Lance Armstrong's autobiography is called It's Not About the Bike; and so it has proved, but in a way he never would have imagined. His career and reputation have gone up in smoke over the past few weeks.
A former seven-time Tour de France winner, the 41-year-old's results were this week expunged from the record books at the behest of the international cycling union, the UCI, and the United States Anti-Doping Agency, whose 1,000-page dossier into the American's doping past brought everything he had built up in an astonishing career crashing all around him.
Armstrong was always the great cancer survivor, and will remain that, but he will foremost - except in the eyes of his staunchest backers - be the guy who cheated his way to the top with a systemic doping programme by him and his US Postal Service team.
Even with all the revelations, his story remains a remarkable one. He was raised by his mother Linda after his father, Eddie Gunderson, walked out on them when he was just a young boy.
His parents had met at the age of 16 and married the following year after she fell pregnant with a son, whom she named after the Dallas Cowboys star Lance Rentzel. After the split, mother and son became inseparable to the extent that in interviews they still talk about being best friends.
His time growing up in Plano, Texas, was not an altogether happy time. In a state where American football was king, he struggled to make his sporting mark, even getting into a fight on his first day at a new school in fifth grade.
His first sporting success came at swimming before he became hooked on triathlons. At the age of 18, he left home to join the United States cycling team. "It was like my right arm was lost," his mother had said later.
His first coach, Chris Carmichael, had seen a natural talent, but he also found a stubbornness and desire not to lose that would eventually become Armstrong's downfall.
"We had this amazing athlete with incredible courage inside him," recalls Carmichael of his early meetings with the then teenager, and tells of watching his first race in which Armstrong went for broke from the outset before running out of steam and finishing 11th.
It was Carmichael who effectively moulded a racing brain for the Texan that enabled him to sign with the Motorola Cycling Team in 1992. In his first life, as it were, as a cyclist, he was good if not great. There would be two Tour de France stage victories in Limoges and a best-finish of just 36th, along with other European race victories. But there was little to suggest he would become one of the greats.
In his damning assessment of Armstrong this week, UCI president Pat McQuaid called the doping that Armstrong underwent "a win-at-all-costs programme" and former teammates have talked about the Texan being angered losing to lesser riders who he knew were doping.
There have been suggestions that the drugs he was taking played a part in the testicular cancer that followed, although that is mere conjecture. But it was in July 1996 at the Tour de France - appropriate for a race that would eventually shape him - that Armstrong started having trouble breathing and was forced to pull out after just five days of racing.
Two weeks after his 25th birthday, he was diagnosed with stage three testicular cancer, which had spread to his lungs, abdomen and brain. He had his cancerous testicle removed and, despite successful surgery, was given less than a 40 per cent chance of survival.
Three weeks after he was diagnosed, he then underwent brain surgery and three more rounds of chemotherapy. It was while in hospital that the first indicators of possible doping were revealed.
According to his then teammate, Frankie Andreu, who was with his wife Betsy in Armstrong's hospital room, Armstrong admitted to doctors that he had doped. The Andreus have steadfastly stuck to their story despite threats from the Armstrong camp and the denials of wrongdoing, with Armstrong claiming under oath that Betsy had merely made the claims because "she hates my guts".
His chemotherapy ended in December that year and, by February, he was declared clear of the disease. After his battle with cancer, he created the Lance Armstrong Foundation, or Livestrong as it has become better known, to help raise funds for cancer research. The charity raised money in part by selling yellow bracelets, which became a symbol not only for the foundation but for Armstrong's determination.
Keen to get back to cycling, he was signed by US Postal for 1998 after Cofidis, the team he had moved to from Motorola, dropped him.
Armstrong was now on the fast track to acclaim but he had made sure his success would be via the aforementioned win-at-all-costs approach. Tellingly at the time, Armstrong had said: "Through my illness, I learned rejection. I was written off. That was the moment I thought, OK, game on. No prisoners. Everybody's going down."
Just 16 months after being discharged from hospital, he entered the 1999 Tour de France and won in the quickest time in the event's rich history, a full seven minutes and 37 seconds ahead of his closest challenger, Alex Zülle. The race was not without controversy, however. During the race, Armstrong rode up alongside Christophe Bassons, a French rider who had spoken out against doping, and admonished the Frenchman. When Bassons argued: "I told him that I'm thinking of the next generation, then he said 'why don't you leave then?'"
A urine sample that year showed signs of corticosteroid and his then masseuse, Emma O'Reilly - one of the first whistleblowers in the whole saga - explained it away by saying a prescription for saddle sores was backdated. Her role with the US Postal team, it later came out, also stretched to transporting doping materials and disposing of any drugs or syringes.
Finally back full-time to cycling, he was now also a married man, having met Kristin Richard in June 1997, the couple marrying less than a year later.
On the bike, future challengers followed, namely Jan Ullrich, Joseba Beloki and Andreas Klöden among others, but Armstrong made the Tour his sole purpose, building his entire winter training programme around the Tour and nothing else.
It was a decision that paid off as he eclipsed the Tour's famous five-time winners in Jacques Anquetil, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain, and then surpassed them, winning seven consecutive Tours as the prestigious event became known as the Tour de Lance. As he stood on the top of the podium in 2005, he was joined by his son Luke and his twin daughters Isabelle and Grace. The then US President, George W Bush, called to congratulate him in Paris.
By then, his relationship with his wife was already over, the couple having divorced in 2003, after which Armstrong began a high-profile relationship with the singer Sheryl Crow. They got engaged but then split up in February 2006. Armstrong has since had two more children with girlfriend Anna Hansen, Max and Olivia.
After that seventh Tour win, he announced his retirement from professional cycling and seemed content with life from the outside looking in.
But allegations about a doping past never went away. The Sunday Times journalist David Walsh published a book, LA Confidentiel, with L'Equipe writer Pierre Ballester to echo O'Reilly's claims, among others.
O'Reilly, who first went public about the team's drug use in 2003 and was later part of the USADA investigation to reveal systemic doping, was demonised by Armstrong as a prostitute with a drinking problem, and he had her taken to court, a case which ended in an out-of-court settlement.
In June 2006, French newspaper Le Monde reported the earlier claims of the Andreus. SCA Promotions, which had withheld a bonus owed to Armstrong of US$5 million (Dh18.3m) said they would not pay it because of the doping allegations.
Undeterred, the Texan returned in 2009 with the Astana team for another crack at the Tour de France. By then, it was clear he was no longer the rider he once was, but he still finished on the podium in third place.
The whispers got louder but Armstrong continued to deny any wrongdoing. Former teammate Floyd Landis made claims in May 2010 of wide-ranging doping by Armstrong and the US Postal riders. Another ex-teammate, Tyler Hamilton, said on 60 Minutes that he and Armstrong had taken EPO together before the 1999, 2000 and 2001 Tours.
To a certain effect, Armstrong had deflected negative attention by pointing out the global charity work he had undertaken, which he insists will still go on despite stepping down as chairman of Livestrong earlier this month. According to Armstrong, the charity has raised almost $500 million since its inception.
Still, Armstrong remained undeterred and defiant, even as a federal investigation was launched and later terminated in February this year with no charges filed.
"Extraordinary allegations require extraordinary evidence," said Armstrong, and that's exactly what followed with the ensuing United States Anti-Doping Agency report, revealing "the most sophisticated, professionalised and successful doping programme that the sport has ever seen".
It regaled stories of wholesale doping and riders being bullied to get in line with the programme or face the sack. Among those riders was David Zabriskie, who had got into cycling to avoid a life in drugs - his father had been a drug addict.
The revelations were far more damning than Armstrong could ever had imagined. Amazingly, he has never failed a drugs test or served a doping ban. Now, his ban is for life and his legacy in the sport he found so much success in is gone entirely.
What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
T20 World Cup Qualifier fixtures
Tuesday, October 29
Qualifier one, 2.10pm – Netherlands v UAE
Qualifier two, 7.30pm – Namibia v Oman
Wednesday, October 30
Qualifier three, 2.10pm – Scotland v loser of qualifier one
Qualifier four, 7.30pm – Hong Kong v loser of qualifier two
Thursday, October 31
Fifth-place playoff, 2.10pm – winner of qualifier three v winner of qualifier four
Friday, November 1
Semi-final one, 2.10pm – Ireland v winner of qualifier one
Semi-final two, 7.30pm – PNG v winner of qualifier two
Saturday, November 2
Third-place playoff, 2.10pm
Final, 7.30pm
Women’s T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier
ICC Academy, November 22-28
UAE fixtures
Nov 22, v Malaysia
Nov 23, v Hong Kong
Nov 25, v Bhutan
Nov 26, v Kuwait
Nov 28, v Nepal
ICC T20I rankings
14. Nepal
17. UAE
25. Hong Kong
34. Kuwait
35. Malaysia
44. Bhutan
UAE squad
Chaya Mughal (captain), Natasha Cherriath, Samaira Dharnidharka, Kavisha Egodage, Mahika Gaur, Priyanjali Jain, Suraksha Kotte, Vaishnave Mahesh, Judit Peter, Esha Rohit, Theertha Satish, Chamani Seneviratne, Khushi Sharma, Subha Venkataraman
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Abu Dhabi GP schedule
Friday: First practice - 1pm; Second practice - 5pm
Saturday: Final practice - 2pm; Qualifying - 5pm
Sunday: Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (55 laps) - 5.10pm
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
North Pole stats
Distance covered: 160km
Temperature: -40°C
Weight of equipment: 45kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 0
Terrain: Ice rock
South Pole stats
Distance covered: 130km
Temperature: -50°C
Weight of equipment: 50kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 3,300
Terrain: Flat ice
U19 WORLD CUP, WEST INDIES
UAE group fixtures (all in St Kitts)
- Saturday 15 January: UAE beat Canada by 49 runs
- Thursday 20 January: v England
- Saturday 22 January: v Bangladesh
UAE squad:
Alishan Sharafu (captain), Shival Bawa, Jash Giyanani, Sailles
Jaishankar, Nilansh Keswani, Aayan Khan, Punya Mehra, Ali Naseer, Ronak Panoly,
Dhruv Parashar, Vinayak Raghavan, Soorya Sathish, Aryansh Sharma, Adithya
Shetty, Kai Smith
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
JOKE'S%20ON%20YOU
%3Cp%3EGoogle%20wasn't%20new%20to%20busting%20out%20April%20Fool's%20jokes%3A%20before%20the%20Gmail%20%22prank%22%2C%20it%20tricked%20users%20with%20%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Farchive.google%2Fmentalplex%2F%22%20target%3D%22_blank%22%3Emind-reading%20MentalPlex%20responses%3C%2Fa%3E%20and%20said%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Farchive.google%2Fpigeonrank%2F%22%20target%3D%22_blank%22%3E%20well-fed%20pigeons%20were%20running%20its%20search%20engine%20operations%3C%2Fa%3E%20.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EIn%20subsequent%20years%2C%20they%20announced%20home%20internet%20services%20through%20your%20toilet%20with%20its%20%22%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Farchive.google%2Ftisp%2Finstall.html%22%20target%3D%22_blank%22%3Epatented%20GFlush%20system%3C%2Fa%3E%22%2C%20made%20us%20believe%20the%20Moon's%20surface%20was%20made%20of%20cheese%20and%20unveiled%20a%20dating%20service%20in%20which%20they%20called%20founders%20Sergey%20Brin%20and%20Larry%20Page%20%22%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Farchive.google%2Fromance%2Fpress.html%22%20target%3D%22_blank%22%3EStanford%20PhD%20wannabes%3C%2Fa%3E%20%22.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EBut%20Gmail%20was%20all%20too%20real%2C%20purportedly%20inspired%20by%20one%20%E2%80%93%20a%20single%20%E2%80%93%20Google%20user%20complaining%20about%20the%20%22poor%20quality%20of%20existing%20email%20services%22%20and%20born%20%22%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fgooglepress.blogspot.com%2F2004%2F04%2Fgoogle-gets-message-launches-gmail.html%22%20target%3D%22_blank%22%3Emillions%20of%20M%26amp%3BMs%20later%3C%2Fa%3E%22.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
The most expensive investment mistake you will ever make
When is the best time to start saving in a pension? The answer is simple – at the earliest possible moment. The first pound, euro, dollar or dirham you invest is the most valuable, as it has so much longer to grow in value. If you start in your twenties, it could be invested for 40 years or more, which means you have decades for compound interest to work its magic.
“You get growth upon growth upon growth, followed by more growth. The earlier you start the process, the more it will all roll up,” says Chris Davies, chartered financial planner at The Fry Group in Dubai.
This table shows how much you would have in your pension at age 65, depending on when you start and how much you pay in (it assumes your investments grow 7 per cent a year after charges and you have no other savings).
|
Age
|
$250 a month
|
$500 a month
|
$1,000 a month
|
|
25
|
$640,829
|
$1,281,657
|
$2,563,315
|
|
35
|
$303,219
|
$606,439
|
$1,212,877
|
|
45
|
$131,596
|
$263,191
|
$526,382
|
|
55
|
$44,351
|
$88,702
|
$177,403
|
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
AIDA%20RETURNS
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
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)
Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
Omar Yabroudi's factfile
Born: October 20, 1989, Sharjah
Education: Bachelor of Science and Football, Liverpool John Moores University
2010: Accrington Stanley FC, internship
2010-2012: Crystal Palace, performance analyst with U-18 academy
2012-2015: Barnet FC, first-team performance analyst/head of recruitment
2015-2017: Nottingham Forest, head of recruitment
2018-present: Crystal Palace, player recruitment manager
THE DETAILS
Kaala
Dir: Pa. Ranjith
Starring: Rajinikanth, Huma Qureshi, Easwari Rao, Nana Patekar
Rating: 1.5/5
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Batti Gul Meter Chalu
Producers: KRTI Productions, T-Series
Director: Sree Narayan Singh
Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Divyenndu Sharma, Yami Gautam
Rating: 2/5
The 24-man squad:
Goalkeepers: Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea), Simon Mignolet (Liverpool), Koen Casteels (VfL Wolfsburg).
Defenders: Toby Alderweireld (Tottenham), Thomas Meunier (Paris Saint-Germain), Thomas Vermaelen (Barcelona), Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham), Dedryck Boyata (Celtic), Vincent Kompany (Manchester City).
Midfielders: Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United), Axel Witsel (Tianjin Quanjian), Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City), Eden Hazard (Chelsea), Nacer Chadli (West Bromwich Albion), Leander Dendoncker (Anderlecht), Thorgan Hazard (Borussia Moenchengladbach), Youri Tielemans (Monaco), Mousa Dembele (Tottenham Hotspur).
Forwards: Michy Batshuayi (Chelsea/Dortmund), Yannick Carrasco (Dalian Yifang), Adnan Januzaj (Real Sociedad), Romelu Lukaku (Manchester United), Dries Mertens (Napoli).
Standby player: Laurent Ciman (Los Angeles FC).
FA CUP FINAL
Manchester City 6
(D Silva 26', Sterling 38', 81', 87', De Bruyne 61', Jesus 68')
Watford 0
Man of the match: Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
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Super%20Mario%20Bros%20Wonder
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DUBAI SEVENS 2018 DRAW
Gulf Men’s League
Pool A – Dubai Exiles, Dubai Hurricanes, Bahrain, Dubai Sports City Eagles
Pool B – Jebel Ali Dragons, Abu Dhabi Saracens, Abu Dhabi Harlequins, Al Ain Amblers
Gulf Men’s Open
Pool A – Bahrain Firbolgs, Arabian Knights, Yalla Rugby, Muscat
Pool B – Amman Citadel, APB Dubai Sharks, Jebel Ali Dragons 2, Saudi Rugby
Pool C – Abu Dhabi Harlequins 2, Roberts Construction, Dubai Exiles 2
Pool D – Dubai Tigers, UAE Shaheen, Sharjah Wanderers, Amman Citadel 2
Gulf U19 Boys
Pool A – Deira International School, Dubai Hurricanes, British School Al Khubairat, Jumeirah English Speaking School B
Pool B – Dubai English Speaking College 2, Jumeirah College, Dubai College A, Abu Dhabi Harlequins 2
Pool C – Bahrain Colts, Al Yasmina School, DESC, DC B
Pool D – Al Ain Amblers, Repton Royals, Dubai Exiles, Gems World Academy Dubai
Pool E – JESS A, Abu Dhabi Sharks, Abu Dhabi Harlequins 1, EC
Gulf Women
Pool A – Kuwait Scorpions, Black Ruggers, Dubai Sports City Eagles, Dubai Hurricanes 2
Pool B – Emirates Firebirds, Sharjah Wanderers, RAK Rides, Beirut Aconites
Pool C – Dubai Hurricanes, Emirates Firebirds 2, Abu Dhabi Saracens, Transforma Panthers
Pool D – AUC Wolves, Dubai Hawks, Abu Dhabi Harlequins, Al Ain Amblers
Gulf U19 Girls
Pool A – Dubai Exiles, BSAK, DESC, Al Maha
Pool B – Arabian Knights, Dubai Hurricanes, Al Ain Amblers, Abu Dhabi Harlequins
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The Facility’s Versatility
Between the start of the 2020 IPL on September 20, and the end of the Pakistan Super League this coming Thursday, the Zayed Cricket Stadium has had an unprecedented amount of traffic.
Never before has a ground in this country – or perhaps anywhere in the world – had such a volume of major-match cricket.
And yet scoring has remained high, and Abu Dhabi has seen some classic encounters in every format of the game.
October 18, IPL, Kolkata Knight Riders tied with Sunrisers Hyderabad
The two playoff-chasing sides put on 163 apiece, before Kolkata went on to win the Super Over
January 8, ODI, UAE beat Ireland by six wickets
A century by CP Rizwan underpinned one of UAE’s greatest ever wins, as they chased 270 to win with an over to spare
February 6, T10, Northern Warriors beat Delhi Bulls by eight wickets
The final of the T10 was chiefly memorable for a ferocious over of fast bowling from Fidel Edwards to Nicholas Pooran
March 14, Test, Afghanistan beat Zimbabwe by six wickets
Eleven wickets for Rashid Khan, 1,305 runs scored in five days, and a last session finish
June 17, PSL, Islamabad United beat Peshawar Zalmi by 15 runs
Usman Khawaja scored a hundred as Islamabad posted the highest score ever by a Pakistan team in T20 cricket
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
