Brad Penny, making a winning debut for the San Francisco Giants, pitches against the Phillies.
Brad Penny, making a winning debut for the San Francisco Giants, pitches against the Phillies.

Penny pitches a gem in his first game for Giants



Brad Penny pitched eight scoreless innings in his first appearance for the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday to lead them to a 4-0 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. Penny, who allowed just five hits to record his first win since July 24, was acquired by the Giants on Monday after clearing waivers with the Boston Red Sox.

The right-hander posted a 7-8 record with a 5.61 ERA with Boston before being placed on waivers and was snapped up by San Francisco as they prepare for a tight run into the post-season. San Francisco are just one game behind the Colorado Rockies, who beat the New York Mets 5-2 on Wednesday, in the National League wild card race. Elsewhere in the National League, the Atlanta Braves lost ground with an 8-7 defeat by the Florida Marlins despite a game-tying home run by Yunel Escobar in the ninth inning. Wes Helms gave the Marlins the key victory, delivering a game-winning home run in the bottom of the ninth.

The Central Division leaders, the St Louis Cardinals, had a 10-3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers while the Chicago Cubs kept up the heat with a 2-0 defeat of the Houston Astros and the Cincinnati Reds beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-3. In the West Division, the cellar-dwelling San Diego Padres had a 7-0 win over their East Division partners in futility, the Washington Nationals, while the West's leaders, the Los Angeles Dodgers, went down 4-1 to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

In the American League, the East Division-leading New York Yankees completed a series sweep with an emphatic 10-2 victory over the bottom club, the Baltimore Orioles. Alex Rodriguez topped his 2,500th career hit with a pair of two-run singles and the Yankees then had a seven-run ninth for their sixth successive win. The Boston Red Sox went down 8-5 to the Tampa Bay Rays, with the game tied until the Rays exploded for three runs in the bottom half of the eighth to pull themselves within five games of Boston, who lead the wild card race.

The Texas Rangers claimed their third successive win over the Toronto Blue Jays, a 6-4 victory that helped them make headway in the West Division and in the wild card race. * With agencies

Key figures in the life of the fort

Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.

Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.

Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.

Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.

Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.

Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.

Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.

Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.

Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae

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. 

How has net migration to UK changed?

The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.

It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.

The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.

The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.

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 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

Our legal consultants

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

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
What are the main cyber security threats?

Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.

The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo

Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm

Transmission: 6-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km

Price: Dh133,900

On sale: now 

The specs

Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel

Power: 579hp

Torque: 859Nm

Transmission: Single-speed automatic

Price: From Dh825,900

On sale: Now

Japan 30-10 Russia

Tries: Matsushima (3), Labuschange | Golosnitsky

Conversions: Tamura, Matsuda | Kushnarev

Penalties: Tamura (2) | Kushnarev

The specs: Lamborghini Aventador SVJ

Price, base: Dh1,731,672

Engine: 6.5-litre V12

Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic

Power: 770hp @ 8,500rpm

Torque: 720Nm @ 6,750rpm

Fuel economy: 19.6L / 100km

The White Lotus: Season three

Creator: Mike White

Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell

Rating: 4.5/5

ICC Women's T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier 2025, Thailand

UAE fixtures
May 9, v Malaysia
May 10, v Qatar
May 13, v Malaysia
May 15, v Qatar
May 18 and 19, semi-finals
May 20, final

The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Power: 510hp at 9,000rpm
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Price: From Dh801,800