ABU DHABI // Christian Zchlegel wanted more noise with his football as he watched his native Switzerland play Chile last night.
Unfortunately for 32-year-old Mr Zchlegel it was not until Chilean forward Mark Gonzalez scored the winner in the 75th minute that the 200 people watching at the Emirates Palace hotel's football lounge started to really raise the volume.
"The atmosphere has been kind of lifted - by the Chileans," shrugged Mr Zchlegel, an electrical engineer who was watching the match with his friends in red T-shirts. He then tried, not for the first time, to start a chant of "Hop Suisse!" among the 140 Swiss nationals in attendance at the event organised by the Swiss and Chilean embassies.
"At least the children are joining us," he said as a group of a dozen children sitting on bean bags in front of one of the 21 screens in the lounge started to sing, competing with the rowdy celebrations of about 30 Chileans.
Not everyone felt the atmosphere was lacking, but Susanne Baumgartner, the executive director of the Swiss Business Council, said she had been unsure of how loud expressions of jubilation could be.
"You think of it as very formal. I asked beforehand, 'Can we cheer?'," she said. "They told me, 'Of course it's OK, it is the football lounge'."
The hotel's "football lounge" had been decked with 21 televisions arranged so that no matter which table or couch fans chose, they had a TV nearby.
Ms Baumgartner said she thought watching the game at the landmark hotel added to the experience.
"For people to be in Emirates Palace and watch the game, I think it is something to tell your people back home," she said.
Although they were winners on the pitch, with about 180 Chileans living in the country against 1,000 Swiss, the South American viewers were outnumbered by Swiss expatriates at the hotel.
Bastian Veyre, 25, was perhaps slightly out of place among the crowd. Mr Veyre, from Saint-Étienne, France, watched the match with his friend, Milton Vicentelo, a Chilean, but was not sure what side to choose.
"We are working on the same project in Al Raha Beach but I am with VSL, it is a French-Swiss company, so that is why it is kind of complicated," Mr Veyre said prior to kick off. "Last time he was supporting Mexico so I think I will support Switzerland. Also, one of Switzerland's players, [Gelson] Fernandes, plays for my club, Saint-Étienne."
However, with Chile a man up at the start of the second half, some gentle persuasion from Mr Vicentelo, a project manager for Chilean company Rene Lagos, coerced Mr Veyre into supporting his friend's country.
He backed the winning team on this occasion as Chile came out on top 1-0, much to the delight of Paolo Valdes, 40, an Etihad pilot boisterously chanting: "Chi Chi Chi, Le Le Le, Viva Chile."
mchung@thenational.ae
Pakistanis%20at%20the%20ILT20%20
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Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
SPECS
Engine: Two-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 235hp
Torque: 350Nm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Price: From Dh167,500 ($45,000)
On sale: Now
Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
Results
United States beat UAE by three wickets
United States beat Scotland by 35 runs
UAE v Scotland – no result
United States beat UAE by 98 runs
Scotland beat United States by four wickets
Fixtures
Sunday, 10am, ICC Academy, Dubai - UAE v Scotland
Admission is free
Business Insights
- As per the document, there are six filing options, including choosing to report on a realisation basis and transitional rules for pre-tax period gains or losses.
- SMEs with revenue below Dh3 million per annum can opt for transitional relief until 2026, treating them as having no taxable income.
- Larger entities have specific provisions for asset and liability movements, business restructuring, and handling foreign permanent establishments.
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
360Vuz PROFILE
Date started: January 2017
Founder: Khaled Zaatarah
Based: Dubai and Los Angeles
Sector: Technology
Size: 21 employees
Funding: $7 million
Investors: Shorooq Partners, KBW Ventures, Vision Ventures, Hala Ventures, 500Startups, Plug and Play, Magnus Olsson, Samih Toukan, Jonathan Labin
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Friday (all kick-offs UAE time)
Hertha Berlin v Union Berlin (10.30pm)
Saturday
Freiburg v Werder Bremen (5.30pm)
Paderborn v Hoffenheim (5.30pm)
Wolfsburg v Borussia Dortmund (5.30pm)
Borussia Monchengladbach v Bayer Leverkusen (5.30pm)
Bayern Munich v Eintracht Frankfurt (5.30pm)
Sunday
Schalke v Augsburg (3.30pm)
Mainz v RB Leipzig (5.30pm)
Cologne v Fortuna Dusseldorf (8pm)
Company%20profile
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COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Sheikh Zayed's poem
When it is unveiled at Abu Dhabi Art, the Standing Tall exhibition will appear as an interplay of poetry and art. The 100 scarves are 100 fragments surrounding five, figurative, female sculptures, and both sculptures and scarves are hand-embroidered by a group of refugee women artisans, who used the Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery art of tatreez. Fragments of Sheikh Zayed’s poem Your Love is Ruling My Heart, written in Arabic as a love poem to his nation, are embroidered onto both the sculptures and the scarves. Here is the English translation.
Your love is ruling over my heart
Your love is ruling over my heart, even a mountain can’t bear all of it
Woe for my heart of such a love, if it befell it and made it its home
You came on me like a gleaming sun, you are the cure for my soul of its sickness
Be lenient on me, oh tender one, and have mercy on who because of you is in ruins
You are like the Ajeed Al-reem [leader of the gazelle herd] for my country, the source of all of its knowledge
You waddle even when you stand still, with feet white like the blooming of the dates of the palm
Oh, who wishes to deprive me of sleep, the night has ended and I still have not seen you
You are the cure for my sickness and my support, you dried my throat up let me go and damp it
Help me, oh children of mine, for in his love my life will pass me by.
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Cargoz%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EDate%20started%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20January%202022%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Premlal%20Pullisserry%20and%20Lijo%20Antony%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2030%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Seed%3C%2Fp%3E%0A