The Netherlands’ Dafne Schippers, centre, crosses the finish line in 21.63 seconds, a European record, to win the women’s 200-metre sprint yesterday at Beijing. Adrian Dennis / AFP
The Netherlands’ Dafne Schippers, centre, crosses the finish line in 21.63 seconds, a European record, to win the women’s 200-metre sprint yesterday at Beijing. Adrian Dennis / AFP

Dafne Schippers captures 200m and European record at Beijing World Championships



Netherlands sprinter Dafne Schippers clocked the fourth-fastest run in history to defeat Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson by three-hundredths of a second and win gold in the women’s 200-metre run at the Athletics World Championships in Beijing on Friday.

The former heptathlete, who claimed silver in the 100m behind Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce on Monday, surged through the line in 21.63 seconds, the quickest time for 17 years in the half-lap sprint.

Only Americans Florence Griffith-Joyner, the world-record holder, and Marion Jones, who was later banned for doping, have run faster.

Thompson was second in a personal-best 21.66. Bronze went to twice Olympic champion Veronica Campbell-Brown, in 21.97.

Schippers, 23, taking part in her first major global championships as a sprinter, made a good start but had plenty to do to catch Thompson when they came off the bend.

She got into her long stride in the final 50 metres and ate up the ground to overhaul her rival as she dipped for the line.

Schippers, who raised a finger in the air after crossing the line, is the first European to win the title since Russia’s Anastasiya Kapachinskaya at Paris in 2003, breaking 12 years of American and Jamaican dominance in the event.

“Wow,” Schippers said. “It’s crazy. A European record. I’m the world’s best. Crazy.

“I’m very happy with my time, at my moment. I can’t believe it at this moment.”

In other events, American champion Tianna Bartoletta became world long jump champion again, securing the gold medal with a leap of 7.14 metres.

Britain’s Shara Proctor had led the competition after breaking her own national record with a 7.07m jump in the third round.

Bartoletta last won the world title 10 years ago at Helsinki while competing under her birth name of Madison.

She has spent much of the past decade concentrating on her sprinting, finishing fourth in the 100m final at the 2012 London Olympics.

“This was a totally different experience from 2005,” said Bartoletta, who celebrates her 30th birthday on Sunday. “I’m just really pleased I was able to execute in the same way and come out with the win.”

Jamaica’s Danielle Williams won the 100m hurdles title as the favourites and global leaders crumbled under pressure around her.

Williams took the lead after the last hurdle to win the title in a lifetime best 12.57 seconds, ahead of Germany’s Cindy Roleder with 12.59, who also ran a personal best.

Defending champion Brianna Rollins all but wrote off her chances of gold after knocking down the first hurdle. The American rallied but settled for fourth in 12.67.

On the men’s side, Sergey Shubenkov ran a Russian record to win 110m hurdles gold, storming down the track in 12.98 seconds. Hansle Parchment of Jamaica was second in 13.03 and Olympic champion and world record holder America Aries Merritt claimed bronze in 13.04 seconds.

Merritt will have a kidney transplant in Arizona next week.

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BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES

Friday (all kick-offs UAE time)

Hertha Berlin v Union Berlin (10.30pm)

Saturday

Freiburg v Werder Bremen (5.30pm)

Paderborn v Hoffenheim (5.30pm)

Wolfsburg v Borussia Dortmund (5.30pm)

Borussia Monchengladbach v Bayer Leverkusen (5.30pm)

Bayern Munich v Eintracht Frankfurt (5.30pm)

Sunday

Schalke v Augsburg (3.30pm)

Mainz v RB Leipzig (5.30pm)

Cologne v Fortuna Dusseldorf (8pm)

Expo details

Expo 2020 Dubai will be the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia

The world fair will run for six months from October 20, 2020 to April 10, 2021.

It is expected to attract 25 million visits

Some 70 per cent visitors are projected to come from outside the UAE, the largest proportion of international visitors in the 167-year history of World Expos.

More than 30,000 volunteers are required for Expo 2020

The site covers a total of 4.38 sqkm, including a 2 sqkm gated area

It is located adjacent to Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai South

Hili 2: Unesco World Heritage site

The site is part of the Hili archaeological park in Al Ain. Excavations there have proved the existence of the earliest known agricultural communities in modern-day UAE. Some date to the Bronze Age but Hili 2 is an Iron Age site. The Iron Age witnessed the development of the falaj, a network of channels that funnelled water from natural springs in the area. Wells allowed settlements to be established, but falaj meant they could grow and thrive. Unesco, the UN's cultural body, awarded Al Ain's sites - including Hili 2 - world heritage status in 2011. Now the most recent dig at the site has revealed even more about the skilled people that lived and worked there.

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Veil (Object Lessons)
Rafia Zakaria
​​​​​​​Bloomsbury Academic

Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
Director: Venkat Prabhu
Rating: 2/5
Is it worth it? We put cheesecake frap to the test.

The verdict from the nutritionists is damning. But does a cheesecake frappuccino taste good enough to merit the indulgence?

My advice is to only go there if you have unusually sweet tooth. I like my puddings, but this was a bit much even for me. The first hit is a winner, but it's downhill, slowly, from there. Each sip is a little less satisfying than the last, and maybe it was just all that sugar, but it isn't long before the rush is replaced by a creeping remorse. And half of the thing is still left.

The caramel version is far superior to the blueberry, too. If someone put a full caramel cheesecake through a liquidiser and scooped out the contents, it would probably taste something like this. Blueberry, on the other hand, has more of an artificial taste. It's like someone has tried to invent this drink in a lab, and while early results were promising, they're still in the testing phase. It isn't terrible, but something isn't quite right either.

So if you want an experience, go for a small, and opt for the caramel. But if you want a cheesecake, it's probably more satisfying, and not quite as unhealthy, to just order the real thing.

 

 

Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hoopla%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EDate%20started%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMarch%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Jacqueline%20Perrottet%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2010%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPre-seed%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20required%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%24500%2C000%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Arrogate's winning run

1. Maiden Special Weight, Santa Anita Park, June 5, 2016

2. Allowance Optional Claiming, Santa Anita Park, June 24, 2016

3. Allowance Optional Claiming, Del Mar, August 4, 2016

4. Travers Stakes, Saratoga, August 27, 2016

5. Breeders' Cup Classic, Santa Anita Park, November 5, 2016

6. Pegasus World Cup, Gulfstream Park, January 28, 2017

7. Dubai World Cup, Meydan Racecourse, March 25, 2017

ASSASSIN'S%20CREED%20MIRAGE
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How to invest in gold

Investors can tap into the gold price by purchasing physical jewellery, coins and even gold bars, but these need to be stored safely and possibly insured.

A cheaper and more straightforward way to benefit from gold price growth is to buy an exchange-traded fund (ETF).

Most advisers suggest sticking to “physical” ETFs. These hold actual gold bullion, bars and coins in a vault on investors’ behalf. Others do not hold gold but use derivatives to track the price instead, adding an extra layer of risk. The two biggest physical gold ETFs are SPDR Gold Trust and iShares Gold Trust.

Another way to invest in gold’s success is to buy gold mining stocks, but Mr Gravier says this brings added risks and can be more volatile. “They have a serious downside potential should the price consolidate.”

Mr Kyprianou says gold and gold miners are two different asset classes. “One is a commodity and the other is a company stock, which means they behave differently.”

Mining companies are a business, susceptible to other market forces, such as worker availability, health and safety, strikes, debt levels, and so on. “These have nothing to do with gold at all. It means that some companies will survive, others won’t.”

By contrast, when gold is mined, it just sits in a vault. “It doesn’t even rust, which means it retains its value,” Mr Kyprianou says.

You may already have exposure to gold miners in your portfolio, say, through an international ETF or actively managed mutual fund.

You could spread this risk with an actively managed fund that invests in a spread of gold miners, with the best known being BlackRock Gold & General. It is up an incredible 55 per cent over the past year, and 240 per cent over five years. As always, past performance is no guide to the future.

england euro squad

Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson (Man Utd), Sam Johnstone (West Brom), Jordan Pickford (Everton)

Defenders: John Stones (Man City), Luke Shaw (Man Utd), Harry Maguire (Man Utd), Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Kyle Walker (Man City), Tyrone Mings (Aston Villa), Reece James (Chelsea), Conor Coady (Wolves), Ben Chilwell (Chelsea), Kieran Trippier (Atletico Madrid)

Midfielders: Mason Mount (Chelsea), Declan Rice (West Ham), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund), Kalvin Phillips (Leeds)

Forwards: Harry Kane (Tottenham), Marcus Rashford (Man Utd), Raheem Sterling (Man City), Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton), Phil Foden (Man City), Jack Grealish (Aston Villa), Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)


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