The Volvo Ocean Race (VOR) loves talking about the multiculturalism of its boats.
There is the boat sponsored by a Turkish company with an American skipper and five nationalities on-board. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing’s Azzam has six different nationalities and seven if you include the on-board reporter.
Team Brunel is a little United Nations island by itself, with seven different nationalities among eight crew.
Sometimes it can sound a little disingenuous though, because the vast majority of sailors are from Europe or, more broadly, the English-speaking world. It is multinationalism, not so much multiculturalism.
Azzam is an exception, with the only Arab sailor in the race, Adil Khaled.
The one boat where there is an authentic and substantial meshing of cultures is the Chinese entry, Race Team Dongfeng, where, other than one Swede, the crew is either French or Chinese.
There are six Chinese sailors in the squad. Three have sailed at least one of the two legs. A fourth will do the third leg to Sanya, which is a homecoming leg for the boat. By the end the plan is for all six to have done at least one leg.
As meshing cultures go, it is easy to see it go wrong.
For a start, there is the language. The situation could easily be the start of one of those jokes – a bunch of Frenchmen and a bunch of Chinese get together on a 65-foot yacht ... and so on.
What do they speak on board? “We speak in English because this is the sailing language, it is the language of the VOR,” said the French skipper Charles Caudrelier.
“If you cannot speak English you cannot play the game. All its words are in English.
“We could’ve learnt Chinese but that was not a good option for the Chinese guys because they want to become sailors and for sailing everywhere in the world, they have to learn English.”
That has proved to be some feat. A couple of the Hong Kong-based Chinese sailors were fluent in English but the rest had to learn the language from scratch, which, given that they have also been learning about sailing, made it doubly difficult.
“Chinese is so different from a western language that they really did a fantastic job and learnt very quickly,” said Caudrelier, who said he had not picked up much Chinese himself in return.
“I would like to but it is so complicated. That is why I recognise how amazing it is what they have done. Sometimes they try to teach me Chinese and it’s very difficult.”
Two legs in, both of which Dongfeng could have won but finished second, it does not appear to have been a problem.
In many ways, as Dongfeng head off on a homecoming leg to Sanya, Caudrelier and his men represent the most remarkable story of the race.
When the world talks of the coming of China as a global behemoth, this is the kind of story that can be used as an example.
China has a deep and ancient tradition on the seas, which has not quite sustained itself through to the modern day republic.
There has been success at Olympic sailing level but little activity out on the oceans, meaning Dongfeng started the project with effectively zilch to go on.
That was just a year ago and yet, almost from thin air, they have produced six sailors for the world’s toughest ocean race.
In the true tradition of Chinese success stories, not only have they just appeared, they are in joint first place as well.
An impressive performance by one of the least fancied of the seven boats pre-race.
It has not been entirely smooth, even if the direction of their progress is clear.
The father of one of the Chinese sailors disapproved of his son taking up sailing. A respectable “desk job” he said was preferred to a sporting career as outre as sailing.
Yang Jiru – or Wolf as he is usually addressed – spoke touchingly of how, after his first practice sail on the waters, he returned swearing never to do it again.
“But I went back home and straightaway realised this was not my life,” he said. “My life was out on the seas.”
It is even more remarkable given that they are still learning. Caudrelier, who won the VOR in 2011/12 with Groupama, is not just skippering the boat, he also has a role as teacher.
“Manoeuvring and things like that, you have to instruct them of course, so sometimes I will tell one of them to come and watch what we’re doing,” he said. “Now they are better and better.
“But the instinct is something you cannot teach. For that you have to spend some time on the water, watching us as we sail.
“That is how I learnt. It is the best way. It’s like playing piano. You can learn the basics in six months but after that it is time and experience, and, for sure, VOR is a high-speed school.”
This next leg is likelier to provide a truer indicator of the durability of their rise. As with Azzam in the latest leg, this is the one they really want to win. There will be pressure and that will be as much an obstacle.
“Yes there will be,” admitted Caudrelier. “It will be sad to have a bad result when you are in China, especially after we have done so well in the two first legs.”
Caudrelier also knows from the last race that this is not about the start as much as the finish.
“What I learnt is that the team that wins is not the best team at the start. It is the team that improves that will never fail,” he said.
“It is a very long race. You get tired, you get upset, so you have to all stick together, you have to stay strong.”
That is the other thing about China though. It endures. It always has done and it would be folly to doubt it will not continue.
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Unresolved crisis
Russia and Ukraine have been locked in a bitter conflict since 2014, when Ukraine’s Kremlin-friendly president was ousted, Moscow annexed Crimea and then backed a separatist insurgency in the east.
Fighting between the Russia-backed rebels and Ukrainian forces has killed more than 14,000 people. In 2015, France and Germany helped broker a peace deal, known as the Minsk agreements, that ended large-scale hostilities but failed to bring a political settlement of the conflict.
The Kremlin has repeatedly accused Kiev of sabotaging the deal, and Ukrainian officials in recent weeks said that implementing it in full would hurt Ukraine.
The years Ramadan fell in May
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
BIO
Favourite holiday destination: Turkey - because the government look after animals so well there.
Favourite film: I love scary movies. I have so many favourites but The Ring stands out.
Favourite book: The Lord of the Rings. I didn’t like the movies but I loved the books.
Favourite colour: Black.
Favourite music: Hard rock. I actually also perform as a rock DJ in Dubai.
RACE CARD AND SELECTIONS
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,200m
5,30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 1,200m
6pm: The President’s Cup Listed (TB) Dh380,000 1,400m
6.30pm: The President’s Cup Group One (PA) Dh2,500,000 2,200m
7pm: Arabian Triple Crown Listed (PA) Dh230,000 1,600m
7.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 1,400m
The National selections
5pm: RB Hot Spot
5.30pm: Dahess D’Arabie
6pm: Taamol
6.30pm: Rmmas
7pm: RB Seqondtonone
7.30pm: AF Mouthirah
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
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.
Mia Man’s tips for fermentation
- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut
- Keep your hands and kitchen tools clean. Sanitize knives, cutting boards, tongs and storage jars with boiling water before you start.
- Mold is bad: the colour pink is a sign of mold. If yogurt turns pink as it ferments, you need to discard it and start again. For kraut, if you remove the top leaves and see any sign of mold, you should discard the batch.
- Always use clean, closed, airtight lids and containers such as mason jars when fermenting yogurt and kraut. Keep the lid closed to prevent insects and contaminants from getting in.
The five pillars of Islam
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The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
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Brief scores:
Barcelona 3
Pique 38', Messi 51 (pen), Suarez 82'
Rayo Vallecano 1
De Tomas Gomez 24'
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TOUR RESULTS AND FIXTURES
June 3: NZ Provincial Barbarians 7 Lions 13
June 7: Blues 22 Lions 16
June 10: Crusaders 3 Lions 12
June 13: Highlanders 23 Lions 22
June 17: Maori All Blacks 10 Lions 32
June 20: Chiefs 6 Lions 34
June 24: New Zealand 30 Lions 15
June 27: Hurricanes 31 Lions 31
July 1: New Zealand 21 Lions 24
July 8: New Zealand v Lions
How the UAE gratuity payment is calculated now
Employees leaving an organisation are entitled to an end-of-service gratuity after completing at least one year of service.
The tenure is calculated on the number of days worked and does not include lengthy leave periods, such as a sabbatical. If you have worked for a company between one and five years, you are paid 21 days of pay based on your final basic salary. After five years, however, you are entitled to 30 days of pay. The total lump sum you receive is based on the duration of your employment.
1. For those who have worked between one and five years, on a basic salary of Dh10,000 (calculation based on 30 days):
a. Dh10,000 ÷ 30 = Dh333.33. Your daily wage is Dh333.33
b. Dh333.33 x 21 = Dh7,000. So 21 days salary equates to Dh7,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service. Multiply this figure for every year of service up to five years.
2. For those who have worked more than five years
c. 333.33 x 30 = Dh10,000. So 30 days’ salary is Dh10,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service.
Note: The maximum figure cannot exceed two years total salary figure.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Africa Institute 101
Housed on the same site as the original Africa Hall, which first hosted an Arab-African Symposium in 1976, the newly renovated building will be home to a think tank and postgraduate studies hub (it will offer master’s and PhD programmes). The centre will focus on both the historical and contemporary links between Africa and the Gulf, and will serve as a meeting place for conferences, symposia, lectures, film screenings, plays, musical performances and more. In fact, today it is hosting a symposium – 5-plus-1: Rethinking Abstraction that will look at the six decades of Frank Bowling’s career, as well as those of his contemporaries that invested social, cultural and personal meaning into abstraction.
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Your Guide to the Home
- Level 1 has a valet service if you choose not to park in the basement level. This level houses all the kitchenware, including covetable brand French Bull, along with a wide array of outdoor furnishings, lamps and lighting solutions, textiles like curtains, towels, cushions and bedding, and plenty of other home accessories.
- Level 2 features curated inspiration zones and solutions for bedrooms, living rooms and dining spaces. This is also where you’d go to customise your sofas and beds, and pick and choose from more than a dozen mattress options.
- Level 3 features The Home’s “man cave” set-up and a display of industrial and rustic furnishings. This level also has a mother’s room, a play area for children with staff to watch over the kids, furniture for nurseries and children’s rooms, and the store’s design studio.
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Essentials
The flights
Whether you trek after mountain gorillas in Rwanda, Uganda or the Congo, the most convenient international airport is in Rwanda’s capital city, Kigali. There are direct flights from Dubai a couple of days a week with RwandAir. Otherwise, an indirect route is available via Nairobi with Kenya Airways. Flydubai flies to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, via Entebbe in Uganda. Expect to pay from US$350 (Dh1,286) return, including taxes.
The tours
Superb ape-watching tours that take in all three gorilla countries mentioned above are run by Natural World Safaris. In September, the company will be operating a unique Ugandan ape safari guided by well-known primatologist Ben Garrod.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, local operator Kivu Travel can organise pretty much any kind of safari throughout the Virunga National Park and elsewhere in eastern Congo.
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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MATCH INFO
What: 2006 World Cup quarter-final
When: July 1
Where: Gelsenkirchen Stadium, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Result:
England 0 Portugal 0
(Portugal win 3-1 on penalties)
Profile Periscope Media
Founder: Smeetha Ghosh, one co-founder (anonymous)
Launch year: 2020
Employees: four – plans to add another 10 by July 2021
Financing stage: $250,000 bootstrap funding, approaching VC firms this year
Investors: Co-founders
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Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
INFO
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