Saudi legend Mohammad Noor announced in EA SPORTS FC 25 hero team

Saudi legend Mohammad Noor announced in EA SPORTS FC 25 hero team
Short Url
Updated 13 August 2024

Saudi legend Mohammad Noor announced in EA SPORTS FC 25 hero team

Saudi legend Mohammad Noor announced in EA SPORTS FC 25 hero team

RIYADH: Saudi football legend Mohammad Noor has been included in a team of heroes for the upcoming EA SPORTS FC 25 release, the game maker annouced.
The retired player’s inclusion will mark the third time a Saudi player has been included in the set, officially called the Ultimate Team, which are usable game cards featuring retired players.
Noor spent the majority of his career with Al-Ittihad Club and is renowned for his illustrious career and numerous accolades.
His tenure at the Jeddah club is marked by his pivotal role in securing back-to-back AFC Champions League titles in 2004 and 2005. Representing the Green Falcons, he participated in multiple AFC Asian Cups and World Cups, contributing significantly to the national team's successes on the international stage.
EA SPORTS FC 25 has featured legendary players from the world’s game as in-game Heroes, including Saudi players Sami Al-Jaber and Saeed Al Oweiran.  Noor’s addition continues this tradition, celebrating the rich history of Saudi football and its impact on the global stage.
SPORTS FC 25 is due to be released on Sept. 27, 2024.


‘Landmark deal’: Pakistan’s stock market gains on optimism over US trade negotiations

‘Landmark deal’: Pakistan’s stock market gains on optimism over US trade negotiations
Updated 5 min 37 sec ago

‘Landmark deal’: Pakistan’s stock market gains on optimism over US trade negotiations

‘Landmark deal’: Pakistan’s stock market gains on optimism over US trade negotiations
  • KSE-100 Index crosses 147,000 points in intraday trade, closes at 146,929.84
  • Investor confidence lifted by 19 percent tariff trade pact between Pakistan and the US

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s stock market maintained its bullish momentum on Monday, buoyed by reports of potential US investment in the energy sector and comments from the state finance minister that Islamabad and Washington would fine tune the details of a trade pact in the months ahead.

The KSE-100 Index climbed past the 147,000 points mark during intraday trading and closed at 146,929.84, up 1,547.05 points, or 1.06 percent, from Friday’s close of 145,382.79.

Positive investor sentiment has been underpinned by US President Donald Trump’s 19 percent tariffs on Pakistani imports announced last month, which officials say will pave the way for renewed investment by American firms and deepen economic ties between the two countries.

Topline Securities, a Karachi-based brokerage, said market giants like Mari Petroleum Company (MARI), Bank AL Habib Limited (BAHL), Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDC), Meezan Bank Limited (MEBL) and Muslim Commercial Bank (MCB) dominated Monday’s rally, collectively adding 959 points to the index.

“Sentiment surged after reports of US firms gearing up to invest in Pakistan’s energy sector, further reinforced by better-than-expected corporate results that added to the market’s upbeat tone,” the report said.

The total traded volume reached 607 million shares with a trading value of Rs43.95 billion. Lotte Chemical Pakistan Limited (LOTCHEM) led the volumes chart, with 73 million shares changing hands.

Market analysts say the positive momentum reflects growing investor confidence in Pakistan’s economic prospects, helped by strengthened US ties that are expected to support further gains in the near term.

Pakistan’s State Minister for Finance, Bilal Azhar Kayani, described the US trade pact as a “landmark” deal, saying the 19 percent tariff was the lowest in the South Asian region.

“And the agreement with more details will be negotiated and discussed in the months ahead,” he said during an interview with Bloomberg.

“Which would include various aspects, rules of origin or market access or tariffs per specific lines reciprocally.”

Kayani noted that the US was Pakistan’s largest export destination, accounting for $6 billion of the country’s $32 billion in exports last fiscal year.

Pakistan’s exports to the US are dominated by textiles and garments, but also include leather goods, surgical instruments, sports equipment, chemicals, carpets and seafood, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

The new trade agreement comes amid signs of a thaw in relations between Islamabad and Washington after years of friction over security and counterterrorism. The Biden administration maintained a cautious approach toward Pakistan, but Trump has spoken warmly of his interactions with Pakistani officials, including an unprecedented two-hour meeting in June with the Pakistan army chief. More recently, US officials have emphasized trade and investment cooperation, particularly in crypto, energy, textiles, and information technology sectors.


Trump, Netanyahu in shouting match after latter denied Gaza starvation: NBC

Palestinian children wait for a meal at a charity kitchen in the Mawasi area of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip. File/AFP
Palestinian children wait for a meal at a charity kitchen in the Mawasi area of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip. File/AFP
Updated 9 min 23 sec ago

Trump, Netanyahu in shouting match after latter denied Gaza starvation: NBC

Palestinian children wait for a meal at a charity kitchen in the Mawasi area of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip. File/AFP
  • Ex-US official: American president ‘was doing most of the talking’ during phone call
  • ‘You can’t fake that,’ Trump said of images he saw of starving children

LONDON: A shouting match broke out between US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after the latter denied that images of starving children in Gaza were real, NBC News reported.

They reportedly began shouting at each other during a phone call on July 28 over the effectiveness of the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, amid reports that civilians were being shot by soldiers and contractors at aid distribution centers, and people were dying of starvation.

The day before, Netanyahu had claimed that there was “no policy of starvation in Gaza, and there is no starvation in Gaza.”

The next day, Trump said he had seen images of starving children. “You can’t fake that,” he said, adding that Gazans were suffering from “real hunger.”

NBC reported that Netanyahu subsequently demanded a call with Trump, during which he told the president that the images of children were fabricated by Hamas.

Trump then reportedly starting shouting at Netanyahu, saying he had seen evidence that the starvation was real.

A former US official told NBC that the call had been a “direct, mostly one-way conversation about the status of humanitarian aid,” and that Trump “was doing most of the talking.”

The former official added: “The US not only feels like the situation is dire, but they own it because of GHF.”

The GHF’s operations in Gaza have featured chaotic scenes with thousands of Palestinians struggling to receive sufficient food aid. More than 1,000 have been killed at its four distribution sites, according to the UN.

Netanyahu’s office described the report of the shouting match as “total fake news.”

A White House spokesperson told NBC: “We do not comment on the president’s private conversations. President Trump is focused on returning all the hostages and getting the people in Gaza fed.”


Neo-Nazi in Scotland pretended to convert to Islam ahead of planned mosque massacre

Neo-Nazi in Scotland pretended to convert to Islam ahead of planned mosque massacre
Updated 26 min 5 sec ago

Neo-Nazi in Scotland pretended to convert to Islam ahead of planned mosque massacre

Neo-Nazi in Scotland pretended to convert to Islam ahead of planned mosque massacre
  • Teenager was caught by police, pleaded guilty under Terrorism Act
  • His final manifesto said he would attack when ‘the mosque will be at its fullest’

LONDON: The imam of a Scottish mosque has described how a neo-Nazi teenager pretended to convert to Islam as a way to carry out a massacre inside.

The boy, 16 years old at the time of the incident, was caught by detectives in January as he traveled to burn down the Inverclyde Muslim Centre in Greenock, Sky News reported on Monday.

He later pleaded guilty under the Terrorism Act at the Glasgow High Court and will be sentenced at a later date.

The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was inspired by Norwegian mass murderer Anders Breivik and hoped that the mosque, with a capacity of 275 worshippers, would be full during his attack. He had planned to livestream the massacre after becoming radicalized online aged 13.

He told Imam Mohammed Bilal that he intended to become a Muslim. “I gave him the Qur’an to get more knowledge,” Bilal said.

“He told me that he wanted a balanced life. I asked, ‘What do you mean?’ He said, ‘I want (to be) closer to my Creator if I become Muslim.’”

Hamid Akhtar, also from the mosque, said the planned attack had served as a wake-up call for the area’s Muslim community.

“The frightening bit was that somebody was so nice and so conning. Making us a fool that he wanted to convert, and we were helping him in every way and trusting him,” he told Sky News.

“It gives us a lesson in future about who comes in and what their intentions are. We have more security cameras now.”

The boy, who has an autism diagnosis, believed that Europeans are in a “war” against other races. He authored a “manifesto” on his mobile phone and pledged to “die for my land.”

His final manifesto said he would attack when “the mosque will be at its fullest.” But the door to the mosque was locked, and police were waiting to arrest him after being tipped off.

The rucksack he took contained a German air pistol, ball bearings, gas cartridges and four cans of aerosol spray.

A raid of his home uncovered a copy of Adolf Hitler’s book “Mein Kampf,” knives and bomb-making ingredients.

Local Muslim Adeel Naeen told Sky News: “The event is an isolated event, but I look at the community today and you see the number of people that come through the doors, so we are glad that the police were able to stop anything from happening. The community is still strong in terms of it’s not putting people off from gathering here.”


Colombia presidential hopeful dies after June rally shooting

Colombia presidential hopeful dies after June rally shooting
Updated 27 min 19 sec ago

Colombia presidential hopeful dies after June rally shooting

Colombia presidential hopeful dies after June rally shooting
  • Miguel Uribe, 39, was a conservative senator and a grandson of former president Julio Cesar Turbay (1978-1982)
  • Authorities have arrested six suspects linked to the attack and the alleged mastermind, Elder Jose Arteaga Hernandez, alias “El Costeno”

BOGOTA: Colombian presidential candidate Miguel Uribe has died two months after being shot at a campaign rally, his family said Monday, as the attack rekindled fears of a return to the nation’s violent past.
The 39-year-old conservative senator, a grandson of former president Julio Cesar Turbay (1978-1982), was shot in the head and leg on June 7 at a rally in the capital Bogota.
Despite signs of progress in recent weeks, his doctors on Saturday announced he had suffered a new brain hemorrhage.
“Rest in peace, love of my life,” his wife Maria Claudia Tarazona wrote Monday morning in a post on Instagram.
“Thank you for a life full of love.”
Authorities have arrested six suspects linked to the attack, including the alleged shooter, a 15-year-old boy captured at the scene by Uribe’s bodyguards.
Following a nationwide manhunt, police announced the arrest of an alleged mastermind behind the attack, Elder Jose Arteaga Hernandez, alias “El Costeno.”
Police have also pointed to a dissident group of the defunct FARC guerrilla group as being behind the assassination.
The attack on Uribe, a leading candidate ahead of the 2026 presidential election, has reopened old wounds in a country wracked by violence.
His own mother, journalist Diana Turbay, was killed in a botched 1991 police operation to free her from cocaine kingpin Pablo Escobar’s Medellin cartel.
Four presidential candidates were assassinated during the worst phase of violence in the 1980s and 1990s under Escobar, who terrorized citizens of Bogota, Medellin and elsewhere with a campaign of bombings.
Sad day for Colombia
“Today is a sad day for the country,” Colombian Vice President Francia Marquez said on social media.
“Violence cannot continue to mark our destiny. Democracy is not built with bullets or blood, it is built with respect, with dialogue.”
Uribe has been a strong critic of Colombia’s first left-wing president, Gustavo Petro, who has sought in vain to make peace with the country’s various remaining armed groups.
He announced in October that he would seek to succeed the term-limited Petro in the May 2026 presidential election.
Uribe was elected to Bogota’s city council at age 26, later becoming its youngest-ever chairperson and then the mayor’s right-hand man.
In 2019, he unsuccessfully ran for mayor of Bogota, but three years later, he was elected a senator — receiving the most votes of any candidate in the country.
He took a seat with the conservative Democratic Center party, founded by former president Alvaro Uribe, no relation.
“Evil destroys everything, they killed hope. May Miguel’s struggle be a light that illuminates Colombia’s rightful path,” former president Uribe wrote on X.
In recent months, Petro, a former left-wing guerrilla, has been accused of dialing up the political temperature by labelling his right-wing opponents “Nazis.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a frequent critic of the leftist Petro government, demanded justice following the announcement of Uribe’s death.
“The United States stands in solidarity with his family, the Colombian people, both in mourning and demanding justice for those responsible,” Rubio said.
Uribe leaves behind a young son and three teenage daughters of his wife, whom he had taken in as his own.


Saudi banks’ June profits hit record $2.63bn amid loan growth, digital boom

Saudi banks’ June profits hit record $2.63bn amid loan growth, digital boom
Updated 38 min 13 sec ago

Saudi banks’ June profits hit record $2.63bn amid loan growth, digital boom

Saudi banks’ June profits hit record $2.63bn amid loan growth, digital boom

RIYADH: ’s banking sector maintained its momentum in June, as aggregate profits before zakat and taxes climbed to SR 9.9 billion ($2.63  billion) — the highest monthly result on record.

Data from the Saudi Central Bank, known as SAMA, shows that profits were approximately 28 percent higher than the same month last year, the fastest annual growth in six months, highlighting the sector’s resilience despite global challenges.

For the first half of 2025, cumulative profits reached SR51  billion, roughly 20  percent higher than the SR42.5 billion during the same period in 2024.

The strong performance builds on a solid first half for the Kingdom’s banking industry, which has benefited from ’s robust macroeconomic fundamentals and policy reforms.

Supported by steady credit demand from both corporate and retail segments, healthy liquidity levels, and Vision 2030-linked infrastructure and private sector projects, lenders have maintained profitability despite global interest rate uncertainty.

Analysts attribute the rise in profits in the second quarter to robust lending growth, lower impairment charges, and the sector’s embrace of digital banking.

AInvest noted in a July article that Saudi National Bank, the Kingdom’s largest lender, delivered 17.3 percent higher net profit in the second quarter, supported by increased net special commission income and reduced credit-loss provisions.

Across the sector, net profits rose 18 to 25 percent as lenders benefited from fintech integration, deeper capital markets, and broader economic diversification under Vision 2030.

The report highlighted that more than 261 fintech firms now operate in the Kingdom and 79 percent of retail transactions are processed digitally, boosting fee‑based income and lowering costs.

SAMA’s June bulletin showed the banking system’s assets reach SR4.8 trillion and claims on the private sector stood at SR3.1 trillion, reflecting strong corporate and consumer credit demand. Capital adequacy ratios remained robust at 19.3 percent, well above the regulatory minimum.

The banking sector’s strength has been reflected on the Saudi Exchange. Tadawul’s second quarter report showed that banks accounted for SR61.58  billion of traded value — the highest among all sectors.

This leadership in trading activity, ahead of most other sectors, signals strong investor confidence in banks’ earnings momentum and their pivotal role in financing Vision 2030 projects.

Saudi banks enter the second half of 2025 with solid capital buffers, growing fee‑based income, and a clear role in the Kingdom’s economic diversification agenda.

Continued reforms, including the National Debt Management Center’s restructuring of $32 billion in sukuk to deepen capital markets and ongoing fintech proliferation, will support earnings.

However, analysts at AInvest cautioned that geopolitical tensions, potential margin compression as global interest rates ease, and regulatory hurdles in construction financing could moderate growth.

Even so, with digital adoption surging and non-oil sectors expanding, the banking industry appears well-positioned to sustain strong profitability while supporting ’s transformation into a diversified, knowledge‑based economy.