Sharks feel Blackhawks' bite

Chicago's Troy Brouwer scored early in overtime to give the Blackhawks a 4-3 victory over the San Jose Sharks in their Western Conference showdown on Thursday evening. Brouwer, who also scored in regulation time, delivered a game-winning shot 1min 37secs into overtime after the Blackhawks had squandered a 3-0 lead.

"Towards the end of the third period, we were getting chances and we got some momentum," Brouwer said. "We really felt like we were going to win that game going into overtime." Dustin Byfuglien, Brouwer and Andrew Ladd had given the Central division leaders a 3-0 lead by 8:23 of the first period before the Sharks fought back. San Jose's Joe Pavelski scored midway through the first to cut the deficit to 3-1, and again late in the second to narrow the Hawks' lead to one.

Manny Malhotra forced the extra session with a tip-in at 4:56 in the third period. "The start was unacceptable," said the San Jose coach Todd McLellan said. "We're all going to talk about how hard we fought and that we worked our way back into the game. "But that start was unacceptable. The mistakes we made in the first five minutes of the game - that's not a characteristic of ours." Despite the shaky start, the Sharks goaltender Evgeni Nabo-kov finished with 35 saves while Cristobal Huet had 34 stops for the Blackhawks, who moved within one point of San Jose for top spot in the overall NHL standings.

With the loss, the Sharks had their five-game winning streak ended. Next up on the road for Chicago is a trip to Carolina on Saturday. Meanwhile, the Atlanta Thrashers completed a comeback of their own as they scored three times in the third period to come from 3-1 down to claim a 4-3 win over the Philadelphia Flyers. Jim Slater scored twice for the Thrashers, while Evander Kane chipped in with two assists.

Slater felt his side had shown great spirit in their comeback, saying: "This was a big win against a good team in an arena where we haven't been successful in the past. Philly is a tough place to play. It shows a lot of character to score three [goals] in the third." A lone goal from Martin Havlat proved to be enough for the Minnesota Wild to get the better of the Colorado Avalanche.

* With agencies

UAE v Zimbabwe A

Results
Match 1 – UAE won by 4 wickets
Match 2 – UAE won by 5 wickets
Match 3 – UAE won by 25 runs
Match 4 – UAE won by 77 runs

Fixture
Match 5, Saturday, 9.30am start, ICC Academy, Dubai

Duterte Harry: Fire and Fury in the Philippines
Jonathan Miller, Scribe Publications

Various Artists
Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World (Habibi Funk)

Timeline

2012-2015

The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East

May 2017

The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts

September 2021

Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act

October 2021

Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence

December 2024

Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group

May 2025

The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan

July 2025

The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan

August 2025

Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision

October 2025

Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange

November 2025

180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE

While you're here

Richard Heydarian: Decoding Asean's deliberate silence over the Myanmar coup

Kareem Shaheen: Our Myanmar reactions shaped by simplistic narratives

Sholto Byrnes: Washington tells South-East Asians to pick a side

Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026

1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years

If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.

2. E-invoicing in the UAE

Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.

3. More tax audits

Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.

4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime

Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.

5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit

There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.

6. Further transfer pricing enforcement

Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.

7. Limited time periods for audits

Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.

8. Pillar 2 implementation

Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.

9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services

Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.

10. Substance and CbC reporting focus

Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.

Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer

Biography

Her family: She has four sons, aged 29, 27, 25 and 24 and is a grandmother-of-nine

Favourite book: Flashes of Thought by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid

Favourite drink: Water

Her hobbies: Reading and volunteer work

Favourite music: Classical music

Her motto: I don't wait, I initiate

Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas

Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa

Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong

Rating: 3/5

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets