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The National
02-07-2025
- Sport
- The National
UAE v Sri Lanka: Lineout practice in hotel ballrooms, torrential rain, and a vital Rugby World Cup qualifier
As they travel to Colombo to face Sri Lanka for their final game in the 2025 Asia Rugby Championship (ARC), the minds of UAE's leading rugby players will be on one thing. Namely, doing everything they can to extend their dream of debuting in the Rugby World Cup in two years' time. If they beat Sri Lanka – and assuming Hong Kong beat South Korea the following day – the national team will enter a play-off with the second-best side from African qualifying. Advancing past that point, via a game in Ghana at the end of July, to make it to November's final qualifying event will be a challenge. But even being in with a shout of qualifying for the sport's showpiece event, in Australia in 2027, shows just how far they have come since starting out as a competitive entity in the very same city 14 years ago. The region has been represented in international rugby since 1993. Up until 2010, that was under the collective banner of the Arabian Gulf, which included players based around the GCC. The combined union was disbanded and, in 2011, the UAE took the Gulf's place in international competition. They played a friendly fixture in Morocco, then took part in the Asian Five Nations – as the ARC was then known – for the first time. Everything seemed new. The colour of the shirts. The logo it carried. There were two Emirati players – Mohannad Shaker and Ali Mohammed – in the squad for the first time. Ishy Bilady was now the permanent anthem. Until then, the song that was played had been based on which country was hosting the fixture. Even the elements added to the novelty of the occasion for that Test in Colombo. Torrential overnight rain had turned the pitch at the Ceylonese Rugby & Football Club into a quagmire. It was about as far removed as possible from what the touring players were used to. 'The field was under half a foot of water for pretty much the whole game,' said Sean Hurley, an Australia-born wing who had been the most capped player for the rep side in its previous guise as the Arabian Gulf. 'It dried up right towards the end, but there was a lot of kicking involved, balls in the air, backwards and forwards. I think I've played two games in my life like that.' The other was for his club side, now known as the Jebel Ali Dragons, on a rare day of rain in the Emirates. It was against what was then the Abu Dhabi Bats – now Harlequins – in the early 2000s, at a rudimentary pitch next to Al Ghazal Golf Club. 'It rained in Abu Dhabi and there was no drainage,' Hurley said. 'We played in maybe a foot of water. Even in my junior years in Australia, we'd never played in soaking conditions like that. 'Obviously, when you play rugby in the Middle East, you get perfect conditions 99 per cent of the time. Even though there were a lot of English guys and we all grew up in countries like that, your skills are not honed to that anymore. 'It became this war of attrition. There were mistakes everywhere. Chris [Jones-Griffiths] and the boys did a great job.' Jones-Griffiths was the player who said he 'told a little white lie' in order to get a debut cap as a prop. He had never played in the front row before, but was so intent on playing international rugby for the new UAE team that he said he had. He clearly took to it: Bruce Birtwhistle, the UAE coach, termed him the player of the match as the tourists picked up a 13-13 draw. That was quite an achievement, given both his dearth of experience as a prop, plus the fact he broke his nose and his cheekbone at the first ruck in the game. 'I turned to whoever was next to me and said, 'Is there something wrong with my eye?'' Jones-Griffiths said. 'They winced and said, 'Yeah, I think you need to get it checked out.' So [Chris Page, UAE's physio] came on and asked if I wanted to come off. 'I said, no, definitely not. Not after just a few seconds, anyway, so I played the rest of the game. Getting that short, sharp hit early doors probably increased the adrenaline and got me through the game.' Unlike Hurley, Jones-Griffiths felt perfectly at home in the mud. It reminded him of his formative years, back at Ysgol Gyfun Llangefni school in Wales, where his dad, Dai, had been in charge of PE. 'We had a pitch that was pretty much a bog most of the year, so you'd play in ankle deep mud all year round,' Jones-Griffiths said. 'I was in my element. I loved it. It took me right back to my early days.' As did the atmosphere of being part of a new, representative side. 'It was guys from all the different clubs in the UAE coming together, a lot of guys you bashed heads with on the pitch for the last few years,' Jones-Griffiths said. 'It took me back to schoolboy rugby when you played for your county, rooming with guys you don't really know, and it was great.' Those schoolboy tours might not have had quite such salubrious accommodation arrangements. For their first competitive tour, the UAE players were billeted in the splendour of the Galle Face Hotel. Which was handy when the rain arrived. 'We did the captain's run in glorious sunshine, and then the night before the game, the heavens opened and it didn't stop,' Jones-Griffiths said. 'We woke up in the morning and it was torrential. The streets were flooded, and we were thinking: is the game going to go ahead? 'It was so bad that we were hoping to practise lineouts in the grounds outside the hotel, but the rain was too heavy. 'There was a big grand ballroom and we practised our lineouts in there before going to the ground. When we got to the ground there were guys sweeping water off the pitch.' Fourteen years on, Jones-Griffiths has no formal involvement with the game any more, as he splits his time living and working between Abu Dhabi and Riyadh. But he is thrilled to see the progress of the team, which he and the Class of 2011 helped to start. 'Having the core of the Arabian Gulf squad there, the mentality of representing the region and now representing the country, was reinforced,' Jones-Griffiths said. 'Also, having Yousef and Mohannad Shaker, Cyrus [Homayoun] and some other UAE nationals in the wider squad really helped emphasise the importance that we were doing it for the country. 'When you spend so long in the country here, you are invested in the country and the country has given you so much. It is an absolute honour to represent the country internationally.'
Scotsman
09-06-2025
- Business
- Scotsman
Man wins £800k house in BOTB draw after losing £200k to scam
Ali Mohammed (right) popped a bottle of Champagne to toast his huge win | BOTB This article contains affiliate links. We may earn a small commission on items purchased through this article, but that does not affect our editorial judgement. After losing £200,000 in a scam, a man has turned his luck around by winning an £800k house and his dream car in a BOTB prize draw – all for just 99p Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... A businessman whose company was scammed out of more than £200,000 has won a £800,000 house in a prize draw he entered for just 99p. Ali Mohammed, from Leeds, opened the door to the one-bedroomed flat he now rents to be greeted by two presenters from BOTB, the company that gives away life-changing prizes every week. They told him he'd won the £800,000 house and a visibly bewildered Ali confessed he had a "feeling" he should buy a 99p ticket when he saw the draw advertised on Tik Tok. "I just thought, 'let me get some', and I bought 50 actually." "We've been scammed, with my company, so we lost a lot. We lost over £200k on scams. So it is life-changing. It's shocking." The total value of the two prizes is close to £850,000 | BOTB Ali's prize is a four-bedroomed new-build in leafy Surrey worth £799,950, and he also won a bonus prize alongside the house, a Mercedes AMG C63S Convertible worth £48,500 - which just happens to be his dream car. As he drove to Surrey from Leeds to see his house the following day, he told the BOTB team: "From a rented house, to go to your own house, that's life-changing. That's a future for your family. "I'm still shocked to be honest, I didn't sleep last night, I was just thinking about it. Is it real, or is it just a dream? It's just unbelievable." And as he clapped eyes on his new car, and shook a bottle of Champagne he told presenter Christian Williams: "I'm a rich man now." Ali says his win will secure a future for his family | BOTB While touring his new house, Ali let Christian know that when he'd knocked on his door to surprise him he was on the phone to an estate agent, discussing buying a property. "Who's going to believe that"? He chuckled. "I was on the phone and heard the knock knock, and when I saw you I was like, is it real? I went inside, scratched myself, and thought, is he really here? Is it really happening?" Ali now has the choice of moving into the house with his family, selling it to pocket the life-changing sum, or he could rent it to give himself a handsome monthly income. BOTB also offers winners a cash alternative, which in Ali's case would be up to £610,000. The company, which specialises in giving away dream cars, is currently offering the chance to win another dream home, this time in Chichester, and the tickets are still just 99p. To check out that draw, watch the video of Ali winning his prize, or see other draws starting at 5p, click here.
Scotsman
09-06-2025
- Business
- Scotsman
Man wins £800k house in BOTB draw after losing £200k to scam
Ali Mohammed (right) popped a bottle of Champagne to toast his huge win | BOTB This article contains affiliate links. We may earn a small commission on items purchased through this article, but that does not affect our editorial judgement. After losing £200,000 in a scam, a man has turned his luck around by winning an £800k house and his dream car in a BOTB prize draw – all for just 99p Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... A businessman whose company was scammed out of more than £200,000 has won a £800,000 house in a prize draw he entered for just 99p. Ali Mohammed, from Leeds, opened the door to the one-bedroomed flat he now rents to be greeted by two presenters from BOTB, the company that gives away life-changing prizes every week. They told him he'd won the £800,000 house and a visibly bewildered Ali confessed he had a "feeling" he should buy a 99p ticket when he saw the draw advertised on Tik Tok. "I just thought, 'let me get some', and I bought 50 actually." "We've been scammed, with my company, so we lost a lot. We lost over £200k on scams. So it is life-changing. It's shocking." The total value of the two prizes is close to £850,000 | BOTB Ali's prize is a four-bedroomed new-build in leafy Surrey worth £799,950, and he also won a bonus prize alongside the house, a Mercedes AMG C63S Convertible worth £48,500 - which just happens to be his dream car. As he drove to Surrey from Leeds to see his house the following day, he told the BOTB team: "From a rented house, to go to your own house, that's life-changing. That's a future for your family. "I'm still shocked to be honest, I didn't sleep last night, I was just thinking about it. Is it real, or is it just a dream? It's just unbelievable." And as he clapped eyes on his new car, and shook a bottle of Champagne he told presenter Christian Williams: "I'm a rich man now." Ali says his win will secure a future for his family | BOTB While touring his new house, Ali let Christian know that when he'd knocked on his door to surprise him he was on the phone to an estate agent, discussing buying a property. "Who's going to believe that"? He chuckled. "I was on the phone and heard the knock knock, and when I saw you I was like, is it real? I went inside, scratched myself, and thought, is he really here? Is it really happening?" Ali now has the choice of moving into the house with his family, selling it to pocket the life-changing sum, or he could rent it to give himself a handsome monthly income. BOTB also offers winners a cash alternative, which in Ali's case would be up to £610,000. The company, which specialises in giving away dream cars, is currently offering the chance to win another dream home, this time in Chichester, and the tickets are still just 99p.
Hindustan Times
05-06-2025
- Hindustan Times
Hizbul terrorist's property attached in Ramban
A Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist's property was attached in Sumbad village of Ramban district, SSP Kulbir Singh said on Tuesday. 'The property belonging to Ali Mohammed alias Ibrahim Sheikh, settled in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), was attached under Section 25 of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) by Dharamkund police station,' he added. Singh said the attached property included agricultural land measuring 1 kanal and 11 marla. The attached property has been duly recorded in the revenue record and notices prohibiting its sale or transfer have been served under the UAPA. The action was taken in connection with an FIR registered under Sections 120-B, 121-A of the IPC, and 13, 18, 20, 39 of the UAPA at the Dharamkund police station. The SSP informed that the Ramban police had recently seized properties of eight such terrorists hiding in Pakistan or PoK. 'In the coming few days, similar action will be initiated against 15 to16 such terrorists,' he added.
Shafaq News
08-04-2025
- Politics
- Shafaq News
War debris, landmines stop Syrians from returning
Shafaq News/ Landmines remain the primary obstacle preventing displaced families in Syria from returning to their homes and reviving agricultural and economic activity, the Syrian Civil Defense (White Helmets) said on Tuesday. The director of the Community Resilience Support Program Ali Mohammed told Shafaq News that the organization launched a new operational campaign titled 'Hope for the Returnees: Toward a Safe Return for the Displaced' following political changes in Syria and the collapse of the Assad regime. Hope for Returnees: Toward a Safe Return for the DisplacedA White Helmets campaign to revive areas devastated by attacks on civilians by the Syrian regime and Russia, making it safer for civilians to return by clearing roads, removing war debris, recovering the deceased, and… — The White Helmets (@SyriaCivilDef) December 5, 2024 The campaign began on January 1 in western Aleppo and eastern Idlib, expanding across other provinces based on geographic priorities, he pointed out, revealing that between December 1, 2024, and the end of February 2025, the teams reopened over 1.56 million meters of blocked roads and cleared more than 30,000 cubic meters of rubble. There are three types of road blockages across Syria. The first includes roads unintentionally closed due to airstrikes or military operations; most of these, whether primary or secondary roads, have been reopened, particularly in cities behind former frontlines in provinces like Idlib, Aleppo, Latakia, Hama, Deir ez-Zor, Daraa, Damascus, , Homs, and Quneitra, Mohammed explained. The second type involves roads sealed off with dirt berms rigged with landmines, which cannot be cleared without dedicated demining operations. The third includes roads inside urban areas closed with concrete barriers, many of which have been removed in coordination with local councils. Areas that remain difficult to access, according to the Syrian official, include northeastern and eastern Aleppo countryside—previously controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces—as well as parts of western and southern Aleppo, Idlib and Hama country sides, damaged towns in Damascus countryside, and neighborhoods in Damascus (such as Jobar and Yarmouk), Homs, Latakia, Daraa, and Deir ez-Zor. Over 600 people, including children, have been killed or injured by landmines and explosive remnants of war across Syria since December 2024, according to Human Rights Watch.
