Follow the latest news on the 2024 Paris Olympics
Teenager Kaylia Nemour produced "the performance of her life" to become the first Algerian and African to win an Olympic gymnastics medal with gold on the uneven bars on Sunday.
The 17-year-old took the title ahead of China's Qiu Qiyuan, with American Sunisa Lee snatching bronze with the final performance of the session. Defending champion Nina Derwael of Belgium finished fourth.
"I'm so shocked, it's the dream of all my life. I can't believe it has happened, I'm speechless," said Nemour.
Nemour's breathtaking high-flying acrobatic performance earned 15.700 points to push world champion Qiu, 17, into the silver medal position with 15.500. The Chinese athlete had set her mark just before Nemour meaning the pressure was heaped on the Algerian as she stepped up to perform.
Nemour was born in France and still trains there but switched to compete for Algeria after a dispute with the French gymnastics federation and Nemour's club of Avoine Beaumont, which led to the gymnast embracing her father's Algerian nationality.
She delighted in parading the flag of Algeria as she celebrated her gold medal at the Bercy Arena.
The 17-year-old is a rare talent on the bars, swooping from one to the other performing a series of high-risk high-reward feats that are both athletically and technically demanding.
"In qualifying I had 15.600, when I saw [Qiu's] 15.500 I said, I really had to fight and gave the performance of my life," said the Algerian.
"It's crazy, I'm honoured to have this medal after all that has happened, it's a relief."
US gymnastics great Simone Biles failed to qualify for the uneven bars final. But competing last, teammate Lee snatched bronze ahead of Derwael, a former two-time world champion who was returning after surgery.
Meanwhile, the UAE's Safiya Al Sayegh made history as the first Emirati female cyclist to take part in the Olympics as she competed in the women's road race on Sunday.
Al Sayegh was unable to finish the race, however, with the 31-year-old American Kristen Faulkner going on to claim gold.
In athletics, Morocco's Noura Ennadi is safely through to the semi-finals of the 400m hurdles after placing second in Heat 5 with a time of 55.26secs.
Ennadi was quickly passed by heat winner - and the event's greatest ever athlete - Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and found herself in the chasing pack coming into the final straight. But the 25-year-old ran a rapid final 50m to take runner-up behind the American.
Bahrain's Winfred Yavi lived up to her billing as a favourite for the 3000m steeplechase gold after winning the second heat with a time of 9:15.11.
Yavi, who won gold at last year's World Championships in Budapest, is the leading contender for gold in Paris and began her campaign in comfortable style.
The 24-year-old Kenya-born athlete transferred her allegiance to Bahrain at the age of 15 and has represented the Gulf nation since 2016.
In Heat 1, Tunisia's Marwa Bouzayani set a new personal best of 9:10.91 but narrowly missed out on a place in the final by placing sixth. Only the top five in each heat advance.
The final will take place on Tuesday at 11.14pm UAE time.
In boxing, Cindy Ngamba guaranteed the Refugee Olympic Team their first-ever medal after comfortably winning her quarter-final on Sunday.
Ngamba, who was born in Cameroon but sought safe haven in Britain aged 11, beat France's Davina Michel with a unanimous points decision to reach the last four of the women's 75kg category and win at least bronze.
Morocco's Khadija Mardi fell agonisingly short of securing a boxing medal after she was defeated in her 75kg quarter-final by Australia's Caitlin Parker.
Parker won the fight on a 4-1 split decision, winning every round according to four of the five judges.
It was a fine effort from Mardi, who is naturally a heavyweight and holds the amateur world title in that division.
Egypt's men's handball team had already qualified for the quarter-finals but they put a shine on their group stage campaign with a 34-27 victory over Argentina.
In the pool, Tunisia's Ahmed Jaouadi finished sixth in the 1500m freestyle final as American Bobby Finke set a world record.
Finke was under world-record pace the entire race and really turned it on coming to the finish. He touched in 14:30.67 seconds to break the record of 14:31.02 set by China's Sun Yang at the 2012 London Games.
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OPINIONS ON PALESTINE & ISRAEL
Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
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.”
WISH
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The specs: 2018 Genesis G70
Price, base / as tested: Dh155,000 / Dh205,000
Engine: 3.3-litre, turbocharged V6
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 370hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 510Nm @ 1,300rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 10.6L / 100km
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Essentials
The flights
Emirates, Etihad and Malaysia Airlines all fly direct from the UAE to Kuala Lumpur and on to Penang from about Dh2,300 return, including taxes.
Where to stay
In Kuala Lumpur, Element is a recently opened, futuristic hotel high up in a Norman Foster-designed skyscraper. Rooms cost from Dh400 per night, including taxes. Hotel Stripes, also in KL, is a great value design hotel, with an infinity rooftop pool. Rooms cost from Dh310, including taxes.
In Penang, Ren i Tang is a boutique b&b in what was once an ancient Chinese Medicine Hall in the centre of Little India. Rooms cost from Dh220, including taxes.
23 Love Lane in Penang is a luxury boutique heritage hotel in a converted mansion, with private tropical gardens. Rooms cost from Dh400, including taxes.
In Langkawi, Temple Tree is a unique architectural villa hotel consisting of antique houses from all across Malaysia. Rooms cost from Dh350, including taxes.
The specs
Price, base / as tested Dh12 million
Engine 8.0-litre quad-turbo, W16
Gearbox seven-speed dual clutch auto
Power 1479 @ 6,700rpm
Torque 1600Nm @ 2,000rpm 0-100kph: 2.6 seconds 0-200kph: 6.1 seconds
Top speed 420 kph (governed)
Fuel economy, combined 35.2L / 100km (est)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Credits
Produced by: Colour Yellow Productions and Eros Now
Director: Mudassar Aziz
Cast: Sonakshi Sinha, Jimmy Sheirgill, Jassi Gill, Piyush Mishra, Diana Penty, Aparshakti Khurrana
Star rating: 2.5/5
Two products to make at home
Toilet cleaner
1 cup baking soda
1 cup castile soap
10-20 drops of lemon essential oil (or another oil of your choice)
Method:
1. Mix the baking soda and castile soap until you get a nice consistency.
2. Add the essential oil to the mix.
Air Freshener
100ml water
5 drops of the essential oil of your choice (note: lavender is a nice one for this)
Method:
1. Add water and oil to spray bottle to store.
2. Shake well before use.
