Formula E world champion and former F1 driver Pascal Wehrlein in Monaco. Getty Images
Formula E world champion and former F1 driver Pascal Wehrlein in Monaco. Getty Images
Formula E world champion and former F1 driver Pascal Wehrlein in Monaco. Getty Images
Formula E world champion and former F1 driver Pascal Wehrlein in Monaco. Getty Images

Time running out for Pascal Wehrlein in Formula E title defence


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Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein, reigning Formula E world champion, left Indonesian capital Jakarta last weekend with his hopes of back-to-back crowns in a bad shape following his fifth non-score of the season.

He now has just four races left to overhaul the 69-point gap to season leader Oliver Rowland of Nissan.

It’s a tough ask, with just 116 points left to play for before Season 11’s chequered flag in London next month - a double header on July 26-27. But the German is approaching the end of the season with pragmatism.

“I think it's a good time to reset, and have a bit of a rest,” he said in Jakarta. “Definitely the last couple of weeks have been very busy.

“The focus is, already since Shanghai, to be honest, not on the drivers’ championship anymore. Obviously, we [will] try to do as good as we can, and fight until the end. But, realistically, the gap has always been quite big.

“The focus is on the manufacturers’ and on the teams’ championship, which is just as important to the team than the drivers’ championships. So, yeah, that's where we are, and that's what we will try to do in the last couple of races. Have a good end to the season, try to secure the two championships there.”

Pascal Wehrlein drove for Porsche Penske Motorsport during the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Reuters
Pascal Wehrlein drove for Porsche Penske Motorsport during the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Reuters

Wehrlein came into Jakarta’s ePrix on the back foot, with the event just one week after his Le Mans 24 Hours debut, the world’s most prestigious endurance race. Wehrlein and teammates Felipe Nasr and Nick Tandy drove the Porsche Penske Motorsport hypercar to eighth place overall.

But the German-Mauritian enjoyed racing through the night in France, and then arrived in Indonesia as fresh as could be expected.

“Yeah, was a great experience,” said Wehrlein, who also logged 39 starts between 2016 and 2017 for Manor and Sauber in Formula One.

“It was a great journey because it started already a long time ago, with my first test in Daytona, and then also the race in Daytona for JDC [JDC Miller Motorsports]. The cars are awesome. I really enjoyed it.

“Obviously, since 2018-19, I was only driving in the Formula E series, so I really enjoyed coming back to other cars and you know, having that sound again. Different track. Going to bed in the evening with a small tinnitus in the ears, and just going back to something I really enjoyed in the past like [German series] DTM, for example – so racing a touring car or prototype, so it was great fun.”

But, Jakarta was a step back with Wehrlein finishing 11th, immediately behind the man he has got to catch - Nissan’s Rowland. It was a missed opportunity for a standout result on a day when his title rival faltered.

“It's quite a poor race after the qualifying we had,” Wehrlein said. “We knew it was going to be difficult, that overtaking is almost impossible if you're in the same power mode [as your rival]. Yeah, just a poor qualifying, which resulted into yeah, the poor day we had.

“In the morning, we were very competitive. Yeah, the track conditions were insane. It was so dirty, actually, was it's more difficult to see something than in wet conditions just because of all the dust. Going a bit offline, there's a huge penalty, so it makes overtaking even more tricky, and it caught us in qualifying. I just went with my rear tyre a bit on the dust and lost the car. So yeah, that meant we were poor in qualifying and then after the penalty [for slowing down to create a gap] even worse.”

Wehrlein and his Porsche Formula E teammate Antonio Felix da Costa head home to Berlin next month for the first of two double headers on July 12 and 13 before moving to the London finale just two weeks later.

Director: Laxman Utekar

Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna

Rating: 1/5

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In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
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  • Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000

Voices: How A Great Singer Can Change Your Life
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Libya's Gold

UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves. 

The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.

Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.

Classification of skills

A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation. 

A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.

The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000. 

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Explainer: Tanween Design Programme

Non-profit arts studio Tashkeel launched this annual initiative with the intention of supporting budding designers in the UAE. This year, three talents were chosen from hundreds of applicants to be a part of the sixth creative development programme. These are architect Abdulla Al Mulla, interior designer Lana El Samman and graphic designer Yara Habib.

The trio have been guided by experts from the industry over the course of nine months, as they developed their own products that merge their unique styles with traditional elements of Emirati design. This includes laboratory sessions, experimental and collaborative practice, investigation of new business models and evaluation.

It is led by British contemporary design project specialist Helen Voce and mentor Kevin Badni, and offers participants access to experts from across the world, including the likes of UK designer Gareth Neal and multidisciplinary designer and entrepreneur, Sheikh Salem Al Qassimi.

The final pieces are being revealed in a worldwide limited-edition release on the first day of Downtown Designs at Dubai Design Week 2019. Tashkeel will be at stand E31 at the exhibition.

Lisa Ball-Lechgar, deputy director of Tashkeel, said: “The diversity and calibre of the applicants this year … is reflective of the dynamic change that the UAE art and design industry is witnessing, with young creators resolute in making their bold design ideas a reality.”

RESULTS

5pm: Watha Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh 70,000 (Dirt) 2,000m

Winner: Dalil De Carrere, Bernardo Pinheiro (jockey), Mohamed Daggash (trainer)

5.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh 70,000 (D) 2,000m

Winner: Miracle Maker, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer

6pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,600m

Winner: Pharitz Al Denari, Bernardo Pinheiro, Mahmood Hussain

6.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,600m

Winner: Oss, Jesus Rosales, Abdallah Al Hammadi

7pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,400m

Winner: ES Nahawand, Fernando Jara, Mohamed Daggash

7.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,000m

Winner: AF Almajhaz, Abdul Aziz Al Balushi, Khalifa Al Neyadi

8pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,000m

Winner: AF Lewaa, Bernardo Pinheiro, Qaiss Aboud.

Desert Warrior

Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley

Director: Rupert Wyatt

Rating: 3/5

Honeymoonish
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World Cup warm up matches

May 24 Pakistan v Afghanistan, Bristol; Sri Lanka v South Africa, Cardiff

May 25 England v Australia, Southampton; India v New Zealand, The Oval

May 26 South Africa v West Indies, Bristol; Pakistan v Bangladesh, Cardiff

May 27 Australia v Sri Lanka, Southampton; England v Afghanistan, The Oval

May 28 West Indies v New Zealand, Bristol; Bangladesh v India, Cardiff

Trump v Khan

2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US

2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks

2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit

2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”

2022:  Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency

July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”

Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.

Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”

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Updated: June 24, 2025, 6:18 AM