Agencies
Five crashes, some involving cars getting airborne and flipping over, have raised concerns before Sunday’s 99th running of the Indianapolis 500.
The IndyCar Series’ oval classic, 200 laps around the 2.5-mile (4km) Indianapolis Motor Speedway, will start with New Zealand’s Scott Dixon in pole position followed by Australian Will Power and France’s Simon Pagenaud.
But tensions are raised at the “Brickyard” after wrecks that prompted officials to alter qualifying specifications to reduce turbo boost and increase downforce to slow cars in hopes of avoiding more crashes.
Three-time Indy 500 champion Helio Castroneves went airborne and had his car flip end over end in practice.
Britain’s Pippa Mann stayed on the track when she hit the outer wall and outer pit wall entrance, but American Josef Newgarden also found the safety fencing in a testing session.
When two-time pole sitter Ed Carpenter’s car went airborne in a crash ahead of qualifying, IndyCar officials made last-minute safety changes, controversially as only Chevrolet-powered cars had the issue at speed and those powered by Honda engines were not affected.
Officials forced teams to use slower race set-ups for time trials, but there is some uncertainty about what will happen when the full 33-car field takes the green flag even after the qualifying slowdown.
“We don’t want to see cars getting in the air and there’s only a few tools that you have in the toolbox to use and IndyCar, whether it’s the right or wrong situation, for safety, it’s kind of all they had,” Dixon said. “If you look at oval racing as some of the most dangerous, it’s always in the back of your mind.”
James Hinchcliffe received pelvic and leg injuries in a practice session, and Britain’s Justin Wilson said other drivers are worried.
“Helio’s crash got our attention, but that sort of thing has happened in racing for years,” he said. “When James’s crash happened, that was when people realised we could get hurt doing this.”
Success cannot be too sweet for Kimball
Race day is all about numbers for Charlie Kimball, one of the few diabetics who make a living racing cars.
Before he drives in the Indianapolis 500 tomorrow, the American will check his blood-glucose level at least five times. He follows a strict pre-race diet and uses a special in-car monitor to test his blood-sugar levels. After the chequered flag waves, he checks it again.
“The most important thing is for me to learn from every opportunity, every race, to evaluate the race and see if I did the job right,” Kimball said.
He was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in 2007 and has refused to allow it to stop his steady climb in motor racing.
After starting his career in karts, moving to cars and running in several European series, he returned to the US in 2008 and showed promise in open-wheel cars. In 2010, he finished fourth in the Indy Lights series.
A year later, Chip Ganassi hired him to drive full-time. He won his first race at Mid-Ohio in 2013 and has had two seasons with 10 top-10 finishes.
In addition to the blood-glucose monitor inside the cockpit of his No 83 car, Kimball also uses a special water bag that has two bladders. One side contains water, the other orange juice. By flipping a small valve designed in part by his engineers and his father, a former race-car engineer, he can drink the orange juice if readouts indicate he needs some help.
“It’s really important with the speeds we go to keep it in the right range to be competitive,” Kimball said.
He will eat protein and complex carbs tonight and tomorrow morning, before the race. He will test his blood-glucose level a handful of times before driver introductions and continually throughout the race.
Kimball knows that getting those numbers right is the only way he can win.
Ear has Huertas out of Indy 500
Carlos Huertas is out of the Indianapolis 500 because of an inner ear condition, Dale Coyne Racing said. Tristan Vautier was named as his replacement and the car will be moved to the back of the 33-car field for the race.
Huertas, 23, had been set to start from the 18th grid.
He will also have to have further evaluation before being cleared to return to competition.
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Opening Premier League fixtures, August 14
- Brentford v Arsenal
- Burnley v Brighton
- Chelsea v Crystal Palace
- Everton v Southampton
- Leicester City v Wolves
- Manchester United v Leeds United
- Newcastle United v West Ham United
- Norwich City v Liverpool
- Tottenham v Manchester City
- Watford v Aston Villa
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
'The worst thing you can eat'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
The years Ramadan fell in May
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
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.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
The bio
Date of Birth: April 25, 1993
Place of Birth: Dubai, UAE
Marital Status: Single
School: Al Sufouh in Jumeirah, Dubai
University: Emirates Airline National Cadet Programme and Hamdan University
Job Title: Pilot, First Officer
Number of hours flying in a Boeing 777: 1,200
Number of flights: Approximately 300
Hobbies: Exercising
Nicest destination: Milan, New Zealand, Seattle for shopping
Least nice destination: Kabul, but someone has to do it. It’s not scary but at least you can tick the box that you’ve been
Favourite place to visit: Dubai, there’s no place like home
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
