MELBOURNE // "Who's gonna win? Webber's gonna win! Where's he from? Australia!"
The chant by the young man in the Red Bull shirt was hardly imaginative, but it provided the desired effect.
As he and his two friends walked through the F1 Village at Albert Park singing, others joined in: a girl wrapped in an Australian flag gave a holler, a man wearing an Aussie Rules football shirt called out "Webbo", even a couple of children in McLaren-Mercedes baseball caps got in on the act.
Mark Webber will start Sunday's Australian Grand Prix in fifth place, which happens to be his best finishing position at his home race. He is one place ahead of teammate Sebastian Vettel.
Arguably one of Webber's finest ever drives took place at Albert Park in 2002 when he made his debut in the grid's slowest car, a Minardi. He finished fifth, and Paul Stoddart, his team manager at the time, called it "the most exciting two points in the history of Formula One".
The 35-year-old Webber has not lived permanently in Australia for more than 15 years and his form at home since his debut has been disappointing - in 10 previous attempts he has finished fifth three times, been forced to retire four times and finished outside the points in 2007 and 2009 - yet neither factor appears to have affected the affection shown toward towards him by his compatriots.
Organisers expect more than 100,000 people to pass through the gates for Sunday's race, a target set with home heroes in mind: For the first time in the 27-year history of the race, two Australians will line up on the grid, and Webber and Daniel Ricciardo - who also resides in England - are getting plenty of attention.
"It's great for Australia, great for the sport and great for us fans," said Mitch Watson, the 23-year-old Melbournian in the Red Bull shirt.
"Just because they don't live here any more doesn't make them any less Australian. Most people - at least all the people I speak to - appreciate that if you are going to make it in F1 you have to move to Europe."
Cody Briggs agreed: "You have to support the Aussies," she said wrapped in her country's flag.
"Yeah, so he doesn't live here. Vettel doesn't live in Germany and as Mark showed, he's got just as much chance of winning this year's race as Seb."
Webber won the final race last season in Brazil, but it would take something special to win the first race of the new season today from fifth.
The Australian is remaining pragmatic.
"We need to leave here with some points in the bank and we need to massage more out of this car quite quickly," he said.
"I'm pleased with my lap in Q3, but I'm not happy where we are on the grid. I feel we will find out [Sunday] how we are on Sunday afternoons. Saturday [qualifying] is not our strength right now. We can still get on the podium, but we have some fast cars around us, no question about it."
Webber's qualifying result was put down to the fact his car suffered a problem with its energy boost system in the final stages. If he needs an added boost during today's race, he need only look to the stands.
Tips for used car buyers
- Choose cars with GCC specifications
- Get a service history for cars less than five years old
- Don’t go cheap on the inspection
- Check for oil leaks
- Do a Google search on the standard problems for your car model
- Do your due diligence. Get a transfer of ownership done at an official RTA centre
- Check the vehicle’s condition. You don’t want to buy a car that’s a good deal but ends up costing you Dh10,000 in repairs every month
- Validate warranty and service contracts with the relevant agency and and make sure they are valid when ownership is transferred
- If you are planning to sell the car soon, buy one with a good resale value. The two most popular cars in the UAE are black or white in colour and other colours are harder to sell
Tarek Kabrit, chief executive of Seez, and Imad Hammad, chief executive and co-founder of CarSwitch.com
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How Apple's credit card works
The Apple Card looks different from a traditional credit card — there's no number on the front and the users' name is etched in metal. The card expands the company's digital Apple Pay services, marrying the physical card to a virtual one and integrating both with the iPhone. Its attributes include quick sign-up, elimination of most fees, strong security protections and cash back.
What does it cost?
Apple says there are no fees associated with the card. That means no late fee, no annual fee, no international fee and no over-the-limit fees. It also said it aims to have among the lowest interest rates in the industry. Users must have an iPhone to use the card, which comes at a cost. But they will earn cash back on their purchases — 3 per cent on Apple purchases, 2 per cent on those with the virtual card and 1 per cent with the physical card. Apple says it is the only card to provide those rewards in real time, so that cash earned can be used immediately.
What will the interest rate be?
The card doesn't come out until summer but Apple has said that as of March, the variable annual percentage rate on the card could be anywhere from 13.24 per cent to 24.24 per cent based on creditworthiness. That's in line with the rest of the market, according to analysts
What about security?
The physical card has no numbers so purchases are made with the embedded chip and the digital version lives in your Apple Wallet on your phone, where it's protected by fingerprints or facial recognition. That means that even if someone steals your phone, they won't be able to use the card to buy things.
Is it easy to use?
Apple says users will be able to sign up for the card in the Wallet app on their iPhone and begin using it almost immediately. It also tracks spending on the phone in a more user-friendly format, eliminating some of the gibberish that fills a traditional credit card statement. Plus it includes some budgeting tools, such as tracking spending and providing estimates of how much interest could be charged on a purchase to help people make an informed decision.
* Associated Press
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
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FIXTURES (all times UAE)
Sunday
Brescia v Lazio (3.30pm)
SPAL v Verona (6pm)
Genoa v Sassuolo (9pm)
AS Roma v Torino (11.45pm)
Monday
Bologna v Fiorentina (3.30pm)
AC Milan v Sampdoria (6pm)
Juventus v Cagliari (6pm)
Atalanta v Parma (6pm)
Lecce v Udinese (9pm)
Napoli v Inter Milan (11.45pm)
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World Cup warm up matches
May 24 Pakistan v Afghanistan, Bristol; Sri Lanka v South Africa, Cardiff
May 25 England v Australia, Southampton; India v New Zealand, The Oval
May 26 South Africa v West Indies, Bristol; Pakistan v Bangladesh, Cardiff
May 27 Australia v Sri Lanka, Southampton; England v Afghanistan, The Oval
May 28 West Indies v New Zealand, Bristol; Bangladesh v India, Cardiff
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
The years Ramadan fell in May
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How does ToTok work?
The calling app is available to download on Google Play and Apple App Store
To successfully install ToTok, users are asked to enter their phone number and then create a nickname.
The app then gives users the option add their existing phone contacts, allowing them to immediately contact people also using the application by video or voice call or via message.
Users can also invite other contacts to download ToTok to allow them to make contact through the app.
