Nasr push Wahda all the way

Al Jazira and Al Wahda, the top two sides in the Pro League, are heading for a showdown in the final of the President's Cup as well after confirming their spots in the last-four of the tournament over the weekend. Jazira, leading Wahda by four points in the league, knocked out Al Dhafra 3-0 last night, with Brazilian Ricardo Oliveira scoring the opener in the 13th minute and Ibrahim Diaky finding the net twice in the closing stages - first in the 89th minute and then in injury time.

Dhafra finished the game with 10 men after Juma Khater was shown a straight red for a tackle on Abdullah Qasim in the 90th minute. Wahda needed two extra-time goals to beat Al Nasr 5-3 on Friday night and book a semi-final date with Emirate. Josef Hickersberger, the Al Wahda coach, saluted the determination of his side after the hard-fought win secured by extra-time goals from Basheer Saeed and Pinga.

Fernando Baiano scored a hat-trick for the Abu Dhabi team, while Carlos Tenorio struck two - both from penalties - for Nasr before Mohammed Malallah dragged the game into extra-time with a 90th minute equaliser for the Dubai club. "We should have won in regulation time," said Hickersberger. "The second goal they scored was not a penalty. Even after watching a number of replays, I am still wondering how it was a penalty. Anyway, we won the game and we deserved it."

Frank Pagelsdorf, the Nasr coach, felt Wahda were helped by a couple of errors from his goalkeeper Ismael Rabea, but said: "We cannot blame just one person for defeat." Meanwhile, Yemen were confirmed as the hosts of next year's Gulf Cup yesterday. The tournament will be held from November 22 to December 4 in the cities of Eden and Abyan. @Email:arizvi@thenational.ae

At a glance

Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.

Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year

Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month

Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30

Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse

Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth

Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances

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Real estate tokenisation project

Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.

The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.

Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.