Omar Marmoush celebrates scoring for Manchester City against Newcastle. Reuters
Omar Marmoush celebrates scoring for Manchester City against Newcastle. Reuters
Omar Marmoush celebrates scoring for Manchester City against Newcastle. Reuters
Omar Marmoush celebrates scoring for Manchester City against Newcastle. Reuters

Omar Marmoush promises more goals after hat-trick in Man City's thrashing of Newcastle


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Omar Marmoush said this is “just the beginning” after he kick-started his Manchester City career with a 14-minute hat-trick in Saturday's 4-0 hammering of Newcastle United.

The January signing from Eintracht Frankfurt struck three times in the first half as the champions crushed one of their top-four rivals at the Etihad Stadium to climb to fourth in the Premier League.

The only concern for City was an injury to Erling Haaland in the closing stages but the Norwegian was able to walk from the field and manager Pep Guardiola played down the severity of the issue.

Marmoush’s goals were his first for City in his fifth appearance and lifted spirits ahead of next week’s daunting Champions League trip to Real Madrid, when Guardiola’s side will attempt to overturn a 3-2 deficit.

“Amazing day. The feeling is crazy of course, it’s the first hat-trick of my career so it’s a really, really nice feeling,” said Marmoush.

“From the beginning of the match we came, from the first minute, really focused on the job and we got the job done.

“I also have to thank my teammates, my coach, the staff, everyone helped me from the first day in feeling a part of this family.

“They helped me show my qualities and helped me reach where I reached today. It’s just the beginning and we are looking forward to the next games.”

Marmoush's electric display showed why the club turned to him to reinvigorate their attacking options.

It was that issue Guardiola was trying to address when he called contacts in Germany to check up on Marmoush after sporting director Txiki Begiristain had put the Egyptian's name forward as a part of City's overall £180m January transfer window spend.

“When Txiki came to me I said, because of the season we had, the more players you bring the better,” said Guardiola. “I called some contacts in Germany because I have friends there. I asked a few things and there was a high opinion in many things; behaviour, in training sessions, goals.

“He's young and comes here to make his career. That is why the club decides. They always have the last word.

“We knew sooner or later he would score goals, he is a good finisher,” added Guardiola. “We (will) see how he handles the compliments.

“He's a player that we missed. His movement in behind, his pace. Normally, we have the players to get the ball to feet. He's a guy who likes to attack the space and help us to create more.

“But when we play the way we play today, everyone is better. Even the manager.”

'Mini Rodri' offers midfield stability

Guardiola said that another new signing – the midfielder Nico Gonzalez – can step into the void left by Rodri after making an impressive Premier League debut on Saturday.

City have struggled badly without Ballon d'Or winner Rodri, who suffered a serious knee injury in September.

Guardiola's men have won the Premier League for the past four seasons but currently sit fourth in the table, 13 points adrift of leaders Liverpool.

Gonzalez arrived on the final day of the winter transfer window from Porto for a £50 million fee and took little time to find his feet in arguably City's best performance of the season against the Magpies.

“I think the presence from Nico helped us a lot,” said Guardiola. “The feeling is that the club sign an incredible player for the future in terms of mentality.

“He was in the Barcelona academy and Barcelona's academy is the best in the world in how they teach you the concepts, the body shapes, how to pass the ball, the technique.

“I think in Porto, (coach) Sergio Conceicao helped us a lot to bring into his football the part of being aggressive and be smart and play different type of games. He is so young, 23, like a mini Rodri.

“How he talks, the personality. There was a moment he was correcting Erling (Haaland), to do this, do that. When that happens, it's nice because you think, 'OK, in the next six or seven years we'll have Rodri, we'll have him'. That will give us more presence and more stability which this season, of course, we missed.”

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

The President's Cake

Director: Hasan Hadi

Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem 

Rating: 4/5

The years Ramadan fell in May

1987

1954

1921

1888

What can victims do?

Always use only regulated platforms

Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion

Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)

Report to local authorities

Warn others to prevent further harm

Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence

RESULTS
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The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000

Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000

Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent

The Vile

Starring: Bdoor Mohammad, Jasem Alkharraz, Iman Tarik, Sarah Taibah

Director: Majid Al Ansari

Rating: 4/5

The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre 6-cyl turbo

Power: 374hp at 5,500-6,500rpm

Torque: 500Nm from 1,900-5,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 8.5L/100km

Price: from Dh285,000

On sale: from January 2022 

Dust and sand storms compared

Sand storm

  • Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
  • Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
  • Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
  • Travel distance: Limited 
  • Source: Open desert areas with strong winds

Dust storm

  • Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
  • Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
  • Duration: Can linger for days
  • Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
  • Source: Can be carried from distant regions
THE BIO

Bio Box

Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul

Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader

Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet

Favorite food: seafood

Favorite place to travel: Lebanon

Favorite movie: Braveheart

Where to donate in the UAE

The Emirates Charity Portal

You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.

The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments

The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.

Al Noor Special Needs Centre

You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.

Beit Al Khair Society

Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.

Dar Al Ber Society

Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.

Dubai Cares

Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.

Emirates Airline Foundation

Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.

Emirates Red Crescent

On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.

Gulf for Good

Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.

Noor Dubai Foundation

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).

RIVER%20SPIRIT
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The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting

2. Prayer

3. Hajj

4. Shahada

5. Zakat 

A Bad Moms Christmas
Dir: John Lucas and Scott Moore
Starring: Mila Kunis, Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Bell, Susan Sarandon, Christine Baranski, Cheryl Hines
Two stars

Glossary of a stock market revolution

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Redditor

The users of Reddit

Robinhood

A smartphone app for buying and selling shares

Short seller

Selling a stock today in the belief its price will fall in the future

Short squeeze

Traders forced to buy a stock they are shorting 

Naked short

An illegal practice  

Dhadak 2

Director: Shazia Iqbal

Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri 

Rating: 1/5

UAE%20ILT20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EMarquee%20players%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EMoeen%20Ali%2C%20Andre%20Russell%2C%20Dawid%20Malan%2C%20Wanindu%20Hasiranga%2C%20Sunil%20Narine%2C%20Evin%20Lewis%2C%20Colin%20Munro%2C%20Fabien%20Allen%2C%20Sam%20Billings%2C%20Tom%20Curran%2C%20Alex%20Hales%2C%20Dushmantha%20Chameera%2C%20Shimron%20Hetmyer%2C%20Akeal%20Hosein%2C%20Chris%20Jordan%2C%20Tom%20Banton%2C%20Sandeep%20Lamichhane%2C%20Chris%20Lynn%2C%20Rovman%20Powell%2C%20Bhanuka%20Rajapaksa%2C%20Mujeeb%20Ul%20Rahman%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInternational%20players%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ELahiru%20Kumara%2C%20Seekugge%20Prassanna%2C%20Charith%20Asalanka%2C%20Colin%20Ingram%2C%20Paul%20Stirling%2C%20Kennar%20Lewis%2C%20Ali%20Khan%2C%20Brandon%20Glover%2C%20Ravi%20Rampaul%2C%20Raymon%20Reifer%2C%20Isuru%20Udana%2C%20Blessing%20Muzarabani%2C%20Niroshan%20Dickwella%2C%20Hazaratullah%20Zazai%2C%20Frederick%20Klassen%2C%20Sikandar%20Raja%2C%20George%20Munsey%2C%20Dan%20Lawrence%2C%20Dominic%20Drakes%2C%20Jamie%20Overton%2C%20Liam%20Dawson%2C%20David%20Wiese%2C%20Qais%20Ahmed%2C%20Richard%20Gleeson%2C%20James%20Vince%2C%20Noor%20Ahmed%2C%20Rahmanullah%20Gurbaz%2C%20Navin%20Ul%20Haq%2C%20Sherfane%20Rutherford%2C%20Saqib%20Mahmood%2C%20Ben%20Duckett%2C%20Benny%20Howell%2C%20Ruben%20Trumpelman%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EQureos%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EUAE%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ELaunch%20year%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2021%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E33%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESoftware%20and%20technology%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%243%20million%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Key developments

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Updated: February 16, 2025, 6:40 AM