• UFC 254 GALLERY: Dagestan fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov celebrates his victory over Justin Gaethje of the US after their lightweight title bout on UFC Fight Island in Abu Dhabi. Getty
    UFC 254 GALLERY: Dagestan fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov celebrates his victory over Justin Gaethje of the US after their lightweight title bout on UFC Fight Island in Abu Dhabi. Getty
  • Khabib Nurmagomedov celebrates his victory over Justin Gaethje. Getty
    Khabib Nurmagomedov celebrates his victory over Justin Gaethje. Getty
  • Khabib Nurmagomedov clinches his victory over Justin Gaethje via a second-round triangle choke at Flash Forum. Getty
    Khabib Nurmagomedov clinches his victory over Justin Gaethje via a second-round triangle choke at Flash Forum. Getty
  • Khabib Nurmagomedov takes down Justin Gaethje. Getty
    Khabib Nurmagomedov takes down Justin Gaethje. Getty
  • Justin Gaethje kicks Khabib Nurmagomedov. Getty
    Justin Gaethje kicks Khabib Nurmagomedov. Getty
  • Khabib Nurmagomedov punches Justin Gaethje. Getty
    Khabib Nurmagomedov punches Justin Gaethje. Getty
  • Khabib Nurmagomedov after his victory. Getty
    Khabib Nurmagomedov after his victory. Getty
  • Australian fighter Robert Whittaker lands a punch during his victory over Jared Cannonier of the US in their middleweight bout. Getty
    Australian fighter Robert Whittaker lands a punch during his victory over Jared Cannonier of the US in their middleweight bout. Getty
  • Robert Whittaker after the fight against Jared Cannonier. Getty
    Robert Whittaker after the fight against Jared Cannonier. Getty
  • Jared Cannonier punches Robert Whittaker. Getty
    Jared Cannonier punches Robert Whittaker. Getty
  • Robert Whittaker punches Jared Cannonier. Getty
    Robert Whittaker punches Jared Cannonier. Getty
  • Dagestan's Magomed Ankalaev celebrates his KO victory over Ion Cutelaba of Moldova in their light heavyweight bout on UFC's Fight Island, in Abu Dhabi. Getty
    Dagestan's Magomed Ankalaev celebrates his KO victory over Ion Cutelaba of Moldova in their light heavyweight bout on UFC's Fight Island, in Abu Dhabi. Getty
  • Magomed Ankalaev knocks down Ion Cutelaba. Getty
    Magomed Ankalaev knocks down Ion Cutelaba. Getty
  • Magomed Ankalaev punches Ion Cutelaba. Getty
    Magomed Ankalaev punches Ion Cutelaba. Getty
  • Russian fighter Alexander Volkov celebrates his victory over Walt Harris of the US after their heavyweight bout. Getty
    Russian fighter Alexander Volkov celebrates his victory over Walt Harris of the US after their heavyweight bout. Getty
  • Alexander Volkov punches Walt Harris. Getty
    Alexander Volkov punches Walt Harris. Getty
  • Walt Harris punches Alexander Volkov. Getty
    Walt Harris punches Alexander Volkov. Getty
  • US fighter Lauren Murphy celebrates her victory over Liliya Shakirova of Uzbekistan after their women's flyweight bout. Getty
    US fighter Lauren Murphy celebrates her victory over Liliya Shakirova of Uzbekistan after their women's flyweight bout. Getty
  • Lauren Murphy punches Liliya Shakirova. Getty
    Lauren Murphy punches Liliya Shakirova. Getty
  • Liliya Shakirova and Lauren Murphy during their bout. Getty
    Liliya Shakirova and Lauren Murphy during their bout. Getty
  • US fighter Phillip Hawes lands a punch during his 18-second victory over Jacob Malkoun of Australia in their middleweight bout. Getty
    US fighter Phillip Hawes lands a punch during his 18-second victory over Jacob Malkoun of Australia in their middleweight bout. Getty
  • Phillip Hawes punches Jacob Malkoun. Getty
    Phillip Hawes punches Jacob Malkoun. Getty
  • Phillip Hawes celebrates his KO victory over Jacob Malkoun. Getty
    Phillip Hawes celebrates his KO victory over Jacob Malkoun. Getty
  • Phillip Hawes celebrates his KO victory over Jacob Malkoun. Getty
    Phillip Hawes celebrates his KO victory over Jacob Malkoun. Getty
  • Kazakhstan's Shavkat Rakhmonov on his way to victory over Alex Oliveira of Brazil in their welterweight bout. Getty
    Kazakhstan's Shavkat Rakhmonov on his way to victory over Alex Oliveira of Brazil in their welterweight bout. Getty
  • Alex Oliveira lands a kick on Shavkat Rakhmonov. Getty
    Alex Oliveira lands a kick on Shavkat Rakhmonov. Getty
  • American fighter Casey Kenney lands a punch and his way to victory over Nathaniel Wood of England in their catchweight bout. Getty
    American fighter Casey Kenney lands a punch and his way to victory over Nathaniel Wood of England in their catchweight bout. Getty
  • Nathaniel Wood punches Casey Kenney. Getty
    Nathaniel Wood punches Casey Kenney. Getty
  • Australian Tai Tuivasa lands a punch on Stefan Struve of the Netherlands on his way to victory in their heavyweight bout. Getty
    Australian Tai Tuivasa lands a punch on Stefan Struve of the Netherlands on his way to victory in their heavyweight bout. Getty
  • Stefan Struve lands a kick on Tai Tuivasa. Getty
    Stefan Struve lands a kick on Tai Tuivasa. Getty

UFC 254: Robert Whittaker defeats Jared Cannonier in Abu Dhabi and closes in on Israel Adesanya rematch


John McAuley
  • English
  • Arabic

Robert Whittaker defeated Jared Cannonier in their title eliminator at UFC 254 in Abu Dhabi early on Sunday to most probably book a rematch with middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.

The New Zealand-born Australian, who lost the belt to Adesanya late last year, dispatched Cannonier via unanimous decision at Flash Forum – his second victory in the capital in four months.

All three judges gave Whittaker, who knocked down Cannonier in the third round, 29-28.

As the division’s No 1-ranked challenger, and having seen off the No 2 Cannonier, Whittaker will almost certainly go up against former foe Adesanya once more, potentially early next year.

UFC 254 brings to a close “Return to Fight Island”, the UFC’s second residency in Abu Dhabi.

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EOlive%20Gaea%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202021%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECo-founders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Vivek%20Tripathi%2C%20Jessica%20Scopacasa%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ELicensed%20by%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%20World%20Trade%20Centre%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Climate-Tech%2C%20Sustainability%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%241.1%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ECornerstone%20Venture%20Partners%20and%20angel%20investors%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%208%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Cricket World Cup League 2

UAE results
Lost to Oman by eight runs
Beat Namibia by three wickets
Lost to Oman by 12 runs
Beat Namibia by 43 runs

UAE fixtures
Free admission. All fixtures broadcast live on icc.tv

Tuesday March 15, v PNG at Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Friday March 18, v Nepal at Dubai International Stadium
Saturday March 19, v PNG at Dubai International Stadium
Monday March 21, v Nepal at Dubai International Stadium

Islamophobia definition

A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.

The schedule

December 5 - 23: Shooting competition, Al Dhafra Shooting Club

December 9 - 24: Handicrafts competition, from 4pm until 10pm, Heritage Souq

December 11 - 20: Dates competition, from 4pm

December 12 - 20: Sour milk competition

December 13: Falcon beauty competition

December 14 and 20: Saluki races

December 15: Arabian horse races, from 4pm

December 16 - 19: Falconry competition

December 18: Camel milk competition, from 7.30 - 9.30 am

December 20 and 21: Sheep beauty competition, from 10am

December 22: The best herd of 30 camels

Fixtures

Tuesday - 5.15pm: Team Lebanon v Alger Corsaires; 8.30pm: Abu Dhabi Storms v Pharaohs

Wednesday - 5.15pm: Pharaohs v Carthage Eagles; 8.30pm: Alger Corsaires v Abu Dhabi Storms

Thursday - 4.30pm: Team Lebanon v Pharaohs; 7.30pm: Abu Dhabi Storms v Carthage Eagles

Friday - 4.30pm: Pharaohs v Alger Corsaires; 7.30pm: Carthage Eagles v Team Lebanon

Saturday - 4.30pm: Carthage Eagles v Alger Corsaires; 7.30pm: Abu Dhabi Storms v Team Lebanon

TWISTERS

Director: Lee Isaac Chung

Starring: Glen Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Anthony Ramos

Rating: 2.5/5

MATCH INFO

Manchester City 1 Chelsea 0
De Bruyne (70')

Man of the Match: Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City)

At a glance

Fixtures All matches start at 9.30am, at ICC Academy, Dubai. Admission is free

Thursday UAE v Ireland; Saturday UAE v Ireland; Jan 21 UAE v Scotland; Jan 23 UAE v Scotland

UAE squad Rohan Mustafa (c), Ashfaq Ahmed, Ghulam Shabber, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Boota, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Shaiman Anwar, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Qadeer Ahmed, Mohammed Naveed, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan

Ain Issa camp:
  • Established in 2016
  • Houses 13,309 people, 2,092 families, 62 per cent children
  • Of the adult population, 49 per cent men, 51 per cent women (not including foreigners annexe)
  • Most from Deir Ezzor and Raqqa
  • 950 foreigners linked to ISIS and their families
  • NGO Blumont runs camp management for the UN
  • One of the nine official (UN recognised) camps in the region
Avatar: Fire and Ash

Director: James Cameron

Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana

Rating: 4.5/5

How to apply for a drone permit
  • Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
  • Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
  • Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
  • Submit their request
What are the regulations?
  • Fly it within visual line of sight
  • Never over populated areas
  • Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
  • Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
  • Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
  • Should have a live feed of the drone flight
  • Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
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Recipe

Garlicky shrimp in olive oil
Gambas Al Ajillo

Preparation time: 5 to 10 minutes

Cooking time: 5 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients

180ml extra virgin olive oil; 4 to 5 large cloves of garlic, minced or pureed (or 3 to 4 garlic scapes, roughly chopped); 1 or 2 small hot red chillies, dried (or ¼ teaspoon dried red chilli flakes); 400g raw prawns, deveined, heads removed and tails left intact; a generous splash of sweet chilli vinegar; sea salt flakes for seasoning; a small handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped

Method

Heat the oil in a terracotta dish or frying pan. Once the oil is sizzling hot, add the garlic and chilli, stirring continuously for about 10 seconds until golden and aromatic.

Add a splash of sweet chilli vinegar and as it vigorously simmers, releasing perfumed aromas, add the prawns and cook, stirring a few times.

Once the prawns turn pink, after 1 or 2 minutes of cooking,  remove from the heat and season with sea salt flakes.

Once the prawns are cool enough to eat, scatter with parsley and serve with small forks or toothpicks as the perfect sharing starter. Finish off with crusty bread to soak up all that flavour-infused olive oil.

 

French business

France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.

Sinopharm vaccine explained

The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades. 

“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.

"What is left is a skeleton of the virus so it looks like a virus, but it is not live."

This is then injected into the body.

"The body will recognise it and form antibodies but because it is inactive, we will need more than one dose. The body will not develop immunity with one dose," she said.

"You have to be exposed more than one time to what we call the antigen."

The vaccine should offer protection for at least months, but no one knows how long beyond that.

Dr Al Kaabi said early vaccine volunteers in China were given shots last spring and still have antibodies today.

“Since it is inactivated, it will not last forever," she said.