Latest news with #Saudi-led


Forbes
3 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Newcastle United's Future Success Rests On Convincing Benjamin Sesko
LEIPZIG, GERMANY - SEPTEMBER 28: Benjamin Sesko of RB Leipzig celebrates scoring his team's second ... More goal during the Bundesliga match between RB Leipzig and FC Augsburg at Red Bull Arena on September 28, 2024 in Leipzig, Germany. (Photo by) Alexander Isak's prospective move from Newcastle United to Liverpool has developed into the transfer saga of the summer, yet for all the noise and bluster, nothing has actually happened as of yet. Newcastle has always maintained the Sweden striker is not for sale, and Liverpool, for all its obvious intent, hasn't made an official bid. Whatever happens, everybody must be happy to proceed, meaning Eddie Howe's team are in need of a replacement, with RB Leipzig's Benjamin Sesko the prime target. Isak has made it clear he wants to join the Premier League champions, without going public with that desire. He has been conspicuous in his absence throughout Newcastle's pre-season action, with the suggestion of a thigh injury not holding particularly strong. Since he was left out of the squad at Celtic on July 19, Howe's message on his future has softened significantly. At first he was confident he would stay beyond the closure of the window in early September; after Isak failed to board the flight for the tour of Asia and it emerged he wanted to leave on July 24, Howe said he was 'hopeful' when speaking in Singapore. On Tuesday, with Newcastle in South Korea, Howe admitted Isak's future was 'not in his full control'. Newcastle's stance has not changed, with chairman and Governor of the Saudi Arabian Public Investment, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, reportedly flying into North East England to take full control of the situation this week. But with Liverpool said to be preparing a British record bid for Isak after the sale of forward Luis Diaz to Bayern Munich, and Isak himself now fully keen to go, it may be that the topic of conversation will be agreeing to the £150m ($200m) minimum price Newcastle has always said it would take to deal. As of yet, there is no suggestion that will happen. Howe has made it clear that, whatever happens, the outcome must suit Newcastle first and foremost. While the narrative around Isak has certainly got away from the club, its position of strength remains strong. The player has three years on his contract with no buyout clause; even though he may feel some of the promises over the direction of the Saudi-led project haven't been kept, signing over his peak years without a release clause has left him in a tough spot. That is why his agent has suggested drastic action that will likely alter his legendary status on Tyneside - secured by scoring the winning goal in the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool in March - forever. Although the risks of keeping an unhappy player are clear, after Callum Wilson departed at the end of last season, Newcastle is already in need of a striker. Young William Osula has led the line in Isak's absence so far but is clearly not ready. Losing Isak without a suitable replacement would be no better than forcing him to stay against his will; at least that would offer the possibility of reintegration for one more season. LEIPZIG, GERMANY - FEBRUARY 26: Benjamin Sesko of RB Leipzig scores his team's first goal from the ... More penalty spot during the DFB Cup quarterfinal match between RB Leipzig and VfL Wolfsburg at Red Bull Arena on February 26, 2025 in Leipzig, Germany. (Photo by) Replacements have been sought, and Sesko is the most obvious fit. Like Isak when he signed for Newcastle in August 2022, the Slovenian is predicted to become a world class superstar, but needs a platform in which to shine. His 13 goals in the Bundesliga last season is a decent, but hardly spectacular return. But in a world where Isak leaves for a huge profit, Sesko, who has only just turned 22, would represent an excellent contingency plan, provided Newcastle strengthened in defence, midfield and at goalkeeper too. Southampton's Aaron Ramsdale is a target in the latter position. Interest in Sesko should get Newcastle supporters excited, despite what it would mean for Isak. The problem is, after missing out on so many top targets this summer already, the Leipzig hitman feels like a tough player to convince. It is said there is an 'gentleman's agreement' between him and the German club; if a project he deems 'special' enough presents itself, he can leave for around £75m ($100m) this summer. Sesko was reportedly far from committal around Arsenal's interest before the club signed Viktor Gyokeres, and given Newcastle's worrying lack numbers in the boardroom and clear direction, is the vision as easy to sell as it was to Isak three years ago, despite the offer of Champions League football? Manchester United's presence in the race is also concerning supporters, too, given a common theme of failure this summer has been players choosing clubs that can offer better wages and more historical success. Despite not playing in European competition at all this season, Bryan Mbeumo already opted to move to Old Trafford instead of heading to Tyneside. This week has been earmarked as crucial in the Isak saga with Sesko right at the heart of it too. Other targets such as Ollie Watkins of Aston Villa and Chelsea's Nicolas Jackson are also being considered, but a deal for Sesko is further along. He is set to choose his next step in the coming days, without having given any hints over what he wants to do, which isn't settling Newcastle nerves. Until Sesko, or anyone else, is in place at St James' Park, Isak cannot be allowed to leave Newcastle. There are plenty of people counting on that deal, but it is a tough one to secure. If he does sign, it suggests the direction of the club can still be upward; if not, with so little time until the transfer window shuts, it could be a long season.

Yahoo
7 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
What To Expect From Monday's OPEC+ Meeting
OPEC+ looks set to stay the course at Monday's Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee meeting, with four anonymous delegates telling Reuters the group is unlikely to tinker with its output policy. A fifth source said it was too early to say. The plan on the table remains: raise production by 548,000 barrels per day in August—part of a previously announced unwinding of 2.2 million bpd in voluntary cuts by eight members. At face value, it's a logical move to regain market share while summer demand props up prices. But before anyone starts pricing in those extra barrels, a note of caution: these unnamed 'sources close to the matter' have been off the mark before—and not infrequently. The group itself hasn't commented directly ahead of the meeting. And as some analysts have wisely pointed out, actual production doesn't necessarily reflect production plans. The broader signals from OPEC+ in recent months suggest a carefully calculated pivot. The Saudi-led bloc had been curbing supply for years to support prices, but now—with U.S. gasoline costs under scrutiny and Washington pressuring for more output—it's finding a new equilibrium. The UAE's early delivery of its 300,000 bpd quota boost is emblematic of this shift. Even with these planned increases, oil prices remain rangebound. Brent was hovering around $69 on Friday—not exactly bullish, but not falling apart either. That's partly because not all members have actually met their hike targets, blunting the impact of quota expansions. OPEC's own monthly outlooks paint a balanced picture. The group expects solid demand through the second half of 2025, buoyed by travel and petrochemical growth, particularly in Asia. Yet it also flags persistent uncertainty—soft economic data, slowing Chinese momentum, and EV uptake all threaten demand stability. So, while the JMMC may recommend no change on Monday, take the whispers with a dose of skepticism. As always with OPEC+, the real policy signal often arrives only when the barrels—or lack thereof—hit the water. By Julianne Geiger for More Top Reads From this article on


New York Times
24-07-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Newcastle United, Alexander Isak's wish to leave, and the challenge of being elite
Newcastle United are an elite team. They are fresh from winning a trophy in their second cup final in the space of three seasons. Over the same period, they have finished fourth, seventh and fifth in the Premier League and they are back in the Champions League, where they last played in 2023-24. Europe, competing, winning; these things are becoming their natural domain. They have an exceptional head coach and some brilliant players. Advertisement Newcastle are not an elite club. They do not have a purpose-built training ground and St James' Park is ageing. At £83.6million ($113m) in their last published accounts, their annual commercial income is dwarfed by those of the traditional 'Big Six' (Arsenal, who earned the least of them last season, still raked in £218.3m). As things stand, they have no sporting director and have not appointed a successor to Darren Eales, the chief executive, who is on medical leave while serving his notice. An elite club needs an elite team. It could also do with a strategy. These twin threads — of what it takes to be elite — snake back over two or three years, as Howe's first team has raced ahead of a club scrambling to rebuild after the inertia of the Mike Ashley era while hemmed in by the Premier League's profit and sustainability Rules (PSR). On the one hand, they have spent big since their Saudi-led takeover in 2021, but on the other, Anthony Elanga's recent arrival from Nottingham Forest came after three successive transfer windows with no first-team-ready signings. Somewhere in the middle of all that stands Alexander Isak, a player who has developed under Howe into one of the most complete forwards around, a game-changer and a match-winner who has scored 20 goals or more in consecutive Premier League seasons. If the £60m Newcastle spent on Isak in 2022 was a calculated gamble — the Sweden international had huge potential but could drift towards the periphery — it has long since paid off. This summer, Newcastle have been given a brutal education in what being elite entails. Several oven-ready players they have either targeted or approached — Bryan Mbeumo, Liam Delap, Joao Pedro and Hugo Ekitike among them — have moved to more established clubs, either in terms of history, reputation or paying power. And now, Isak, their most important and valuable asset, wishes to leave and has been omitted from their pre-season tour to Asia. Advertisement In isolation, this kind of thing can happen to any club. Isak did not grow up a Newcastle fan who dreamt of scoring in front of the Gallowgate End. As a fanbase, as a region, we yearn for people to be swept away by our beautiful madness, to get us and buy into us, and Isak has done that while becoming part of a team that has delivered a moment of immortality. Yet careers are finite and he has a right to look around and consider his options. At Liverpool, who recently expressed an interest in buying Isak for £120m, Mohamed Salah has commanded a basic weekly wage of £350,000, which The Athletic has reported was actually closer to £1m once external commercial endorsements were taken into account. Salah was the only player to score more goals than Isak in the Premier League last season, but Newcastle's highest earners are on around £150,000-a-week. In relative terms, that is not stratospheric. Away from the training ground, there has been a degree of confidence regarding Isak's position over recent months. After the shambles of a year ago, when PSR was pressing in and Newcastle sold Elliot Anderson and Yankuba Minteh to raise £60m and head off a double-figure points deduction, they no longer need to sell. With Isak having three years on his contract, they felt they were in a position of strength, although this was always dependent on the player's attitude. Discussing a new deal with Isak was always part of the plan this summer. An elite club like Liverpool could offer him £300,000-a-week, but could Newcastle? 'We aren't the biggest payers in the league, because we don't generate the most income,' Howe told reporters after Newcastle's 4-0 friendly defeat to Celtic last weekend. 'So, we have to fall in line with PSR, be very smart with what we do. We have to control the wages of the players we have.' It is not particularly helpful to point out that Newcastle have a baked-in disadvantage here, just as any upwardly mobile club does. Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), Newcastle's majority owners, have the wherewithal to pay elite salaries and elite transfer fees, but the system does not allow it, and although that system is designed to protect football from unbalanced spending, it also serves to protect those already at the top. Advertisement How do ambitious clubs circumnavigate that or compete with it? They get bigger, and in Newcastle's case, their overall revenue for the financial year 2023-24 was £320.3m, a 28 per cent year-on-year increase which Eales described as 'unprecedented growth in football.' Pretty impressive until you see what they're up against; for the same period, Manchester City's revenue was £715m, more than double. The other way is to sell, and here Newcastle are both locked in a corner and still to crack the code. Their model post-takeover has been to sell at the right time and the right place; when Bruno Guimaraes joined them in that first, manic January window, leading figures at the club speculated in private about getting a good couple of years out of him and then selling, reinvesting and going again, but that moment never happened. Desperation to avoid relegation made them spend. Injury to Callum Wilson made them spend on Isak. Qualifying for the Champions League the first time obliged them to spend again to deepen their playing pool, then a ridiculous rash of injuries mitigated against selling. Nobody touched Guimaraes for a release clause set at £100m and when the time (inevitably) came that they had no choice but to sell, it was no longer on their terms. Having trimmed their squad over the past 12 months, Newcastle have more room for manoeuvre and have been able to do very little about it, Elanga apart. Selling Isak would wipe out PSR issues for the foreseeable future, but it would weaken them in a position which they already needed reinforcements for and which is notoriously difficult and expensive to fill. This at the very moment the Champions League beckons once again. As The Athletic has reported, Newcastle are exploring a move for Benjamin Sesko, the RB Leipzig striker, in the event that Isak goes, with the caveat that this 'would be highly challenging from a financial perspective.' Plus, Isak is a guarantee of Premier League goals. As of yet, Sesko is not. At some point, Newcastle need to master the art of the deal, but nobody wants it to be Isak and nobody wants it to be now. This remains the view of the club, but it is also another thread. Older supporters are still scarred by the loss of Peter Beardsley, Chris Waddle, Paul Gascoigne and, a little later, Andy Carroll. Countless managers, including Rafa Benitez and Howe, have been paranoid about letting players go, particularly when finances have been tight, because they have never been certain about securing replacements. In spring last year, with Dan Ashworth on gardening leave prior to joining Manchester United, Amanda Staveley, then a Newcastle co-owner, stepped in to handle contract negotiations with Joelinton, the Brazil international. Staveley had previously done something similar with Guimaraes, the logjam was broken and both players signed. Since then, Staveley has gone and so, too, has Paul Mitchell, Ashworth's replacement as sporting director. Advertisement Staveley's personal touch has never been replaced – which is more important than might be imagined – and two huge positions of influence at the top of the club are currently vacant, which is sub-optimal to say the least, particularly when you want to demonstrate to your best player that he is absolutely integral and that you mean business. Who would be doing the talking, the haggling, the praising? Those positions will be filled, but relationships will be new again and the new arrivals will have their own ideas and way of working. It returns Howe to the beginning of last season when his dressing room was left unsettled by a disrupted summer and it took all of his power to turn things around. The head coach managed it back then and perhaps he will manage it again, but it does not feel sustainable. As someone close to Howe told The Athletic not too long ago, speaking anonymously to protect relationships: 'No one fully understands apart from Eddie and his staff just how difficult this season has been. Things could have gone very differently.' This notion of progress, what it looks like and how they get there is both fascinating and fraught. It would help if Newcastle could point to something tangible happening with a new stadium, or share a vision for a new training ground and say 'this is the club we are and will be,' but those big decisions have been repeatedly deferred. It would help if there were somebody to do the pointing; why must every appointment take so bloody long? It would help if they could pay big money, but how to do that without demolishing the wage bill? It would help if they sold a big player, except how does it actually help you to help a rival which is already elite? Not for the first time in living memory, albeit in very different circumstances, Newcastle the club is holding back Newcastle the team. Not for the first time, at least some of it is self-inflicted. ()


Al Bawaba
24-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Bawaba
Massive explosions shake al-Anad military base in the South of Yemen
Published July 24th, 2025 - 05:39 GMT Al-Anad Air Base is located in Lahj Governorate in southern Yemen, approximately 60 kilometers north of Aden, near Tuban District. It is considered the largest and most strategic military airbase in Yemen. ALBAWABA- A series of massive explosions erupted Thursday evening at a weapons and ammunition depot inside the Al-Anad military base in Lahj governorate, southern Yemen, triggering widespread panic among nearby residents. Also Read Thai airstrikes kill 12 Cambodians in escalating border clash According to local sources who spoke to Al-Masdar Online, the blasts were powerful enough to be heard across large parts of Taban district and surrounding areas near the base. انفجارات عنيفة في مخزن للأسلحة بمحور العند في محافظة لحجهزّت انفجارات عنيفة، مساء اليوم الخميس، مخزن أسلحة وذخائر تابعة لمحور العند العسكري في محافظة لحج، ما أثار حالة من الهلع في أوساط السكان القاطنين بالقرب من المنطقة. وقالت مصادر محلية لـ"المصدر أونلاين" إن دوي الانفجارات… — المصدر أونلاين (@almasdaronline) July 24, 2025 Witnesses reported flames and thick smoke billowing from the site, though the full extent of the damage remains unclear. As of the time of reporting, no official statement has been issued by military or security authorities regarding the cause of the explosions, and it remains unknown whether the incident was accidental or deliberate. Al-Anad Air Base is located in Lahj Governorate in southern Yemen, approximately 60 kilometers north of Aden, near Tuban District. It is considered the largest and most strategic military airbase in Yemen. The base has long served as a central hub for the Yemeni Air Force, featuring runways for fighter jets, training facilities, and maintenance infrastructure. Also Read Israel launches a new wave of airstrikes on southern Lebanon Its strategic location along the main route linking Aden to northern provinces gives it significant military and tactical importance, especially in overseeing critical areas in Lahj and Taiz. Throughout the ongoing conflict, Al-Anad has been used by Yemeni government forces and the Saudi-led coalition as a command center for military operations against Houthi forces in southern and western frontlines. The base has also been the target of multiple attacks over the years, including a high-profile drone strike in 2019 that killed and injured senior military officials. © 2000 - 2025 Al Bawaba (


Yemen Online
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Yemen Online
Angry Protests Erupt in Yemen's Taiz Over Service Collapse and Water Crisis
Taiz ــ Hundreds of residents in the southwestern city of Taiz took to the streets Thursday in one of the largest spontaneous protests in recent years, denouncing the accelerating collapse of public services and worsening economic conditions. The demonstrations, which paralyzed key roads and intersections, were sparked by a severe water shortage and the continued deterioration of essential infrastructure. Protesters chanted slogans against the Saudi-led coalition-backed government, demanding urgent intervention to address the crisis. Key Issues Driving the Unrest - Water Shortage: Residents have been left without access to clean drinking water, relying on expensive private tankers amid the collapse of the public water network. - Economic Collapse: The local currency continues to plummet, triggering soaring prices for food, fuel, and basic necessities. - Government Inaction: Protesters accused local authorities and Governor Nabil Shamsan of negligence and corruption, holding them responsible for the worsening humanitarian situation. Women Lead the Charge In a powerful show of civic engagement, women-led protests have become a recurring feature in Taiz. Demonstrators carried empty water containers and lanterns, symbolizing their daily struggle for survival. Their chants demanded dignity, accountability, and immediate solutions. Escalation and Violence Eyewitnesses reported that pro-government forces opened fire on demonstrators in an attempt to disperse the crowds, raising fears of further escalation. No official casualty figures have been released. Broader Implications The unrest in Taiz mirrors similar protests in Aden and other southern cities, highlighting the growing frustration among Yemenis over the failure of the internationally recognized government to deliver basic services. Analysts warn that continued neglect could fuel deeper instability in the region.