Neymar and Benzema don Saudi attire to celebrate kingdom's National Day


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Neymar and Karim Benzema on Saturday wore traditional Saudi clothing to mark the kingdom's 93rd National Day.

Benzema took to Instagram to post a picture showing him wearing a white thobe – the ankle-length, long-sleeved garment worn by many Arab men in the Gulf – and a bisht, a cloak worn over the thobe.

He also wore a traditional Saudi shemag, a red-and-white head covering.

Neymar also posted pictures on Instagram showing him dressed in traditional Saudi garb alongside Al Hilal teammate Malcolm Philipe Oliveira and coach Jorge Jesus.

Other Al Hilal players including Ruben Neves were seen performing a traditional dance in thobes in a video on Instagram.

Social media users in Saudi Arabia took to Instagram and X, formerly known as Twitter, to express their happiness over the players' actions.

“It really is unbelievable. These world superstars- Benzema, Ronaldo, Neymar and all are here representing the changing kingdom in such an incredible way,” said Bador Ahwaz, a 40-year-old football fan living in Jeddah.

“I am loving this so much!” said Yousef Hossein, a 29-year-old Saudi gamer in Jeddah.

“Ronaldo's clip was legendary. All the players posting in Saudi traditional clothing show they respect our culture and values. We love them and hope to achieve more success together.”

Cristiano Ronaldo on Friday celebrated Saudi National Day in Saudi attire and was seen performing the traditional sword dance with Al Nassr teammates in a video released by the club.

In the video, Ronaldo is joined by Saudi players Abdulrahman Ghareeb, Nawaf Alaqidi and Waleed Abdullah as well as Portuguese midfielder Otavio and Senegalese forward Sadio Mane.

Lionel Messi was seen wearing a bisht following the Fifa World Cup championship in Qatar last year.

Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim dresses Argentina's Lionel Messi in the traditional Arab bisht following the Fifa World Cup final last year. PA
Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim dresses Argentina's Lionel Messi in the traditional Arab bisht following the Fifa World Cup final last year. PA
MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League, semi-final result:

Liverpool 4-0 Barcelona

Liverpool win 4-3 on aggregate

Champions Legaue final: June 1, Madrid

RACE CARD

6.30pm Maiden (TB) Dh82.500 (Dirt) 1,400m

7.05pm Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,400m

7.40pm Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (Turf) 2,410m

8.15pm Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (D) 1,900m

8.50pm UAE 2000 Guineas Trial (TB) Conditions Dh183,650 (D) 1,600m

9.25pm Dubai Trophy (TB) Conditions Dh183,650 (T) 1,200m

10pm Handicap (TB) Dh102,500 (T) 1,400m

Zakat definitions

Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.

Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.

Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.

Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League semi-finals, second leg:

Liverpool (0) v Barcelona (3), Tuesday, 11pm UAE

Game is on BeIN Sports

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EA Sports FC 26

Publisher: EA Sports

Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S

Rating: 3/5

KEY%20DATES%20IN%20AMAZON'S%20HISTORY
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Five famous companies founded by teens

There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:

  1. Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate. 
  2. Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc. 
  3. Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway. 
  4. Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
  5. Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
RESULTS

5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,200m
Winner: Ferdous, Szczepan Mazur (jockey), Ibrahim Al Hadhrami (trainer)
5.30pm: Arabian Triple Crown Round-3 Group 3 (PA) Dh300,000 2,400m
Winner: Basmah, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel
6pm: UAE Arabian Derby Prestige (PA) Dh150,000 2,200m
Winner: Ihtesham, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
6.30pm: Emirates Championship Group 1 (PA) Dh1,000,000 2,200m
Winner: Somoud, Patrick Cosgrave, Ahmed Al Mehairbi
7pm: Abu Dhabi Championship Group 3 (TB) Dh380,000 2,200m
Winner: GM Hopkins, Patrick Cosgrave, Jaber Ramadhan
7.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Conditions (PA) Dh70,000 1,600m
Winner: AF Al Bairaq, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel

MATCH INFO

Day 1 at Mount Maunganui

England 241-4

Denly 74, Stokes 67 not out, De Grandhomme 2-28

New Zealand 

Yet to bat

In Search of Mary Shelley: The Girl Who Wrote Frankenstein
By Fiona Sampson
Profile

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The%20Roundup
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Final scores

18 under: Tyrrell Hatton (ENG)

- 14: Jason Scrivener (AUS)

-13: Rory McIlroy (NIR)

-12: Rafa Cabrera Bello (ESP)

-11: David Lipsky (USA), Marc Warren (SCO)

-10: Tommy Fleetwood (ENG), Chris Paisley (ENG), Matt Wallace (ENG), Fabrizio Zanotti (PAR)

Company Profile

Company name: Yeepeey

Started: Soft launch in November, 2020

Founders: Sagar Chandiramani, Jatin Sharma and Monish Chandiramani

Based: Dubai

Industry: E-grocery

Initial investment: $150,000

Future plan: Raise $1.5m and enter Saudi Arabia next year

Updated: September 28, 2023, 9:56 AM