Latest from Khaleej Times
Khaleej Times
4 hours ago
- Sport
- Khaleej Times
Club World Cup: Messi scores stunning goal as Inter Miami stun Porto
A Lionel Messi trademark free-kick earned Inter Miami a shock 2-1 comeback win against Porto in the Club World Cup on Thursday. The Argentine superstar found the top corner with a second half set-piece to clinch a surprise victory for the MLS side and give them a strong chance of progressing from Group A. Inter Miami and Palmeiras have four points each, after the Brazilian side beat Al Ahly 2-0 earlier on -- the Egyptians like Porto have one point. Samu Aghehowa's early penalty gave the Portuguese side the lead as they had the better of the first half and could have scored more. However Telasco Segovia blasted Miami level and then Messi's free-kick helped them claim a noteworthy scalp, in a match many thought would be straightforward for Porto. Co-owned by former England international David Beckham, Inter Miami played their first MLS match in 2020 and signed Messi in 2023, raising their profile significantly. This was the first competitive victory for an MLS side over European opposition, in their second encounter after Chelsea beat Los Angeles FC earlier in the week. Even with Messi, arguably the face of the tournament, the Mercedes-Benz Stadium was under half-full at kick-off, hamstrung by another 3:00 pm kick-off on a working day as it was for Chelsea's opener at the venue. More fans entered throughout the game, keen to get a glimpse of the 37-year-old widely considered to be the game's greatest ever player, with nearly 32,000 present in the end. Messi did not disappoint and was the game's outstanding player, involved heavily from the off. The former Barcelona great clipped a dipping ball in behind for veteran striker Luis Suarez, who could only prod it at the goalkeeper and had strayed offside in any case. Porto took the lead in the eighth minute after being awarded a soft penalty after a VAR review, as Miami defender Noah Allen made light contact with Joao Mario in the box. Spain international Samu Aghehowa beat Oscar Ustari, who had saved a penalty in the goalless draw against Al Ahly, even though the stopper got a hand to his low effort. Uruguayan striker Suarez, 38, might have levelled after Messi threaded him through on goal but, forced to use his weaker left foot, Porto goalkeeper Claudio Ramos denied him. Javier Mascherano's side almost levelled through US international Benjamin Cremaschi after a charge forward from Suarez broke open Porto's defence, but Ramos made a smart near post stop to thwart him. Maximiliano Falcon brilliantly headed off his own goal-line with Ustari beaten by Rodrigo Mora's effort to keep Inter Miami hopes alive. Ustari denied Aghehowa and then scrambled the ball to safety as it rolled towards his net after Alan Varela crashed a shot off the upright and it hit him on the back, as Porto turned the screw before the break. Inter Miami levelled right at the start of the second half, with Segovia blasting home Marcelo Weigandt's inviting cut-back to stun the Portuguese side. Messi then sent Miami ahead with a goal all of his own making after 54 minutes. The playmaker was brought down outside the area and dusted himself down before arrowing a classic Messi free-kick into the top right corner. Miami battled hard to keep Porto at bay and groans travelled around the stadium after seven minutes of stoppage time was announced. Mascherano's players thew themselves in the way of shots in a way the former Argentine defensive midfielder would have done himself, and Inter Miami were eventually able to claim their much-craved victory.
Khaleej Times
6 hours ago
- Business
- Khaleej Times
ILT20, KCB enter strategic partnership for growth of the sport in Kuwait
The DP World International League T20 and the Kuwait Cricket Board have entered an exciting partnership for the growth of the sport in Kuwait. Through the partnership the DP World ILT20 will organise cricket matches in the country which will be aimed at identifying and developing the participating players. The agreement between the Kuwait Cricket Board and DP World ILT20 was inked at a signing ceremony organised recently at the Dubai International Stadium. As per the agreement, a domestic event like the DP World ILT20 UAE Development Tournament, will be conducted annually in Kuwait to provide the players from Kuwait an opportunity to get selected by ILT20 franchises for the main DP World ILT20 event. In the coming years, the league will also aim to host DP World ILT2o matches in Kuwait. 'We are very proud to announce our collaboration with Kuwait Cricket Board as they join our league [DP World ILT20]. It is a great honour for us, and we look forward to many more such collaborations in the future. Kuwait is very important to us; it is a great country and keen on promoting and further developing cricket," said Khalid Al Zarooni, Chairman ILT20 and Vice-Chairman Emirates Cricket Board. 'Kuwait and the rest of the Gulf countries are all one, the [cricket playing] communities are residing throughout the region and our aim with the DP World ILT20 is to grow and develop the game in the entire region. Our endeavour is to provide maximum opportunities to the players and for the fans to join us at this great tournament which we are trying to grow more and more.' President Kuwait Cricket Haider Farman: 'I am honoured to formalise this agreement between Kuwait Cricket and the Emirates Cricket Board to further promote the DP World ILT20 — not only in our two nations but across the entire region. This partnership is a key pillar of the league's broader vision for the growth and globalisation of cricket. We firmly believe that cricket can serve as a powerful bridge between our countries, and we look forward to this collaboration bringing meaningful benefits to our players, coaches, and officials alike. 'It is also a matter of great pride that Kuwait becomes the first country in the world to be officially recognized as a strategic partner of the DP World ILT20. 'Cricket continues to grow in popularity in the State of Kuwait, with Kuwait Cricket making significant strides both on and off the field. This landmark collaboration with the Emirates Cricket Board and the ILT20 will play a critical role in helping us realize our long-term vision — to involve more Kuwaiti nationals in our cricketing ecosystem, especially as players and officials. 'With the Asian Games scheduled to take place in Qatar in 2030 and Saudi Arabia in 2034, the timing couldn't be better. DP World ILT20 can be a transformative force in inspiring the next generation of local talent to embrace the sport across the GCC like never before.' CEO DP World ILT20 David White: 'I would like to congratulate Kuwait Cricket on their vision and foresight that has led to this exciting alliance. The DP World ILT2o's long term vision is to grow the game not only in the UAE but across the Gulf region. 'This partnership provides a great opportunity for Kuwait Cricket and their young players to develop further. We have seen it in the DP World ILT20 how the young UAE players have benefited enormously through this incredible platform under some world-class coaching. 'The UAE team recently won a T20I series against Bangladesh which is indeed a testament to the success of the DP World ILT20 as a lot of the UAE team members had received great exposure at the league in recent years, surely Kuwait and other countries in the region are going to benefit as well.' Sajid Ashraf, Director General Kuwait Cricket. says the partnership will help the sport grow in Kuwait. 'This momentous collaboration with the Emirates Cricket Board — a true leader in regional cricket development and the driving force behind the world-class DP World ILT20 — marks a historic milestone for Kuwait Cricket. It opens the door to a long-awaited dream: enabling our Kuwait players to pursue full-time professional cricket careers on the international franchise stage," Ashraf said. Meanwhile, the DP World International League T20 Season 4 will begin on December 2, UAE National Day (Eid-Al-Etihad). The six-team, 34-match tournament will conclude with the final on January 4, 2026.
Khaleej Times
6 hours ago
- Sport
- Khaleej Times
Alcaraz overcomes Munar marathon to reach Queen's quarters
Top seed Carlos Alcaraz was pushed all the way by fellow-Spaniard Jaume Munar in a thrilling contest before clinching a 6-4 6-7(7) 7-5 win and advanced to the Queen's Club Championships quarterfinals on Thursday. Alcaraz recently came out on top in an epic French Open final against Jannik Sinner, and while this second round clash in London may not have reached those same dizzying heights, the British crowd were served up an enthralling battle. The world number two was a break down in the deciding set but showed his strength once more as Alcaraz stretched his winning run to 15 matches, the longest streak of his career. "It was a really tough battle that we had today," Alcaraz said after more than three hours on court. "He's a great competitor and he showed how difficult it is to beat him." Alcaraz, the 2023 champion, looked well in control as he eased to take the opening set, and after saving four break and set points at 5-4 down in the second he forced Munar to a tiebreaker. The pair traded early breaks with neither player holding serve over the first four points, before a Munar double fault allowed Alcaraz to take a 5-4 lead. He smashed an ace but then hit a double fault of his own on match point. Munar made him pay this time to force a deciding set. After Alcaraz went 2-0 up, the French Open champion was broken in his next two service games and Munar went into a 4-2 lead. Alcaraz, however, was not done yet, and two more breaks of serve sealed a hard-earned victory as he continued his preparations for Wimbledon, where the Spaniard will be aiming to complete a hat-trick of triumphs. "I'm proud of the level I showed today. It's my second match on grass this year," Alcaraz said. "There were moments I struggled a lot mentally and physically. I still don't know how I'm standing here. But I'm really happy I've given myself another chance in the quarter-finals." Alcaraz will face either French lucky loser Arthur Rinderknech or American Reilly Opelka. British number two Jacob Fearnley reached his first ATP Tour quarterfinal with a 6-3 2-6 6-2 win over French qualifier Corentin Moutet. "I'm very happy to be in my first quarter-final, it's even better to do it here in the UK," Fearnley said. "I tried to stick to my game plan and be aggressive. I did that better in the third set and the result speaks for itself." Fearnley raced into a 3-0 lead, and while Moutet broke back, the Briton responded immediately with another break of his own to ease through the first set. Moutet did likewise in the second, sailing 3-0 ahead before breaking for a second time to clinch the set and force the decider, where Fearnley broke twice before holding serve to love to clinch victory in style. The 23-year-old will now face Jiri Lehecka after the Czech beat Canada's Gabriel Diallo 6-4 6-2.
Khaleej Times
7 hours ago
- Business
- Khaleej Times
UAE: Why Gen-Z is rejecting performative work culture in the age of AI
I have worked hard to offer as apolitical and well-rounded a viewpoint I can, but it's harder and harder as time goes on to remain so aloof. This is because I have changed and, readjusting my views on journalism and my role in this industry, have a desire to centre problem solvers on the ground rather than the bloody leading story of a given topic. How I'll be doing this here is focusing on what you and I can do in our day-to-day lives wherever we are and whomever we're with. With that in mind, this week I wanted to look at the workplace for the under-40 crowd, primarily those professionals like me with a degree and desire to work in an environment that no longer exists. AI is eating up entry-level jobs, or they are simply going to someone who will do the job cheaper or under more stress, while for many of us the urge to perform or put on a face has lost all meaning. One clash is the junction between work responsibility and the importance of feedback. At one of my jobs, it's not often my direct supervisor and I communicate; trust goes both ways, I'm punctual and they treat me well. When we do check in, it is prompt and I receive feedback unbidden, because relatively early in my work when a line was drawn between management and the workers over a cascading series of mistakes, of which my failure was only the result of a manager's failure, my supervisor— who also hired me — offered a shoulder to cry on and an explanation when management had already forgotten. In recognising my fear and anxiety, a wall between us fell; often-times, older managers and supervisors see those of us younger than them, even millennials now older than 40, as children. They speak to us like children, they expect us to shut up and be seen and not heard like children, and they expect us to deliver unto them respect they didn't earn as if they are our parents and elders. I've encountered this beyond age and when they are much closer, and though I haven't heard my peers and friends with bosses younger than them describe similar problems, but with a similar ease not unlike my situation. Why I mentioned outlook is here; we as people need to ascend the work ladder together, but dispel the notion we have to or are even capable of coordinating. Under 45, or simply a millennial or younger, the problems that Gen-Z experiences are not exclusive to us. Many of the expectations put upon Gen-Z surrounding culture, technology and communication stem from those Millennial, Gen-Y and Gen-X already survived. A perfect example would be communication surrounding workload; I don't know a 'young' person who isn't as honest as they can be about how busy they are and their ability to take on more. I have found that it is older folks or people with responsibilities that will take additional work on out of a belief that they must, while Gen-Z have no interest in putting up a facade of hard work. This plays into the shifting goalposts of performance, and that my stagnating salary cannot do for me what it did for my dad in the same industry twenty, ten or even five years ago. In abandoning the performative, what results is calm assurance and mental stability. We must and should allow a part of ourselves to be stressed, to feel anxiety around work, but we all need to acknowledge the times we live in and that around the world, everyone knows that the performance is nonsense.
Khaleej Times
7 hours ago
- General
- Khaleej Times
When the ideal isn't real: What's cognitive dissonance and how to tackle it?
Amara* had always associated success with stability – the kind rooted in a familiar neighbourhood and a fulfilling career, all within the close-knit community she grew up in. As the daughter of Caribbean immigrants who built a modest, middle-class life in the US, she was raised to believe that education was the surest path to that success. So with her parents' support, she earned degrees from Stanford University and the University of Michigan, and seemed firmly on track to create the life she had long envisioned for herself. But now, seven years into her expat journey in Qatar, her reality looks very different. 'I really figured that by this age I would be living in a nice gated community in the US, balancing raising my kids with a fulfilling career at a multinational company, surrounded by the friends and family that I grew up with,' said Amara, 38. 'I never dreamed of living so far away from home, and being just a stay-at-home mum.' Her move to Doha in 2018 to be with her husband marked a detour that, over time, began to feel like a derailment. 'For my first job in Qatar, I opted to take what felt like a step backwards in order to move my marriage and my family forward. Looking back, I think that this step moved me further away from achieving my imagined reality than I could have thought,' she reflected. A mismatch Amara's experience is far from unique. According to Vinita Mane, a CDA-licensed therapist and faculty leader at Westford University College in Sharjah, 'Cognitive dissonance, in this context, occurs when there's a mismatch between the ideal life one envisioned and the reality of daily struggles, lack of employment or job insecurity, and multitasking between roles that may not align with one's skills or specialisation.' This inner tension can have far-reaching effects. 'It can cause emotional distress, strained relationships, and sometimes the development of maladaptive behaviours or coping mechanisms,' Mane explained. For Amara, the dissonance became most palpable after the birth of her second child. 'I knew that going back to work at the time wasn't going to be my reality. And from there I watched my unemployment gap widen and widen,' she said. 'Now, with three kids, I feel less and less confident that I will be able to seamlessly re-enter the workforce and do the things I once wanted to do professionally.' Distance from home and a lack of support system only magnified Amara's feelings of dissonance. 'I believe that having community that you can lean on for help and that you can be vulnerable with in times of challenge are so important,' she said. 'Now I am in a place that can feel very lonely. Folks come and go frequently so it can feel emotionally draining to invest in relationships only to see them end abruptly and unexpectedly.' Expatriates like Amara, whether in the Gulf or elsewhere, arrive with many expectations. They then face difficult choices: to assimilate, integrate, or separate from the dominant culture. 'One of humanity's greatest strengths is adaptability. We possess the ability to learn, evolve, and integrate into new environments. Those who embrace change with openness and curiosity are more likely to manage dissonance effectively,' Mane explained. 'One's emotional and psychological well-being – and even physical health – can be directly impacted by the inability to adapt, especially when individuals cling too tightly to their original expectations instead of adjusting to their current reality.' For a long time, Amara experienced what she described as a persistent, heavy emotional state marked by deep sadness. This stemmed from unmet expectations and the loss of the life she had once envisioned – one that included a career, financial autonomy, and a rooted sense of home. Seeking help Through therapy, she began to process that grief, giving herself permission to feel disappointment while working to reshape her goals within her current reality. Amara has learned that acknowledgment is key. 'I've worked hard not to brush away my feelings but to name them, to understand what is driving them and to affirm that not having been able to build that life that I wanted does not make me less valuable or less competent or less worthy of love and appreciation and admiration.' Therapy has encouraged her to re-frame success and find new meaning. 'I've been able to dig deep to identify my core values and how my prior goals aligned with them. Moving forward, I'm working on creating new goals based on those core values, but within my current context.' In addition to this type of work, Mane recommends cognitive restructuring: a therapeutic technique that challenges negative or irrational thought patterns and helps to develop a growth mindset. 'A psychologist can guide you through this journey, helping you better understand your emotions, build resilience, and develop healthier ways of thinking.' Today, Amara's expat experience is deeply intentional. 'Cultivating gratitude and grace are things that have taken me a long way in managing the discomfort that comes along with the dissonance. 'As I have begun to re-frame and redefine my goals, my expat experience has improved. I am able to see so much value in it and to have a lot of gratitude in it while still holding space for the fact that there are some aspects of it that I do not like.' She added, 'My goal is not to erase the dissonance but to claim it, and keep on re-envisioning my life day after day." Qatar
