Red Bull's Max Verstappen took his first Monaco Grand Prix pole position on Saturday with a breathtaking final lap to deny Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso the crucial top slot.
Alonso will start alongside on a front row of double Formula One world champions with Ferrari's home hero Charles Leclerc unable to secure his third Monaco pole in a row and having to settle for third.
"You have to go all out and risk it all," said Verstappen after the session.
"I knew I was behind, I'm very happy to be on pole for the first time here."
The session was red-flagged when Sergio Perez smashed his Red Bull into a wall leaving last year's winner at the rear of the grid.
With overtaking at a premium on the narrow streets of the principality, Perez's misfortune could prove costly for his title challenge with the Mexican 14 points adrift of Verstappen going into this sixth race of the season.
Carlos Sainz in the second Ferrari posted the fifth fastest time to occupy the third row with Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton.
Ocon's Alpine teammate Pierre Gasly, George Russell of Mercedes, Alpha Tauri's Yuki Tsunoda and McLaren's Lando Norris completed the top 10.
Alonso's Aston Martin mechanics celebrated wildly after it appeared as though the 41-year-old Spaniard had taken his first pole in 11 years.
But Verstappen delivered a mesmerising final sector in Monte Carlo to take top spot with his final charge, beating Alonso by just 0.084 seconds.
Mercedes were banking on their much-anticipated upgrade providing them with a springboard to challenge the grid's all-conquering Red Bull team.
But on its grand unveiling in Monaco, Hamilton was at odds with his new machine.
The British driver, who crashed out of final practice following a mistake at the right-hander Mirabeau, missed the chicane in Q1, only avoiding an early bath with his final lap, before scrambling into Q3 after he grazed the wall at the swimming pool chicane.
"Man this car is hard to drive, mate," said the seven-time world champion, who also reported there was "something wrong" with his right-rear suspension.
Alonso walked over to Verstappen and shook his hand after a tight tussle between the two-time F1 champions.
“Feels great, I always had confidence in what I could do," Alonso said. “We’re starting on the front row in Monaco, so job done."
Alonso has four third-place finishes in five races, so Verstappen joked that he’d try to help him finally win again.
“I’ll think about it. I’d like to see Fernando win, but I’d like to win myself,” Verstappen said. “I love watching his style."
Later in the day, Leclerc was demoted three places on the grid for Sunday's race after the race stewards ruled he had impeded another driver at the end of qualifying.
Leclerc, a Monaco native, was found to have blocked McLaren's Lando Norris during qualifying.
Frenchman Ocon in an Alpine, moved up to third on the grid while Spaniard Sainz, in the second Ferrari, was promoted to the second row and Hamilton in a Mercedes moved up to fifth.
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Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
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Tony Booth, professor of education
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Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
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Evacuations to France hit by controversy
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Mamo
Year it started: 2019 Founders: Imad Gharazeddine, Asim Janjua
Based: Dubai, UAE
Number of employees: 28
Sector: Financial services
Investment: $9.5m
Funding stage: Pre-Series A Investors: Global Ventures, GFC, 4DX Ventures, AlRajhi Partners, Olive Tree Capital, and prominent Silicon Valley investors.
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Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
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- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
RESULT
Everton 2 Huddersfield Town 0
Everton: Sigurdsson (47'), Calvert-Lewin (73')
Man of the Match: Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton)
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
A new relationship with the old country
Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates
The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.
ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.
ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.
ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.
DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.
Signed
Geoffrey Arthur Sheikh Zayed
RIVER%20SPIRIT
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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
Our House, Louise Candlish,
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Which honey takes your fancy?
Al Ghaf Honey
The Al Ghaf tree is a local desert tree which bears the harsh summers with drought and high temperatures. From the rich flowers, bees that pollinate this tree can produce delicious red colour honey in June and July each year
Sidr Honey
The Sidr tree is an evergreen tree with long and strong forked branches. The blossom from this tree is called Yabyab, which provides rich food for bees to produce honey in October and November. This honey is the most expensive, but tastiest
Samar Honey
The Samar tree trunk, leaves and blossom contains Barm which is the secret of healing. You can enjoy the best types of honey from this tree every year in May and June. It is an historical witness to the life of the Emirati nation which represents the harsh desert and mountain environments
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
Tonight's Chat on The National
Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.
Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster with a decades-long career in TV. He has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others. Karam is also the founder of Takreem.
Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.
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