Ireland poised for grand finale



Ireland may be just 80 minutes away from their first Grand Slam title in 61 years but Declan Kidney, the head coach, is refusing to indulge in any chicken counting. After defeating Scotland 22-15 at Murrayfield on Saturday night, the Irish head to Cardiff on Saturday needing a win to complete their first clean sweep since 1948.

However, Kidney is mindful of the fact that Wales, their opponents and the holders of the Grand Slam, will be also be gunning for the title and the Triple Crown. "Let's see what happens," said Kidney. "We have to play Wales in Cardiff which is a very difficult thing to do. "I won't be shielding the players from the pressure. This is a week to be enjoyed. If you don't enjoy times like this you won't enjoy anything," he said.

"Our job is to stay professional. We'll prepare the same way for this one as we did with every other match, but admittedly this is new territory for everybody. "Wales will be tough. I'll be accused of mind games but they are defending Grand Slam champions and are playing at home." Peter Stringer, the scrum-half, believes Ireland are better equipped to claim the Grand Slam in 2009 than for their failed attempt six years ago.

In 2003 they met England at Lansdowne Road in a decider for the Six Nations' ultimate prize and were humbled 42-6. But Stringer, who started that match at scrum-half, is convinced Ireland will not be denied this time. "Going into that match, we found ourselves in a position we hadn't been in for a long while," he said. "But this squad has come a long way since then. A lot of success has been built on with the provinces and with Ireland."

Frank Hadden, the Scotland coach, was left to bemoan his side's failure to translate their first-half dominance into points. "I thought we should have been out of sight at half time," he said. "We had opportunities in the first half to close out the game." Wales, meanwhile, were far from flawless in their 20-15 victory over Italy in Rome. But the Wales coach, Warren Gatland, felt the closeness of the match was a result of Italy's performance rather than the mass changes he made to his side.

"There were lots of changes and different combinations," said Gatland. "But Italy played very well. I think this was their best game of the tournament. I thought Sergio Parisse was outstanding and Italy defended well." Parisse, the Stade Francais back-rower, took heart from his side's fourth straight defeat. "We cannot be happy with the defeat but I am extremely satisfied with how the team played," he said.

* PA

How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

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Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher:  Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5

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How to play the stock market recovery in 2021?

If you are looking to build your long-term wealth in 2021 and beyond, the stock market is still the best place to do it as equities powered on despite the pandemic.

Investing in individual stocks is not for everyone and most private investors should stick to mutual funds and ETFs, but there are some thrilling opportunities for those who understand the risks.

Peter Garnry, head of equity strategy at Saxo Bank, says the 20 best-performing US and European stocks have delivered an average return year-to-date of 148 per cent, measured in local currency terms.

Online marketplace Etsy was the best performer with a return of 330.6 per cent, followed by communications software company Sinch (315.4 per cent), online supermarket HelloFresh (232.8 per cent) and fuel cells specialist NEL (191.7 per cent).

Mr Garnry says digital companies benefited from the lockdown, while green energy firms flew as efforts to combat climate change were ramped up, helped in part by the European Union’s green deal. 

Electric car company Tesla would be on the list if it had been part of the S&P 500 Index, but it only joined on December 21. “Tesla has become one of the most valuable companies in the world this year as demand for electric vehicles has grown dramatically,” Mr Garnry says.

By contrast, the 20 worst-performing European stocks fell 54 per cent on average, with European banks hit by the economic fallout from the pandemic, while cruise liners and airline stocks suffered due to travel restrictions.

As demand for energy fell, the oil and gas industry had a tough year, too.

Mr Garnry says the biggest story this year was the “absolute crunch” in so-called value stocks, companies that trade at low valuations compared to their earnings and growth potential.

He says they are “heavily tilted towards financials, miners, energy, utilities and industrials, which have all been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic”. “The last year saw these cheap stocks become cheaper and expensive stocks have become more expensive.” 

This has triggered excited talk about the “great value rotation” but Mr Garnry remains sceptical. “We need to see a breakout of interest rates combined with higher inflation before we join the crowd.”

Always remember that past performance is not a guarantee of future returns. Last year’s winners often turn out to be this year’s losers, and vice-versa.

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Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding

Company profile

Name: Fruitful Day

Founders: Marie-Christine Luijckx, Lyla Dalal AlRawi, Lindsey Fournie

Based: Dubai, UAE

Founded: 2015

Number of employees: 30

Sector: F&B

Funding so far: Dh3 million

Future funding plans: None at present

Future markets: Saudi Arabia, potentially Kuwait and other GCC countries

Thank You for Banking with Us

Director: Laila Abbas

Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum

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Jigra
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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

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'Unrivaled: Why America Will Remain the World’s Sole Superpower'
Michael Beckley, Cornell Press


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