Saudi Arabia's teen snooker sensation Ziyad Al Qabbani is champing at the bit as he gets ready to rub shoulders with some of the biggest names in the sport during the inaugural Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters.
Al Qabbani, at just 14 years of age, is in the draw alongside superstars of snooker such as Ronnie O’Sullivan and John Higgins – who have 11 world titles between them – when the tournament starts on Friday.
The teenager is one of most highly rated players in the kingdom and will have a chance to showcase his potential as a wild card at the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters which runs until September 7 at Green Halls in Riyadh.
Among the players in action will be seven-time world champion O’Sullivan, Judd Trump, world No 1 Mark Allen, world champion Kyren Wilson, Mark Selby, and others.
Al Qabbani, who has been drawn against 17-year-old Stan Moody from England, took up the sport just two years ago and has been supported by the Saudi Billiards and Snooker Federation.
The teenager practices for eight hours every day and enjoys watching matches featuring his two favourite players – O’Sullivan and Higgins, against whom he now gets to compete.
“I believe that I have a chance to be a professional player and this is what the Saudi Billiards and Snooker Federation is planning for players, especially emerging players, in the short and long term,' Al Qabbani said.
Dr. Nasser Al Shammari, president of the Saudi Billiards and Snooker Federation, added: “We are incredibly excited to welcome the world’s best snooker players to Saudi Arabia for this competition and we are thrilled that seven of our own Saudi stars will be given the opportunity to perform on this stage and to learn from some of the greatest players to ever play the game.
“This is a landmark moment in the development of our federation and the sport of snooker in the kingdom. We hope having the likes of Ronnie O’Sullivan competing here in Riyadh in the same field as Ziyad Al Qabbani will inspire other young people to engage with the sport of snooker and pick up a cue for the first time.”
The event has total prize money of £2.3 million with 144 players battling for the new trophy.
For world No 2 Trump, the sizeable prize money on offer elevates the tournament and the sport to a new level.
“Everyone is really excited to have an opportunity to play in an event which compares with the World Championship. To have something so early on and not just rely on the World Championship at the end of the season is really good,” Trump, 34, said.
“It is nice for everyone to be playing for big money and you feel that all the work you’ve put in over the years pays off if you do well.
“There are more and more tournaments around the world. Now is the time where all eyes are on snooker and now is the time to expand and take tournaments to different places. It is great to be able to travel more doing what we love.”
Tickets for the event are now on sale. More information available at webook.com.
if you go
The flights
Etihad, Emirates and Singapore Airlines fly direct from the UAE to Singapore from Dh2,265 return including taxes. The flight takes about 7 hours.
The hotel
Rooms at the M Social Singapore cost from SG $179 (Dh488) per night including taxes.
The tour
Makan Makan Walking group tours costs from SG $90 (Dh245) per person for about three hours. Tailor-made tours can be arranged. For details go to www.woknstroll.com.sg
Muguruza's singles career in stats
WTA titles 3
Prize money US$11,128,219 (Dh40,873,133.82)
Wins / losses 293 / 149
The%20Sandman
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Global Fungi Facts
• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
UAE squad
Men's draw: Victor Scvortov and Khalifa Al Hosani, (both 73 kilograms), Sergiu Toma and Mihail Marchitan (90kg), Ivan Remarenco (100kg), Ahmed Al Naqbi (60kg), Musabah Al Shamsi and Ahmed Al Hosani (66kg)
Women’s draw: Maitha Al Neyadi (57kg)
The specs: 2019 Audi A8
Price From Dh390,000
Engine 3.0L V6 turbo
Gearbox Eight-speed automatic
Power 345hp @ 5,000rpm
Torque 500Nm @ 1,370rpm
Fuel economy, combined 7.5L / 100km
The Birkin bag is made by Hermès.
It is named after actress and singer Jane Birkin
Noone from Hermès will go on record to say how much a new Birkin costs, how long one would have to wait to get one, and how many bags are actually made each year.
The%20specs
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Quick%20facts
%3Cul%3E%0A%3Cli%3EStorstockholms%20Lokaltrafik%20(SL)%20offers%20free%20guided%20tours%20of%20art%20in%20the%20metro%20and%20at%20the%20stations%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EThe%20tours%20are%20free%20of%20charge%3B%20all%20you%20need%20is%20a%20valid%20SL%20ticket%2C%20for%20which%20a%20single%20journey%20(valid%20for%2075%20minutes)%20costs%2039%20Swedish%20krone%20(%243.75)%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3ETravel%20cards%20for%20unlimited%20journeys%20are%20priced%20at%20165%20Swedish%20krone%20for%2024%20hours%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EAvoid%20rush%20hour%20%E2%80%93%20between%209.30%20am%20and%204.30%20pm%20%E2%80%93%20to%20explore%20the%20artwork%20at%20leisure%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3C%2Ful%3E%0A
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.
