Briscoe's delight after fending off Patrick challenge in Texas


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Ryan Briscoe hopes his first win of the season in the Indycar series will prove to be the catalyst to kick-start his championship challenge. The Australian had endured a frustrating start to the season as he sat seventh in the title race following a best finish of only third in the opening four races, but he held off a strong challenge from the Andretti car of Danica Patrick to win at the Texas Motor Speedway.

"This is a huge win," said Briscoe in the post-race press conference. The victory moves him up to fifth place in the standings, 28 points off the top. "It has been a rough start. My two teammates [Will Power and Helio Castroneves] have won races this year. It is a great feeling to join them in the winning list. "Hopefully, we can get a few more victories this season." The 28-year-old was overtaken by Patrick as he exited the pitlane after his final pit-stop, but quickly restored his advantage and was able to pull away to win by 1.5 seconds, and he was relieved to see off the challenge of the American.

Talking about how he overtook her, he said: "If I didn't get her there, I'm not sure I would get her at all. I knew it was going to be an important time and that's why I was being aggressive. Marco Andretti was third, followed by Scott Dixon of New Zealand and Dario Franchitti, the Indianapolis 500 winner who had led early on before fading. Defending series champion Franchitti seized the points lead from Power, who finished 14th after he was forced to make an extra pit-stop after picking up track debris in his car.

The race was marred by a fiery crash involving Simona de Silvestro, Swiss driver, who was pulled from her burning car by an emergency worker after she had hit the wall on the oval circuit. She was treated for burns to her right hand in the infield medical care centre. "It was crazy. The fire was getting worse and worse," de Silvestro told reporters afterwards. "It just wouldn't go away. My hand is a little bit burned."

* Agencies

Moon Music

Artist: Coldplay

Label: Parlophone/Atlantic

Number of tracks: 10

Rating: 3/5

Global state-owned investor ranking by size

1.

United States

2.

China

3.

UAE

4.

Japan

5

Norway

6.

Canada

7.

Singapore

8.

Australia

9.

Saudi Arabia

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South Korea

Libya's Gold

UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves. 

The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.

Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.

Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut

Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”

Getting there

The flights

Flydubai operates up to seven flights a week to Helsinki. Return fares to Helsinki from Dubai start from Dh1,545 in Economy and Dh7,560 in Business Class.

The stay

Golden Crown Igloos in Levi offer stays from Dh1,215 per person per night for a superior igloo; www.leviniglut.net 

Panorama Hotel in Levi is conveniently located at the top of Levi fell, a short walk from the gondola. Stays start from Dh292 per night based on two people sharing; www. golevi.fi/en/accommodation/hotel-levi-panorama

Arctic Treehouse Hotel in Rovaniemi offers stays from Dh1,379 per night based on two people sharing; www.arctictreehousehotel.com

The National's picks

4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young

How to donate

Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200

Should late investors consider cryptocurrencies?

Wealth managers recommend late investors to have a balanced portfolio that typically includes traditional assets such as cash, government and corporate bonds, equities, commodities and commercial property.

They do not usually recommend investing in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies due to the risk and volatility associated with them.

“It has produced eye-watering returns for some, whereas others have lost substantially as this has all depended purely on timing and when the buy-in was. If someone still has about 20 to 25 years until retirement, there isn’t any need to take such risks,” Rupert Connor of Abacus Financial Consultant says.

He adds that if a person is interested in owning a business or growing a property portfolio to increase their retirement income, this can be encouraged provided they keep in mind the overall risk profile of these assets.

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