Stalker of Serena Williams charged after another attempt



FLORIDA // A man was charged with stalking tennis star Serena Williams after police said they caught him trying to walk into her gated subdivision in South Florida.

Palm Beach Gardens police said 40-year-old Patenema Ouedraogo told officers he was going to Williams' home Monday night "because he loves her" and "he knows the feelings are reciprocal."

An attorney for Williams said he had recently obtained a restraining order after Ouedraogo tried to contact the player three times.

Subdivision security guards stopped Ouedraogo as he walked in a few minutes after Williams' sister, Venus, returned home, police said. The guards had been told to call police immediately if they saw someone matching Ouedraogo's description.

It was unclear if Ouedraogo has an attorney. He is being held on $25,000 (Dh83,000) bond.

According to the police report, Serena Williams' attorney, Malcolm Cunningham, got a restraining order to keep Ouedraogo away from Williams after he followed her to a meeting with her agent in Los Angeles in October.

Cunningham told police Ouedraogo pretended to be Williams' assistant in Tampa earlier this year while she was at the Home Shopping Network. Ouedraogo allegedly convinced HSN security he worked for Williams and was given access to her dressing room. Williams had him escorted from the building, but Ouedraogo waited outside for the rest of the day.

Cunningham said Ouedraogo also followed Williams to a radio interview in South Florida last month and demanded to speak with her.

"It's been unsettling for her," Cunningham said in an interview Tuesday. "He continues to show up places, including her community."

On Monday, Palm Beach Gardens police say Ouedraogo told them he knew where Williams would be because he had been following her on Twitter.

Police said they found in Ouedraogo's backpack a book written by Williams and a letter to actor Tyrese Gibson asking him to arrange a meeting between Ouedraogo and Williams.

Ouedraogo called Williams "his dream soul mate" and said he would "do anything to meet her and let her know," according to the report.

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Try out the test yourself

Q1 Suppose you had $100 in a savings account and the interest rate was 2 per cent per year. After five years, how much do you think you would have in the account if you left the money to grow?
a) More than $102
b) Exactly $102
c) Less than $102
d) Do not know
e) Refuse to answer

Q2 Imagine that the interest rate on your savings account was 1 per cent per year and inflation was 2 per cent per year. After one year, how much would you be able to buy with the money in this account?
a) More than today
b) Exactly the same as today
c) Less than today
d) Do not know
e) Refuse to answer

Q4 Do you think that the following statement is true or false? “Buying a single company stock usually provides a safer return than a stock mutual fund.”
a) True
b) False
d) Do not know
e) Refuse to answer

The “Big Three” financial literacy questions were created by Professors Annamaria Lusardi of the George Washington School of Business and Olivia Mitchell, of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. 

Answers: Q1 More than $102 (compound interest). Q2 Less than today (inflation). Q3 False (diversification).

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In Full Flight: A Story of Africa and Atonement
John Heminway, Knopff

Three trading apps to try

Sharad Nair recommends three investment apps for UAE residents:

  • For beginners or people who want to start investing with limited capital, Mr Nair suggests eToro. “The low fees and low minimum balance requirements make the platform more accessible,” he says. “The user interface is straightforward to understand and operate, while its social element may help ease beginners into the idea of investing money by looking to a virtual community.”
  • If you’re an experienced investor, and have $10,000 or more to invest, consider Saxo Bank. “Saxo Bank offers a more comprehensive trading platform with advanced features and insight for more experienced users. It offers a more personalised approach to opening and operating an account on their platform,” he says.
  • Finally, StashAway could work for those who want a hands-off approach to their investing. “It removes one of the biggest challenges for novice traders: picking the securities in their portfolio,” Mr Nair says. “A goal-based approach or view towards investing can help motivate residents who may usually shy away from investment platforms.”
The Perfect Couple

Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor

Creator: Jenna Lamia

Rating: 3/5

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.

Sheikh Zayed's poem

When it is unveiled at Abu Dhabi Art, the Standing Tall exhibition will appear as an interplay of poetry and art. The 100 scarves are 100 fragments surrounding five, figurative, female sculptures, and both sculptures and scarves are hand-embroidered by a group of refugee women artisans, who used the Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery art of tatreez. Fragments of Sheikh Zayed’s poem Your Love is Ruling My Heart, written in Arabic as a love poem to his nation, are embroidered onto both the sculptures and the scarves. Here is the English translation.

Your love is ruling over my heart

Your love is ruling over my heart, even a mountain can’t bear all of it

Woe for my heart of such a love, if it befell it and made it its home

You came on me like a gleaming sun, you are the cure for my soul of its sickness

Be lenient on me, oh tender one, and have mercy on who because of you is in ruins

You are like the Ajeed Al-reem [leader of the gazelle herd] for my country, the source of all of its knowledge

You waddle even when you stand still, with feet white like the blooming of the dates of the palm

Oh, who wishes to deprive me of sleep, the night has ended and I still have not seen you

You are the cure for my sickness and my support, you dried my throat up let me go and damp it

Help me, oh children of mine, for in his love my life will pass me by. 

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UAE rugby in numbers

5 - Year sponsorship deal between Hesco and Jebel Ali Dragons

700 - Dubai Hurricanes had more than 700 playing members last season between their mini and youth, men's and women's teams

Dh600,000 - Dubai Exiles' budget for pitch and court hire next season, for their rugby, netball and cricket teams

Dh1.8m - Dubai Hurricanes' overall budget for next season

Dh2.8m - Dubai Exiles’ overall budget for next season

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Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989

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Rating: 5/5

Fighting with My Family

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Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Nick Frost, Lena Headey, Florence Pugh, Thomas Whilley, Tori Ellen Ross, Jack Lowden, Olivia Bernstone, Elroy Powell        

Four stars


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