Roger Federer was at the top of his game in London last week, sweeping past opponents as if his age were not an issue. A back injury over the weekend changed everything, casting serious doubts over his chances of winning the Davis Cup, or even playing against France in the final.
The 17-time grand slam champion picked up the injury in a hard-fought win over Swiss teammate Stan Wawrinka at the ATP Finals, forcing him to retire ahead of the title match against Novak Djokovic.
One statistic speaks volumes about the seriousness of the 33-year-old Federer’s injury: His walkover at the season finale marked only the third time in his career that he withdrew before a match, each time due to back problems.
As if Federer’s injury concerns were not enough, the Swiss are also worried about Wawrinka’s morale as the country bids for its first Davis Cup victory. After wasting four match points against Federer in London, the Australian Open champion said he “can either be destroyed or bounce back” from such a tough loss.
Following the match, two men are also said to have been involved in a heated spat after Wawrinka complained about noise coming from Federer’s box in between serves toward the end of the third set. Federer defused the tensions by posting a picture on Twitter of a united Switzerland team, with Wawrinka making bunny ears behind his teammate, and both players insisted on their friendship on Tuesday.
“We had a conversation after the match. Everything’s totally relaxed about the situation. We’re old enough,” Federer said. “I just wanted to see if there were any hard feelings because it was probably one of the loudest moments of the match. Clearly a lot of noise. Like I said, there is no hard feeling whatsoever. We’re having a good time here. We are friends, not enemies.”
Federer traveled to the northern French city of Lille by private jet on Monday, hoping to recover in time before the best-of-five series beginning Friday with two singles matches, followed by doubles on Saturday and reverse singles on Sunday.
“It was definitely not good enough to practice yesterday,” Federer told reporters Tuesday. “I wish progress would be faster, but we’re trying hard. We’re heading in that direction. I feel it’s definitely a little bit better than it was on Saturday night and Sunday and also Monday. Baby steps, I guess. I’m hopeful.”
Federer had been in tremendous form this season, playing a more offensive game and bagging five titles while staying injury-free after back problems damaged his 2013 campaign.
Chasing the only major title still eluding him, Federer also showed his commitment to the Davis Cup this year, joining the Swiss team immediately after his loss in the US Open semi-finals to take part to their semi-final against Italy in September.
For years, Federer did not regard the Davis Cup as a main priority. The emergence of Wawrinka as a top player changed the equation and convinced him they had a good chance of winning the event. But without Federer, the Swiss have won just one of the 10 ties they have played in the World Group since his debut in the competition in 1999.
If Federer can’t play, Swiss captain Severin Luthi will have to do either with the 212th-ranked Marco Chiudinelli or No 508 Michael Lammer.
“For the time being, we are not thinking that Roger Federer will not play on Friday,” France captain Arnaud Clement said. “We have been preparing for 10 days, and we are prepared to play the Swiss team with Federer and Wawrinka. But what we are going to play is not Federer’s team, it is the Swiss team. They have good players.”
Unlike its opponents, France is at full strength with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Gael Monfils, Julien Benneteau and Richard Gasquet having traveled to Lille after a training camp in Bordeaux. Clement also summoned Gilles Simon as a reserve player.
Both Tsonga and Gasquet, who won their singles matches and teamed up in doubles in the victory over the Czech Republic in the semi-finals, said they are not getting distracted by the Swiss team’s struggles.
France are looking to win the trophy for the 10th time.
“I think for this weekend, the important thing for us is to stay focused on ourselves, on our team,” Tsonga said. “What we need is to have a perfect performance. What we can do is just play tennis. Anything else is not really our business.”
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Company%20Profile
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Company%20Profile
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The Penguin
Starring: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz
Creator: Lauren LeFranc
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8
Power: 712hp at 6,100rpm
Torque: 881Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km
Price: Dh380,000
On sale: now
Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
The%20specs
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Recycle Reuse Repurpose
New central waste facility on site at expo Dubai South area to handle estimated 173 tonne of waste generated daily by millions of visitors
Recyclables such as plastic, paper, glass will be collected from bins on the expo site and taken to the new expo Central Waste Facility on site
Organic waste will be processed at the new onsite Central Waste Facility, treated and converted into compost to be re-used to green the expo area
Of 173 tonnes of waste daily, an estimated 39 per cent will be recyclables, 48 per cent organic waste and 13 per cent general waste.
About 147 tonnes will be recycled and converted to new products at another existing facility in Ras Al Khor
Recycling at Ras Al Khor unit:
Plastic items to be converted to plastic bags and recycled
Paper pulp moulded products such as cup carriers, egg trays, seed pots, and food packaging trays
Glass waste into bowls, lights, candle holders, serving trays and coasters
Aim is for 85 per cent of waste from the site to be diverted from landfill
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Company%20profile
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Al Jazira's foreign quartet for 2017/18
Romarinho, Brazil
Lassana Diarra, France
Sardor Rashidov, Uzbekistan
Mbark Boussoufa, Morocco
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Sweet%20Tooth
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The Specs
Price, base Dh379,000
Engine 2.9-litre, twin-turbo V6
Gearbox eight-speed automatic
Power 503bhp
Torque 443Nm
On sale now
How%20champions%20are%20made
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THE APPRENTICE
Director: Ali Abbasi
Starring: Sebastian Stan, Maria Bakalova, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 3/5
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
More on Quran memorisation:
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Company%20Profile
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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.
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
The specs
Engine: Turbocharged four-cylinder 2.7-litre
Power: 325hp
Torque: 500Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh189,700
On sale: now
Company Profile
Company name: OneOrder
Started: October 2021
Founders: Tamer Amer and Karim Maurice
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Industry: technology, logistics
Investors: A15 and self-funded
MATCH INFO
France 3
Umtiti (8'), Griezmann (29' pen), Dembele (63')
Italy 1
Bonucci (36')
Tributes from the UAE's personal finance community
• Sebastien Aguilar, who heads SimplyFI.org, a non-profit community where people learn to invest Bogleheads’ style
“It is thanks to Jack Bogle’s work that this community exists and thanks to his work that many investors now get the full benefits of long term, buy and hold stock market investing.
Compared to the industry, investing using the common sense approach of a Boglehead saves a lot in costs and guarantees higher returns than the average actively managed fund over the long term.
From a personal perspective, learning how to invest using Bogle’s approach was a turning point in my life. I quickly realised there was no point chasing returns and paying expensive advisers or platforms. Once money is taken care off, you can work on what truly matters, such as family, relationships or other projects. I owe Jack Bogle for that.”
• Sam Instone, director of financial advisory firm AES International
"Thought to have saved investors over a trillion dollars, Jack Bogle’s ideas truly changed the way the world invests. Shaped by his own personal experiences, his philosophy and basic rules for investors challenged the status quo of a self-interested global industry and eventually prevailed. Loathed by many big companies and commission-driven salespeople, he has transformed the way well-informed investors and professional advisers make decisions."
• Demos Kyprianou, a board member of SimplyFI.org
"Jack Bogle for me was a rebel, a revolutionary who changed the industry and gave the little guy like me, a chance. He was also a mentor who inspired me to take the leap and take control of my own finances."
• Steve Cronin, founder of DeadSimpleSaving.com
"Obsessed with reducing fees, Jack Bogle structured Vanguard to be owned by its clients – that way the priority would be fee minimisation for clients rather than profit maximisation for the company.
His real gift to us has been the ability to invest in the stock market (buy and hold for the long term) rather than be forced to speculate (try to make profits in the shorter term) or even worse have others speculate on our behalf.
Bogle has given countless investors the ability to get on with their life while growing their wealth in the background as fast as possible. The Financial Independence movement would barely exist without this."
• Zach Holz, who blogs about financial independence at The Happiest Teacher
"Jack Bogle was one of the greatest forces for wealth democratisation the world has ever seen. He allowed people a way to be free from the parasitical "financial advisers" whose only real concern are the fat fees they get from selling you over-complicated "products" that have caused millions of people all around the world real harm.”
• Tuan Phan, a board member of SimplyFI.org
"In an industry that’s synonymous with greed, Jack Bogle was a lone wolf, swimming against the tide. When others were incentivised to enrich themselves, he stood by the ‘fiduciary’ standard – something that is badly needed in the financial industry of the UAE."
High profile Al Shabab attacks
- 2010: A restaurant attack in Kampala Uganda kills 74 people watching a Fifa World Cup final football match.
- 2013: The Westgate shopping mall attack, 62 civilians, five Kenyan soldiers and four gunmen are killed.
- 2014: A series of bombings and shootings across Kenya sees scores of civilians killed.
- 2015: Four gunmen attack Garissa University College in northeastern Kenya and take over 700 students hostage, killing those who identified as Christian; 148 die and 79 more are injured.
- 2016: An attack on a Kenyan military base in El Adde Somalia kills 180 soldiers.
- 2017: A suicide truck bombing outside the Safari Hotel in Mogadishu kills 587 people and destroys several city blocks, making it the deadliest attack by the group and the worst in Somalia’s history.
Company info
Company name: Entrupy
Co-founders: Vidyuth Srinivasan, co-founder/chief executive, Ashlesh Sharma, co-founder/chief technology officer, Lakshmi Subramanian, co-founder/chief scientist
Based: New York, New York
Sector/About: Entrupy is a hardware-enabled SaaS company whose mission is to protect businesses, borders and consumers from transactions involving counterfeit goods.
Initial investment/Investors: Entrupy secured a $2.6m Series A funding round in 2017. The round was led by Tokyo-based Digital Garage and Daiwa Securities Group's jointly established venture arm, DG Lab Fund I Investment Limited Partnership, along with Zach Coelius.
Total customers: Entrupy’s customers include hundreds of secondary resellers, marketplaces and other retail organisations around the world. They are also testing with shipping companies as well as customs agencies to stop fake items from reaching the market in the first place.