A 2015 Dakar Rally that started swimmingly for Sam Sunderland soon became troubled and came to an abrupt end altogether on Wednesday.
Sunderland had won the first stage of the trans-South American race on Sunday, but fell far back on Monday during the second stage after getting lost some four-fifths of the way through the Day 4 course.
Resigned to fighting back with little to no chance of victory, Sunderland soldiered on during the third stage on Tuesday with a respectable 11th-place showing from San Juan to Chilecito.
But it all came apart yesterday.
The website trailbikemag reported Sunderland crashed and had pulled out of the 2015 race. According to the report, Sunderland suffered a collarbone and shoulder injury and was airlifted out of the stage.
Sunderland began the stage 50th overall in the field and was the 11th man to start on Wednesday, but he never made it to the first checkpoint.
Sunderland’s saga marks the latest disappointment with the Dakar, after he abandoned the race at Stage 4 last year and at Stage 3 in his first try in 2012.
Joan Barreda of Spain continued to lead the bikes discipline after winning Stage 4, with a commanding 12mins 49secs edge on rival compatriot Marc Coma. Barreda gained another 1min 59secs on Wednesday over Coma.
Paulo Goncalves of Portugal is third, 20mins 29secs behind Barreda, followed by compatriot Ruben Faria in fourth and Spaniard Jordi Viladoms in fifth rounding out an Iberian top 5.
Entering the fifth of the 13 Dakar Rally stages on Thursday, Qatari Nasser Al Attiyah continues to lead the cars section with his second stage victory on Day 4.
Al Attiyah leads South African Giniel de Villiers by 8mins 15secs in second and Saudi Yazeed Al Rajhi by 23mins 33secs in third.
Rafal Sonik of Poland leads the quads section and Russian Airat Mardeev stands first in the trucks.
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Stamp duty timeline
December 2014: Former UK finance minister George Osbourne reforms stamp duty, 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%; Over £1.5m – 12%
April 2016: New 3% surcharge applied to any buy-to-let properties or additional homes purchased.
July 2020: 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 decides the fate of SDLT holiday at his March 3 budget, with expectations he will extend the perk unti June.
April 2021: 2% SDLT surcharge added to property transactions made by overseas buyers.
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
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Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
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The five pillars of Islam
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding