Announced last week as Europe’s Ryder Cup captain for next year’s battle with the United States, Northern Ireland’s Darren Clarke probably envisaged a steady process of building bonds, studying statistics and tuning tactics ahead of the showdown at Hazeltine National Golf Club.
The newly anointed skipper’s leadership qualities face a stern examination rather sooner than anticipated, though, and not in Chaska, Minnesota, where Europe will seek to once again retain the Samuel Ryder trophy.
Clarke gets his first outing as a captain at the inaugural Icons Cup, a two-day, match-play team competition to take place at Dubai’s Jumeirah Golf Estates’ from April 22-24.
Clarke’s Rest of the World (ROTW) side tackle an American team led by Fred Couples, the 1992 Masters champion.
A look at the names already committed in Dubai and the event’s title becomes clear: this week, the ROTW announced Shane Warne, Brian Lara, Brian O’Driscoll, George Gregan, Andriy Shevchenko and Luis Figo as team members.
The identity of their US rivals will be confirmed on March 3.
“It’ll be really interesting to see how these great sportsmen react to the unique pressures of team golf,” said Clarke, a five-time Ryder Cup player. “Collectively they’ve won scores of trophies, titles, medals and the like, but pushing them to find their top form on the course will be a fun challenge.”
Couples, who this week missed out on the 2016 US Ryder Cup captaincy, said: “I’ve participated in some truly remarkable sporting events, as a competitor and a captain. While those experiences have been tremendous, the Icons Cup will be something totally new for me.”
Follow us on Twitter @NatSportUAE
Company Profile
Name: HyveGeo
Started: 2023
Founders: Abdulaziz bin Redha, Dr Samsurin Welch, Eva Morales and Dr Harjit Singh
Based: Cambridge and Dubai
Number of employees: 8
Industry: Sustainability & Environment
Funding: $200,000 plus undisclosed grant
Investors: Venture capital and government
A QUIET PLACE
Starring: Lupita Nyong'o, Joseph Quinn, Djimon Hounsou
Director: Michael Sarnoski
Rating: 4/5
Can NRIs vote in the election?
Indians residing overseas cannot cast their ballot abroad
Non-resident Indians or NRIs can vote only by going to a polling booth in their home constituency
There are about 3.1 million NRIs living overseas
Indians have urged political parties to extend the right to vote to citizens residing overseas
A committee of the Election Commission of India approved of proxy voting for non-resident Indians
Proxy voting means that a person can authorise someone residing in the same polling booth area to cast a vote on his behalf.
This option is currently available for the armed forces, police and government officials posted outside India
A bill was passed in the lower house of India’s parliament or the Lok Sabha to extend proxy voting to non-resident Indians
However, this did not come before the upper house or Rajya Sabha and has lapsed
The issue of NRI voting draws a huge amount of interest in India and overseas
Over the past few months, Indians have received messages on mobile phones and on social media claiming that NRIs can cast their votes online
The Election Commission of India then clarified that NRIs could not vote online
The Election Commission lodged a complaint with the Delhi Police asking it to clamp down on the people spreading misinformation
SUZUME
Director: Makoto Shinkai
Stars: Nanoka Hara, Hokuto Matsumura, Eri Fukatsu
Rating: 4/5
2017 RESULTS: FRENCH VOTERS IN UK
First round
Emmanuel Macron: 51.1%
Francois Fillon: 24.2%
Jean-Luc Melenchon: 11.8%
Benoit Hamon: 7.0%
Marine Le Pen: 2.9%
Second round
Emmanuel Macron: 95.1%
Marine Le Pen: 4.9%
Stamp duty timeline
December 2014: Former UK chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne reforms stamp duty land tax (SDLT), replacing the slab system with a blended rate scheme, with the top rate increasing to 12 per cent from 10 per cent:
Up to £125,000 – 0%; £125,000 to £250,000 – 2%; £250,000 to £925,000 – 5%; £925,000 to £1.5m: 10%; More than £1.5m – 12%
April 2016: New 3% surcharge applied to any buy-to-let properties or additional homes purchased.
July 2020: Chancellor Rishi Sunak unveils SDLT holiday, with no tax to pay on the first £500,000, with buyers saving up to £15,000.
March 2021: Mr Sunak extends the SDLT holiday at his March 3 budget until the end of June.
April 2021: 2% SDLT surcharge added to property transactions made by overseas buyers.
June 2021: SDLT holiday on transactions up to £500,000 expires on June 30.
July 2021: Tax break on transactions between £125,000 to £250,000 starts on July 1 and runs until September 30.
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: OneOrder
Started: March 2022
Founders: Tamer Amer and Karim Maurice
Based: Cairo
Number of staff: 82
Investment stage: Series A
SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
MATCH INFO
West Ham United 2 (Antonio 73', Ogbonna 90+5')
Tottenham Hotspur 3 (Son 36', Moura 42', Kane 49')
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
Profile Box
Company/date started: 2015
Founder/CEO: Mohammed Toraif
Based: Manama, Bahrain
Sector: Sales, Technology, Conservation
Size: (employees/revenue) 4/ 5,000 downloads
Stage: 1 ($100,000)
Investors: Two first-round investors including, 500 Startups, Fawaz Al Gosaibi Holding (Saudi Arabia)
