JYVASKYLA, FINLAND // A string of scintillating stage times in yesterday's second leg of the Rally Finland have put the championship leader, Mikko Hirvonen, on the verge of winning his home rally for the first time in his career.
The BP Ford Abu Dhabi driver has a 32-second lead over the Citroen of Sebastien Loeb to take into today's final four stages of the event.
The Finn, who will extend his lead in the world championship by at least two points if he triumphs today, had a strong start to yesterday's action, plus a puncture for Loeb on stage 15, to thank for allowing him to create a sizeable advantage.
But despite having some breathing space, Hirvonen is not taking anything for granted going in today's action.
"His puncture has taken the pressure off a little, but the lead isn't enough for me to relax," he said.
The Finn had led Loeb by only 3.3secs going into yesterday's nine stages and a titanic struggle between the top two in the championship, who were separated by just one point going into the event, had looked likely.
But Hirvonen dominated from the start as he set the quickest time on the first five stages of the day to effectively end Loeb's challenge for his second successive victory in Finland.
The reigning world champion had fallen 12.5secs behind Hirvonen after stage 14, but then lost 13.5secs on stage 15 as he suffered a puncture when his car hit a pot hole.
Having lost so much time to his rival, the Frenchman effectively held up the white flag as he admitted he was driving for second place to minimise the damage to his hopes of winning a sixth successive championship.
"We lost too much time with the tyre," he said. "Mikko is too fast. We're driving to get to the finish now."
While the fight for victory looks to be all over barring mechanical problems for Hirvonen, the fight for the final place on the podium looks likely to go down to the wire.
The second BP Ford Abu Dhabi car of Jari-Matti Latvala holds a slender 10.5secs advantage over Dani Sordo's Citroen. The Finn had struggled early on as he recovered from food poisoning, but he soon was back up to speed and the fastest time on stage 16 saw him take seven seconds out of Sordo to leapfrog the Spaniard and into third place.
Latvala said: "In my mind I was counting on fighting back when I felt better, and now I do. It's been a big fight with Dani so far and I know he'll fight back - now we have to keep the position."
Meanwhile, the Formula One driver Kimi Raikkonen continued to make an impressive World Rally Championship debut, as he finished the day in 15th place.
The Ferrari driver has impressed with his speed, but he is suffering from an engine problem as well as minor suspension damage in his Fiat, which is threatening to curtail his involvement before today's climax.
gcaygill@thenational.ae
Young women have more “financial grit”, but fall behind on investing
In an October survey of young adults aged 16 to 25, Charles Schwab found young women are more driven to reach financial independence than young men (67 per cent versus. 58 per cent). They are more likely to take on extra work to make ends meet and see more value than men in creating a plan to achieve their financial goals. Yet, despite all these good ‘first’ measures, they are investing and saving less than young men – falling early into the financial gender gap.
While the women surveyed report spending 36 per cent less than men, they have far less savings than men ($1,267 versus $2,000) – a nearly 60 per cent difference.
In addition, twice as many young men as women say they would invest spare cash, and almost twice as many young men as women report having investment accounts (though most young adults do not invest at all).
“Despite their good intentions, young women start to fall behind their male counterparts in savings and investing early on in life,” said Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, senior vice president, Charles Schwab. “They start off showing a strong financial planning mindset, but there is still room for further education when it comes to managing their day-to-day finances.”
Ms Schwab-Pomerantz says parents should be conveying the same messages to boys and girls about money, but should tailor those conversations based on the individual and gender.
"Our study shows that while boys are spending more than girls, they also are saving more. Have open and honest conversations with your daughters about the wage and savings gap," she said. "Teach kids about the importance of investing – especially girls, who as we see in this study, aren’t investing as much. Part of being financially prepared is learning to make the most of your money, and that means investing early and consistently."
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
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
Ammar 808:
Maghreb United
Sofyann Ben Youssef
Glitterbeat
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
