• (FILES) In this file photo taken on July 27, 2021 USA's Simone Biles reacts during the artistic gymnastics women's team final during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Ariake Gymnastics Centre in Tokyo on July 27, 2021. - Simone Biles withdrew from another Olympic final on August 1, 2021. (Photo by Loic VENANCE / AFP)
    (FILES) In this file photo taken on July 27, 2021 USA's Simone Biles reacts during the artistic gymnastics women's team final during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Ariake Gymnastics Centre in Tokyo on July 27, 2021. - Simone Biles withdrew from another Olympic final on August 1, 2021. (Photo by Loic VENANCE / AFP)
  • USA's Simone Biles gestures during the artistic gymnastics women's team final during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Ariake Gymnastics Centre in Tokyo on July 27, 2021. Biles withdrew from another Olympic final on Sunday.
    USA's Simone Biles gestures during the artistic gymnastics women's team final during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Ariake Gymnastics Centre in Tokyo on July 27, 2021. Biles withdrew from another Olympic final on Sunday.
  • In this file photo taken on July 25, 2021 USA's Simone Biles competes in the floor event of the artistic gymnastic women's qualification during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
    In this file photo taken on July 25, 2021 USA's Simone Biles competes in the floor event of the artistic gymnastic women's qualification during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
  • Simone Biles withdrew from another Olympic final on Sunday.
    Simone Biles withdrew from another Olympic final on Sunday.
  • USA's Simone Biles waves after the artistic gymnastics women's all-around final during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Ariake Gymnastics Centre in Tokyo.
    USA's Simone Biles waves after the artistic gymnastics women's all-around final during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Ariake Gymnastics Centre in Tokyo.
  • Simone Biles of the United States watches from the stands.
    Simone Biles of the United States watches from the stands.
  • USA's Simone Biles applauds as she attends the artistic gymnastics women's all-around final during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
    USA's Simone Biles applauds as she attends the artistic gymnastics women's all-around final during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
  • From left: Riley McCusker, Jordan Chiles, Simone Biles, and Mykayla Skinner of Team United States, cheer after Sunisa Lee (not pictured) as she won the gold medal in the Women's All-Around Final on day six of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
    From left: Riley McCusker, Jordan Chiles, Simone Biles, and Mykayla Skinner of Team United States, cheer after Sunisa Lee (not pictured) as she won the gold medal in the Women's All-Around Final on day six of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
  • Simone Biles, of the United States, watches the performance of teammate Jade Carey on the uneven bars during the artistic gymnastics women's all-around final.
    Simone Biles, of the United States, watches the performance of teammate Jade Carey on the uneven bars during the artistic gymnastics women's all-around final.
  • Jordan Chiles, Simone Biles, and Mykayla Skinner of Team United States, look on during the Women's All-Around Final.
    Jordan Chiles, Simone Biles, and Mykayla Skinner of Team United States, look on during the Women's All-Around Final.
  • Simone Biles of the United States wearing a protective face mask.
    Simone Biles of the United States wearing a protective face mask.
  • Simone Biles and MyKayla Skinner of Team United States watch the Men's All-Around Final on day five of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
    Simone Biles and MyKayla Skinner of Team United States watch the Men's All-Around Final on day five of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Simone Biles withdraws from fifth Olympic final with decision pending on last shot at gold


Steve Luckings
  • English
  • Arabic

Simone Biles has withdrawn from Monday's Olympic floor final, USA Gymnastics confirmed, leaving the American with just one more shot at individual gold at the Tokyo Games.

Biles, the four-time Olympic champion widely considered to have elevated the sport to new heights, has said she is struggling with mental health issues and wants to focus on her mental and physical wellbeing.

USAG confirmed Biles' withdrawal on Sunday and said there was no decision on whether the 24-year-old Texan would take part in the beam final.

"Simone has withdrawn from the event final for floor and will make a decision on beam later this week. Either way, we're all behind you, Simone," USAG tweeted.

Biles arrived in Tokyo already regarded as one of the sport's all-time greats and targeting a record haul of six gold medals, including beating the mark of five individual golds at a single Olympics by a woman gymnast.

She dramatically withdrew during her first event, the women's team competition, last Tuesday, after one vault, saying she needed to focus on her mental health.

Biles then skipped her all-around title defence and on Saturday it was announced she was dropping the vault and uneven bars after consulting with medics. She has confessed to struggling to overcome a severe bout of the "twisties", a condition where gymnasts lose the ability to orientate themselves in mid-air.

It's honestly petrifying trying to do a skill but not having your mind & body in sync

"It's honestly petrifying trying to do a skill but not having your mind & body in sync," Biles wrote on Instagram on Friday, adding that while usually she only suffered from the condition on floor and vault, they were now hitting her on everything.

"It's never transferred to bars & beam before for me, it strictly likes floor and vault. Go figure, the scariest two.

"But this time it's on literally every event. Which sucks... really bad."

Biles has been remarkably candid about her struggles with mental health during the Games in regular posts on her social media accounts and has received widespread support from fellow athletes and celebrities.

  • US coach Laurent Landi comforts Simone Biles after she exited the team final at the Tokyo Games on Tuesday, July 27, 2021.
    US coach Laurent Landi comforts Simone Biles after she exited the team final at the Tokyo Games on Tuesday, July 27, 2021.
  • Jordan Chiles, Sunisa Lee, and Simone Biles of Team United States cheer as they head to floor exercise during the women's team final.
    Jordan Chiles, Sunisa Lee, and Simone Biles of Team United States cheer as they head to floor exercise during the women's team final.
  • Simone Biles of Team United States is embraced by coach Cecile Landi.
    Simone Biles of Team United States is embraced by coach Cecile Landi.
  • USA's Simone Biles is seen prior to the vault event of the artistic gymnastics women's team final.
    USA's Simone Biles is seen prior to the vault event of the artistic gymnastics women's team final.
  • USA's Simone Biles talks to teammates during the artistic gymnastics women's team final.
    USA's Simone Biles talks to teammates during the artistic gymnastics women's team final.
  • USA's Simone Biles and teammates react during the vault event of the artistic gymnastics women's team final.
    USA's Simone Biles and teammates react during the vault event of the artistic gymnastics women's team final.
  • Simone Biles of Team United States stumbles upon landing after competing in vault during the women's team final.
    Simone Biles of Team United States stumbles upon landing after competing in vault during the women's team final.
  • USA's Simone Biles speaks with her teammates during the artistic gymnastics women's team final.
    USA's Simone Biles speaks with her teammates during the artistic gymnastics women's team final.

The Florida Project

Director: Sean Baker

Starring: Bria Vinaite, Brooklynn Prince, Willem Dafoe

Four stars

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
Six large-scale objects on show
  • Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
  • The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
  • A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
  • Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
  • A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
  • Torrijos Palace dome
Evacuations to France hit by controversy
  • Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
  • Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
  • The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
  • Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
  • It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
  • Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
  • Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
The specs
  • Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
  • Power: 640hp
  • Torque: 760nm
  • On sale: 2026
  • Price: Not announced yet
SPEC%20SHEET
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The Greatest Royal Rumble card as it stands

50-man Royal Rumble

Universal Championship Brock Lesnar (champion) v Roman Reigns in a steel cage match

Intercontinental Championship Seth Rollins (champion) v The Miz v Finn Balor v Samoa Joe

SmackDown Tag Team Championship The Bludgeon Brothers (champions) v The Usos

Casket match The Undertaker v Chris Jericho

John Cena v Triple H

Matches to be announced

WWE World Heavyweight Championship, Raw Tag Team Championship, United States Championship and the Cruiserweight Championship are all due to be defended

TOP%2010%20MOST%20POLLUTED%20CITIES
%3Cp%3E1.%20Bhiwadi%2C%20India%0D%3Cbr%3E2.%20Ghaziabad%2C%20India%0D%3Cbr%3E3.%20Hotan%2C%20China%0D%3Cbr%3E4.%20Delhi%2C%20India%0D%3Cbr%3E5.%20Jaunpur%2C%20India%0D%3Cbr%3E6.%20Faisalabad%2C%20Pakistan%0D%3Cbr%3E7.%20Noida%2C%20India%0D%3Cbr%3E8.%20Bahawalpur%2C%20Pakistan%0D%3Cbr%3E9.%20Peshawar%2C%20Pakistan%0D%3Cbr%3E10.%20Bagpat%2C%20India%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cem%3ESource%3A%20IQAir%3C%2Fem%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The Sand Castle

Director: Matty Brown

Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea

Rating: 2.5/5

Company Profile

Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million

The 15 players selected

Muzzamil Afridi, Rahman Gul, Rizwan Haider (Dezo Devils); Shahbaz Ahmed, Suneth Sampath (Glory Gladiators); Waqas Gohar, Jamshaid Butt, Shadab Ahamed (Ganga Fighters); Ali Abid, Ayaz Butt, Ghulam Farid, JD Mahesh Kumara (Hiranni Heros); Inam Faried, Mausif Khan, Ashok Kumar (Texas Titans

The specs
 
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMaly%20Tech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Mo%20Ibrahim%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%20International%20Financial%20Centre%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20FinTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%241.6%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2015%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPre-seed%2C%20planning%20first%20seed%20round%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20GCC-based%20angel%20investors%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
How to improve Arabic reading in early years

One 45-minute class per week in Standard Arabic is not sufficient

The goal should be for grade 1 and 2 students to become fluent readers

Subjects like technology, social studies, science can be taught in later grades

Grade 1 curricula should include oral instruction in Standard Arabic

First graders must regularly practice individual letters and combinations

Time should be slotted in class to read longer passages in early grades

Improve the appearance of textbooks

Revision of curriculum should be undertaken as per research findings

Conjugations of most common verb forms should be taught

Systematic learning of Standard Arabic grammar

How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
  1. Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
  2. Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
  3. Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
  4. Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
  5. Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
  6. The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
  7. Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269

*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year

The Gentlemen

Director: Guy Ritchie

Stars: Colin Farrell, Hugh Grant 

Three out of five stars

GIANT REVIEW

Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan

Director: Athale

Rating: 4/5

The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3.5-litre%20twin-turbo%20V6%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E456hp%20at%205%2C000rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E691Nm%20at%203%2C500rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E10-speed%20auto%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E14.6L%2F100km%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Efrom%20Dh349%2C545%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Enow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Khodar%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Cairo%20and%20Alexandria%2C%20in%20Egypt%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ayman%20Hamza%2C%20Yasser%20Eidrous%20and%20Amr%20El%20Sheikh%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20agriculture%20technology%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%24500%2C000%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Saudi%20Arabia%E2%80%99s%20Revival%20Lab%20and%20others%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EEmployees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2035%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Avatar: Fire and Ash

Director: James Cameron

Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana

Rating: 4.5/5

SPECS
%3Cp%3E%0D%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204.0-litre%20twin-turbo%20V8%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20750hp%20at%207%2C500rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20800Nm%20at%205%2C500rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%207%20Speed%20dual-clutch%20auto%0D%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETop%20speed%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20332kph%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2012.2L%2F100km%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EYear%20end%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20From%20Dh1%2C430%2C000%20(coupe)%3B%20From%20Dh1%2C566%2C000%20(Spider)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
%3Cp%3EMATA%0D%3Cbr%3EArtist%3A%20M.I.A%0D%3Cbr%3ELabel%3A%20Island%0D%3Cbr%3ERating%3A%203.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Moral education needed in a 'rapidly changing world'

Moral education lessons for young people is needed in a rapidly changing world, the head of the programme said.

Alanood Al Kaabi, head of programmes at the Education Affairs Office of the Crown Price Court - Abu Dhabi, said: "The Crown Price Court is fully behind this initiative and have already seen the curriculum succeed in empowering young people and providing them with the necessary tools to succeed in building the future of the nation at all levels.

"Moral education touches on every aspect and subject that children engage in.

"It is not just limited to science or maths but it is involved in all subjects and it is helping children to adapt to integral moral practises.

"The moral education programme has been designed to develop children holistically in a world being rapidly transformed by technology and globalisation."

%20Ramez%20Gab%20Min%20El%20Akher
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECreator%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ramez%20Galal%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ramez%20Galal%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStreaming%20on%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMBC%20Shahid%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
GAC GS8 Specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh149,900

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO

Day 2 at the Gabba

Australia 312-1 

Warner 151 not out, Burns 97,  Labuschagne 55 not out

Pakistan 240 

Shafiq 76, Starc 4-52

The specs

Engine: Turbocharged four-cylinder 2.7-litre

Power: 325hp

Torque: 500Nm

Transmission: 10-speed automatic

Price: From Dh189,700

On sale: now

Updated: August 01, 2021, 10:05 AM