Manchester United's Wayne Rooney, right, has a shot saved by Southampton's goalkeeper Artur Boruc. Ptere Powell / EPA
Manchester United's Wayne Rooney, right, has a shot saved by Southampton's goalkeeper Artur Boruc. Ptere Powell / EPA

Manchester United move seven points clear in Premier League, while Chelsea suffer late Reading shock



Wayne Rooney's double helped Manchester United restore their seven-point lead at the top of the Premier League as they came from behind to beat Southampton 2-1 at Old Trafford.

Southampton took a shock third minute lead when Michael Carrick's poor back-pass saw Jay Rodriguez dispossess United goalkeeper David de Gea before he rolled the ball into the net.

However, United were only behind for five minutes with Rooney equalising after he was played in by Shinji Kagawa.

The England striker made it 2-1 from a yard out in the 27th minute after a Robin van Persie free-kick was headed back across goal by Patrice Evra.

"[Winning] is the name of the game at this stage of the season," United manager Alex Ferguson told the BBC.

"In the second half Southampton were the best team to play here this season. We were fortunate to win."

Chelsea blew a 2-0 lead as Reading climbed out of the bottom three after 'supersub' Adam Le Fondre scored two late goals in a 2-2 draw.

The Blues, held to a draw by third-tier Brentford in the FA Cup, had to wait until first-half stoppage-time before taking the lead at the Madejski Stadium, with a neat pass from Fernando Torres setting up his fellow Spaniard Juan Mata.

Frank Lampard, repeatedly linked with a move away from Chelsea despite impressing yet again this term, made it 2-0 in the 66th minute when he rose above the Royals' defence to head in a corner.

But Le Fondre increased the pressure on Chelsea interim manager Rafael Benitez with two well-struck goals in the final three minutes.

"You might not have seen that coming, but we have done it here before," said Reading manager Brian McDermott. "If you have got Adam Le Fondre at your club, you always have a chance."

Meanwhile a dejected Benitez, who kept Chelsea captain John Terry on the bench, added: "The atmosphere was not good in the dressing room. It is very difficult to take."

Arsenal also came from 2-0 behind at home to Liverpool to force a 2-2 draw that did little for the top four ambitions of either club.

Defensive mistakes by the Gunners led to Liverpool goals for Luis Suarez and Jordan Henderson.

But within a few minutes of Henderson's goal on the hour, Arsenal were level.

Olivier Giroud headed in Jack Wilshere's free-kick and the Frenchman then turned provider for Theo Walcott, who equalised with a powerful shot.

"We were outstanding going forward but nervous defensively," said Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.

"I think recent accidents against Manchester City and Chelsea affected the heads of the players. But we showed quality and spirit to draw."

Tottenham remained fourth thanks to Gareth Bale's superb leveller in a 1-1 draw away to Norwich.

The Canaries, fresh from the embarrassment of being knocked out of the FA Cup by non-league Luton, went ahead when Wes Hoolahan turned in Anthony Pilkington's 32nd minute cross.

But Wales winger Bale struck in the 80th minute when he collected the ball inside his own half, ran at the defence and curled a shot across the goalkeeper.

"For the people who think I am diving, Alexander Tettey caught me, but I stayed on my feet and scored with a good finish," said Bale.

Fifth-placed Everton closed to within a point of Tottenham after a 2-1 win at home to West Bromwich Albion.

Leighton Baines gave Everton a 29th minute lead at Goodison Park and doubled their advantage on the stroke of half-time with a penalty after Victor Anichebe was fouled in the box.

Shane Long pulled a goal back for the Baggies with a 65th minute header.

Meanwhile Fulham beat London rivals West Ham 3-1 at Craven Cottage.

Bulgaria striker Dimitar Berbatov celebrated his 32nd birthday by putting Fulham 1-0 up with a 10th minute header.

There was a goal rush early in the second half, with Kevin Nolan equalising for the Hammers only for Hugo Rodallega to restore Fulham's lead a minute later.

Joey O'Brien's late own-goal sealed Fulham's victory.

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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed 

Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale

Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni

Director: Amith Krishnan

Rating: 3.5/5

The bio

Studied up to grade 12 in Vatanappally, a village in India’s southern Thrissur district

Was a middle distance state athletics champion in school

Enjoys driving to Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah with family

His dream is to continue working as a social worker and help people

Has seven diaries in which he has jotted down notes about his work and money he earned

Keeps the diaries in his car to remember his journey in the Emirates

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
From Zero

Artist: Linkin Park

Label: Warner Records

Number of tracks: 11

Rating: 4/5

The Byblos iftar in numbers

29 or 30 days – the number of iftar services held during the holy month

50 staff members required to prepare an iftar

200 to 350 the number of people served iftar nightly

160 litres of the traditional Ramadan drink, jalab, is served in total

500 litres of soup is served during the holy month

200 kilograms of meat is used for various dishes

350 kilograms of onion is used in dishes

5 minutes – the average time that staff have to eat
 

Moon Music

Artist: Coldplay

Label: Parlophone/Atlantic

Number of tracks: 10

Rating: 3/5

Company%20Profile
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Disclaimer

Director: Alfonso Cuaron 

Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville 

Rating: 4/5

Reputation

Taylor Swift

(Big Machine Records)

The specs

  Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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TWISTERS

Director: Lee Isaac Chung

Starring: Glen Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Anthony Ramos

Rating: 2.5/5

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How will Gen Alpha invest?

Mark Chahwan, co-founder and chief executive of robo-advisory firm Sarwa, forecasts that Generation Alpha (born between 2010 and 2024) will start investing in their teenage years and therefore benefit from compound interest.

“Technology and education should be the main drivers to make this happen, whether it’s investing in a few clicks or their schools/parents stepping up their personal finance education skills,” he adds.

Mr Chahwan says younger generations have a higher capacity to take on risk, but for some their appetite can be more cautious because they are investing for the first time. “Schools still do not teach personal finance and stock market investing, so a lot of the learning journey can feel daunting and intimidating,” he says.

He advises millennials to not always start with an aggressive portfolio even if they can afford to take risks. “We always advise to work your way up to your risk capacity, that way you experience volatility and get used to it. Given the higher risk capacity for the younger generations, stocks are a favourite,” says Mr Chahwan.

Highlighting the role technology has played in encouraging millennials and Gen Z to invest, he says: “They were often excluded, but with lower account minimums ... a customer with $1,000 [Dh3,672] in their account has their money working for them just as hard as the portfolio of a high get-worth individual.”

Electoral College Victory

Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate. 

 

Popular Vote Tally

The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
And%20Just%20Like%20That...
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BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE

Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega

Director: Tim Burton

Rating: 3/5

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Company Profile
Company name: OneOrder

Started: October 2021

Founders: Tamer Amer and Karim Maurice

Based: Cairo, Egypt

Industry: technology, logistics

Investors: A15 and self-funded 

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Tank warfare

Lt Gen Erik Petersen, deputy chief of programs, US Army, has argued it took a “three decade holiday” on modernising tanks. 

“There clearly remains a significant armoured heavy ground manoeuvre threat in this world and maintaining a world class armoured force is absolutely vital,” the general said in London last week.

“We are developing next generation capabilities to compete with and deter adversaries to prevent opportunism or miscalculation, and, if necessary, defeat any foe decisively.”

THE TWIN BIO

Their favourite city: Dubai

Their favourite food: Khaleeji

Their favourite past-time : walking on the beach

Their favorite quote: ‘we rise by lifting others’ by Robert Ingersoll

Tailors and retailers miss out on back-to-school rush

Tailors and retailers across the city said it was an ominous start to what is usually a busy season for sales.
With many parents opting to continue home learning for their children, the usual rush to buy school uniforms was muted this year.
“So far we have taken about 70 to 80 orders for items like shirts and trousers,” said Vikram Attrai, manager at Stallion Bespoke Tailors in Dubai.
“Last year in the same period we had about 200 orders and lots of demand.
“We custom fit uniform pieces and use materials such as cotton, wool and cashmere.
“Depending on size, a white shirt with logo is priced at about Dh100 to Dh150 and shorts, trousers, skirts and dresses cost between Dh150 to Dh250 a piece.”

A spokesman for Threads, a uniform shop based in Times Square Centre Dubai, said customer footfall had slowed down dramatically over the past few months.

“Now parents have the option to keep children doing online learning they don’t need uniforms so it has quietened down.”

The story of Edge

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, established Edge in 2019.

It brought together 25 state-owned and independent companies specialising in weapons systems, cyber protection and electronic warfare.

Edge has an annual revenue of $5 billion and employs more than 12,000 people.

Some of the companies include Nimr, a maker of armoured vehicles, Caracal, which manufactures guns and ammunitions company, Lahab

 

Huroob Ezterari

Director: Ahmed Moussa

Starring: Ahmed El Sakka, Amir Karara, Ghada Adel and Moustafa Mohammed

Three stars

Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
Rating: 2/5
 
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Wonka
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