Qatar adds Audi Formula One team to its sporting line-up Posted on 30/11/2024 Audi is set to make its Formula One debut in the 2026 season. (AFP pic) DOHA: Qatar is buying a significant minority stake in Audi’s Formula One team, the Gulf country’s estimated US$510 billion sovereign wealth fund and the German carmaker said today. The holding will be almost a third of the team, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters after the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) deal with Audi was announced during the first day of the Qatar Grand Prix, the penultimate of the season. Financial terms of the deal, which builds on the Qatari state’s global sports portfolio, were not disclosed. The QIA also owns a 17% stake in Germany’s Volkswagen, which owns Audi. Audi, Volkswagen’s luxury brand, is set to make its Formula One debut in the 2026 season and turn Switzerland-based Sauber into its factory team, after flagging in March it would acquire 100% of the firm. Sauber is the only team yet to score a point in 22 Formula One races this season. Qatar’s other sporting holdings include France’s Ligue 1 club Paris St-Germain, which is owned by Qatar Sports Investments (QSI), a state-backed body founded by the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. QSI also acquired World Padel Tour from its organisers Damm last year and unified the world’s professional tour under one entity, ending a power struggle in the sport. The Gulf state’s Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani, son of a former prime minister, last year bid US$6 billion for English Premier League club Manchester United before dropping out. News
Brace for wet weather: Thunderstorms, heavy rain to affect much of the country until 5pm, says MetMalaysia Posted on 15/11/2024 KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 15 — Thunderstorms, heavy rain, and strong winds are expected to affect nearly all states in the Peninsula, as well as Sabah and Sarawak, until 5pm today. The Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia), in a statement, said that the affected areas are all of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya,… Read More
Israel records 250 launches from Lebanon as Hezbollah targets Tel Aviv Posted on 25/11/2024 Israeli police bomb squad inspects the site after a missile fired from Lebanon hit the area in Petah Tikva, outskirts of Tel Aviv. (AP pic) JERUSALEM: Israel’s military said Hezbollah fired around 250 projectiles into its territory from Lebanon on Sunday, with the militants saying their attacks targeted the Tel Aviv… Read More
Where supercomputers and porous campus heralds a new era for Malaysia’s higher education sector Posted on 19/11/2024 To align with the widespread adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI), the Malaysian government is primed to drive transformation for its higher education sector. Universities, positioned as engines of collaboration and entrepreneurship, hold the key to unlocking this transformation via international partnerships with an AI focus. University of Bristol, home to… Read More