Newport County's Padraig Amond celebrates scoring their second goal against Middlesbrough. Reuters
Newport County's Padraig Amond celebrates scoring their second goal against Middlesbrough. Reuters
Newport County's Padraig Amond celebrates scoring their second goal against Middlesbrough. Reuters
Newport County's Padraig Amond celebrates scoring their second goal against Middlesbrough. Reuters

League Two Newport land FA Cup meeting with Man City as Wolves survive Shrewsbury scare


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Fourth-tier Newport County set up a mouthwatering match against Premier League champions Manchester City after vanquishing Championship side Middlesbrough in their FA Cup fourth-round replay.

Second-half goals from Robbie Willmott and Padraig Amond inflicted a 2-0 defeat on Tony Pulis' side to set up a dream fifth-round tie for the Welsh club.

It was a memorable day for home goalkeeper Joe Day, who sprinted off the pitch at the final whistle to attend the birth of his twins.

Conditions were far from conducive for attractive football with torrential rain leaving the Rodney Parade pitch resembling a quagmire.

But it was Newport who handled them better, and Pep Guardiola's City will not relish their visit to South Wales on February 16 in the middle of what is already a daunting fixture list.

"It's nothing more than we deserved tonight, we were absolutely outstanding," said Newport manager Mike Flynn.

"They can match Championship players. I don't know what it is with them. We can play like that but not every week in League Two."

A penalty appeal for handball by Middlesbrough midfielder Adam Clayton was waved away and 40-year-old Greek goalkeeper Dimitrios Konstantopoulos made a string of saves to keep Pulis' side level at the break.

However, Konstantopoulos could not keep out Willmott's strike from outside the box two minutes into the second period and Amond fired a well-worked corner into the top corner 23 minutes from time to send Newport into the last 16 for the first time in 70 years.

"They were the better team, they ran all over us. It was men against boys. Forget the conditions, you have to match people and that's the real disappointment," Pulis said.

"Give them credit, they were fantastic tonight and they deserve their win."

Day had missed the first game with Middlesbrough, a 1-1 draw at the Riverside, to be with his wife Lizzie, but the 28-year-old made himself available for the Rodney Parade replay.

"I don't know if she's gone into labour but the way he sprinted off I'd say there's a very good chance," Flynn added.

"As soon as the whistle went he ran up to me and said could he go. I said 'Of course you can, do you want a lift?'

"He sprinted off, it's the quickest I've seen him move, and all our thoughts are with Joe and Lizzie and the arrival of the twins."

Wolverhampton Wanderers' Matt Doherty celebrates scoring their first goal against Shrewsbury Town. Reuters
Wolverhampton Wanderers' Matt Doherty celebrates scoring their first goal against Shrewsbury Town. Reuters

League One Shrewsbury Town failed in their bid to add to this season's list of giant killings despite giving Premier League Wolverhampton Wanderers another almighty scare.

But for Matt Doherty's stoppage-time equaliser, Shrewsbury would have knocked out the side that sit seventh in the Premier League when they first met in a draw last month.

The Republic of Ireland defender opened the scoring for Nuno Espirito Santo's men after only two minutes and then levelled just before half time after goals from James Bolton and Josh Laurent had put the Shrews 2-1 in front.

Ivan Cavaleiro then completed the Wolves comeback in the second half.

Nuno, however, was far from impressed with the manner of Wolves' win.

"I'm not happy with the performance but happy because we got to the fifth round," said the Portuguese.

"This is the most important [thing] but we have to look at the game and see it was not one of the best performances.

"Everybody is aware of that. It's job done. Football has these things and you can't always control them, you have to react to them.

"There are a lot of things we have to work on on the training ground and get better at."

Wolves' reward is a fifth-round trip to second-tier Bristol City.

Brentford will travel to Swansea City for an all-Championship clash after seeing off non-league outfit Barnet 3-1.

And Steve McClaren's Queen's Park Rangers will host Watford next after goals from Nahki Wells and Matt Smith beat Portsmouth 2-0.

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Hotel Data Cloud profile

Date started: June 2016
Founders: Gregor Amon and Kevin Czok
Based: Dubai
Sector: Travel Tech
Size: 10 employees
Funding: $350,000 (Dh1.3 million)
Investors: five angel investors (undisclosed except for Amar Shubar)

COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Rain Management

Year started: 2017

Based: Bahrain

Employees: 100-120

Amount raised: $2.5m from BitMex Ventures and Blockwater. Another $6m raised from MEVP, Coinbase, Vision Ventures, CMT, Jimco and DIFC Fintech Fund

What’s in the budget?
  • Freeze in income tax thresholds results in 780,000 more basic-rate, 920,000 more higher-rate and 4,000 more additional rate payers
  • National Insurance charged on salary-sacrificed pension contributions above annual £2,000 threshold
  • Rates on property, savings and dividend income to rise by 2 percentage points
  • Electric cars hit with 3p per mile tax from April 2028
  • Two-child benefit cap is removed, costing £3bn
  • 5p cut in fuel duty is retained until September 2026
  • Debt to rise from 95 per cent of GDP to 96.1 per cent by the end of the decade
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

Take Me Apart

Kelela

(Warp)

The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm

Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm

Transmission: 9-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh117,059

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Emergency

Director: Kangana Ranaut

Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry 

Rating: 2/5

Timeline

2012-2015

The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East

May 2017

The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts

September 2021

Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act

October 2021

Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence 

December 2024

Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group

May 2025

The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan

July 2025

The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan

August 2025

Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision

October 2025

Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange

November 2025

180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE

Who was Alfred Nobel?

The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.

  • In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
  • Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
  • Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
Company profile

Name: Back to Games and Boardgame Space

Started: Back to Games (2015); Boardgame Space (Mark Azzam became co-founder in 2017)

Founder: Back to Games (Mr Azzam); Boardgame Space (Mr Azzam and Feras Al Bastaki)

Based: Dubai and Abu Dhabi 

Industry: Back to Games (retail); Boardgame Space (wholesale and distribution) 

Funding: Back to Games: self-funded by Mr Azzam with Dh1.3 million; Mr Azzam invested Dh250,000 in Boardgame Space  

Growth: Back to Games: from 300 products in 2015 to 7,000 in 2019; Boardgame Space: from 34 games in 2017 to 3,500 in 2019

Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
  • Priority access to new homes from participating developers
  • Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
  • Flexible payment plans from developers
  • Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
  • DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Infiniti QX80 specs

Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6

Power: 450hp

Torque: 700Nm

Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000

Available: Now

Recipe: Spirulina Coconut Brothie

Ingredients
1 tbsp Spirulina powder
1 banana
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk (full fat preferable)
1 tbsp fresh turmeric or turmeric powder
½ cup fresh spinach leaves
½ cup vegan broth
2 crushed ice cubes (optional)

Method
Blend all the ingredients together on high in a high-speed blender until smooth and creamy. 

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Key findings of Jenkins report
  • Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
  • Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
  • Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
  • Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."

Yuki Means Happiness
Alison Jean Lester
John Murray 

UAE SQUAD

Mohammed Naveed (captain), Mohamed Usman (vice captain), Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Imran Haider, Tahir Mughal, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed, Fahad Nawaz, Abdul Shakoor, Sultan Ahmed, CP Rizwan