This week's talented showcase of students include a rock-solid centre-half for Al Yasmina School's Under 14 football team, and an Emirati pupil from Sharjah who took bronze at the World Karate Federation Junior and Cadet championship in Malaysia.
Mohammed Al Hashami
Mohammed, a centre-half, left, was a rock for Al Yasmina School as they won the Under 14 Al Jazira pre-season football tournament. His team did not allow a goal in five games, and Mohammed, 13, earned praise for the way he kept out the opposition strikers. "It was great to win the first tournament of the season. Now we want to win the league," he said.
Haya Sameer Jumaa
A Grade 12 student at Victoria International School Sharjah, Haya won the World Karate Federation (WKF) Junior and Cadet Championship bronze medal last week in the Under-59kg Kumite in Malaysia. The Emirati girl has also won gold medals at the WKF Youth World Cup Individual Kata and Kumite, and the World Grado 2011 Open International Karate Championships.
Jonathan McLeod
The 17 year old at British School Al Khubairat hopes to attend college in the US on a golf scholarship. At an event last week, he opened with three birdies and finished the nine holes ahead of everyone else at one-over par. "I expect Johnny's handicap to come down from five to scratch this year," said Stuart Blan, a coach at McLeod's school.
Ahmed Al Budoor
Taking up golf less than a year ago, Al Budoor is showing good progress in the Emirates Golf Federation's National Junior Programme. The 15-year-old Rashid School student won the opening round of the National Par-3 League. He carded a gross 32 to prevail over last season's overall winner, Abdullah Al Thani, in the Under 16 Division A.
UAE school sports Athlete of the Week:
Ben Rose, BSAK footballer
Ben Rose won the trip to Manchester United in a skills competition last month at the club's soccer school in the capital. © Lee Hoagland / The National
Other news from school sports in the Emirates
Youngsters get chance to shine in Etihad Airways Junior Rugby Festival -
Read article
School in the spotlight:
Abu Dhabi Indian School -
Read article
Last week's student athlete of the week:
Ajay Krishnan, Sharjah cricketer
How to nominate a student Athlete of the Week:
Every Tuesday
The National
focuses on school sports
in the UAE. Each week we will pick student athletes who deserve
some recognition for their efforts. To nominate a student please send
us an e-mail detailing their accomplishments to the following
addresses:
For Abu Dhabi e-mail Neil Cameron at
ncameron@thenational.ae
For Dubai e-mail Ahmed Rizvi at
arzvi@thenational.ae
Please visit
The National's
school sports topic page at
www.thenational.ae/school-sports
for our extensive coverage of school sport in the UAE.
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Celta Vigo 2
Castro (45'), Aspas (82')
Barcelona 2
Dembele (36'), Alcacer (64')
Red card: Sergi Roberto (Barcelona)
Getting%20there
%3Cp%3EGiven%20its%20remote%20location%2C%20getting%20to%20Borneo%20can%20feel%20daunting%20even%20for%20the%20most%20seasoned%20traveller.%20But%20you%20can%20fly%20directly%20from%20Kuala%20Lumpur%20to%20Sandakan%20and%20Sepilok%20is%20only%20half%20an%20hour%20away%20by%20taxi.%20Sandakan%20has%20plenty%20of%20accommodation%20options%2C%20while%20Sepilok%20has%20a%20few%20nature%20lodges%20close%20to%20the%20main%20attractions.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Scoreline:
Cardiff City 0
Liverpool 2
Wijnaldum 57', Milner 81' (pen)
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Astra%20Tech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMarch%202022%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAbdallah%20Abu%20Sheikh%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20technology%20investment%20and%20development%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%20size%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%24500m%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Madrid Open schedule
Men's semi-finals
Novak Djokovic (1) v Dominic Thiem (5) from 6pm
Stefanos Tsitsipas (8) v Rafael Nadal (2) from 11pm
Women's final
Simona Halep (3) v Kiki Bertens (7) from 8.30pm
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
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