Real Madrid and France forward Karim Benzema has won his first Ballon d’Or.
Benzema beat Bayern Munich’s Sadio Mane to the men’s top prize, with Manchester City playmaker Kevin De Bruyne in third place.
In the women’s award, England forward Beth Mead had to settle for runner-up as Barcelona and Spain midfielder Alexia Putellas won the trophy for the second successive year.
Benzema, 34, helped Los Blancos win the Champions League, defeating Liverpool in the final, to add to their La Liga success in 2021-22. He scored 44 goals in 46 games across all competitions.
After being presented with the award at a gala ceremony in Paris by Zinedine Zidane, the last Frenchman to win the accolade, in 1998, Benzema said: “Seeing this prize in front of me makes me really proud.
“It was a childhood dream for me and all the work I have done, I never gave up. I am really proud of my journey here.
“It was not easy, it was a difficult time and also for my family as well. When I was not in the France team I never stopped working hard.
“To be standing here today for the first time, I am happy for my work and will keep going.”
Putellas, 28, suffered a knee injury ahead of the start of Euro 2022, where Arsenal striker Mead went on to be top scorer and was named player of the tournament as the Lionesses soared to victory on home soil when they beat Germany in the final at Wembley.
“I’m very happy to be back here and pleased because a year ago I was able to win this prize and it pushed me to want to be even better,” said Putellas, who guided Barcelona to a domestic treble in the 2021-22 campaign.
“Injuring my knee in July, I did not think it would be possible [to win this award].”
Chelsea’s Australia striker Sam Kerr finished in third place for the second year running.
England Euro 2022 winners Lucy Bronze and Millie Bright had also been nominated for the women’s prize, ranking 10th and 15th respectively in the France Football poll.
De Bruyne became the first Manchester City player to be shortlisted to the final three of the award.
“I have been nominated quite a few times now, so it means you have been doing well consistently,” the Belgian said.
“To be recognised as a player is always nice. If you are in that list, then it means a lot and after all it is the people’s opinion.”
Robert Lewandowski, who again collected the Gerd Muller trophy for the best striker, finished fourth.
The Poland forward joined Barcelona from Bayern Munich during the summer having scored 50 goals last season for the Bundesliga giants.
Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah placed fifth, with Paris Saint-Germain and France forward Kylian Mbappe in sixth place.
Norway forward Erling Haaland, who joined Manchester City from Borussia Dortmund during the summer and has made a superb start to the new campaign with 20 goals so far, was ranked in 10th overall.
Five-time winner Cristiano Ronaldo finished in 20th place, one ahead of Tottenham forward Harry Kane, with the England captain’s Spurs teammate Son Heung-min 11th.
Last year’s winner, Lionel Messi, did not make the 30-man shortlist after his tough debut season with PSG.
The Yashin Trophy for the best goalkeeper went to Real Madrid’s Thibaut Courtois, who was named man of the match in the Champions League final and also placed seventh in the overall rankings.
The Socrates Award, named after Brazil’s 1982 World Cup captain, for the best social initiatives within the game went to Mane, who has helped to build hospitals and a school in his homeland Senegal.
The Kopa Trophy for the best performing player under 21 went to Barcelona’s Gavi, with England and Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham having also made the final shortlist.
Manchester City were voted club of the year, and chief executive Ferran Soriano said: “This award is recognition of the hard work and dedication found in every department of our organisation.”
Easter%20Sunday
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Past winners of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
2016 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
2015 Nico Rosberg (Mercedes-GP)
2014 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
2013 Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing)
2012 Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus)
2011 Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)
2010 Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing)
2009 Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing)
'The Ice Road'
Director: Jonathan Hensleigh
Stars: Liam Neeson, Amber Midthunder, Laurence Fishburne
2/5
Pox that threatens the Middle East's native species
Camelpox
Caused by a virus related to the one that causes human smallpox, camelpox typically causes fever, swelling of lymph nodes and skin lesions in camels aged over three, but the animal usually recovers after a month or so. Younger animals may develop a more acute form that causes internal lesions and diarrhoea, and is often fatal, especially when secondary infections result. It is found across the Middle East as well as in parts of Asia, Africa, Russia and India.
Falconpox
Falconpox can cause a variety of types of lesions, which can affect, for example, the eyelids, feet and the areas above and below the beak. It is a problem among captive falcons and is one of many types of avian pox or avipox diseases that together affect dozens of bird species across the world. Among the other forms are pigeonpox, turkeypox, starlingpox and canarypox. Avipox viruses are spread by mosquitoes and direct bird-to-bird contact.
Houbarapox
Houbarapox is, like falconpox, one of the many forms of avipox diseases. It exists in various forms, with a type that causes skin lesions being least likely to result in death. Other forms cause more severe lesions, including internal lesions, and are more likely to kill the bird, often because secondary infections develop. This summer the CVRL reported an outbreak of pox in houbaras after rains in spring led to an increase in mosquito numbers.
The specs
Engine: 5.0-litre supercharged V8
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Power: 575bhp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: Dh554,000
On sale: now
Company%20Profile
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Racecard
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England Test squad
Joe Root (captain), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow (wicketkeeper), Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Alastair Cook, Sam Curran, Keaton Jennings, Dawid Malan, Jamie Porter, Adil Rashid, Ben Stokes.
UK%20record%20temperature
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Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
SUNDAY'S ABU DHABI T10 MATCHES
Northern Warriors v Team Abu Dhabi, 3.30pm
Bangla Tigers v Karnataka Tuskers, 5.45pm
Qalandars v Maratha Arabians, 8pm
SPECS
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65
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Avengers: Endgame
Directors: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Josh Brolin
4/5 stars
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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.”
WORLD'S%2010%20HIGHEST%20MOUNTAINS
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The%20specs
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