VANCOUVER // The Canadian men's curling team took inspiration from a loud impromptu rendition of their national anthem to beat world champions Britain 7-6.
In what was billed as a possible preview of the Olympic gold medal game, the Canadians captained by Kevin Martin prevailed in a tough fluctuating struggle with their longtime rivals.
Martin scored two points in the last end to seal victory but both teams were left gobsmacked by an unusual display of patriotism by most of the 5,600 fans at the Vancouver Olympic Centre.
With Britain leading by one in the last end, the crowd began belting out "O Canada" en masse, forcing the curlers to halt play until the song ended.
"That's amazing ? I don't know if that's ever happened in a curling game before," the Canadian curler Marc Kennedy said. "It's unbelievable the support we've got out there. It's like a fifth man out there. It keeps us positive even when things aren't going so well."
The Canadian team, unbeaten after six matches, said they had ample time left to play, so they just let the crowd take over.
"That's one you'll want to put in the old memory bank in the back of your head, because I've never heard that in any sport that I've ever been to or watched on TV," Martin said.
Boisterous fans have packed the curling venue on each day of the round-robin competition and have been particularly loud when Canada play.
Some rivals have complained, prompting officials yesterday to start telling fans to refrain from making noise when players are in action. Not all complied.
For his part the British skip David Murdoch took the chorus in good humour after his team slipped to 3-3 in the competition.
"I thought it was hilarious," Murdoch said. "That's not something you're ever going to see ever again, is it? A curling game coming to a complete standstill due to the crowd cheering the national anthem. It's great to see."
* Reuters
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
Euro 2020
Group A: Italy, Switzerland, Wales, Turkey
Group B: Belgium, Russia, Denmark, Finland
Group C: Netherlands, Ukraine, Austria,
Georgia/Kosovo/Belarus/North Macedonia
Group D: England, Croatia, Czech Republic,
Scotland/Israel/Norway/Serbia
Group E: Spain, Poland, Sweden,
N.Ireland/Bosnia/Slovakia/Ireland
Group F: Germany, France, Portugal,
Iceland/Romania/Bulgaria/Hungary
Sunday's games
All times UAE:
Tottenham Hotspur v Crystal Palace, 4pm
Manchester City v Arsenal, 6.15pm
Everton v Watford, 8.30pm
Chelsea v Manchester United, 8.30pm
MORE ON TURKEY'S SYRIA OFFENCE
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
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Brief scoreline:
Wolves 3
Neves 28', Doherty 37', Jota 45' 2
Arsenal 1
Papastathopoulos 80'
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
