Russian state media on Sunday cited an unconfirmed report that Chelsea football club owner Roman Abramovich's British visa has run out, while his spokesman declined to comment.
Russian state news agency Tass and other media picked up a report on The Bell website, which said an acquaintance of Abramovich and two in his inner circle had told it the billionaire's British visa ran out three weeks ago and he is awaiting a new one.
Amid a spiralling diplomatic crisis between Britain and Russia over the poisoning of a former Russian double agent, there have been calls in Britain for sanctions that would hurt super-rich Russians who have homes in London.
Mr Abramovich formally has residency in Jersey in the Channel Islands, a tax haven, but has never taken it up. The Sunday Times put his wealth at £9.3 billion (Dh46bn) on its Rich List this year. He has owned Chelsea since 2003. It ranked him as Britain's 13th-richest man.
The owner of the Premiership football club has a residence opposite Kensington Palace thought to be worth more than £100 million.
Mr Abramovich's spokesman John Mann told AFP he could not comment because "it's a personal issue". Mr Mann gave the same response to Tass.
The Bell published the Russian-language report on Sunday. It said it had received "no comment" responses from Mr Abramovich's spokesman and Britain's Home Office.
AFP also requested a comment on the issue from the Home Office in London, but none was immediately forthcoming.
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The report quoted a source in Mr Abramovich's entourage as saying that Britain had not refused to issue a new visa to Mr Abramovich but was considering his application.
Russia's Sport-Express website cited sources in Mr Abramovich's entourage as saying that it had taken a long time for his application to be processed but he was due to get a new British visa shortly.
The Bell was started by the former editor-in-chief of the RBC media group, Elizaveta Osetinskaya. Under her leadership, RBC was known for high-profile investigations.
The billionaire was the subject of a court battle with fellow Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky, which he won in 2012. It was centered on the ownership of the oil group Sibneft. The trial left Mr Berezovsky with a £100m legal bill after the losing the £1.8bn damages case.
He is a longtime friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin and a former member of Russia's parliament, described by those close to him as a shy businessman who has held stakes in Russian airline Aeroflot and Siberian sausage plant Omsky Bacon. But Chelsea remains his prized asset.
Many Russian tycoons have sought to invest in the London market, using such purchases as insurance against any change in the decision-making of Mr Putin.
How Alia's experiment will help humans get to Mars
Alia’s winning experiment examined how genes might change under the stresses caused by being in space, such as cosmic radiation and microgravity.
Her samples were placed in a machine on board the International Space Station. called a miniPCR thermal cycler, which can copy DNA multiple times.
After the samples were examined on return to Earth, scientists were able to successfully detect changes caused by being in space in the way DNA transmits instructions through proteins and other molecules in living organisms.
Although Alia’s samples were taken from nematode worms, the results have much bigger long term applications, especially for human space flight and long term missions, such as to Mars.
It also means that the first DNA experiments using human genomes can now be carried out on the ISS.
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
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SERIE A FIXTURES
Saturday (All UAE kick-off times)
Cagliari v AC Milan (6pm)
Lazio v Napoli (9pm)
Inter Milan v Atalanta (11.45pm)
Sunday
Udinese v Sassuolo (3.30pm)
Sampdoria v Brescia (6pm)
Fiorentina v SPAL (6pm)
Torino v Bologna (6pm)
Verona v Genoa (9pm)
Roma V Juventus (11.45pm)
Parma v Lecce (11.45pm)
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One 45-minute class per week in Standard Arabic is not sufficient
The goal should be for grade 1 and 2 students to become fluent readers
Subjects like technology, social studies, science can be taught in later grades
Grade 1 curricula should include oral instruction in Standard Arabic
First graders must regularly practice individual letters and combinations
Time should be slotted in class to read longer passages in early grades
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Jiu-jitsu calendar of events for 2017-2018:
August 5:
Round-1 of the President’s Cup in Al Ain.
August 11-13:
Asian Championship in Vietnam.
September 8-9:
Ajman International.
September 16-17
Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games, Ashgabat.
September 22-24:
IJJF Balkan Junior Open, Montenegro.
September 23-24:
Grand Slam Los Angeles.
September 29:
Round-1 Mother of The Nation Cup.
October 13-14:
Al Ain U18 International.
September 20-21:
Al Ain International.
November 3:
Round-2 Mother of The National Cup.
November 4:
Round-2 President’s Cup.
November 10-12:
Grand Slam Rio de Janeiro.
November 24-26:
World Championship, Columbia.
November 30:
World Beach Championship, Columbia.
December 8-9:
Dubai International.
December 23:
Round-3 President’s Cup, Sharjah.
January 12-13:
Grand Slam Abu Dhabi.
January 26-27:
Fujairah International.
February 3:
Round-4 President’s Cup, Al Dhafra.
February 16-17:
Ras Al Khaimah International.
February 23-24:
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March 10-11:
Grand Slam London.
March 16:
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March 17:
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