The Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley.
The Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley.
The Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley.
The Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley.

Keegan in surprise talks with Ashley


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LONDON // The former Newcastle United manager Kevin Keegan has held talks with the Premier League club's owner Mike Ashley in a bid to resolve several issues just over a week after he quit the north-east club. However, a statement issued on the League Managers' Association (LMA) official website said "the discussion failed to reach a satisfactory conclusion". The detailed nature of the talks, which took place yesterday, were not disclosed by the LMA, which has recently been in close contact with the 57-year-old former England manager.

Keegan, who quit Newcastle on Sept 4 less than eight months after returning for a second stint as manager, said he had left because he did not have control over the club's transfer policy. Newcastle fans have called for Ashley and the director of football Dennis Wise to resign and demonstrations against the owner are expected to take place before, during and after Saturday's match against Hull City at St James' Park.

The Magpies coach Chris Hughton, who has been put in charge for the game, appealed to the supporters to get behind the players. "We appreciate things may be difficult for the fans at the moment," he was quoted as saying by the BBC. "But one thing Newcastle supporters are renowned for is their support of the team." *Reuters

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Some of Darwish's last words

"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008

His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.

What the law says

Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.

“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.

“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”

If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.

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THE SPECS

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Transmission: Eight-speed Steptronic transmission

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Factfile on Garbine Muguruza:

Name: Garbine Muguruza (ESP)

World ranking: 15 (will rise to 5 on Monday)

Date of birth: October 8, 1993

Place of birth: Caracas, Venezuela

Place of residence: Geneva, Switzerland

Height: 6ft (1.82m)

Career singles titles: 4

Grand Slam titles: 2 (French Open 2016, Wimbledon 2017)

Career prize money: $13,928,719

BORDERLANDS

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Director: Eli Roth

Rating: 0/5

Global state-owned investor ranking by size

1.

United States

2.

China

3.

UAE

4.

Japan

5

Norway

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Canada

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Singapore

8.

Australia

9.

Saudi Arabia

10.

South Korea

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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
Tonight's Chat on The National

Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.

Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster with a decades-long career in TV. He has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others. Karam is also the founder of Takreem.

Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.

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The specs
 
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
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