Wigan manager Roberto Martinez praised last night's win over Nottingham Forest in the second round of the Capital One Cup but stressed his focus remains on the Barclays Premier League.
The Latics, who have been knocked out of the cup by lower-league clubs five times in the last eight years, avoided an early exit thanks to an impressive first-half performance which totally outclassed their npower Championship opposition.
Martinez made seven changes to the side who beat Southampton at the weekend and was rewarded with an impressive 4-1 by some of his fringe players.
Mauro Boselli opened the scoring for Wigan just over halfway through the first half, powering home a header from Ronnie Stam's cross.
Mayor Figueroa made it 2-0 with a stunning 30-yard rocket into the top-left corner, before Jordi Gomez's strike on the edge of half-time gave the Premier League side a comfortable half-time lead in a dominant display.
Forest hit back immediately after the break when Republic of Ireland international Simon Cox unleashed a thunderbolt but, even with Wigan defender Antolin Alcaraz's departure in the 78th minute, the visitors managed to keep Forest at bay.
On-loan Arsenal star Ryo Miyaichi raced up the left wing to set up Callum McManaman, who sealed the victory with a simple finish on the 90th minute.
Despite avoiding an early banana skin, however, Martinez admits cup success is not a priority next to Premier League survival.
"Playing every week against the best teams in the country is our best cup competition if you want," he said after the match.
"We've got 38 cup finals. Yes, we want to win every game we go into but we need to be able to do it with the full squad.
"The moment we can make seven or eight changes and be able to be competitive that is when I will be pleased and looking to get as far as I can in the cup competition.
Forest boss Sean O'Driscoll admitted his previously unbeaten side had simply come up against a team in irresistible form.
"We had the best chance and then they hit us with two - we're not going to play against that quality in the Championship.
"We've not got carried away with anything - people say we've been unbeaten and performance levels have been really good, but we've no complaints."
Elsewhere in the competition, James Collins' hat-trick powered Paolo Di Canio's Swindon Town to a thrilling Capital One Cup upset against Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium.
Collins had already netted twice for the League One side in the first half before he popped up in the final minute of extra time to seal a 4-3 win and book his team's place in round three.
Second-half goals by Kenwyne Jones and Jonathan Walters had earlier brought the Barclays Premier League side level.
Aden Flint (105) restored Swindon's lead before Peter Crouch (111) levelled, but Collins completed his treble in the 119th minute to send Di Canio's men through.
Sheffield Wednesday also served up a second-round upset as they defeated Fulham 1-0 at Hillsborough.
Gary Madine scored the only goal of the match from the penalty spot after 50 minutes as the Owls claimed the scalp of their Premier League opponents.
League Two Burton Albion produced arguably the performance of the night as they thumped Championship outfit Leicester City 4-2.
Goals from Chris Palmer, Cleveland Taylor, Robbie Weir and Jacques Maghoma saw the visitors to a surprise victory, while Nigel Pearson's men replied through Anthony Knockaert and Marko Futacs.
Nick Ajose struck a last-minute winner as League One Crawley upset Bolton 2-1.
Benik Afobe fired Bolton ahead in the 21st minute but Billy Clarke levelled for the hosts in the 81st minute before Ajose popped up late on to send the Trotters crashing out.
Blackburn Rovers boss Steve Kean suffered another setback in his bid to win over his doubters as Rovers lost 2-1 at League One MK Dons.
Luke Chadwick's second-half brace secured the victory for the home side, with David Goodwillie's late strike in vain for Kean's men.
Carl Baker hit a 97th-minute winner as manageress Coventry upset Birmingham 3-2.
Goals by Cody McDonald and Kevin Kilbane handed the Sky Blues the lead after Peter Lovenkrands had opened the scoring for Birmingham after four minutes, while Jonathan Spector made it 2-2.
Aston Villa were 3-0 winners over Tranmere. Fabian Delph opened the scoring at Villa Park after 38 minutes, before second-half efforts by Chris Herd and Darren Bent added gloss to the score line.
West Brom were made to battle all the way before defeating Yeovil 4-2 at Huish Park.
Reuben Reid fired the hosts ahead on 15 minutes but strikes by Chris Brunt and Shane Long put Albion ahead. Reid's second of the night after 48 minutes put Yeovil back on level terms but Yassine El Ghanassy's 73rd-minute effort and a late second for Long saw the Premier League side through.
Goals from Tadanari Lee, Billy Sharp, Jason Puncheon and Ben Reeves lifted Southampton to a 4-1 win at Stevenage, who replied through Michael Thalassitis.
James McClean scored in each half to lift Sunderland to a 2-0 win over Morecambe, while a Danny Graham strike and a second-half brace for Luke Moore saw Swansea to a 3-1 win over Barnsley, who replied through Bobby Hassell.
A Simon Lappin goal and Wes Hoolahan's penalty guided Norwich to a 2-1 win over Scunthorpe, who replied through Mark Duffy, while Shaun Wright-Phillips, Bobby Zamora and Jose Bosingwa were on target as QPR defeated Walsall 3-0.
Nicky Maynard and Modibo Maiga struck in either half as West Ham defeated Crewe 2-0, while Reading were made to battle for a 3-2 win at home to Peterborough.
Paul Taylor's 12th-minute effort for Posh kick-started a spell of four goals in nine minutes, with Pavel Pogrebnyak (16) and Lee Tomlin (17) exchanging strikes before Chris Gunter (19) levelled for the Royals.
Nathaniel Knight-Percival's own goal in the 38th minute saw Reading to victory.
League One Preston upset Championship side Crystal Palace 4-1. Nicky Wroe grabbed a brace either side of strikes by Akpo Sodje and Jeffrey Monakana for Preston, while Palace replied through Aaron Wilbraham.
League Two Bradford produced a late fightback to dump out Championship Watford.
The Hornets led through Ikechi Anya's 71st-minute strike at Vicarage Road, but Bradford levelled through Kyel Reid after 84 minutes before Garry Thompson grabbed the winner.
Hull squandered a two-goal lead as Doncaster fought back for a 3-2 victory at the Keepmoat Stadium.
The Tigers were cruising thanks to early goals by Aaron Mclean and Jay Simpson, but the home side pulled one back through David Syers before Rob Jones levelled after the break.
Hull suffered a setback when midfielder Paul McKenna received the first red card of his career following a clash with Jones, and Doncaster capitalised to the full as Syers hit a late winner.
Goals from Mustapha Carayol and Cameron Park gave Middlesbrough a 2-0 win at Gillingham, while Leeds were 3-0 winners against Oxford thanks to strikes by Rodolph Austin, Samuel Byram and Tom Lees.
Carlisle registered a dramatic 2-1 win over Ipswich after extra time.
Massimo Luongo's 23rd-minute strike had Paul Jewell's side with one foot in the next round, but Mark Beck struck in the last minute to forced the extra period before David Symington struck a 99th-minute winner.
Burnley needed extra time and penalties to see off Plymouth at Turf Moor after the teams finished 1-1 in normal time thanks to goals by Charlie Austin (37) and Robbie Williams (90 pen).
Goalkeeper Brian Jensen was the hero for the Clarets, saving three of five Plymouth kicks as Burnley won 3-2 on penalties.
German intelligence warnings
- 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
INDIA V SOUTH AFRICA
First Test: October 2-6, at Visakhapatnam
Second Test: October 10-14, at Maharashtra
Third Test: October 19-23, at Ranchi
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.”
Sunday:
GP3 race: 12:10pm
Formula 2 race: 1:35pm
Formula 1 race: 5:10pm
Performance: Guns N' Roses
Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
Business Insights
- As per the document, there are six filing options, including choosing to report on a realisation basis and transitional rules for pre-tax period gains or losses.
- SMEs with revenue below Dh3 million per annum can opt for transitional relief until 2026, treating them as having no taxable income.
- Larger entities have specific provisions for asset and liability movements, business restructuring, and handling foreign permanent establishments.
Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 258hp from 5,000-6,500rpm
Torque: 400Nm from 1,550-4,000rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.1L/100km
Price: from Dh362,500
On sale: now
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Ireland (15-1):
Ireland (15-1): Rob Kearney; Keith Earls, Chris Farrell, Bundee Aki, Jacob Stockdale; Jonathan Sexton, Conor Murray; Jack Conan, Sean O'Brien, Peter O'Mahony; James Ryan, Quinn Roux; Tadhg Furlong, Rory Best (capt), Cian Healy
Replacements: Sean Cronin, Dave Kilcoyne, Andrew Porter, Ultan Dillane, Josh van der Flier, John Cooney, Joey Carbery, Jordan Larmour
Coach: Joe Schmidt (NZL)
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
The specs
Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now
Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Vidaamuyarchi
Director: Magizh Thirumeni
Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra
Rating: 4/5
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Revibe%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hamza%20Iraqui%20and%20Abdessamad%20Ben%20Zakour%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Refurbished%20electronics%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%20so%20far%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410m%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFlat6Labs%2C%20Resonance%20and%20various%20others%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UK%20-%20UAE%20Trade
%3Cp%3ETotal%20trade%20in%20goods%20and%20services%20(exports%20plus%20imports)%20between%20the%20UK%20and%20the%20UAE%20in%202022%20was%20%C2%A321.6%20billion%20(Dh98%20billion).%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EThis%20is%20an%20increase%20of%2063.0%20per%20cent%20or%20%C2%A38.3%20billion%20in%20current%20prices%20from%20the%20four%20quarters%20to%20the%20end%20of%202021.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EThe%20UAE%20was%20the%20UK%E2%80%99s%2019th%20largest%20trading%20partner%20in%20the%20four%20quarters%20to%20the%20end%20of%20Q4%202022%20accounting%20for%201.3%20per%20cent%20of%20total%20UK%20trade.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Getting there
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Tbilisi from Dh1,025 return including taxes
MATCH INFO
Everton v Tottenham, Sunday, 8.30pm (UAE)
Match is live on BeIN Sports
No%20Windmills%20in%20Basra
%3Cp%3EAuthor%3A%20Diaa%20Jubaili%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EPages%3A%20180%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EPublisher%3A%20Deep%20Vellum%20Publishing%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”