Winning formula for Les Bleus


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Marc Lievremont, the France coach, will stick with the same 23 players who triumphed in Wales on Friday night for their penultimate clash with Italy. Les Bleus stormed to a 26-20 success at the Millennium Stadium to reaffirm their status as tournament favourites and continue their quest for a clean sweep for the first time since 2004. Lievremont reported no fresh injuries worries following the full-blooded encounter in Cardiff and so keeps faith with the same squad for the match at the Stade de France on March 14.

France looked every inch Grand Slam winners when they roared into a 20-0 half-time lead on Friday but they showed their enigmatic nature in the secondhalf, allowing Wales to within a converted try of levelling the match. But penalties from Morgan Parra and Frederic Michalak settled the nerves and rendered Shane Williams's sizzling late try - breaking the Welsh championship record of 18 he jointly held with Gareth Edwards - little more than a consolation.

Richie Rees, the Wales scrum-half, feels Italy and England will have their work cut out to prevent France from romping away with the title. "I can see France probably going on to win it now, and I don't see why they won't be unbeaten," he said. Wales, meanwhile, head to Dublin on March 13 knowing defeat could leave them contesting the wooden spoon at home to Italy seven days later. "Perhaps we need to look at what we were doing 18 months ago, which was being very professional and clinical and not chasing games," said Martyn Williams, the flanker.

"Maybe we have gone away from that. We played a little bit too much rugby early on. France didn't really throw it around, they kicked everything and lived off our mistakes." * With agencies

Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.

The specs
  • Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
  • Power: 640hp
  • Torque: 760nm
  • On sale: 2026
  • Price: Not announced yet
GAC GS8 Specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km

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Price: From Dh149,900

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What can you do?

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The specs: 2019 Infiniti QX50

Price, base: Dh138,000 (estimate)
Engine: 2.0L, turbocharged, in-line four-cylinder
Transmission: Continuously variable transmission
Power: 268hp @ 5,600rpm
Torque: 380Nm @ 4,400rpm
Fuel economy: 6.7L / 100km (estimate)

How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE

When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.

UAE v Ireland

1st ODI, UAE win by 6 wickets

2nd ODI, January 12

3rd ODI, January 14

4th ODI, January 16

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 

Sreesanth's India bowling career

Tests 27, Wickets 87, Average 37.59, Best 5-40

ODIs 53, Wickets 75, Average 33.44, Best 6-55

T20Is 10, Wickets 7, Average 41.14, Best 2-12

Lexus LX700h specs

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Transmission: 10-speed auto

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