Spanish Grand Prix qualifying notebook



Hispania Racing

Hispania Racing team boss Colin Kolles has not ruled out making a protest that could throw today's race into chaos. Charlie Whiting of the FIA yesterday warned a protest could come after the race and lead to the potential exclusion of 10 teams. The situation centres on the off-throttle blown diffuser, aided by hot air from exhaust gases, that helps increase downforce and maintains stabilisation of the car. The FIA had planned to ban it from this race onwards, but decided to wait until a meeting of the Technical Working Group next month. However, Whiting said a team not using the system - Hispania and Virgin Racing believed to be the only two - could protest if they so desire. Asked if he would do so, Kolles said: "I think some teams are running illegally, simple as that." Asked if he would protest, Kolles said: "I don't know. I will see."

Ferrari

Ferrari were forced to replace the rear wing on their cars yesterday after the FIA declared it illegal. "They told us that the concept is not legal, and we have to change" a team spokesman said. Whiting had said on Friday that the FIA was taking a close look at the new wing. "It's a very clever interpretation of the rules and we've got to decide whether we think it's a good interpretation of the rules," he said. Both Ferrari cars, driven by Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa, were refitted with a wing that conforms to the rules ahead of yesterday's qualifying session.

Mercedes

Michael Schumacher explained that a problem with his KERS system was the reason for his unusual strategy during yesterday's final qualifying session. Pirelli's new harder-compound tyres have faced widespread criticism from drivers since their introduction this weekend, proving to be on average two seconds per lap slower than the softer compound tyres. Therefore, it was a surprise when Schumacher's Mercedes emerged wearing the harder compound tyres, before returning immediately to the pits without posting a time. The German explained: "Unfortunately in Q3, my KERS system did not work, but we reacted in the best possible way - we took the decision to go out on prime tyres to be able to react if other cars did the same. As no one did, we came in without setting a time so we can now choose our strategy for tomorrow."

McLaren

Lewis Hamilton said he thinks the time is right to start putting pressure on points leader Sebastian Vettel. "Definitely when you get to Barcelona, it's a good place to start putting in some good results to build on for later," the McLaren driver said. "From here going into Monaco next week and then Montreal is where you build a foundation."

Renault

Nick Heidfeld was forced to stop nearly halfway through the 60-minute practice session as his Renault burst into flames on the track from an exhaust failure. "Fire," the German driver said coolly over the team radio as he pulled on to the track shoulder and jumped out as flames and smoke engulfed his car. He will start today's race from the pit lane.

Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup

Sean Edwards, the British driver with Team Abu Dhabi, secured pole position for today's second round of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup at Circuit de Catalunya. Edwards' teammates Jerome Bleekemolen, the series champion in 2008 and 2009, will start from fifth, while Emirati Khaled al Qubaisi will have it all to do after finishing 19th from the 21-car field.

* With agencies

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Cricket World Cup League 2

UAE squad

Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind

Fixtures

Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher:  Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5

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The specs
 
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Profile Box

Company/date started: 2015

Founder/CEO: Mohammed Toraif

Based: Manama, Bahrain

Sector: Sales, Technology, Conservation

Size: (employees/revenue) 4/ 5,000 downloads

Stage: 1 ($100,000)

Investors: Two first-round investors including, 500 Startups, Fawaz Al Gosaibi Holding (Saudi Arabia)

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.

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners

In Full Flight: A Story of Africa and Atonement
John Heminway, Knopff

Start-up hopes to end Japan's love affair with cash

Across most of Asia, people pay for taxi rides, restaurant meals and merchandise with smartphone-readable barcodes — except in Japan, where cash still rules. Now, as the country’s biggest web companies race to dominate the payments market, one Tokyo-based startup says it has a fighting chance to win with its QR app.

Origami had a head start when it introduced a QR-code payment service in late 2015 and has since signed up fast-food chain KFC, Tokyo’s largest cab company Nihon Kotsu and convenience store operator Lawson. The company raised $66 million in September to expand nationwide and plans to more than double its staff of about 100 employees, says founder Yoshiki Yasui.

Origami is betting that stores, which until now relied on direct mail and email newsletters, will pay for the ability to reach customers on their smartphones. For example, a hair salon using Origami’s payment app would be able to send a message to past customers with a coupon for their next haircut.

Quick Response codes, the dotted squares that can be read by smartphone cameras, were invented in the 1990s by a unit of Toyota Motor to track automotive parts. But when the Japanese pioneered digital payments almost two decades ago with contactless cards for train fares, they chose the so-called near-field communications technology. The high cost of rolling out NFC payments, convenient ATMs and a culture where lost wallets are often returned have all been cited as reasons why cash remains king in the archipelago. In China, however, QR codes dominate.

Cashless payments, which includes credit cards, accounted for just 20 per cent of total consumer spending in Japan during 2016, compared with 60 per cent in China and 89 per cent in South Korea, according to a report by the Bank of Japan.

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
SRI LANKA SQUAD

Upul Tharanga (captain), Dinesh Chandimal, Niroshan Dickwella
Lahiru Thirimanne, Kusal Mendis, Milinda Siriwardana
Chamara Kapugedara, Thisara Perera, Seekuge Prasanna
Nuwan Pradeep, Suranga Lakmal, Dushmantha Chameera
Vishwa Fernando, Akila Dananjaya, Jeffrey Vandersay

Results
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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.
From Zero

Artist: Linkin Park

Label: Warner Records

Number of tracks: 11

Rating: 4/5

MATCH INFO

Iceland 0 England 1 (Sterling pen 90 1)

Man of the match Kari Arnason (Iceland)


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