The Tokyo Olympics is under way and we witnessed some incredible performances on the opening day of the Games.
The action continues in Japan on Sunday. Below are the pick of the athletes in action from the Mena region. The athletes who were in action on the first day can be seen here.
Artistic Gymnastics
Ariake Gymnastics Centre
Egyptians Zeina Sharaf and Mandy Mohamed will be on the Balance Beam in the evening session.
Badminton (women’s, men’s, mixed doubles and singles)
Musashino Forest Sport Plaza
Another busy day today in Chofu, as the badminton continues with morning and evening Group Play stages.
Israel’s Ksenia Polikarpova is facing the hugely popular PV Sindhu (ranked seventh in the world) from India. Egyptian Doha Hany is going to see if she can cause an upset, taking on world No2, China’s Yu Fei Chen.
Hany is then back in the action in the first game of the evening session with Adham Hatem Elgamal as they take on South Korea’s YuJung Chae and Seungjae Seo - in the mixed doubles. The Korean pair are ranked sixth in the world.
Basketball (men’s)
Saitama Super Arena
Iran will be pitted against the Czech Republic in the opening game of basketball, as men’s preliminary rounds get underway. This is Iran’s third ever appearance at the games and the first since Beijing 2008.
Beach Volleyball (women’s and men’s)
Shiokaze Park
Two Mena teams will be in action during the afternoon session. Morocco’s Mohammed Abicha and Zouheir Elgraoui take on the world ranked 5, Polish pairing, Michal Bryl and Grzegorz Fijalek. This is followed immediately by Qatari double Younousse Cherif and Tijan Ahmed (ranked 13) who are facing the Swiss Adrian Heidrich and Mirco Gerson.
Boxing - various preliminaries
Kokugican Arena
A lot of Mena talent to look out for on day two of boxing. In the morning session we will see 2019 African Games gold medalist Roumaysa Boulalam of Algeria against Jutamas Jitpong of Thailand in the women’s fly (48-51kg).
Then, another gold medalist from the 2019 African Games, Abdelhaq Nadir from Morocco will be fighting Mauritian Louis Richarno Colin in the men’s light (57-63kg) class.
In the evening session look out for Jordan’s Obada Mohammad Alkasbeh and Odai Riyad Adel Alhindawi in the men’s light and light heavy classes respectively.
Canoe Slalom
Kasai Canoe Slalom Centre
Celia Jodar, representing Morocco, will be having her first and second run in the women’s kayak.
Road Cycling - women’s road race
Fuji International Speedway
Hot favourite to win is Dutchwoman Anna van der Breggen, however we will be keeping an eye on Israel’s Omer Shapira, the only woman racing from the region, wearing bib number 54.
Equestrian - dressage individual
Equestrian Park
Look out for Morocco’s Yessin Rahmouni riding ‘All At Once’ in the men’s dressage individual grand prix.
Football - men’s
Various locations
Having held Spain to a goalless draw, Egypt’s men will be hoping to pick up at least another point against Copa America 2021 champions, Argentina.
Saudi Arabia will be hoping they can bounce back after their 2-1 defeat to Cote d’Ivoire on Thursday when they take on Germany.
Rowing
Sea Forest Waterway
Having successfully progressed in the repechage, Saudi Arabia’s Husein Alireza will be rowing in the quarter-finals of the men’s single sculls, as will Mohammed Al Khafaji from Iraq.
In the semi-finals of the men’s single sculls, Alhussein Ghambour from Libya and Abdulrahman Alfadhel from Kuwait will be competing in the same race.
Meanwhile in the women’s single sculls, Qatar’s Tala Abujara, Sudan’s Esra Khogali and Sarah Fraincart from Morocco will all be pushing for their place in the finals.
Sailing
Enoshima and Kamakura
Israel’s Katy Spychakov is looking good for a medal in the RS:X windsurfing. Meanwhile countryman, and former youth sailing world champion, Yoav Cohen will be hoping to cause an upset this year. Look out too for 2017 African Championship gold medalist Hamza Bouras.
Shooting
Asaka Shooting/ Shotgun ranges
The UAE’s Saif Bin Futais will be among the field in the men’s skeet. He and Egypt’s Azmy Mehelba will be looking for at least a top 10 finish.
Swimming
Tokyo Aquatics Centre
A lot happening in the pool on day 2, medals will be up for grabs in the women’s 400m individual medley, 400m individual medley, and 4 x 100m freestyle relay as well as the men’s 400m freestyle.
There are also the opening heats for various events. Look out for Libya’s Audai Hassouna and Yemen’s Mokhtar Al-Yamani in the men’s 200m freestyle.
Surfing
Tsurigasaki Surfing Beach
Moroccan Ramzi Boukhaim and Anat Lelior from Israel are the two representatives from the region hitting the waves in the first ever Olympic surfing competition.
Table tennis
Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium
Egypt’s Dina Meshref and Ahmed Saleh have made it through to the second round of table tennis.
Taekwondo
Makuhari Messe
There are several competitors from the region competing in the women’s -57kg and men’s -68kg weight classes. The day will open with Iranian born Rio 2016 bronze medalist Kimia Alizadeh Zenoorin representing the Refugee Olympic Team who has been drawn against her compatriot Nahid Kiyani Chandeh who will be representing Iran in a qualification contest.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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
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
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Innotech Profile
Date started: 2013
Founder/CEO: Othman Al Mandhari
Based: Muscat, Oman
Sector: Additive manufacturing, 3D printing technologies
Size: 15 full-time employees
Stage: Seed stage and seeking Series A round of financing
Investors: Oman Technology Fund from 2017 to 2019, exited through an agreement with a new investor to secure new funding that it under negotiation right now.
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Jetour T1 specs
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Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
What are the main cyber security threats?
Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
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What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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Guide to intelligent investing
Investing success often hinges on discipline and perspective. As markets fluctuate, remember these guiding principles:
- Stay invested: Time in the market, not timing the market, is critical to long-term gains.
- Rational thinking: Breathe and avoid emotional decision-making; let logic and planning guide your actions.
- Strategic patience: Understand why you’re investing and allow time for your strategies to unfold.
The specs
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