Espanyol's Juan Manuel Fuentes, right, and Granada's Manuel Rolando Iturra fight for the ball during their Spanish Primera Liga match at Nuevo Los Carmenes stadium in Granada, Spain, on April 30, 2015. Miguel Angel Molina / EPA
Espanyol's Juan Manuel Fuentes, right, and Granada's Manuel Rolando Iturra fight for the ball during their Spanish Primera Liga match at Nuevo Los Carmenes stadium in Granada, Spain, on April 30, 2015Show more

Spanish Primera Liga all about survival on Super Saturday as Deportivo La Coruna face Barcelona



The final games of Spain’s Primera Liga will be played on Saturday, and while the title has been decided, two of the three relegation spots have not.

For the majority at Camp Nou, it will be a carnival atmosphere as Barca celebrate their 23rd league title in front of more than 90,000 fans, but their visitors, Deportivo La Coruna, are still not safe from relegation.

The Galicians, who had a 2-0 win over Levante at the weekend, sit two points above the drop zone on 34 points.

Deportivo have been relegated three times in the past five seasons and the win against Levante, who secured their safety despite the defeat, was Deportivo’s first in 15 matches.

A point will be enough to ensure survival for a Deportivo side that has not won at Camp Nou for 12 years.

No team has drawn at Camp Nou this season, and the tally stands at 16 opponents defeated while two triumphed.

Like Deportivo, Granada are also on 34 points and their resurgence has been the most surprising of the teams in the relegation fight.

Their 3-0 win at Real Sociedad on Sunday, including a fourth goal in three games from striker Youssef El Arabi, lifted them clear of the drop zone where they had been mired since ­October.

It was also the first time they had won three times in a row since returning to the top flight four years ago.

Former Rayo Vallecano and Sporting Gijon coach Jose Ramon Sandoval, who only took over at the beginning of this month, is the man responsible for Granada winning three successive top-flight matches for the first time since 1971.

Granada are at home to Atletico Madrid on Saturday, but their destiny is in their hands.

Cordoba, with only one win at home all season, are the only team confirmed to go down with just 20 points, and their fans will be hoping it is not another 42 years until they return to the top flight.

Eibar are 18th in the table and Almeria are 19th.

With a 5,400 capacity stadium, Eibar are the smallest club to play in the top flight and were going well in the first half of the season.

After 22 games, the Basques were comfortable and sat eighth. Then they collapsed, and the second half has been a disaster.

Eibar have lost 15 of 17 games and slipped into the relegation zone for the first time this weekend, though they drew 1-1 at Getafe to give them hope.

Their final game is also against Cordoba, the easiest of the games for the four teams facing relegation. If Eibar beat Cordoba at home, and they should, they will reach 35 points.

Almeria will learn today if they will be deducted three points by Fifa for the late payment for a transfer. Elche, who are safe, also face a deduction for unpaid debts going back three years.

Almeria went a goal up at in-form Sevilla at the weekend, and hit the post, before the home team won with two goals. Sevilla are a point behind Valencia and could still finish fourth.

A young Valencia team need to win at Almeria to confirm fourth. Valencia are looking nervous lately and went a goal down at home in the fortress Mestalla to Celta Vigo at the weekend, then missed several chances until Nicolas Otamendi equalised.

Spain’s title has been decided, but for the four teams still facing relegation, Saturday is crunch time.

Two will go, two will survive. With the games between all four kicking off at the same time, it promises to be dramatic.

sports@thenational.ae

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The Settlers

Director: Louis Theroux

Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz

Rating: 5/5

Fourth Arab Economic and Social Development Summit

As he spoke, Mr Aboul Gheit repeatedly referred to the need to tackle issues affecting the welfare of people across the region both in terms of preventing conflict and in pushing development.
Lebanon is scheduled to host the fourth Arab Economic and Social Development Summit in January that will see regional leaders gather to tackle the challenges facing the Middle East. The last such summit was held in 2013. Assistant Secretary-General Hossam Zaki told The National that the Beirut Summit “will be an opportunity for Arab leaders to discuss solely economic and social issues, the conference will not focus on political concerns such as Palestine, Syria or Libya". He added that its slogan will be “the individual is at the heart of development”, adding that it will focus on all elements of human capital.

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The years Ramadan fell in May

1987

1954

1921

1888

ICC Women's T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier 2025, Thailand

UAE fixtures
May 9, v Malaysia
May 10, v Qatar
May 13, v Malaysia
May 15, v Qatar
May 18 and 19, semi-finals
May 20, final

BMW M5 specs

Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor

Power: 727hp

Torque: 1,000Nm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh650,000

At a glance

Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.

 

Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year

 

Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month

 

Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30 

 

Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse

 

Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth

 

Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances

Fund-raising tips for start-ups

Develop an innovative business concept

Have the ability to differentiate yourself from competitors

Put in place a business continuity plan after Covid-19

Prepare for the worst-case scenario (further lockdowns, long wait for a vaccine, etc.) 

Have enough cash to stay afloat for the next 12 to 18 months

Be creative and innovative to reduce expenses

Be prepared to use Covid-19 as an opportunity for your business

* Tips from Jassim Al Marzooqi and Walid Hanna

THREE
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The specs: 2018 Nissan Patrol Nismo

Price: base / as tested: Dh382,000

Engine: 5.6-litre V8

Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic

Power: 428hp @ 5,800rpm

Torque: 560Nm @ 3,600rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 12.7L / 100km

How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

Skewed figures

In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458. 

MATCH INFO

Burnley 0

Man City 3

Raheem Sterling 35', 49'

Ferran Torres 65'

 

 

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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The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE. 

Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs

Engine: Two permanent-magnet synchronous AC motors

Transmission: two-speed

Power: 671hp

Torque: 849Nm

Range: 456km

Price: from Dh437,900 

On sale: now

Dust and sand storms compared

Sand storm

  • Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
  • Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
  • Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
  • Travel distance: Limited 
  • Source: Open desert areas with strong winds

Dust storm

  • Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
  • Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
  • Duration: Can linger for days
  • Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
  • Source: Can be carried from distant regions
PROFILE OF CURE.FIT

Started: July 2016

Founders: Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori

Based: Bangalore, India

Sector: Health & wellness

Size: 500 employees

Investment: $250 million

Investors: Accel, Oaktree Capital (US); Chiratae Ventures, Epiq Capital, Innoven Capital, Kalaari Capital, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Piramal Group’s Anand Piramal, Pratithi Investment Trust, Ratan Tata (India); and Unilever Ventures (Unilever’s global venture capital arm)

While you're here
David Haye record

Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4

The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting

2. Prayer

3. Hajj

4. Shahada

5. Zakat 

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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