HYDERABAD // On a day when the World Badminton Championships were hit by the threat of swine flu, the unseeded Japanese Kenichi Tago shocked Danish seventh seed Joachim Persson 16-21, 21-14, 21-13 in the men's singles first round yesterday. Tago fought back from a game down to win in 57 minutes. There were fewer problems for former world and Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat, who advanced to the second round with a 21-14, 21-14 win over Christian Boesiger of Switzerland.
The veteran Indonesian, winner of the 2004 Athens Olympics gold medal and the 2005 world championships, needed only 27 minutes to sweep past Boesiger in the first round. Ninth-seeded Yu Hsing-Hseih of Taiwan had to struggle for a 21-14, 19-21, 24-22 win over local hope Arvind Bhat in an hour and two minutes. Park Sung-hwan, the No 8 seed from South Korea, needed 55 minutes to oust Steinar Klausen of Norway 19-21, 21-13, 21-18, while No 16 seed Boonsak Ponsana of Thailand held off Lithuania's Kestutis Navickas 21-14, 14-21, 21-17. Top-seeded Lee Chong Wei and defending world and Olympic champion Lin Dan advanced late on Monday.
In the women's singles, No 9 seed Wang Chen of Hong Kong beat Taiwan's Chen Hsiao-huan 21-19, 21-10. The 12th seed Hwang Hye-youn and No 13 seed Pui Yin Yip also advanced. Unfortunately, the story of the championships has been the death of eight people and the infection of hundreds of others due to swine flu. A Malaysian coach was quarantined, while a doubles pair from Thailand pulled out of a match after one of them complained of fever. The championships are also being played under tight security after England pulled out citing a "specific terrorist threat", following media reports the event could be targeted by the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba.
The organisers have had to dismiss reports that China was planning to pull out too. "I have the entire BWF [Badminton World Federation] team with me. Nothing like that has come to our notice," BWF vice-president and Indian federation chief VK Verma said. "The Chinese coach has gone on record saying he is happy with the arrangements." * Reuters
While you're here
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
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Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
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England
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AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus
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The Bio
Name: Lynn Davison
Profession: History teacher at Al Yasmina Academy, Abu Dhabi
Children: She has one son, Casey, 28
Hometown: Pontefract, West Yorkshire in the UK
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite Author: CJ Sansom
Favourite holiday destination: Bali
Favourite food: A Sunday roast
If you go
The flights
The closest international airport for those travelling from the UAE is Denver, Colorado. British Airways (www.ba.com) flies from the UAE via London from Dh3,700 return, including taxes. From there, transfers can be arranged to the ranch or it’s a seven-hour drive. Alternatively, take an internal flight to the counties of Cody, Casper, or Billings
The stay
Red Reflet offers a series of packages, with prices varying depending on season. All meals and activities are included, with prices starting from US$2,218 (Dh7,150) per person for a minimum stay of three nights, including taxes. For more information, visit red-reflet-ranch.net.
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Tips on buying property during a pandemic
Islay Robinson, group chief executive of mortgage broker Enness Global, offers his advice on buying property in today's market.
While many have been quick to call a market collapse, this simply isn’t what we’re seeing on the ground. Many pockets of the global property market, including London and the UAE, continue to be compelling locations to invest in real estate.
While an air of uncertainty remains, the outlook is far better than anyone could have predicted. However, it is still important to consider the wider threat posed by Covid-19 when buying bricks and mortar.
Anything with outside space, gardens and private entrances is a must and these property features will see your investment keep its value should the pandemic drag on. In contrast, flats and particularly high-rise developments are falling in popularity and investors should avoid them at all costs.
Attractive investment property can be hard to find amid strong demand and heightened buyer activity. When you do find one, be prepared to move hard and fast to secure it. If you have your finances in order, this shouldn’t be an issue.
Lenders continue to lend and rates remain at an all-time low, so utilise this. There is no point in tying up cash when you can keep this liquidity to maximise other opportunities.
Keep your head and, as always when investing, take the long-term view. External factors such as coronavirus or Brexit will present challenges in the short-term, but the long-term outlook remains strong.
Finally, keep an eye on your currency. Whenever currency fluctuations favour foreign buyers, you can bet that demand will increase, as they act to secure what is essentially a discounted property.
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
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The Africa Institute 101
Housed on the same site as the original Africa Hall, which first hosted an Arab-African Symposium in 1976, the newly renovated building will be home to a think tank and postgraduate studies hub (it will offer master’s and PhD programmes). The centre will focus on both the historical and contemporary links between Africa and the Gulf, and will serve as a meeting place for conferences, symposia, lectures, film screenings, plays, musical performances and more. In fact, today it is hosting a symposium – 5-plus-1: Rethinking Abstraction that will look at the six decades of Frank Bowling’s career, as well as those of his contemporaries that invested social, cultural and personal meaning into abstraction.
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Short-term let permits explained
Homeowners and tenants are allowed to list their properties for rental by registering through the Dubai Tourism website to obtain a permit.
Tenants also require a letter of no objection from their landlord before being allowed to list the property.
There is a cost of Dh1,590 before starting the process, with an additional licence fee of Dh300 per bedroom being rented in your home for the duration of the rental, which ranges from three months to a year.
Anyone hoping to list a property for rental must also provide a copy of their title deeds and Ejari, as well as their Emirates ID.
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Dubai Rugby Sevens, December 5 -7
World Sevens Series Pools
A – Fiji, France, Argentina, Japan
B – United States, Australia, Scotland, Ireland
C – New Zealand, Samoa, Canada, Wales
D – South Africa, England, Spain, Kenya
MATCH INFO
World Cup 2022 qualifier
UAE v Indonesia, Thursday, 8pm
Venue: Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai