A file photo of the Alinghi sailing 17 miles off the coast of Ras Al Khaimah.
A file photo of the Alinghi sailing 17 miles off the coast of Ras Al Khaimah.

America's Cup ruling goes against RAK



A judge in New York ruled yesterday that Ras al Khaimah cannot host the America's Cup race in February, citing a provision in the 19th-century document that governs the sailing contest. The rules state the competition cannot be held in the Northern Hemisphere between November and May. New York State Supreme Court Justice Shirley Werner Kornreich said that meant the emirate was not eligible to host the race scheduled for February 8-12.

The suit had been filed by Larry Ellison's BMW-Oracle team, which has been involved in a two-year court battle over the race's venue with the backers of the current cup holder, Alinghi, which chose RAK. The challengers had cited the UAE's proximity to Iran as a concern. "This is a disappointing result, as we were certain that Justice Cahn's May 2008 decision allowed the defender to choose Valencia or 'any other location'," said a statement from Lucien Masmejan, legal counsel for Société Nautique de Genève, the yacht club sailing for Alinghi.

"Ras al Khaimah has put enormous time and effort into this 33rd America's Cup project. We thank them and feel sorry for this unexpected result out of the New York court." Representatives for Oracle could not be reached for comment late last night. The Deed of Gift, drafted in 1887, governs everything from the timing and location of the race to the design of the crafts. The case, Golden Gate Yacht Club v. Société Nautique de Genève, can be appealed, and the judge urged Alinghi to do so.

RAK has invested more than Dh440 million (US$120m) in infrastructure for the race. The Alinghi team is well established on the southern side of a man-made island built for the race. Their 100-strong team has access to four large tents, a prefabricated building, a boat shed, a sail loft, a rig building, a hospitality area and an office block. BMW Oracle would have identical facilities on the northern side of the island if they were in the UAE. Work on their camp stopped when they submitted the court action opposing the choice of the venue.

Société Nautique de Genève has defended the choice of RAK as a venue for the competition. After RAK was described by the BMW Oracle team as being "no more of a legitimate venue than the Colorado River", the group fired back. "Your efforts to denigrate RAK and the UAE are truly disappointing," it said in a correspondence to the other club. "RAK offers superlative sailing conditions for a February race as well as a suitable infrastructure.

"The UAE is a budding sailing destination with a history of hosting high-profile international sporting events. "The selection of RAK [as the host venue] is consistent with SNG's desire to expand international interest in the America's Cup." Mr Ellison, the billionaire software mogul who funds the Oracle team, is reputed to have put aside US$100m (Dh367m) to pursue the legal fight. Oracle earlier asked the US State Department to get involved and assess security in the emirate.

A letter by Edward Royce, a US congressman from California, to the State Department co-ordinator on counter-terrorism claimed that RAK was an "illegitimate and unsafe" venue for the America's Cup. @Email:gdoyle@thenational.ae * With agencies

At a glance

Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.

 

Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year

 

Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month

 

Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30 

 

Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse

 

Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth

 

Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances

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The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E77kWh%202%20motors%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E178bhp%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E410Nm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERange%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E402km%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDh%2C150%2C000%20(estimate)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ETBC%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
A MINECRAFT MOVIE

Director: Jared Hess

Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa

Rating: 3/5

How to get there

Emirates (www.emirates.com) flies directly to Hanoi, Vietnam, with fares starting from around Dh2,725 return, while Etihad (www.etihad.com) fares cost about Dh2,213 return with a stop. Chuong is 25 kilometres south of Hanoi.
 

The specs

Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo

Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed

Power: 271 and 409 horsepower

Torque: 385 and 650Nm

Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000

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
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  • 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 specs

Price, base / as tested Dh1,100,000 (est)

Engine 5.2-litre V10

Gearbox seven-speed dual clutch

Power 630bhp @ 8,000rpm

Torque 600Nm @ 6,500rpm

Fuel economy, combined 15.7L / 100km (est) 

The specs

Engine: 2.3-litre, turbo four-cylinder

Transmission: 10-speed auto

Power: 300hp

Torque: 420Nm

Price: Dh189,900

On sale: now

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
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  • 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
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 

Step by step

2070km to run

38 days

273,600 calories consumed

28kg of fruit

40kg of vegetables

45 pairs of running shoes

1 yoga matt

1 oxygen chamber

Cryopreservation: A timeline
  1. Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
  2. Ovarian tissue surgically removed
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  4. Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
  5. Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

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Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20myZoi%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202021%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Syed%20Ali%2C%20Christian%20Buchholz%2C%20Shanawaz%20Rouf%2C%20Arsalan%20Siddiqui%2C%20Nabid%20Hassan%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2037%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Initial%20undisclosed%20funding%20from%20SC%20Ventures%3B%20second%20round%20of%20funding%20totalling%20%2414%20million%20from%20a%20consortium%20of%20SBI%2C%20a%20Japanese%20VC%20firm%2C%20and%20SC%20Venture%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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

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AGL AWARDS

Golden Ball - best Emirati player: Khalfan Mubarak (Al Jazira)
Golden Ball - best foreign player: Igor Coronado (Sharjah)
Golden Glove - best goalkeeper: Adel Al Hosani (Sharjah)
Best Coach - the leader: Abdulaziz Al Anbari (Sharjah)
Fans' Player of the Year: Driss Fetouhi (Dibba)
Golden Boy - best young player: Ali Saleh (Al Wasl)
Best Fans of the Year: Sharjah
Goal of the Year: Michael Ortega (Baniyas)

ABU%20DHABI'S%20KEY%20TOURISM%20GOALS%3A%20BY%20THE%20NUMBERS
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