The UAE return to World Cup qualifying action on Thursday when they face Iran in Tehran.
The national team are vying for one of two automatic qualifying places in their group for the World Cup, which will be staged in the United States, Canada and Mexico in 2026.
What needs to happen?
Sides in the six-team groups in Asia qualifying have so far played six of 10 matches.
The top two teams from the group qualify directly for the World Cup.
The third and fourth-placed teams still have a chance to make it, but the picture becomes more complicated if they don’t finish in the top two.
The next round
Six third and fourth-placed teams from the current phase of qualifying will be divided into two groups of three. The teams will play against each other once in a centralised venue. The winners of those groups qualify for the World Cup. Again, the runners-up are still not fully out of the running.
Intercontinental play-offs
The two runners-up in those three-team groups will compete home-and-away over two legs to determine Asia’s representatives at the inter-confederation play-offs.
That is a six-team tournament involving one team each from Africa, South America and Oceania, plus two from the federation of North America, Central America and the Caribbean.
How are the UAE doing?
Paulo Bento’s side are third in their group, three points behind Uzbekistan, and six behind their hosts on Thursday, Iran.
Three points behind them are Qatar, whom they thrashed 5-0 last time they were involved in qualifying action, back in November.
Is anyone through already?
Iran, who have the best World Cup pedigree of any of the sides in Asian qualifying third round Group A, are assured of advancing to the fourth round as a minimum.
They also seem highly likely to take one of the two automatic qualifying places, and would as good as confirm that if they beat the UAE.
Can UAE beat Iran and North Korea?
After an uplifting start to this phase of Asian qualifying, when they beat Qatar in Doha, the UAE’s campaign faltered slightly against the two sides they face in the current window.
Despite a courageous display in Al Ain five days after that win in Doha, Paulo Bento’s side lost by a lone goal to Iran.
They then underwhelmed against North Korea, and were held to a draw, also in Al Ain. Their morale was then lifted by a solid win over Kyrgyzstan and then a thrashing of Qatar.
Table
Team M W D L Pts
1. Iran 6 5 1 0 +7 16
2. Uzbekistan 6 4 1 1 +3 13
3. UAE 6 3 1 2 +8 10
4. Qatar 6 2 1 3 −7 7
5. Kyrgyzstan 6 1 0 5 −7 3
6. North Korea 6 0 2 4 −4 2
UAE results and fixtures
Qatar 1-3 UAE
UAE 0-1 Iran
UAE 1-1 North Korea
Uzbekistan 1-0 UAE
UAE 3-0 Kyrgyzstan
UAE 5-0 Qatar
Iran v UAE, Tehran, Thursday, March 20, 8pm kick off
North Korea v UAE, Riyadh, Tuesday, March 25, 10.30pm kick off
UAE v Uzbekistan, Thursday, June 5
Kyrgyzstan v UAE, Tuesday, June 10
How to watch
The matches will be shown live on BeIN Sports.
Squad
Paulo Bento named a 27-man extended squad ahead of the two matches, as follows: Khaled Essa, Hamad Al Muqbali, Khaled Tawhid, Ali Khaseif, Mohamed Al Attas, Lucas Pimenta, Kouame Autonne, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Alaeddine Zouhir, Zayed Sultan, Khaled Al Dhanhani, Marcus Meloni, Abdullah Idris, Yahia Nader, Mackenzie Hunt, Abdullah Ramadan, Tahnoon Al Zaabi, Essam Fayez, Yahya Al Ghassani, Harib Abdallah, Fabio De Lima, Jonatas Santos, Luan Pereira, Bruno Oliveira, Caio Lucas, Sultan Adil, Caio Canedo.
Rankings
ATP: 1. Novak Djokovic (SRB) 10,955 pts; 2. Rafael Nadal (ESP) 8,320; 3. Alexander Zverev (GER) 6,475 ( 1); 5. Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG) 5,060 ( 1); 6. Kevin Anderson (RSA) 4,845 ( 1); 6. Roger Federer (SUI) 4,600 (-3); 7. Kei Nishikori (JPN) 4,110 ( 2); 8. Dominic Thiem (AUT) 3,960; 9. John Isner (USA) 3,155 ( 1); 10. Marin Cilic (CRO) 3,140 (-3)
WTA: 1. Naomi Osaka (JPN) 7,030 pts ( 3); 2. Petra Kvitova (CZE) 6,290 ( 4); 3. Simona Halep (ROM) 5,582 (-2); 4. Sloane Stephens (USA) 5,307 ( 1); 5. Karolina Pliskova (CZE) 5,100 ( 3); 6. Angelique Kerber (GER) 4,965 (-4); 7. Elina Svitolina (UKR) 4,940; 8. Kiki Bertens (NED) 4,430 ( 1); 9. Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) 3,566 (-6); 10. Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) 3,485 ( 1)
Can NRIs vote in the election?
Indians residing overseas cannot cast their ballot abroad
Non-resident Indians or NRIs can vote only by going to a polling booth in their home constituency
There are about 3.1 million NRIs living overseas
Indians have urged political parties to extend the right to vote to citizens residing overseas
A committee of the Election Commission of India approved of proxy voting for non-resident Indians
Proxy voting means that a person can authorise someone residing in the same polling booth area to cast a vote on his behalf.
This option is currently available for the armed forces, police and government officials posted outside India
A bill was passed in the lower house of India’s parliament or the Lok Sabha to extend proxy voting to non-resident Indians
However, this did not come before the upper house or Rajya Sabha and has lapsed
The issue of NRI voting draws a huge amount of interest in India and overseas
Over the past few months, Indians have received messages on mobile phones and on social media claiming that NRIs can cast their votes online
The Election Commission of India then clarified that NRIs could not vote online
The Election Commission lodged a complaint with the Delhi Police asking it to clamp down on the people spreading misinformation
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League quarter-final second leg:
Juventus 1 Ajax 2
Ajax advance 3-2 on aggregate
MATCH INFO
Manchester City 2 (Mahrez 04', Ake 84')
Leicester City 5 (Vardy 37' pen, 54', 58' pen, Maddison 77', Tielemans 88' pen)
Man of the match: Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)
The specs
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Power: 220 and 280 horsepower
Torque: 350 and 360Nm
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Price: from Dh136,521 VAT and Dh166,464 VAT
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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.”
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Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
Match info
Athletic Bilbao 0
Real Madrid 1 (Ramos 73' pen)
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
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Specs
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
How does ToTok work?
The calling app is available to download on Google Play and Apple App Store
To successfully install ToTok, users are asked to enter their phone number and then create a nickname.
The app then gives users the option add their existing phone contacts, allowing them to immediately contact people also using the application by video or voice call or via message.
Users can also invite other contacts to download ToTok to allow them to make contact through the app.
The Settlers
Director: Louis Theroux
Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz
Rating: 5/5
Dubai World Cup Carnival card
6.30pm: UAE 1000 Guineas Trial Conditions (TB) US$100,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
7.05pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (Turf) 1,000m
7.40pm: Handicap (TB) $175,000 (D) 1,900m
8.15pm: Meydan Challenge Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 1,400m
8.50pm: Dubai Stakes Group 3 (TB) $200,000 (D) 1,200m
9.25pm: Dubai Racing Club Classic Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 2,410m
The National selections
6.30pm: Final Song
7.05pm: Pocket Dynamo
7.40pm: Dubai Icon
8.15pm: Dubai Legacy
8.50pm: Drafted
9.25pm: Lucius Tiberius
A general guide to how active you are:
Less than 5,000 steps - sedentary
5,000 - 9,999 steps - lightly active
10,000 - 12,500 steps - active
12,500 - highly active
