A French daredevil climber known as "Spiderman" scaled a skyscraper in Hong Kong on Friday to call for reconciliation with China after weeks of protests as a local billionaire known as "Superman" made a similar plea in a series of newspaper advertisements.
The calls came as more mass demonstrations were expected at the weekend.
Using his bare hands and without a harness, Alain Robert clambered up the 68-storey Cheung Kong Centre in Hong Kong's central business district and secured a large banner to the building's exterior that symbolised reconciliation between China and the territory.
The sign positioned China's flag in the left-hand corner with Hong Kong's flag on the right side. Underneath was a yellow hand shaking a red hand on a white background to signify peace.
China has likened the pro-democracy protests staged over the past 11 weeks to terrorism and has warned it could use force to quell them. With no signs of an end to the unrest, speculation has been growing that Beijing will send in its troops after state media showed video footage of paramilitary police gathering in Shenzhen, just across the mainland border.
Mr Robert's ascent on Friday was the third time he has climbed the Cheung Kong Centre, which is the headquarters of Cheung Kong Holdings founded by the billionaire Li Ka-shing.
Mr Li, one of the richest men in the former British territory and known as "Superman" to admirers of his business acumen, also called for peace on Friday.
“Love freedom, love tolerance, love the rule of law,” Mr Li, 91, said in advertisements placed on the front pages of several local newspapers, signing them as “a Hong Kong citizen.”
“Love China, love Hong Kong, love yourself. The best cause can lead to the worst result. Stop anger in the name of love,” he said.
The protests have damaged investor confidence in the Asian business hub, with the government on Thursday predicting annual growth would be between zero and 1 per cent. The territory's image took a further hit this week when protests at its international airport halted most flights for two days.
Police arrested Mr Robert immediately after his climb, which came two weeks after the end of a year-long ban on him climbing buildings in Hong Kong. Dressed in bright hues of purple, pink and green, he was taken to a nearby police station.
Prior to the ascent he put out a statement saying the message of his climb was to make "an urgent appeal for peace and consultation between Hong Kong people and their government".
"Perhaps what I do can lower the temperature and maybe raise a smile. That's my hope anyway," he said.
Mr Robert often climbs without permission and has been arrested several times, sometimes for trespassing.
SPECS
Engine: 4-litre V8 twin-turbo
Power: 630hp
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: 8-speed Tiptronic automatic
Price: From Dh599,000
On sale: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
Crawley Town 3 (Tsaroulla 50', Nadesan 53', Tunnicliffe 70')
Leeds United 0
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
The Case For Trump
By Victor Davis Hanson
HEADLINE HERE
- I would recommend writing out the text in the body
- And then copy into this box
- It can be as long as you link
- But I recommend you use the bullet point function (see red square)
- Or try to keep the word count down
- Be wary of other embeds lengthy fact boxes could crash into
- That's about it
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.
Indoor Cricket World Cup Dubai 2017
Venue Insportz, Dubai; Admission Free
Day 1 fixtures (Saturday)
Men 1.45pm, Malaysia v Australia (Court 1); Singapore v India (Court 2); UAE v New Zealand (Court 3); South Africa v Sri Lanka (Court 4)
Women Noon, New Zealand v South Africa (Court 3); England v UAE (Court 4); 5.15pm, Australia v UAE (Court 3); England v New Zealand (Court 4)
Squads
Pakistan: Sarfaraz Ahmed (c), Babar Azam (vc), Abid Ali, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail, Mohammad Hasnain, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Shadab Khan, Usman Shinwari, Wahab Riaz
Sri Lanka: Lahiru Thirimanne (c), Danushka Gunathilaka, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Avishka Fernando, Oshada Fernando, Shehan Jayasuriya, Dasun Shanaka, Minod Bhanuka, Angelo Perera, Wanindu Hasaranga, Lakshan Sandakan, Nuwan Pradeep, Isuru Udana, Kasun Rajitha, Lahiru Kumara
ULTRA PROCESSED FOODS
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.
Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
The five pillars of Islam
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
If you go
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct from the UAE to Chicago from Dh5,215 return including taxes.
The hotels
Recommended hotels include the Intercontinental Chicago Magnificent Mile, located in an iconic skyscraper complete with a 1929 Olympic-size swimming pool from US$299 (Dh1,100) per night including taxes, and the Omni Chicago Hotel, an excellent value downtown address with elegant art deco furnishings and an excellent in-house restaurant. Rooms from US$239 (Dh877) per night including taxes.
First Person
Richard Flanagan
Chatto & Windus
MATCH INFO
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City, Tuesday, 11pm (UAE)
Matches can be watched on BeIN Sports
