Ben Roethlisberger threw two touchdown passes on Sunday to spark Pittsburgh over the New York Giants 24-20 in an NFL game played with Hurricane Sandy's devastation as a backdrop.
With the New York area still recovering from the killer storm's damage and shelter and electricity not yet restored for many, the Steelers decided not to fill precious hotel rooms and travelled in and out of the area on Sunday.
"The first thing was to make sure we weren't going to do anything to interfere with public safety or use resources that would help in the recovery," NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said.
"We talked to a lot of people and they all said they needed something to re-energise, something to entertain."
Roethlisberger flipped a 4-yard touchdown pass to Emmanuel Sanders early in the second quarter to open the scoring but the Giants equalised on a scoring drive capped by Andre Brown's 1-yard touchdown run.
On the next Steelers' possession, "Big Ben" was hit while trying to pass and New York's Michael Boley recovered the fumble and returned it 70 yards for a touchdown. Video replay upheld the ruling that it was not an incomplete pass.
Shaun Suisham kicked a 30-yard field goal on the last play of the second quarter to cut New York's half-time lead to 14-10, but Scotsman Lawrence Tynes answered from 23 and 50 yards for the Giants to boost their edge to 20-10.
Roethlisberger found Mike Wallace on a short crossing pass and the receiver completed a 51-yard touchdown play to pull with Steelers within 20-17 and Isaac Redman scored the game-winning touchdown on a 1-yard run with 4:02 remaining.
Giants coach Tom Coughlin said he was disappointed in letting down fans that needed a lift following the storm.
"We wanted emotionally so badly to win the game for obvious reasons, for all our neighbours who are struggling and who need some type of inspiration," Coughlin said after the team blew a 10-point lead in a 24-20 loss by allowing two fourth-quarter touchdowns.
"Of course, we didn't provide it for them. This is not the kind of game we had planned to play."
Andrew Luck broke the NFL's single-game rookie record by throwing for 433 yards in the Indianapolis Colts' 23-20 victory over the Miami Dolphins.
Luck was 30 of 48 with two TDs and broke Cam Newton's previous mark of 422 yards set last season.
Miami got another strong performance from Ryan Tannehill. He went 22 of 38 for 290 yards with one TD.
The rookie quarterbacks traded jabs all day, but Luck's 36-yard touchdown pass to TY Hilton gave the Colts a 20-17 lead, and Adam Vinatieri's 43-yard field goal with six minutes left broke a 20-20 tie.
Marshawn Lynch ran for 124 yards and a touchdown, rookie QB Russell Wilson threw three first-half touchdowns, and the Seattle Seahawks overcame 182 yards rushing by Adrian Peterson in a 30-20 win over the Minnesota Vikings.
The matchup between the top two rushers in the NFL - Peterson and Lynch - did not disappoint, with Peterson having his best game since 2008.
Lynch ran for a 3-yard TD in the third quarter, while Wilson threw TD passes of 11 yards to Sidney Rice, and TDs of 6 and 11 yards to Golden Tate for the Seahawks.
Peterson and the Vikings had 197 yards rushing in the first half, but only had 46 yards rushing in the second half. Quarterback Christian Ponder was 11 of 22 for 63 yards.
"I thought it was the kind of day that we needed to start the second half," Pete Carroll, the Seattle coach, said afterwards.
"We put a lot of pressure on our guys to play well today and to get things done and get this thing going."
Peyton Manning threw three touchdown passes to inspire the Denver Broncos to a 31-23 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.
Trindon Holliday also returned a kickoff and a Broncos record 105 yards for a touchdown.
Manning threw a pair of interceptions - one in the end zone - that led to 10 points and a 20-17 Cincinnati lead early in the fourth quarter.
But the four-time MVP got his act together to cement the Broncos' position at the top of the AFC West.
The Cleveland Browns remain top of the AFC North after their 25-15 comeback victory over the division's bottom side the Baltimore Ravens.
Joe Flacco threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Torrey Smith with just over four minutes remaining to complete the fightback.
Smith caught Flacco's strike and spun away from cornerback Joe Haden as the Ravens beat the Browns for the 10th consecutive time.
Phil Dawson kicked five field goals for the Browns, who were again competitive but failed to score a touchdown on five trips inside Baltimore's 20-yard line.
The Chicago Bears' superb season continued with a convincing victory over the Tennessee Titans.
Brian Urlacher became the latest Chicago defender to return an interception for a touchdown and Jay Cutler threw three touchdown passes to Brandon Marshall as the Bears routed the Titans 51-20.
Cornerback Charles Tillman forced four fumbles and Chicago created five turnovers on the way to their sixth straight victory.
The Bears scored a franchise-record 28 points in the first quarter. They took control by forcing three turnovers in the first 13 minutes and turning them into 14 points. Urlacher went 46 yards for his score.
Tennessee's only highlight was when Chris Johnson scored on an 80-yard run in the fourth quarter.
"It has to be upsetting when you know our reputation coming in," admitted Lovie Smith, the Chicago coach.
"It's not like it's the first one we've done. Every team we've played has the mindset that this team will strip the ball. That's who we are."
The Green Bay Packers' 31-17 victory over the Arizona Cardinals left the visitors nursing their fifth straight loss.
Tom Crabtree had a 72-yard touchdown that was Green Bay's longest of the season and Randall Cobb added two scoring catches.
The Packers finished with a season-high 176 yards rushing on 39 carries.
James Jones also had a touchdown reception, his career-high eighth of the season.
Matt Schaub threw two touchdown passes and Arian Foster ran for 111 yards in the Houston Texan's 21-9 victory over the Buffalo Bills.
Andre Johnson caught eight passes for 118 yards and Foster scored for the fifth straight game for Houston.
Schaub won for the 10th time in 11 starts. He completed 19 of 27 passes for 268 yards and threw multiple TD passes for the second straight game.
The Jacksonville Jaguars' miserable season continued at the Detroit Lions. The Jaguars have won only once this season and went down 31-14 to the Lions.
Mikel Leshoure ran for three touchdowns in the first half - the first in franchise history to do so - finishing with 70 yards rushing.
Calvin Johnson had five receptions for 99 yards before the Jaguars even recorded a first down.
The battle between two teams at the bottom of their divisions finished with the Carolina Panthers beating the Washington Redskins 21-13.
Cam Newton completed 13 of 23 passes for 201 yards with a touchdown and ran eight times for 37 yards and a score as the Panthers ended a five-game losing streak.
Newton had one of his best games of the season, including a 19-yard touchdown pass to Steve Smith and an 82-yard completion that set up a score.
Robert Griffin III was 23 for 39 for 215 yards, ran 11 times for 53 yards and was sacked four times as the Redskins lost their third straight game.
Michael Turner had a tiebreaking three-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter, Matt Bryant kicked four field goals and the Atlanta Falcons defeated the Dallas Cowboys 19-13 to extend their run as the NFL's only unbeaten team.
Turner had 20 carries for 102 yards and Matt Ryan had a season-high 342 yards passing for the Falcons, who took their first lead on Turner's TD with 14:21 left in the game.
Tony Romo completed six of six passes for 78 yards, including a 21-yard scoring pass to Kevin Ogletree, on the Cowboys' touchdown drive later in the fourth.
Top tips to avoid cyber fraud
Microsoft’s ‘hacker-in-chief’ David Weston, creator of the tech company’s Windows Red Team, advises simple steps to help people avoid falling victim to cyber fraud:
1. Always get the latest operating system on your smartphone or desktop, as it will have the latest innovations. An outdated OS can erode away all investments made in securing your device or system.
2. After installing the latest OS version, keep it patched; this means repairing system vulnerabilities which are discovered after the infrastructure components are released in the market. The vast majority of attacks are based on out of date components – there are missing patches.
3. Multi-factor authentication is required. Move away from passwords as fast as possible, particularly for anything financial. Cybercriminals are targeting money through compromising the users’ identity – his username and password. So, get on the next level of security using fingertips or facial recognition.
4. Move your personal as well as professional data to the cloud, which has advanced threat detection mechanisms and analytics to spot any attempt. Even if you are hit by some ransomware, the chances of restoring the stolen data are higher because everything is backed up.
5. Make the right hardware selection and always refresh it. We are in a time where a number of security improvement processes are reliant on new processors and chip sets that come with embedded security features. Buy a new personal computer with a trusted computing module that has fingerprint or biometric cameras as additional measures of protection.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Meydan race card
6.30pm: Maiden; Dh165,000; (Dirt) 1,200m
7.05pm: Handicap; Dh170,000; (D) 1,200m
7.40pm: Maiden; Dh165,000; (D) 1,900m
8.15pm: Handicap; Dh185,000; (D) 2,000m
8.50pm: Handicap; Dh185,000; (D) 1,600m
9.25pm: Handicap; Dh165,000; (D) 2,000m
MEDIEVIL%20(1998)
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDeveloper%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20SCE%20Studio%20Cambridge%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Sony%20Computer%20Entertainment%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EConsole%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20PlayStation%2C%20PlayStation%204%20and%205%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
One in nine do not have enough to eat
Created in 1961, the World Food Programme is pledged to fight hunger worldwide as well as providing emergency food assistance in a crisis.
One of the organisation’s goals is the Zero Hunger Pledge, adopted by the international community in 2015 as one of the 17 Sustainable Goals for Sustainable Development, to end world hunger by 2030.
The WFP, a branch of the United Nations, is funded by voluntary donations from governments, businesses and private donations.
Almost two thirds of its operations currently take place in conflict zones, where it is calculated that people are more than three times likely to suffer from malnutrition than in peaceful countries.
It is currently estimated that one in nine people globally do not have enough to eat.
On any one day, the WFP estimates that it has 5,000 lorries, 20 ships and 70 aircraft on the move.
Outside emergencies, the WFP provides school meals to up to 25 million children in 63 countries, while working with communities to improve nutrition. Where possible, it buys supplies from developing countries to cut down transport cost and boost local economies.
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
The Africa Institute 101
Housed on the same site as the original Africa Hall, which first hosted an Arab-African Symposium in 1976, the newly renovated building will be home to a think tank and postgraduate studies hub (it will offer master’s and PhD programmes). The centre will focus on both the historical and contemporary links between Africa and the Gulf, and will serve as a meeting place for conferences, symposia, lectures, film screenings, plays, musical performances and more. In fact, today it is hosting a symposium – 5-plus-1: Rethinking Abstraction that will look at the six decades of Frank Bowling’s career, as well as those of his contemporaries that invested social, cultural and personal meaning into abstraction.
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable
Amitav Ghosh, University of Chicago Press
Our Time Has Come
Alyssa Ayres, Oxford University Press
THE BIO
Favourite place to go to in the UAE: The desert sand dunes, just after some rain
Who inspires you: Anybody with new and smart ideas, challenging questions, an open mind and a positive attitude
Where would you like to retire: Most probably in my home country, Hungary, but with frequent returns to the UAE
Favorite book: A book by Transilvanian author, Albert Wass, entitled ‘Sword and Reap’ (Kard es Kasza) - not really known internationally
Favourite subjects in school: Mathematics and science
THE BIO
Ms Al Ameri likes the variety of her job, and the daily environmental challenges she is presented with.
Regular contact with wildlife is the most appealing part of her role at the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi.
She loves to explore new destinations and lives by her motto of being a voice in the world, and not an echo.
She is the youngest of three children, and has a brother and sister.
Her favourite book, Moby Dick by Herman Melville helped inspire her towards a career exploring the natural world.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
VERSTAPPEN'S FIRSTS
Youngest F1 driver (17 years 3 days Japan 2014)
Youngest driver to start an F1 race (17 years 166 days – Australia 2015)
Youngest F1 driver to score points (17 years 180 days - Malaysia 2015)
Youngest driver to lead an F1 race (18 years 228 days – Spain 2016)
Youngest driver to set an F1 fastest lap (19 years 44 days – Brazil 2016)
Youngest on F1 podium finish (18 years 228 days – Spain 2016)
Youngest F1 winner (18 years 228 days – Spain 2016)
Youngest multiple F1 race winner (Mexico 2017/18)
Youngest F1 driver to win the same race (Mexico 2017/18)
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
What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
- Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
- Tourism industry knowledge.
- Professional ethics.
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
