Read also: 50 facts about Expo 2020 Dubai with less than 50 days to go
Dozens of buses will run across the UAE to transport visitors from other emirates to Expo 2020 Dubai.
Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) said 70 buses will be deployed to run 193 trips a day Saturday to Wednesday, and 213 trips on Thursdays and Fridays, from Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Fujairah, Ajman and Ras Al Khaimah.
It is hoped the convenient services will encourage visitors to use public transport to get to the world fair.
An extension of the metro has also been built to service the Expo 2020 site during the event, and in the years afterwards.
Mattar Al Tayer, director general and chairman of the RTA executive directors board, said the model of buses was specially chosen.
"The RTA has dedicated a full fleet of public buses compatible with the low carbon emission standards of Euro 6 buses, which will be making their debut in the MENA region. The plan illustrates RTA’s keenness to reduce the carbon footprint of these buses," he said.
"Each bus has a low-floor entry to make it easily accessible to people of determination.
"The buses are designed to deliver premium services to mass transit riders thanks to the high-class finishing works, roomy seats, dedicated seats for children, WiFi service, USB charging ports and an array of smart systems."
Buses from Abu Dhabi and Al Ain
There will be four stations in Abu Dhabi for transporting Expo 2020 visitors, with buses running every 20 minutes.
- Abu Dhabi International Airport - the RTA will deploy 10 buses to run 31 daily trips in both directions from Saturday to Wednesday, and 33 daily trips in both directions on Thursday and Friday.
- Abu Dhabi Main Bus Station - 10 buses will run 26 daily trips in both directions from Saturday to Wednesday, and 29 daily trips in both directions on Thursday and Friday.
- Marina Mall Station - 10 buses will run 27 daily trips in both directions from Saturday to Wednesday, and 28 daily trips in both directions on Thursday and Friday.
- Al Ain Bus Station - nine buses will run 22 daily trips in both directions from Saturday to Wednesday, and 25 daily trips in both directions on Thursday and Friday.
Buses from Sharjah
The RTA has specified two locations for transporting Expo 2020 visitors from Sharjah.
- Al Jubail Bus Station - the RTA will deploy 10 buses to run 29 daily trips in both directions from Saturday to Wednesday, and 33 daily trips in both directions on Thursday and Friday. Buses will run every 20 minutes.
- Muwaileh Station - 10 buses will run 32 daily trips in both directions from Saturday to Wednesday, and 37 daily trips in both directions on Thursday and Friday. Buses will run every 15 minutes.
Buses from Ras Al Khaimah and Ajman
Ras Al Khaimah Bus Station will transport visitors from Ras Al Khaimah to Expo 2020.
Visitors from Ajman will be served from Ajman Bus Station.
Seven buses will serve both locations and the service will start from Ras Al Khaimah and head to Expo via Ajman.
The RTA will run 17 daily trips in both directions from Saturday to Wednesday, and 18 daily trips in both directions on Thursday and Friday. Buses will run every 60 minutes.
Buses from Fujairah
The RTA will deploy four buses to serve Expo 2020 visitors from Fujairah, which will depart from near City Centre Fujairah.
There will be nine daily trips in both directions from Saturday to Wednesday, and 10 daily trips in both directions on Thursday and Friday.
Buses will run every two hours.
Opening soon
With only weeks to go until the start of Expo 2020 Dubai on October 1, preparations are gathering pace.
The Expo 2020 metro station opened on Route 2020 of the Metro Red Line on June 1, although at present only those with clearance to access the Expo site in Dubai South are permitted to use it.
The station was carefully designed to resemble the wings of a plane to symbolise Dubai's innovation drive.
The Kites
Romain Gary
Penguin Modern Classics
Company%20profile
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Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Emirates Cricket Board Women’s T10
ECB Hawks v ECB Falcons
Monday, April 6, 7.30pm, Sharjah Cricket Stadium
The match will be broadcast live on the My Sports Eye Facebook page
Hawks
Coach: Chaitrali Kalgutkar
Squad: Chaya Mughal (captain), Archara Supriya, Chamani Senevirathne, Chathurika Anand, Geethika Jyothis, Indhuja Nandakumar, Kashish Loungani, Khushi Sharma, Khushi Tanwar, Rinitha Rajith, Siddhi Pagarani, Siya Gokhale, Subha Srinivasan, Suraksha Kotte, Theertha Satish
Falcons
Coach: Najeeb Amar
Squad: Kavisha Kumari (captain), Almaseera Jahangir, Annika Shivpuri, Archisha Mukherjee, Judit Cleetus, Ishani Senavirathne, Lavanya Keny, Mahika Gaur, Malavika Unnithan, Rishitha Rajith, Rithika Rajith, Samaira Dharnidharka, Shashini Kaluarachchi, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi, Vaishnave Mahesh
RESULTS
6pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-2 – Group 1 (PA) $55,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
Winner: Rajeh, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Musabah Al Muhairi (trainer)
6.35pm: Oud Metha Stakes – Rated Conditions (TB) $60,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Get Back Goldie, William Buick, Doug O’Neill
7.10pm: Jumeirah Classic – Listed (TB) $150,000 (Turf) 1,600m
Winner: Sovereign Prince, James Doyle, Charlie Appleby
7.45pm: Firebreak Stakes – Group 3 (TB) $150,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Hypothetical, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer
8.20pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-2 – Group 2 (TB) $350,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner: Hot Rod Charlie, William Buick, Doug O’Neill
8.55pm: Al Bastakiya Trial – Conditions (TB) $60,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner: Withering, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass
9.30pm: Balanchine – Group 2 (TB) $180,000 (T) 1,800m
Winner: Creative Flair, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
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.”
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
WHAT IS GRAPHENE?
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were experimenting with sticky tape and graphite, the material used as lead in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But when they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics.
