Marmoush’s Man City move sparks excitement in Egypt

Marmoush’s Man City move sparks excitement in Egypt
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In a packed cafe in Cairo, all eyes were glued to a flickering flat-screen TV, waiting for Omar Marmoush, now donning Manchester City's sky-blue jersey, to step onto the pitch. In the 84th minute, the Egyptian forward finally jogged to the sideline, ready to make his UEFA Champions League debut against Real Madrid. (AFP)
Marmoush’s Man City move sparks excitement in Egypt
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City's Bernardo Silva, Manchester City's Josko Gvardiol and Manchester City's Omar Marmoush look dejected after the match (Reuters)
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Updated 12 February 2025
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Marmoush’s Man City move sparks excitement in Egypt

Marmoush’s Man City move sparks excitement in Egypt

CAIRO: In a packed cafe in Cairo, all eyes were glued to a flickering flat-screen TV, waiting for Omar Marmoush, now donning Manchester City’s sky-blue jersey, to step onto the pitch.
In the 84th minute, the Egyptian forward finally jogged to the sideline, ready to make his UEFA Champions League debut against Real Madrid.
The cafe erupted with cheers and hands banging on tables, and even longtime Madrid fans joined in to celebrate one of their own.
The Spanish side ended up winning 3-2, but at the Cairo cafe, the result did not diminish the love for Marmoush.
“I came today just to see him,” said Abdel Rahman Tarek, a 25-year-old fan.
“Marmoush playing in Manchester City. That is huge,” he told AFP, his face beaming with pride.
While his appearance ended up being just minutes-long, Marmoush’s high-profile move to City has sparked nationwide buzz.
From heated debates in cafes to trending discussions on social media, his name is being celebrated alongside Mohamed Salah’s, Egypt’s football megastar.
Manchester City, battling even to qualify for next season’s Champions League, is banking on 26-year-old Marmoush to inject fresh energy.
Marmoush joined from Eintracht Frankfurt on a four-and-a-half-year deal worth around £59 million ($73 million).
His arrival comes at a testing time for City, who are trailing league leaders Liverpool by 15 points.
Coach Pep Guardiola said following his debut in a 3-1 victory over Chelsea that he was “really pleased” with Marmoush’s performance so far, but the player will need time to settle in.
“His real impact could come next season once he fully integrates into the squad and Guardiola refines his role within the team,” Egyptian sports analyst Khaled Talaat told AFP.
Born to an Egyptian-Canadian couple, Marmoush started out at Cairo’s Wadi Degla club.
Ahmed Hossam, popularly known as “Mido,” a former Egypt and Tottenham Hotspur striker who coached Degla’s first team in 2016, saw the potential.
“Marmoush will be the surprise of Egyptian football,” Mido said in 2016.
The forward moved to Germany at a young age, playing for VfL Wolfsburg and developing his skills in the Bundesliga with Stuttgart and Eintracht Frankfurt before earning his big break with Manchester City.
His blockbuster move has inevitably drawn comparisons to Salah, who is enjoying another stellar season at Liverpool, netting 21 goals in 23 league appearances.
His journey from Nagrig, a village in Egypt’s Nile Delta area of Gharbiya, to global stardom at Anfield has inspired millions.
His rise is a classic underdog story — he started at Egypt’s El Mokawloon before moving to Switzerland’s Basel.
A tough spell at Chelsea followed before he found his form at Italy’s AS Roma, ultimately becoming one of the greatest players in Premier League history with Liverpool.
Pundits said it would be “unfair to compare” Marmoush to Salah just yet, though he has already shown great promise.
“Salah had to fight for playing time with Chelsea when he first arrived in England whereas Marmoush has already started matches with City, showing that Guardiola sees potential in him,” said Talaat.
But even Salah has urged caution, warning last year that such comparisons could create unnecessary pressure.
“Let him live his own experience and enjoy it,” Salah said at a November book fair in the UAE.
Marmoush agrees.
“Salah is the best player in Egypt’s history,” he said on a TV show last month.
“But I don’t want to be the next Mo Salah. I want to be Omar Marmoush and create my own story.”
Beyond their career trajectories, their playing styles also set them apart.
Salah is renowned for his blistering pace, lethal finishing and ability to turn matches around.
Marmoush is more versatile — comfortable playing across the forward line and adept at linking up play in midfield.
“The two players are fundamentally different on the pitch,” said Ahmed Owais, a football pundit.
“Salah is a fighter with incredible speed and finishing... Marmoush, on the other hand, is more skilful in tight spaces, has quick feet, and excels in dead-ball situations.”
Salah has set a nearly impossible standard, and pundits believe that once City regains its rhythm, Marmoush could be in a stronger position to shine.
In the Cairo cafe, some fans were ready to anoint Marmoush as Egypt’s next great footballing export, while others insisted there was only one king.
For Yassin Ahmed, 19, support, not comparisons, is what matters now.
“He deserves our backing,” he said. “He is one of us, a special talent and we need to give him time.”


Arrests follow mass protests in defiance of Turkiye’s Erdogan

Arrests follow mass protests in defiance of Turkiye’s Erdogan
Updated 17 min 4 sec ago
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Arrests follow mass protests in defiance of Turkiye’s Erdogan

Arrests follow mass protests in defiance of Turkiye’s Erdogan
  • Imamoglu was to appear before prosecutors Saturday in graft and terror probes
  • The 53-year-old Istanbul mayor was arrested just days before the CHP was to name him their candidate for the 2028 presidential race

ISTANBUL: After his third night in custody, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was to appear before prosecutors Saturday, just hours after hundreds of thousands hit the streets across Turkiye in a massive show of defiance.
It was the third straight night that protesters had rallied against the arrest of Imamoglu — the biggest political rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose arrest early Wednesday sparked Turkiye’s biggest street protests in more than a decade.
After an evening of clashes in Istanbul, Ankara and the western city of Izmir between protesters and riot police, who fired tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannon to disperse them, the security forces arrested 97 people, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said.
And media reports said police had raided scores of homes overnight, although there was no immediate confirmation of the number detained.
The 53-year-old mayor, who was arrested just days before the CHP was to name him their candidate for the 2028 presidential race, was speaking to police on Saturday morning in connection with the “terror” probe, party sources told AFP.
He was then expected to appear before prosecutors at Caglayan courthouse at 1800 GMT to be questioned in both the graft and the terror probes, they said.
Already named in a growing list of legal probes, Imamoglu — who was resoundingly re-elected last year — has been accused alongside six others of “aiding and abetting a terrorist organization” — namely the banned Kurdish militant group PKK.
He is also under investigation for “bribery, extortion, corruption, aggravated fraud, and illegally obtaining personal data for profit as part of a criminal organization” along with 99 other suspects.
He was questioned by police for six hours Friday about the graft allegations, the party said.
“Mr Imamoglu denies all the charges against him,” one of his lawyers, Mehmet Pehlivan said.
“The detention was aimed at undermining Mr.Imamoglu’s reputation in the eyes of society,” he wrote on X early on Saturday, saying both probes were “based on untrue allegations” and “a violation of the right to a fair trial.”
Demonstrators across the country were due to rally again on Saturday night.
In a message on X sent via his lawyers, Imamoglu said he was “honored and proud” of the demonstrators who hit the streets in more than 50 of Turkiye’s 81 provinces, saying they were “protecting our republic, our democracy, the future of a just Turkiye, and the will of our nation.”
Addressing the crowds outside City Hall in Istanbul on Friday night, Ozgur Ozel, who heads the main opposition CHP, said 300,000 people had joined the demonstration in defiance of a protest ban and a sharp warning from Erdogan that Turkiye would not tolerate “street terror.”
As he spoke, the crowd cheered and applauded, waving flags and banners and chanting slogans like: “Don’t stay silent or it will be you next.”
The move against Imamoglu has hurt the Turkish lira and financial markets, with the stock exchange’s BIST 100 index closing down nearly eight percent on Friday.


Last of six foreign hikers missing in Philippines rescued

Last of six foreign hikers missing in Philippines rescued
Updated 32 min 28 sec ago
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Last of six foreign hikers missing in Philippines rescued

Last of six foreign hikers missing in Philippines rescued
  • Four foreign hikers who had been missing for days in a mountainous area of the central Philippines were rescued Saturday, local authorities said, a day after their two companions were found safe

MANILA: Four foreign hikers who had been missing for days in a mountainous area of the central Philippines were rescued Saturday, local authorities said, a day after their two companions were found safe.
The six-man group, which included German, British, Russian and Canadian nationals, had set out on Wednesday for what was to be a four-hour excursion in an area of Negros Oriental province officials said was hit by a downpour.
“The army rescuers found them in the vicinity of the Silab hydropower plant,” said Jose Lawrence Silorio, a rescue official in the municipality of Amlan, near the province’s Balinsasayao Twin Lakes Natural Park.
Police identified the men as Germans Aldwin Fink, 60, and Wolfgang Schlenker, 67; Russian Anton Chernov, 38; and 50-year-old Canadian Terry De Gunten.
Philippine Army personnel found the hikers in a mountainous area thick with vegetation, said investigator Leo Gil Villafranca.
“They told the army they got lost due to the fog,” he said, adding all the hikers were residents of the province.
The four were discovered at 9:44 am (0144 GMT), according to local authorities.
“Overall, they are OK, but they had minor abrasions. We wrapped one of them in a blanket because he was feeling cold. But he was eventually able to stand up on his own,” Silorio said.
“They told us they survived by eating edible plants in the forest,” he added.
Silorio said the group was found about 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) from where fellow hikers Torsten Martin Groschupp, 58, and Alexander Radvanyi, 63, were discovered Friday morning.
An image posted to a police Facebook page showed De Gunten, his legs bloodied, talking to rescuers inside an ambulance while Chernov lay on a stretcher wrapped in a blanket.
Police said Friday that the weather had likely played a role in the group’s becoming lost on what they said was a “difficult” trail in a mountainous area the men were tackling without a guide.
“It was rainy at the time and that led to zero visibility,” said Valencia police officer Henry Japay, adding there was no cell phone reception in the area.
“There’s a big possibility that they stopped and took shelter when it started raining.”


Saudi national football team arrives in Japan for World Cup qualifiers

Saudi national football team arrives in Japan for World Cup qualifiers
Updated 38 min 57 sec ago
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Saudi national football team arrives in Japan for World Cup qualifiers

Saudi national football team arrives in Japan for World Cup qualifiers

The Saudi national football team arrived in Japan on Friday ahead of the team’s match for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. 

The match between Saudi Arabia and Japan will take place on Tuesday at the Saitama Stadium 2002 and is part of the seventh round of the Asian qualifiers for the World Cup. 

The team was greeted by Saudi Deputy Ambassador to Japan Anas Al-Nuwaiser and several embassy staff members on arriving at Japan’s Narita International Airport. 

On Thursday, Japan became the first team to qualify for the World Cup after winning 2-0 against Bahrain, followed by Saudi Arabia after defeating China 1-0. 


Piastri on Chinese GP pole after Hamilton takes first Ferrari win in sprint

Piastri on Chinese GP pole after Hamilton takes first Ferrari win in sprint
Updated 41 min ago
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Piastri on Chinese GP pole after Hamilton takes first Ferrari win in sprint

Piastri on Chinese GP pole after Hamilton takes first Ferrari win in sprint
  • McLaren’s Oscar Piastri stormed to his first-ever pole position on Saturday at the Chinese Grand Prix ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell, after Lewis Hamilton won the sprint race

SHANGHAI: McLaren’s Oscar Piastri stormed to his first-ever pole position on Saturday at the Chinese Grand Prix ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell, after Lewis Hamilton won the sprint race.
The second row for Sunday’s main race will be filled by Piastri’s teammate Lando Norris and world champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull.
Hamilton will start in fifth after taking his maiden victory for Ferrari in the morning sprint in Shanghai.
Alongside him on the third row will be teammate Charles Leclerc with Isack Hadjar, Kimi Antonelli, Yuki Tsunoda and Alex Albon completing the top 10.
“I found a lot of pace in Q3,” said the Australian Piastri.
“The laps were a little bit scruffy but I’m just pumped to be on pole.”
Piastri, who was second in the sprint, said it would be important to get away in front at the start of Sunday’s 56-lap race where preserving tires could be a key factor.
“I want to make sure I keep the clean air. I was pretty happy after the sprint,” he said.
“I feel like we learned a lot and I’m looking forward to putting that into use tomorrow.”
Russell was ecstatic to get on the front row alongside Piastri.
“Feels incredible to be honest,” said the Englishman.
“Did something totally different on that last lap and it all came together.”
Norris finally found some pace after coming eighth in the sprint.
“I’m always disappointed if I’m not on pole but Oscar deserves it today,” said Norris, who won the season-opener in Melbourne last week.
Hamilton earlier savoured a “really special” first victory in Ferrari red after winning the sprint race in dominant fashion.
The seven-time world champion controlled the race from pole position to add a sprint victory to his record six grands prix triumphs in Shanghai.
He took the chequered flag 6.889 seconds ahead of Piastri with Verstappen third.
Hamilton emerged from his car after the finish line to a crescendo of cheers from the massed fans, who unfurled huge banners displaying his number 44.


“That is a really, really special weekend so far,” the 40-year-old Englishman told reporters.
“China and Shanghai has always been really good to me since my first race here back in 2007. It’s a track that I really do love driving on.
“It’s hard to put into words what it feels like.”
Hamilton used his vast experience to take advantage of the clean air at the front of the pack and nurse his tires over 19 laps.
“I think it is generally pretty close between all of us,” said Hamilton.
“I was just trying to manage (the tires) early on and then the last, like, five laps or something, I was in a really comfortable position.”
Verstappen pressured Hamilton in the first half of the race but suffered later on cooked rubber enabling Piastri to swoop past with five laps to go.
“Unfortunately the last eight laps we didn’t have the pace of the others so I was trying to survive out there,” said Verstappen, who won both the sprint and main race in China last year.
In grand prix qualifying, rookie Liam Lawson continued his terrible start to life at Red Bull after crashing in Melbourne and coming last in sprint qualifying.
The New Zealander failed to hook up his qualifying tires and trailed in 20th on the time sheets and will start from the back of the grid for a second successive time.
“It’s just really tough, honestly,” said a disappointed Lawson. “I just need to get on top of it.”
Esteban Ocon was 11th and joined by Nico Hulkenberg, Fernando Alonso, Lance Stroll and 15th fastest Carlos Sainz in not making the top 10 shootout from Q2.
Also eliminated from Q1 were Pierre Gasly and Lawson’s fellow rookies Oliver Bearman, Jack Doohan and Gabriel Bortoleto.


US revokes legal status for 500,000 immigrants

US revokes legal status for 500,000 immigrants
Updated 58 min 2 sec ago
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US revokes legal status for 500,000 immigrants

US revokes legal status for 500,000 immigrants
  • Trump has pledged to carry out the largest deportation campaign in US history and curb immigration, mainly from Latin American nations

WASHINGTON: The United States said Friday it was terminating the legal status of hundreds of thousands of immigrants, giving them weeks to leave the country.
President Donald Trump has pledged to carry out the largest deportation campaign in US history and curb immigration, mainly from Latin American nations.
The order affects around 532,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans who came to the United States under a scheme launched in October 2022 by Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden and expanded in January the following year.
They will lose their legal protection 30 days after the Department of Homeland Security’s order is published in the Federal Register, which is scheduled Tuesday.
That means immigrants sponsored by the program “must depart the United States” by April 24 unless they have secured another immigration status allowing them to remain in the country, the order says.
Welcome.US, which supports people seeking refuge in the United States, urged those affected by the move to “immediately” seek advice from an immigration lawyer.
The Processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans (CHNV) program, announced in January 2023, allowed entry to the United States for two years for up to 30,000 migrants per month from the four countries, which have grim human rights records.
Biden touted the plan as a “safe and humane” way to ease pressure on the crowded US-Mexico border.
But the Department of Homeland Security stressed Friday that the scheme was “temporary.”
“Parole is inherently temporary, and parole alone is not an underlying basis for obtaining any immigration status, nor does it constitute an admission to the United States,” it said in the order.
Nicolette Glazer, an immigration lawyer in California, said the order would affect the “vast majority” of the half a million immigrants who entered the United States under the CHNV scheme.
“Only 75,000 affirmative asylum applications were filed, so the vast majority of the CHNV parolees will find themselves without status, work permits, and subject to removal,” she posted on X.
“The chaos will be unreal.”
Trump last weekend invoked rare wartime legislation to fly more than 200 alleged members of a Venezuelan gang to El Salvador, which has offered to imprison migrants and even US citizens at a discount.
More than seven million Venezuelans have fled their country over the last decade as the oil-rich country’s economy implodes under leftist leader Nicolas Maduro, a bugbear of Washington who has faced major sanctions.