara, Charith Asalanka, Colin Ingram, Akeal Hosein, Paul Stirling, Zawar Farid, Kennar Lewis, Sabir Ali, Ali Khan, Brandon Glover, Ravi Rampaul, Raymon Reifer, Fahad Nawaz, Matiullah, Dananjaya de Silva, Marchant de Lange, Traveen Mathew
Desert Vipers
Colin Munro (captain), Wanindu Hasaranga, Alex Hales, Tom Curran, Sam Billings, Tymal Mills, Matheesh Pathirana, Sherfane Rutherford, Rohan Mustafa, Shiraz Ahmed, Sheldon Cottrell, Ali Naseer, Adam Lyth, Dinesh Chandimal, Benny Howell, Mark Watt, Ruben Trumpelmann, Ronak Panoly, Jake Lintott, Gus Atkinson
Dubai Capitals
Rovman Powell (captain), Dasun Shanaka, Fabian Allen, Mujeeb Rahman, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Chamika Karunaratne, Isuru Udana, Sikandar Raza, Hazratullah Zazai, Chirag Suri, Daniel Lawrence, Jash Giyanani, Niroshan Dickwella, Fred Klaassen, George Munsey, Hazrat Khan, Akif Raja, Joe Root, Robin Uthappa, Ravi Bopara, Yusuf Pathan, Ollie White
Gulf Giants
James Vince (captain), Shimron Hetmyer, Chris Jordan, Chris Lynn, Dominic Drakes, Jamie Overton, Liam Dawson, Ollie Pope, Ashwant Valthapa, CP Rizwan, Sanchit Sharma, Aayan Khan, Qais Ahmed, Richard Gleeson, David Wiese, Rehan Ahmed, Tom Banton, Tom Helm, Gerhard Erasmus
MI Emirates
Kieron Pollard (captain), Dwayne Bravo, Trent Boult, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Nicholas Pooran, Imran Tahir, Will Smeed, Jordan Thompson, Zahir Khan, Muhammad Waseem, Samit Patel, Zahoor Khan, Brad Wheal, Bas de Leede, Andre Fletcher, Najibullah Zadran, Vriitya Aravind, Basil Hameed, Craig Overton, Tom Lammonby, Lorcan Tucker, Daniel Mouseley, McKenny Clarke
Sharjah Warriors
Moeen Ali (captain), Evin Lewis, Chris Woakes, Mohammed Nabi, Dawid Malan, Marcus Stoinis, Chris Benjamin, Joe Denly, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Karthik Meiyappan, Naveen-ul-Haq, Junaid Siddique, Noor Ahmed, Bilal Khan, Mark Deyal, Alishan Sharafu, Mohammed Jawad Ullah, Jamal Todd
Schedule
If you go
Flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh with a stop in Yangon from Dh3,075, and Etihad flies from Abu Dhabi to Phnom Penh with its partner Bangkok Airlines from Dh2,763. These trips take about nine hours each and both include taxes. From there, a road transfer takes at least four hours; airlines including KC Airlines (www.kcairlines.com) offer quick connecting flights from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville from about $100 (Dh367) return including taxes. Air Asia, Malindo Air and Malaysian Airlines fly direct from Kuala Lumpur to Sihanoukville from $54 each way. Next year, direct flights are due to launch between Bangkok and Sihanoukville, which will cut the journey time by a third.
The stay
Rooms at Alila Villas Koh Russey (www.alilahotels.com/ kohrussey) cost from $385 per night including taxes.
Dubai World Cup factbox
Most wins by a trainer: Godolphin’s Saeed bin Suroor(9)
Most wins by a jockey: Jerry Bailey(4)
Most wins by an owner: Godolphin(9)
Most wins by a horse: Godolphin’s Thunder Snow(2)
Wenger's Arsenal reign in numbers
1,228 - games at the helm, ahead of Sunday's Premier League fixture against West Ham United.
704 - wins to date as Arsenal manager.
3 - Premier League title wins, the last during an unbeaten Invincibles campaign of 2003/04.
1,549 - goals scored in Premier League matches by Wenger's teams.
10 - major trophies won.
473 - Premier League victories.
7 - FA Cup triumphs, with three of those having come the last four seasons.
151 - Premier League losses.
21 - full seasons in charge.
49 - games unbeaten in the Premier League from May 2003 to October 2004.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
LILO & STITCH
Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
'Panga'
Directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Starring Kangana Ranaut, Richa Chadha, Jassie Gill, Yagya Bhasin, Neena Gupta
Rating: 3.5/5
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
Company profile
Company: Rent Your Wardrobe
Date started: May 2021
Founder: Mamta Arora
Based: Dubai
Sector: Clothes rental subscription
Stage: Bootstrapped, self-funded
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Pediculus humanus capitis are tiny wingless insects that feed on blood from the human scalp. The adult head louse is up to 3mm long, has six legs, and is tan to greyish-white in colour. The female lives up to four weeks and, once mature, can lay up to 10 eggs per day. These tiny nits firmly attach to the base of the hair shaft, get incubated by body heat and hatch in eight days or so.
Identifying lice
Lice can be identified by itching or a tickling sensation of something moving within the hair. One can confirm that a person has lice by looking closely through the hair and scalp for nits, nymphs or lice. Head lice are most frequently located behind the ears and near the neckline.
Treating lice at home
Head lice must be treated as soon as they are spotted. Start by checking everyone in the family for them, then follow these steps. Remove and wash all clothing and bedding with hot water. Apply medicine according to the label instructions. If some live lice are still found eight to 12 hours after treatment, but are moving more slowly than before, do not re-treat. Comb dead and remaining live lice out of the hair using a fine-toothed comb.
After the initial treatment, check for, comb and remove nits and lice from hair every two to three days. Soak combs and brushes in hot water for 10 minutes.Vacuum the floor and furniture, particularly where the infested person sat or lay.
Courtesy Dr Vishal Rajmal Mehta, specialist paediatrics, RAK Hospital
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Four tips to secure IoT networks
Mohammed Abukhater, vice president at FireEye in the Middle East, said:
- Keep device software up-to-date. Most come with basic operating system, so users should ensure that they always have the latest version
- Besides a strong password, use two-step authentication. There should be a second log-in step like adding a code sent to your mobile number
- Usually smart devices come with many unnecessary features. Users should lock those features that are not required or used frequently
- Always create a different guest network for visitors
