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Thursday, August 25, 2016
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
IS RON GONE? Real icon: Cris is off on Wednesday!
CRISTIANO RONALDO is ready to walk out on Real Madrid, a Bernabeu icon yesterday with over ten years’ service at the club claimed yesterday.
And incredibly, the former top keeper insists a deal will be struck to prise Ronaldo out of the Spanish capital TODAY!
The clock is ticking on the bold prediction so sign up to Sun+ today to find our who made it — and remember, you will also get access to all the latest transfer news as the spending season kicks in to gear.
We’re really Inter Yaya -Toure finally gets birthday present he wanted
YAYA TOURE got the birthday wish he was looking for as Inter vowed to do everything possible to sign him this summer.
The Manchester City midfielder — who turned 32 today — is wanted by former Etihad boss Roberto Mancini.
Tanzania floods kill at least 38, damage roads
Tanzania floods kill at least 38, damage roads
Flash floods have killed at least 38 people in north-western Tanzania after strong winds and hail battered villages, the president's office said on Wednesday. At least another 82 people have been injured in the floods that occurred ...
Death toll in Tanzania flooding hits 50Peninsula On-line
Floods kill 38 in TanzaniaIndependent Online
Floods leave 38 dead in Tanzania
Cadillac ATS-V targets BMW’s best
That car marked the inauguration of Cadillac’s “Art and Science” design language, a key departure from its prior “Early Bird Special” aesthetic. Art and Science was intended to shake the somnolent brand from its torpor, and put it in conversation with luxury incumbents such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Lexus.
The trouble is that neither the first-generation CTS nor any of the subsequent models, for all their creased and folded sheetmetal, menacing grilles, imposing vertical lighting and indeed,deeply impressive driving dynamics, has sufficiently convinced buyers that Cadillac doesn’t just sell hearses to funeral homes and dreary sedans to Uncle Mort.
The compact ATS is the edgiest of later efforts to make Cadillac relevant beyond the gates of retirement communities. This new ATS-V hot-rod variant, available in coupe and sedan body styles, stands as a direct challenge to BMW’s vaunted M3 sedan and M4 coupe on tracks, in executive parking lots and in collegians’ aspirations.
Cadillac president Johan de Nysschen has been stoking the internet fires, calling out "Germanmobile fanboys" on Facebook – fighting words from the former Audi of America president. With regard to metrics such as acceleration, horsepower and torque, the Teutons "are already whipped" by the ATS-V, de Nysschen recently posted. Not coincidentally, Cadillac’s new advertising tag line is “Dare greatly”.
The ATS-V Coupe certainly looks the part, especially when fitted, as our test vehicle was, with the optional Track Performance Package, with its added bits of carbon fibre trim. Cadillac executive chief engineer Dave Leone proudly notes that this is not just any fibrous weave, but rather a “book-matched” one, with fibres painstakingly aligned like the words on the pages of an open book.
The most visible portion of the carbon decoration is the heat extractor in the middle of the car’s hood. The ATS-V has a total of eight heat exchangers aimed at keeping engine oil, transmission fluid and differential oil at optimal temperature as the car’s twin-turbocharged V6 engine doles out 464 horsepower and 445 pound-feet of torque. For comparison, the in-line six-cylinder turbocharged engine in BMW’s benchmark M3 and M4 produces 425 horsepower and 406 lb-ft torque, and the Cadillac’s advantage is discernable.
Applying all that power is easy, thanks to an eight-speed automatic transmission and a slick, mischief-inviting six-speed manual. The latter combines accurate stick throws with a clutch pedal that is light on effort and long on feel for the friction point, making it easy to finesse the ATS-V from a stop without applying any throttle whatsoever.
As with other modern automatic transmissions, the notion of needing the paddles for manual control during spirited sprints is obsolete. The ATS-V’s computer knows which gear the car needs and when it needs it. Hammering round the Circuit of the Americas outside Austin, Texas, the engine and automatic transmission create seamless, brutal forward motion:
On track, the manual transmission is, by design, more involving than the automatic and for some, more fun. However, new features lower the effort, as the computer can automatically rev the engine to match RPMs for downshifts. For speedier upshifts, the ATS-V permits no-lift shifting, so the driver depresses the clutch and slides the shifter as normal, but doesn’t lift off the gas. Instead, the computer cuts power automatically during the gear change, restoring full power faster than the driver ever could. It is magic, though it feels utterly alien to drivers whose muscle memory dictates that clutch and gas pedals operate in opposition.
Pushing for a quick lap time reveals that the standard Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires provide Corvette-like 1.25g cornering grip. But unlike the same tires on the BMW, which benefit from a custom rubber-compound formulation, the ATS-V’s tires feel greasy at their limit, giving no warning before they finally do begin to slide.
As excellent and fast as the ATS-V is on the track, the car is supremely quiet and refined in regular driving – a good thing, considering these cars will spend virtually their entire lives on public roads. With the coupe’s windows lowered, there is surprisingly little noise or turbulence in the cabin at typical highway speeds.
Texas permits less-typical public highway speeds, as high as 80mph (129km/h), by which time there is a bit of buffeting inside the car, but not enough to force the windows up if the driver is appreciating pleasant weather.
Indeed, the ATS-V’s quiet comfort and the quality of its interior appointments will advance the argument that Cadillac is a legitimate contender for luxury shoppers’ money. For those who appreciated the early-model CTS-V, whose raucous V8 power made it a traffic citation in waiting, this change can make the ATS-V seem somewhat emasculated.
But that rowdy old CTS-V is one of the several Art and Science Cadillacs that failed to extract the brand from the retiree buffet line. In contrast, the ATS-V’s refinement and polish could net Cadillac a table at the hot, Michelin-starred boîte. Barring that, the brand must content itself with the knowledge that the ATS-V could strafe the Germans on the track, if not in the showroom.
Sh600bn to be spent on commercial city’s infrastructure
Dodoma. The government will spend about Sh600 billion ($300 million) during the 2015/16 financial year to improve the city of Dar es Salaam, a minister has said.
Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, Regional Administration and Local Government, Ms Hawa Ghasia, said here yesterday that the money will be foreign sourced under the Dar es Salaam Metropolitan Development Project (DMDP).
Presenting her ministry’s progress report and projects slated for implementation in the 2015/16 financial year, Ms Ghasia said the World Bank will give Tanzania a $300 million loan for the project.
“Madam Speaker, during the 2015/16 financial year, the DMDP will be implemented with a $300 million World Bank loan,” she said shortly after the Prime Minister sought Parliament’s endorsement for Sh5.764 trillion budget for all the institutions, organisation and authorities that fall under the Prime Minister’s Office for the 2015/16 financial year.
Among the projects to be implemented include improving municipal roads that are linked to the Dar es Salaam Rapid Transit (Dart).
Part of the money will also be directed to cushioning the city from the effects of flooding that routinely hit Dar es Salaam whenever the rainy season comes. “The money will also go towards strengthening the process of revenue collection, strengthening the institutional and urban management systems of the Dar es Salaam Local Authorities,” she said.
The project is divided into three main phases—with the first one being to improve the road infrastructure. It will also improve the drainage system in a move that seeks to check recurrent flooding in all the three municipalities of Temeke, Kinondoni and Ilala.
The second phase of the project will involve improving basic infrastructure including roads, bridges, pavements, street lights and issues pertaining to environmental management.
The third phase will see Tanzania improving the capacity of its various institutions so they can improve service delivery to city residents.
A total of $23.4 million will be spent on compensations for people who will have been affected by the project. Already, some Sh17 billion of the money has already been issued and will be spent during the 2015/16 financial year.
Ms Ghasia directed all municipal and district councils to start using electronic systems in revenue collections.
Another Tanzanian is charged in Kenya
Nairobi. Another Tanzanian who was arrested by Kenya’s Anti-Terror Police Unit officers while allegedly heading to Somalia for training with Al Shabaab was on Monday charged with admitting to being a member of a terrorist group.
Mr Abdulaziz Abdullahi Sultan, alias Mohammed Abdalla, appeared before Garissa Resident Magistrate Victor Asiyo charged with professing to be an Al Shabaab member.
The 22-year-old man was arrested at Modika police barrier, 10 kilometres from Garissa Town, by police officers on patrol.
The prosecution said Mr Sultan entered Kenya through the border town of Lunga Lunga on May 4.
He was remanded at Garissa Police Station for two weeks as investigations continue.
The case will be mentioned on May 25 and heard on July 13.
Mr Sultan becomes the second Tanzanian to be arrested and arraigned in court following the Garissa attack where 148 people, most of them students, were killed.
Another Tanzanian, Mr Rashid Charles Mberesero, was arrested in connection with the attack.
He was charged in Nairobi last month.
The prosecution applied for—and was granted—an extended custodial order against Mr Mberesero alias Rehani Dida, who is believed to have had contact with the attackers who masterminded and carried out the attack at the institution on April 2.
The 21-year-old Form Five student was arrested a few days after a 19-year-old Tanzanian woman was arrested in Kenya on suspicion of terrorism.
Ms Ummul Khayr Sadir from Zanzibar was seized alongside Kenyan companions Khadija Abubakar Abdulkadir and Maryam Said Aboud—both aged 19.
Investigators said was studying medicine at the International University of Africa in Khartoum.
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