• US President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden visit a Covid-19 vaccination facility at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. AFP
    US President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden visit a Covid-19 vaccination facility at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. AFP
  • A police officer holds up a stop sign as a car approaches in an almost-deserted street in Jordan's capital Amman, during a coronavirus lockdown. AFP
    A police officer holds up a stop sign as a car approaches in an almost-deserted street in Jordan's capital Amman, during a coronavirus lockdown. AFP
  • A girl who is infected with Covid-19 receives oxygen in a quarantine ward at a hospital in the holy city of Najaf, Iraq. Reuters
    A girl who is infected with Covid-19 receives oxygen in a quarantine ward at a hospital in the holy city of Najaf, Iraq. Reuters
  • A medical worker measures the temperature of travellers, using a thermal camera, at the arrival hall of Tindouf Airport, in south-west Algeria. AFP
    A medical worker measures the temperature of travellers, using a thermal camera, at the arrival hall of Tindouf Airport, in south-west Algeria. AFP
  • A municipal worker disinfects a classroom before pupils return to school, in Cankaya district, in Turkey's capital Ankara. AFP
    A municipal worker disinfects a classroom before pupils return to school, in Cankaya district, in Turkey's capital Ankara. AFP
  • An airport worker puts Covax labels on Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccines being unloaded at Felix Houphouet Boigny Airport, Abidjan, Ivory Coast. The country has received 504,000 doses from Covax, which provides inoculations for poorer countries. AFP
    An airport worker puts Covax labels on Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccines being unloaded at Felix Houphouet Boigny Airport, Abidjan, Ivory Coast. The country has received 504,000 doses from Covax, which provides inoculations for poorer countries. AFP
  • Women wearing flamenco dresses protest in Seville, Spain, to highlight the difficulties the flamenco fashion sector is facing over coronavirus restrictions. AFP
    Women wearing flamenco dresses protest in Seville, Spain, to highlight the difficulties the flamenco fashion sector is facing over coronavirus restrictions. AFP
  • A health worker administers a Covid-19 vaccine to a resident at Solar das Acacias nursing home, in Guarulhos, near Sao Paulo, Brazil. Reuters
    A health worker administers a Covid-19 vaccine to a resident at Solar das Acacias nursing home, in Guarulhos, near Sao Paulo, Brazil. Reuters
  • Buddhists pray as screens show devotees gathering via Zoom for a ceremony to commemorate Makha Bucha Day at the Wat Phra Dhammakaya temple, following the spread of Covid-19, in Pathum Thani province, Thailand. Reuters
    Buddhists pray as screens show devotees gathering via Zoom for a ceremony to commemorate Makha Bucha Day at the Wat Phra Dhammakaya temple, following the spread of Covid-19, in Pathum Thani province, Thailand. Reuters
  • Steam rises from a vent outside the US Capitol on the day the House of Representatives is expected to vote on legislation to provide $1.9 trillion in new coronavirus relief in Washington, US. Reuters
    Steam rises from a vent outside the US Capitol on the day the House of Representatives is expected to vote on legislation to provide $1.9 trillion in new coronavirus relief in Washington, US. Reuters

Coronavirus latest: Abu Dhabi to introduce saliva tests for children aged between 4 and 12


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Top stories 

Sreesanth's India bowling career

Tests 27, Wickets 87, Average 37.59, Best 5-40

ODIs 53, Wickets 75, Average 33.44, Best 6-55

T20Is 10, Wickets 7, Average 41.14, Best 2-12

Key findings
  • Over a period of seven years, a team of scientists analysed dietary data from 50,000 North American adults.
  • Eating one or two meals a day was associated with a relative decrease in BMI, compared with three meals. Snacks count as a meal. Likewise, participants who ate more than three meals a day experienced an increase in BMI: the more meals a day, the greater the increase. 
  • People who ate breakfast experienced a relative decrease in their BMI compared with “breakfast-skippers”. 
  • Those who turned the eating day on its head to make breakfast the biggest meal of the day, did even better. 
  • But scrapping dinner altogether gave the best results. The study found that the BMI of subjects who had a long overnight fast (of 18 hours or more) decreased when compared even with those who had a medium overnight fast, of between 12 and 17 hours.
The biog

Name: Marie Byrne

Nationality: Irish

Favourite film: The Shawshank Redemption

Book: Seagull by Jonathan Livingston

Life lesson: A person is not old until regret takes the place of their dreams

RESULTS

Argentina 4 Haiti 0

Peru 2 Scotland 0

Panama 0 Northern Ireland 0

2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups

Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.

Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.

Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.

Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.

Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.

Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.

Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.

Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.

MATCH DETAILS

Chelsea 4 

Jorginho (4 pen, 71 pen), Azpilicueta (63), James (74)

Ajax 4

Abraham (2 og), Promes (20). Kepa (35 og), van de Beek (55) 

White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogenChromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxideUltramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica contentOphiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on landOlivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE v Gibraltar

What: International friendly

When: 7pm kick off

Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City

Admission: Free

Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page

UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)

Adele: The Stories Behind The Songs
Caroline Sullivan
Carlton Books

Avatar: Fire and Ash

Director: James Cameron

Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana

Rating: 4.5/5

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.”

Remaining fixtures

Third-place-play-off: Portugal v Mexico, 4pm on Sunday

Final: Chile v Germany, 10pm on Sunday