DUBAI // Ahmed Al Shiekh has an uneasy relationship with the staircase leading up to his 16th-floor apartment.
Making a twice-daily climb up those steps has helped him to lose 26 kilograms of weight in just a month, but he still dreads it.
“I know each of those stairs individually after spending so much time with them,” the Syrian said. “But climbing the stairs has been my secret to success on this programme.”
Mr Al Shiekh, 27, is the overall winner of the Your Weight in Gold campaign, run by Dubai Municipality. The 63 grams of gold he won is worth Dh9,819.
The programme ran for six weeks but Mr Al Shiekh took part for only four. He woke up at 6am every day, went to the gym for an hour before work and an hour afterwards, climbing the stairs in between.
He avoided carbohydrates and sugars.
“I really missed fast food,” he said. “But I had strong willpower.”
He did not have scales in his house, so he had no idea he had gone from 146.7kg to 120.4kg until he stepped on the scales at the municipality weigh-in on August 20.
“I was surprised,because I didn’t check my weight before the final weigh-in,” he said. “I checked two times because I didn’t believe it. I even went to the pharmacy afterwards to check again on their scales.”
Mr Al Shiekh had to visit a tailor in recent weeks to reduce his sizes – he was once a 4XL but now needs an XL.
He said it would have been very expensive to completely replace his clothes but afforded himself the small luxury of a new suit, which he wore yesterday.
Mr Al Shiekh said he would continue trying to lose weight until he was the same size as some of the footballers and sportsmen he admired.
“You see them on the TV and you feel like it’s just a dream to be like that,” he said. “But now, thanks to this programme, I feel it has become possible.”
mcroucher@thenational.ae
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1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
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6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
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7. Limited time periods for audits
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9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
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These portfolios are made up of exchange traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to indices such as US and global equities, fixed-income products like bonds, though exposure to real estate, commodity ETFs or gold is also possible.
Investing in ETFs allows robo-advisers to offer fees far lower than traditional investments, such as actively managed mutual funds bought through a bank or broker. Investors can buy ETFs directly via a brokerage, but with robo-advisers they benefit from investment portfolios matched to their risk tolerance as well as being user friendly.
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5. Gonzalo Higuain - to Juventus in 2016/17 - €90m
6. Neymar - to Barcelona in 2013/14 - €88.2m
7. Romelu Lukaku - to Manchester United in 2017/18 - €84.7m
8. Luis Suarez - to Barcelona in 2014/15 - €81.72m
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Important questions to consider
1. Where on the plane does my pet travel?
There are different types of travel available for pets:
- Manifest cargo
- Excess luggage in the hold
- Excess luggage in the cabin
Each option is safe. The feasibility of each option is based on the size and breed of your pet, the airline they are traveling on and country they are travelling to.
2. What is the difference between my pet traveling as manifest cargo or as excess luggage?
If traveling as manifest cargo, your pet is traveling in the front hold of the plane and can travel with or without you being on the same plane. The cost of your pets travel is based on volumetric weight, in other words, the size of their travel crate.
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3. What happens when my pet arrives in the country they are traveling to?
As soon as the flight arrives, your pet will be taken from the plane straight to the airport terminal.
If your pet is traveling as excess luggage, they will taken to the oversized luggage area in the arrival hall. Once you clear passport control, you will be able to collect them at the same time as your normal luggage. As you exit the airport via the ‘something to declare’ customs channel you will be asked to present your pets travel paperwork to the customs official and / or the vet on duty.
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4. How long does the travel paperwork and other travel preparations take?
This depends entirely on the location that your pet is traveling to. Your pet relocation compnay will provide you with an accurate timeline of how long the relevant preparations will take and at what point in the process the various steps must be taken.
In some cases they can get your pet ‘travel ready’ in a few days. In others it can be up to six months or more.
5. What vaccinations does my pet need to travel?
Regardless of where your pet is traveling, they will need certain vaccinations. The exact vaccinations they need are entirely dependent on the location they are traveling to. The one vaccination that is mandatory for every country your pet may travel to is a rabies vaccination.
Other vaccinations may also be necessary. These will be advised to you as relevant. In every situation, it is essential to keep your vaccinations current and to not miss a due date, even by one day. To do so could severely hinder your pets travel plans.
Source: Pawsome Pets UAE
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