• Also: Michael Phelps, stay a while longer – Best of Day 8
The National’s sports team is helping you keep up to date with what is happening in Rio while most of us in the UAE were sleeping. Here is today’s Daily 5.
1 Superhero sprint
It’s only 10 seconds. But man, no one has ever made that 10 seconds more electrifying.
Sprinting is maybe the purest of Olympic sports. What could be more fundamentally sporting than lining up and seeing who runs faster? “Fastest man alive” – It’s a cool title, anyone would want it.
Other sports require intricate structure, elaborate equipment, complex rules of engagement. But people have done the sport of “running fast” for as long, well, as there have been people. Pick a spot, run to it, first one there wins.
And no one in human history has done this faster than Usain Bolt. No one has been more purely thrilling in their ability to run really fast.
We got one more marquee glimpse of this on Sunday night.
Bolt started off comparatively slow, and even trailed Justin Gatlin for the first 50-60ish metres. But he hit his stride.
There is pretty much nothing in sport like Usain Bolt hitting his stride. The burst of it, the confidence with which he surges. Then that little bit of relaxing he does just before every finish line, getting his winning pose just right for the cameras.
He knows he’s going to win, as sure as you or I know that two and two make four. (“I told you guys I was going to do it,” he said after.)
A colleague of mine recently compared him to the character "Dash" in the movie The Incredibles. Dash's superpower is speed, and his superhero parents won't let him run races at the risk of revealing his abilities.
“But I promise I’ll slow up,” he pleads in the movie. “I’ll only be the best by a tiny bit.”
Usain Bolt is like that. A superhero out there being the best by only a tiny bit, only to maintain credibility.
As he stormed across the finish line, winning an unprecedented third 100m gold, the Olympic announcer shouted, “He’s immortal now!”
Immortal. Or Incredible.
See Bolt’s winning run in pictures
2 Nice to meet you
One of the more sublime parts of the Olympics is when stars are born.
Had you heard of Wayde van Niekerk before Sunday? If you follow athletics, probably. He’s the reigning world champion in the 400m.
But for most people, their introduction to track stars is the Olympics. Van Niekerk made an exhilarating introduction.
The South African usurped Michael Johnson’s 17-year-old 400m record, running in 43.03sec to beat it by 0.15 seconds. The American legend Johnson himself said on the BBC broadcast: “I have never seen anything like that.”
He called it “amazing” and “a massacre” and “truly special”.
As the likes of Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps make their presumed exits, it’s reassuring to see new Olympic legends rise at these Games.
Read the full roundup
3 Other highlights from Day 9
• Britain won everything on Sunday. Andy Murray most spectacularly with his men's tennis singles gold in an epic final against Juan Martin del Potro. "It was a long and tiring match," he said of the 7-5, 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 result, an understatement. Justin Rose meanwhile won golf's first gold in 112 years. Max Whitlock won two gymnastics golds, in the floor and pommel horse, the country's first and second gymnastics golds. And for good measure, Jason Kenny added the cycling men's sprint title.
• Kenya's Jemima Sumgong became the first Kenyan women's marathon champion.
• Budding American superstar Simone Biles took medal No 3 with gold in the vault in her quest for a gymnastics record five
• Dutch star Dorian van Rijsselberghe completed a dominant windsurfing RS:X series – he’d already clinched gold going into Sunday’s final race, then went out and won that too anyway. He finished ahead of Great Britain’s Nick Dempsey by more points (27) than he actually accumulated (25) in the less-is-more (1 point for first, etc) 12-race regatta. Frenchwoman Charline Picon of France won the women’s in a markedly more close (64 points to China’s Chen Peina at 66 for silver) competition.
• The United States leads in the medal count with 69 (26 gold), followed by China with 45 (15 gold) and Great Britain (15 gold, 38 overall). We're keeping track of all the gold medal winners.
4 Tweet of the day
Andy Murray, he’s pretty good huh?
5 Video of the day
Could it be anything else?
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
How The Debt Panel's advice helped readers in 2019
December 11: 'My husband died, so what happens to the Dh240,000 he owes in the UAE?'
JL, a housewife from India, wrote to us about her husband, who died earlier this month. He left behind an outstanding loan of Dh240,000 and she was hoping to pay it off with an insurance policy he had taken out. She also wanted to recover some of her husband’s end-of-service liabilities to help support her and her son.
“I have no words to thank you for helping me out,” she wrote to The Debt Panel after receiving the panellists' comments. “The advice has given me an idea of the present status of the loan and how to take it up further. I will draft a letter and send it to the email ID on the bank’s website along with the death certificate. I hope and pray to find a way out of this.”
November 26: ‘I owe Dh100,000 because my employer has not paid me for a year’
SL, a financial services employee from India, left the UAE in June after quitting his job because his employer had not paid him since November 2018. He owes Dh103,800 on four debts and was told by the panellists he may be able to use the insolvency law to solve his issue.
SL thanked the panellists for their efforts. "Indeed, I have some clarity on the consequence of the case and the next steps to take regarding my situation," he says. "Hopefully, I will be able to provide a positive testimony soon."
October 15: 'I lost my job and left the UAE owing Dh71,000. Can I return?'
MS, an energy sector employee from South Africa, left the UAE in August after losing his Dh12,000 job. He was struggling to meet the repayments while securing a new position in the UAE and feared he would be detained if he returned. He has now secured a new job and will return to the Emirates this month.
“The insolvency law is indeed a relief to hear,” he says. "I will not apply for insolvency at this stage. I have been able to pay something towards my loan and credit card. As it stands, I only have a one-month deficit, which I will be able to recover by the end of December."
The specs: 2018 Ducati SuperSport S
Price, base / as tested: Dh74,900 / Dh85,900
Engine: 937cc
Transmission: Six-speed gearbox
Power: 110hp @ 9,000rpm
Torque: 93Nm @ 6,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 5.9L / 100km
Company%20Profile
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England squad
Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Dominic Bess, James Bracey, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Joe Denly, Ben Foakes, Lewis Gregory, Keaton Jennings, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Saqib Mahmood, Craig Overton, Jamie Overton, Matthew Parkinson, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Dom Sibley, Ben Stokes, Olly Stone, Amar Virdi, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Belong%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Michael%20Askew%20and%20Matthew%20Gaziano%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Technology%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETotal%20funding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%243.5%20million%20from%20crowd%20funding%20and%20angel%20investors%3Cstrong%3E%3Cbr%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2012%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
LIVING IN...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
