Arabian Gulf League: For now though, let’s play ball

September 14, 2013

Arabian_Gulf_League

Abu Dhabi, Sep 14: UAE football enters a new era with a rebranded League — the Arabian Gulf League (AGL), which kick-off on Saturday.

And if early pointers are anything to go by, this may yet be the most open football season in the UAE top flight. There are the usual suspects to the throne, but expect a few surprises along the way.

Dubai’s Al Ahli, Abu Dhabi’s Al Jazira, Bani Yas may be looking to knock Al Ain off their pedestal. But there are a host of other clubs on either side of the E10 who could make it one of the most intriguing campaigns in recent memory.

True, Al Ahli took the bragging rights after pulling one over fierce rivals Al Ain in the season-opening Arabian Gulf Super Cup. But they were brought down to earth in the UAE League Cup, where they lost to Al Dhafrah and drew with Emirates, prompting new coach Cosmin Olaroiu to look for answers.

And Al Ain had one of their worst starts to a season after suffering a second loss on the trot in the first round of the UAE League Cup. But the Garden City club bounced back from the loss to Bani Yas to thump Al Wahda.

Al Jazira began well with a win over Al Shaab but looked second, at best, against an Al Sharjah side coached by the very man, whom Al Jazira had sacked earlier in the summer.

But none of the clubs have hit the ground running, just yet. The weather and the absence of players on international duty, meant it was not a true picture of what we saw.

A couple of rounds into the AGL, and we could probably pick a pretender to the throne.

Most of the top clubs did wise business during the close season, bringing in some new faces — foreign as well as Emirati.

It is a tough one to predict but Al Ain could yet make it three on the trot. Al Ain may have lost their master tactician Cosmin Olaroiu to rivals Al Ahli. But the Garden City club still have enough firepower to gun down a record 12th title.

Al Ain did smart business during the off season, loaning out Jires Kembo-Ekoko and bringing in Michel Bastos from French club Lyon. Another astute capture was that of Ibrahim Diaky from Al Jazira.

In Bastos, Asamoah Gyan, Diaky, Alex Brosque, Matei Mirel Radoi and the ‘Arabian Messi’ Omar Abdulrahman, Al Ain have some really good aces up their sleeve. And then there is the small matter of their exciting local talent which has served them well over the years.

Jorge Fossati may be still taking baby steps in UAE football, but the Uruguayan does have experience in the Middle East.

Al Ahli are another club who look good to adding to their five titles. The Dubai club pulled off a coup during the summer, snatching the prized Olariou from Al Ain. With captain Grafite, Luis Antonio Jimenez, Ahmed Khalil, Ismail Al Hammadi, Walid Abbas, new signing Hugo Viana and the addition of Ciel from Al Shabab, in their ranks, Al Ahli are a danger side. Expect them to go one better after finishing second last season.

Bani Yas earned promotion five years ago and they have been mixing it with the big boys, ever since. Coach-wise, they have had changes over the years another Uruguayan Jorge da Silva at the helm this season.

But their foundation of talented Emirati players remains intact. Amer Abdulrahman is an exceptional talent along with dead-ball specialist Nawaf Mubarak.

Bani Yas have retained Swede Christian Wilhelmsson but have brought in Chilean Carlos Munoz, Luis Farina and Omani defender Abdulsalam Al Mukhaini. They may have finished fourth last season but look strong to get into the winners’ circle, for the first time.

Al Jazira are a bit of a mystery, so to speak. After hitting the heights to win their first League title in the 2010-11 season under Abel Braga, the ‘Pride of Abu Dhabi’ have flattered to deceive. They have some exceptional Emirati players and also a supply line coming through from the Academy, as well as some good foreign players. But they haven’t been able to transform that into a second title.

Frequent change of coaches may be a factor as it leaves them confused as to which philosophy — South American, European or Spanish — to adapt to. After Abel Braga left to his native Brazil, three coaches have come and gone. They began with Franky Vercauteren in the summer of 2011 before ending that season with Caio Junior. Junior was on an interim basis and gave way to Paulo Bonamigo, who joined from Al Shabab.

But Bonamigo didn’t last the season as Spaniard Luis Milla has been given a longer run and it remains to be seen if he can make them play the ‘tiki-taka’ way.

Al Jazira retained Ricardo Oliveira and Shin Hyung-Min and went fishing into the Spanish La Liga to bring in Paraguayan international Nelson Valdez and Moroccan international Abdelaziz Barrada.

They have some good Emirati players in Ali Ahmed Mabkhout and goalkeeper Ali Khaseif.

Al Jazira have the looks of a champion side but they need to walk the talk.

Al Wahda, Al Nasr, Al Shabab, Al Wasl could be in the mix but the dark horse would be Al Sharjah.

After spending last season in the First Division, Al Sharjah have vowed never to go back there again. ‘The Kings’ welcomed Paulo Bonamigo with open arms after Al Jazira showed him the door. And the Brazilian has put together a crack outfit who can now beat anyone on their day.

New signings Ze Carlos, Fellype Gabriel and Mauricio Donizeti Ramos cause problems upfront against Al Jazira while Kim Jung Woo was solid at the back.

Ahmed Khamis was brilliant too and Al Sharjah could go far, maybe even the top, this time.

For now though, let’s play ball.

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News Network
April 11,2020

Dubai, Apr 11: The UAE has conducted over 49,000 Covid-19 tests among UAE citizens and residents, it was revealed on Friday, using state-of-the-art technology in line with the 's plans to intensify virus screening in order to bring the disease under control.

The accelerated investigative measures helped detect 370 new coronavirus cases among various nationalities, all of whom are in a stable condition and receiving the necessary care.

This took the total number of infections in the country to 3,360, according to a MoHaP statement.

The Ministry also revealed the death of two patients suffering from Covid-19. Both of the deceased were Asian nationals and had pre-existing chronic illnesses. The total number of deaths has now reached 16.

The Ministry expressed its sincere condolences to the families of the deceased and wished a speedy recovery to all patients, calling on the public to cooperate with health authorities and comply with all precautionary measures, particularly social distancing protocols, to ensure the safety and protection of the public.

The Ministry also announced the full recovery of 150 new cases after receiving the necessary treatment, taking to 418 the total of those now recovered from the virus in the UAE.

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News Network
June 12,2020

Beirut, Jun 12: Angry Lebanese protesters blocked roads across the country with burning tyres, debris and their vehicles, incensed over the local currency's depreciation by more than 25 percent in just two days.

The demonstrations from northern Akkar and Tripoli to central Zouk, the eastern Bekaa Valley, Beirut and southern Tyre and Nabatieh on Thursday were some of the most widespread in months of upheaval over a calamitous economic and financial crisis.

Protesters set ablaze a branch of the Central Bank, vandalised several private banks and clashed with security forces in several areas. At least 41 people were injured in Tripoli alone, according to the Lebanese Red Cross.

"I'm really pissed off, that's all. If politicians think they can burn our hearts like this the fire is going to reach them too," unemployed computer engineer Ali Qassem, 26, told Al Jazeera after pouring fuel onto smouldering tyres on a main Beirut thoroughfare.

Tens of thousands of Lebanese have lost jobs in the past six months and hundreds of businesses have shuttered as a dollar shortage led the Lebanese pound to slide from 1,500 to $1 last summer - where it was pegged for 23 years - to roughly 4,000 for each US dollar last month.

But the slide turned into a freefall between Wednesday and Thursday when the pound plummeted to roughly 5,000 to $1 on black markets, which have become a main source of hard currency. There was widespread speculation the rate hit 6,000 or even 7,000 pounds to the dollar, though most markets stopped trading.

Protesters began amassing on streets across the country before sunset and increased into the thousands across the country as the night fell.

Prime Minister Hassan Diab cancelled all meetings scheduled for Friday to hold an emergency cabinet session at 9:30am and another at 3pm at the presidential palace to be headed by President Michel Aoun.

The pound's collapse is the perhaps the biggest challenge yet for Diab's young cabinet, which gained confidence in February after former prime minister Saad Hariri's government was toppled by an unprecedented October uprising that had the country's economic crisis at its core.

Economy Minister Raoul Nehme told Al Jazeera that there was "disinformation" being circulated about the exchange rate on social media and said he was investigating possible currency manipulation.

"I don't understand how the exchange rate increased by so much in two days," he said.

Many protesters have pitted blame on Central Bank governor Riad Salameh, nominally in charge of  keeping the currency stable. But they have also called on the government to resign.

"If people want reform between dawn and dusk, that's not going to work, and if someone thinks they can do a better job then please come forward," Nehme said.

"But what we can't have is a power vacuum - then the exchange rate won't be 5000, it'll be a catastrophe."

'Everyone paying the price'

When protesters set a large fire in Beirut's Riad al-Solh Square, which lies at the foot of a grand Ottoman-era building that serves as the seat of government, firefighters did not intervene to extinguish it.

It later became clear why: Civil Defence told local news channel LBCI they had run out of diesel to fuel their firetrucks.

Basic imports such as fuel have been hit hard by the currency crisis, making already-weak state services increasingly feeble.

A half-dozen or so police officers with Lebanon's Internal Security Forces observed the scene unfolding in front of them in the square.

"Why do you destroy shops and things and attack us security forces - do you think we're happy? Go and f****** break that wall or go to the politicians' houses," one police officer told Al Jazeera, referring to a large concrete barrier separating protesters from the seat of government.

"In the end we are with you and we want the country to change. Don't you dare think we're happy. My salary is now worth $130," the officer said.

The currency's spectacular fall seems to have pushed many Lebanese to put common interests above their differences.

Large convoys of men on motorbikes from Shia-majority areas of southern Beirut joined the demonstrations on Thursday, though they have clashed with protesters many times before - including at a protest on Saturday.

Some chanted sectarian insults, leading to brief clashes in areas that were formerly front lines during the country's devastating 15-year civil war.

Instead, the motorbike-riding demonstrators on Thursday chanted: "Shia, Sunni, F*ck sectarianism."

"We are Shia, and Sunnis and Christian are our brothers," Hisham Houri, 39, told Al Jazeera, perched on a moped with his fiancee behind him just a few metres from a pile of burning tyres.

The blaze sent thick black smoke into the sky towards an iconic blue-domed mosque and church in downtown Beirut.

"Politicians play on these sectarian issues and sometimes succeed, but in the end, they'll fail because all the people have been hurt," he said. "The dollar isn't just worth 6,000 for Shias or for Sunnis, everyone is paying that price."

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Saudi Gazette
June 2,2020

Abu Dhabi, Jun 2: The United Arab Emirates on Monday recorded 635 new coronavirus cases, taking the total number of infections in the country to 35,192, the UAE’s Ministry of Health and Prevention said in a statement carried by state news agency WAM.

The new cases were detected after the health authorities conducted 30,147 additional COVID-19 tests citizens and residents.

The ministry also announced that 406 more patients have fully recovered after receiving the necessary medical care, raising the total number of recoveries in the country to 18,338.

The announcement was made during the regular media briefing held in Abu Dhabi, wherein Dr. Amna Al Dahak Al Shamsi, official spokesperson for the UAE government, provided an update on coronavirus-related developments and measures taken to mitigate its impact.

During the briefing, Dr. Al Shamsi also announced the death of two patients from COVID-19, taking the total number of deaths in the country to 266.

"The number of COVID-19 cases still receiving treatment now stands at 16,588 from different nationalities," she added, noting that more than 650,000 COVID-19 tests have been conducted over the past two weeks.

"Since the onset of the crisis, the UAE has focused on select segments of society, primarily the elderly and patients with chronic diseases, in order to ensure they survive the crisis," she added.

"We believe it is particularly morally important to support and stand by them, provide them with their daily needs, and keep them from harm’s way," she added.

Dr. Al Shamsi asserted that all precautionary measures announced, including the updated fines and penalties, will be enforced against violators, including citizens and residents.

"The law does not differentiate between citizens and residents. We are living in one homeland, which is for all of us," she continued.

"Your safety and health are a priority. We must comply with all precautionary measures. Though restrictions have been relaxed, caution must continue to be exercised."

Dr. Al Shamsi also warned, "Recklessness may undermine the efforts made by our frontline defenders. It is the responsibility of every individual to support protective efforts to ensure the safety of all."

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