While the boats continued to battle it out on the water, the shore crews for the Volvo Ocean Race teams worked side-by-side on Christmas Eve to prepare the cradles that will transport the racing yachts to UAE.
Workers from all five of the teams remaining in the second leg of the race - Team Sanya pulled out with a broken rig - worked on each boat's cradle before moving on to the next.
To safeguard against piracy in the Indian Ocean, the boats will soon be loaded on to a ship and taken to the northern coast of the UAE. From there they will continue the race to Abu Dhabi.
"The teams all know they're in this together," said race director Jack Lloyd, who supervised some of the labour yesterday.
"Not one of them can survive by themselves on this stage of the race but they're working together really well to prepare things for the boats' arrival."
The shore teams are working against time as they deal with the logistical headache of safely hoisting the 15-ton yachts on to the transport ship.
"Nobody has ever loaded a Volvo Open 70, with their rigging and mast, in on to a ship before," Lloyd said. "There's potential for massive problems.
"A big wave or strong breeze could rock the boats as they are put on to the ship. They could be damaged in a heartbeat. It's quite some challenge."
Lloyd and his team also inspected the location of the finishing point for the first part of the Cape Town to Abu Dhabi leg, which is being kept secret to lesson the risk of a pirate attack. They also checked out the barge that will be used to hold the cradles and boats before they are moved on to the ship.
On the water, Camper/Emirates Team New Zealand moved to the front of the fleet yesterday thanks to some very clever sailing through the "doldrums". But skipper Chris Nicholson said it is far too early to celebrate.
"There's an awful lot more to play out in this race," he said as Camper turned their focus to out-and-out speed.
"We've just broken into a westerly breeze system so we have to wait until the next [schedule] when the other boats have broken in, too.
"Groupama will have a bit of leverage over us, which is a little uncomfortable; it means they can drop the bow down and potentially go quicker, so we'll have to monitor that. We also have to keep an eye on Telefonica."
Camper had entered the doldrums - a dynamic band of unpredictable weather south of the equator - in fourth place behind Groupama, Team Telefonica and Puma Ocean Racing. But after some lengthy debate around the navigation table between Nicholson, co-skipper Stu Bannatyne, navigator Will Oxley and co-navigator Andy McLean, a plan was formed.
By yesterday morning it had paid off with Camper out in front by 20 nautical miles.
"Will and Animal [Andy McLean] had a good plan from the get-go in the last few days and we've been able to deliver on that plan up on deck," Nicholson said.
"It's been really pleasing to see the work that Will and Animal put in and the way we went about making the decisions. It's quite a good feeling."
Nicholson said Camper must now prove themselves in the fast reaching conditions which await them.
"We haven't been fast reaching so far on this leg so we've got to dig our feet in and sail the boat how we want to sail it rather than get dictated to like we probably were before," he said.
"We're quite resolute to make sure we do a good job reaching across here.
"It's not just a case of trying to get to the finish in first place, it's part of saying to ourselves that we can match it on this type of angle and breeze."
The Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing team continued to trail the fleet. After catching up more than 150 nautical miles on the fleet in the past few days, they were regretting their decision to take speed over position in the run-up to the doldrums.
"In hindsight we should have sacrificed some speed on our approach and gone tighter to the breeze," media crew member Nick Dana wrote.
"Though we would have lost the big number gains in the beginning, our set-up for a speedy doldrums crossing would have been more realistic."
Navigator Jules Salter added: "You can never see what you have missed in the doldrums until it's too late."
The two riders are among several riders in the UAE to receive the top payment of £10,000 under the Thank You Fund of £16 million (Dh80m), which was announced in conjunction with Deliveroo's £8 billion (Dh40bn) stock market listing earlier this year.
The £10,000 (Dh50,000) payment is made to those riders who have completed the highest number of orders in each market.
There are also riders who will receive payments of £1,000 (Dh5,000) and £500 (Dh2,500).
All riders who have worked with Deliveroo for at least one year and completed 2,000 orders will receive £200 (Dh1,000), the company said when it announced the scheme.
New Zealand
Kane Williamson (captain), Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Ross Taylor, Tom Latham (wicketkeeper), Henry Nicholls, Ish Sodhi, George Worker, Glenn Phillips, Matt Henry, Colin de Grandhomme, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Adam Milne, Trent Boult
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
Ambition: To create awareness among young about people with disabilities and make the world a more inclusive place
Job Title: Human resources administrator, Expo 2020 Dubai
First jobs: Co-ordinator with Magrudy Enterprises; HR coordinator at Jumeirah Group
Entrepreneur: Started his own graphic design business
Favourite singer: Avril Lavigne
Favourite travel destination: Germany and Saudi Arabia
Family: Six sisters
Yemen's Bahais and the charges they often face
The Baha'i faith was made known in Yemen in the 19th century, first introduced by an Iranian man named Ali Muhammad Al Shirazi, considered the Herald of the Baha'i faith in 1844.
The Baha'i faith has had a growing number of followers in recent years despite persecution in Yemen and Iran.
Today, some 2,000 Baha'is reside in Yemen, according to Insaf.
"The 24 defendants represented by the House of Justice, which has intelligence outfits from the uS and the UK working to carry out an espionage scheme in Yemen under the guise of religion.. aimed to impant and found the Bahai sect on Yemeni soil by bringing foreign Bahais from abroad and homing them in Yemen," the charge sheet said.
Baha'Ullah, the founder of the Bahai faith, was exiled by the Ottoman Empire in 1868 from Iran to what is now Israel. Now, the Bahai faith's highest governing body, known as the Universal House of Justice, is based in the Israeli city of Haifa, which the Bahais turn towards during prayer.
The Houthis cite this as collective "evidence" of Bahai "links" to Israel - which the Houthis consider their enemy.
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
PSL FINAL
Multan Sultans v Peshawar Zalmi
8pm, Thursday
Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Winner Soft Whisper, Frankie Dettori, Saeed bin Suroor
9.25pm Handicap (TB) $68,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner Bedouin’s Story, Frankie Dettori, Saeed bin Suroor
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
Gender equality in the workplace still 200 years away
It will take centuries to achieve gender parity in workplaces around the globe, according to a December report from the World Economic Forum.
The WEF study said there had been some improvements in wage equality in 2018 compared to 2017, when the global gender gap widened for the first time in a decade.
But it warned that these were offset by declining representation of women in politics, coupled with greater inequality in their access to health and education.
At current rates, the global gender gap across a range of areas will not close for another 108 years, while it is expected to take 202 years to close the workplace gap, WEF found.
The Geneva-based organisation's annual report tracked disparities between the sexes in 149 countries across four areas: education, health, economic opportunity and political empowerment.
After years of advances in education, health and political representation, women registered setbacks in all three areas this year, WEF said.
Only in the area of economic opportunity did the gender gap narrow somewhat, although there is not much to celebrate, with the global wage gap narrowing to nearly 51 per cent.
And the number of women in leadership roles has risen to 34 per cent globally, WEF said.
At the same time, the report showed there are now proportionately fewer women than men participating in the workforce, suggesting that automation is having a disproportionate impact on jobs traditionally performed by women.
And women are significantly under-represented in growing areas of employment that require science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills, WEF said.
* Agence France Presse
PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
