A scandalous season like no other before it

The 2010 calendar was released yesterday and the Formula One chiefs will be hoping the next season does not turn out as tumultous as this one. With Lewis Hamilton disqualified for lying in Australia, Mark Webber penalised in Belgium and the teams threatening to form a breakaway race, the 2009 season will be remembered as the most dramatic in the sport's illustrious history. And that is without mentioning the life-threatening injury sustained by Felipe Massa and the aborted comeback of Michael Schumacher.

Clues that this season was to be so chaotic were there from the outset. Teams accusing others of building cars with illegal go-faster dimensions is nothing new, but the furore caused by the diffuser row in March and April took squabbling over the rules to new heights. Unsurprisingly, the colourful Flavio Briatore was at the centre of the action then, too, branding Brawn GP's Rubens Barrichello as "almost retired" and Jenson Button a "kerbstone" because their engineers found a loophole in construction regulations, giving their cars extra aerodynamic grip. Williams and Toyota were also accused of breaking the rules by Briatore whose hue and cry was echoed by other rival teams. The irony of the Italian's outburst will not be lost on the sport now.

The world body finally ruled the cars were legal but then Hamilton, the McLaren driver, found himself in hot water after giving two versions of an event which saw him overtake Toyota's Jarno Trulli at the Australian Grand Prix when the safety car was out. He was upgraded from fourth to third ahead of Trulli after the presentation. But the world champion, who gave a grovelling press conference to say he was sorry, was disqualified after stewards decided he had been less than honest about events. Team principal Ron Dennis resigned over the incident.

Then in May a controversy arose that threatened to completely change the face of F1. The announcement of a £40 million (Dh237m) budget cap for next season outraged a number of teams, including Ferrari, who led a procession of constructors threatening to form a breakaway championship. That was averted, when teams and the FIA found an uneasy compromise, but Briatore ensured there was to be more drama just around the corner.

In 2007 it seemed nothing could trump the protracted McLaren-Ferrari "Spygate" saga but Renault have managed it with "Crashgate". stregoning@thenational.ae

Vidaamuyarchi

Director: Magizh Thirumeni

Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra

Rating: 4/5

Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)

Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi

Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi

Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai

Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi

Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia

Crazy Rich Asians

Director: Jon M Chu

Starring: Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeon, Gemma Chan

Four stars

Squid Game season two

Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk

Stars: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun

Rating: 4.5/5

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Planes grounded by coronavirus

British Airways: Cancels all direct flights to and from mainland China

Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific: Cutting capacity to/from mainland China by 50 per cent from Jan. 30

Chicago-based United Airlines: Reducing flights to Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong

Ai Seoul: Suspended all flights to China

Finnair: Suspending flights to Nanjing and Beijing Daxing until the end of March

Indonesia's Lion Air: Suspending all flights to China from February

South Korea's Asiana Airlines, Jeju Air and Jin Air: Suspend all flights

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Artist Mohammed Ahmed Ibrahim's exhibition is otherworldly but born of the land

UAE to make history at Venice Biennale

Business Insights

As per the document, there are six filing options, including choosing to report on a realisation basis and transitional rules for pre-tax period gains or losses.
SMEs with revenue below Dh3 million per annum can opt for transitional relief until 2026, treating them as having no taxable income.
Larger entities have specific provisions for asset and liability movements, business restructuring, and handling foreign permanent establishments.

Brief scores

Barcelona 2

Pique 36', Alena 87'

Villarreal 0

Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021

Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.

The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.

These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.

“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.

“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.

“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.

“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”

Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.

There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.

“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.

“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.

“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”