A round-up of results and reports from this weekend’s Premier League action.
SATURDAY
Manchester United 1 Arsenal 1
Man United: Mata (68’)
Arsenal: Giroud (89’)
• Substitute Olivier Giroud converted Arsenal’s first effort on target in the 89th minute to rescue a smash-and-grab 1-1 draw for Arsene Wenger’s side at Manchester United on Saturday.
Juan Mata’s 69th-minute strike looked to have earned Jose Mourinho’s United a much-needed win, only for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to tee up his fellow substitute Giroud for a last-gasp leveller.
The result preserved Arsenal’s six-point lead over sixth-place United, but left United falling even further behind the table leaders.
Arsenal remain without a league win at Old Trafford in 10 years and Wenger has still not beaten Mourinho in the league in 12 attempts.
* Agence France-Presse
Crystal Palace 1 Manchester City 2
Palace: Wickham (66’)
Man City: Toure (39’, 83’)
• Yaya Toure made a sensational return to the Manchester City fold, scoring twice on his comeback to inspire the title contenders to a 2-1 win at Crystal Palace.
The Ivorian midfielder was in the City line-up for his first league appearance of the season, back after recently making a public apology following comments his agent had made about manager Pep Guardiola.
Injury-prone City captain Vincent Kompany had to go off with injury after a collision with his own keeper Claudio Bravo but Toure was soon back in business when his 39th minute shot, via a deflection, flew past Wayne Hennessey.
After Palace equalised in the 66th minute with a Connor Wickham strike, Toure struck seven minutes from time to consign the home side to their fifth consecutive defeat, slotting home from a low corner delivered expertly by Kevin de Bruyne.
* Reuters
Everton 1 Swansea City 1
Everton: Coleman (89’)
Swansea: Sigurdsson (41’ pen)
• Just when Bob Bradley thought Swansea had secured their first win under his management, Seamus Coleman produced an 89th-minute header to give Everton a deserved 1-1 draw at Goodison Park.
Bradley made eight changes in a bid to kick-start his side’s spluttering season and when Gylfi Sigurdsson scored from the penalty spot, after having been brought down by Phil Jagielka in the 41st minute, it was the first time they had even led under the American.
The goal stunned Everton, still smarting from their 5-0 drubbing by Chelsea before the international break, and Yannick Bolasie went close after the interval as Everton went all out for the equaliser.
After spending almost the entire second period in their own half, Swansea eventually buckled when Coleman headed home in the 89th minute, although the draw means Everton have only won one of their past seven league games.
* Reuters
Southampton 0 Liverpool 0
• Liverpool missed a chance to go clear at the top of the Premier League after squandering a string of chances in a dull 0-0 draw against Southampton in driving rain at St Mary’s Stadium.
Liverpool have 27 points from 12 games, ahead of Manchester City on goal difference. Third-placed Chelsea, on 25, can leapfrog both of them when they visit struggling Middlesbrough on Sunday.
The visitors dominated the first half and came close when former Southampton forward Sadio Mane, who moved to Liverpool in the close season, forced a good save from goalkeeper Fraser Forster.
Georginio Wijnaldum drove a long-range effort over the bar for Liverpool before the leaders wasted their best chance when Roberto Firmino shot wide with the goal at his mercy after a defence-splitting pass by fellow Brazilian Philippe Coutinho.
* Reuters
Stoke City 0 Bournemouth 1
Bournemouth: (Ake 26’)
• Bournemouth won their first Premier League match on the road this season thanks to Nathan Ake’s second league goal and a penalty miss from Stoke’s Bojan Krkic.
Dutchman Ake proved Bournemouth’s courageous first-half hero, picking himself off the ground after a tough challenge from Wilfried Bony and heading home straight away from a Junior Stanislas cross.
Bournemouth were denied an obvious first-half penalty when Ryan Shawcross upended Callum Wilson but Stoke missed their chance to strike back after the interval when Bojan, fouled in the area by Simon Francis, struck the resulting spot kick against the bar.
Stoke could hardly credit that their six-match unbeaten record was ended as they squandered numerous chances for a late equaliser and Bournemouth celebrated their first away league win since April.
* Reuters
Sunderland 3 Hull City 0
Sunderland: Defoe (34’), Anichebe (62’, 84’)
• Sunderland maintained their recent revival with a 3-0 victory over fellow strugglers Hull in a match interrupted by floodlight failure.
David Moyes’ relegation-threatened side had lost four of their five home league games this season, but they went in front through Jermain Defoe’s 150th Premier League goal in the 34th minute.
At the Stadium of Light, of all venues, floodlight problems early in the second half forced a 10-minute halt in play.
When the light was restored, Victor Anichebe illuminated the afternoon for Sunderland with their second goal in the 62nd minute and another in the 84th minute to seal a second consecutive win for the Black Cats, who had Papy Djilobodji sent off in the closing moments.
* Agence France-Presse
Watford 2 Leicester City 1
Watford: Capoue (1’), Pereyra (12’)
Leicester: Mahrez (15’ pen)
• Roberto Pereyra scored a spectacular goal after setting up Watford’s first-minute opener to secure a 2-1 win over champions Leicester City in an entertaining clash.
The outcome left Leicester in 14th position on 12 points from as many games, only two above the relegation zone, as their poor away form continued with a fifth defeat in six games.
Fans had barely settled in their seats at Vicarage Road when Argentine forward Pereyra delivered an inch-perfect cross for Troy Deeney to head into path of Etienne Capoue, who scored with a bouncing volley.
Watford continued to press forward relentlessly and livewire Pereyra doubled the lead in the 12th minute when he curled a delightful shot from the edge of the penalty area into the far corner. Riyad Mahrez pulled one back for the visitors with a penalty three minutes later.
* Reuters
Tottenham Hotspur 3 West Ham United 2
Spurs: Winks (51’), Kane (89’, 90+1’ pen)
West Ham: Antonio (24’), Lanzini (68’ pen)
• Two quickfire late goals from Harry Kane sealed an astonishing Tottenham Hotspur comeback in a pulsating 3-2 Premier League victory over West Ham United at White Hart Lane on Saturday.
With Spurs trailing 2-1 and their unbeaten league record in danger, Kane struck from close range two minutes from time and kept his cool to put away a stoppage-time penalty after Son Heung-min was fouled.
It was the second time referee Mike Dean pointed to the spot on Saturday and the ninth penalty he has awarded in 10 games. Manuel Lanzini also scored for West Ham on 68 minutes after Winston Reid, who was later sent off, was grappled to the floor.
Michail Antonio gave West Ham the lead with a header after 24 minutes before Harry Winks equalised on 51 minutes with his first Premier League goal on his first league start.
* Reuters
SUNDAY
Middlesbrough 0 Chelsea 1
Chelsea: Costa (41’)
• Chelsea replaced Liverpool at the top of the Premier League with a 1-0 victory at Middlesbrough.
It was the London side’s sixth successive win without conceding a goal and put them a point ahead of the Merseyside club and Manchester City.
The league’s leading scorer, Diego Costa, hit his 10th goal of the season to put them in front four minutes before halftime.
Middlesbrough, promoted last season, found it hard to make any clear chances. They remain in the bottom six, one point clear of the relegation places.
* Reuters
MONDAY
West Bromwich Albion v Burnley
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Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S E Performance: the specs
Engine: 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 plus rear-mounted electric motor
Power: 843hp at N/A rpm
Torque: 1470Nm N/A rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.6L/100km
On sale: October to December
Price: From Dh875,000 (estimate)
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Duterte Harry: Fire and Fury in the Philippines
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COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
The Bloomberg Billionaire Index in full
1 Jeff Bezos $140 billion
2 Bill Gates $98.3 billion
3 Bernard Arnault $83.1 billion
4 Warren Buffett $83 billion
5 Amancio Ortega $67.9 billion
6 Mark Zuckerberg $67.3 billion
7 Larry Page $56.8 billion
8 Larry Ellison $56.1 billion
9 Sergey Brin $55.2 billion
10 Carlos Slim $55.2 billion
Asia Cup 2018 Qualifier
Sunday's results:
- UAE beat Malaysia by eight wickets
- Nepal beat Singapore by four wickets
- Oman v Hong Kong, no result
Tuesday fixtures:
- Malaysia v Singapore
- UAE v Oman
- Nepal v Hong Kong
READ MORE ABOUT CORONAVIRUS
The Buckingham Murders
Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu
Director: Hansal Mehta
Rating: 4 / 5
UAE Falcons
Carly Lewis (captain), Emily Fensome, Kelly Loy, Isabel Affley, Jessica Cronin, Jemma Eley, Jenna Guy, Kate Lewis, Megan Polley, Charlie Preston, Becki Quigley and Sophie Siffre. Deb Jones and Lucia Sdao – coach and assistant coach.
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
WRESTLING HIGHLIGHTS
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Super Saturday results
4pm: Mahab Al Shimaal Group 3 | US$350,000 | (Dirt) | 1,200m
Winner: Drafted, Pat Dobbs (jockey), Doug Watson (trainer).
4.35pm: Al Bastakiya Listed | $300,000 | (D) | 1,900m
Winner: Divine Image, Brett Doyle, Charlie Appleby.
5.10pm: Nad Al Sheba Turf Group 3 | $350,000 | (Turf) | 1,200m
Winner: Blue Point, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
5.45pm: Burj Nahaar Group 3 | $350,000 | (D) | 1,600m
Winner: Muntazah, Jim Crowley, Doug Watson.
6.20pm: Dubai City of Gold Group 2 | $300,000 | (T) | 2,410m
Winner: Old Persian, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
6.55pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round 3 Group 1 | $600,000 | (D) | 2,000m
Winner: Capezzano, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer.
7.30pm: Jebel Hatta Group 1 | $400,000 | (T) | 1,800m
Winner: Dream Castle, Christophe Soumillon, Saeed bin Suroor.
TOP 5 DRIVERS 2019
1 Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 10 wins 387 points
2 Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes, 4 wins, 314 points
3 Max Verstappen, Red Bull, 3 wins, 260 points
4 Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, 2 wins, 249 points
5 Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 1 win, 230 points
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Western Region Asia Cup T20 Qualifier
Sun Feb 23 – Thu Feb 27, Al Amerat, Oman
The two finalists advance to the Asia qualifier in Malaysia in August
Group A
Bahrain, Maldives, Oman, Qatar
Group B
UAE, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia
UAE group fixtures
Sunday Feb 23, 9.30am, v Iran
Monday Feb 25, 1pm, v Kuwait
Tuesday Feb 26, 9.30am, v Saudi
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza, Rohan Mustafa, Alishan Sharafu, Ansh Tandon, Vriitya Aravind, Junaid Siddique, Waheed Ahmed, Karthik Meiyappan, Basil Hameed, Mohammed Usman, Mohammed Ayaz, Zahoor Khan, Chirag Suri, Sultan Ahmed
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
Engine: 2x201bhp AC Permanent-magnetic electric
Transmission: n/a
Power: 402bhp
Torque: 659Nm
Price estimate: Dh200,000
On sale: Q3 2022
