Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, the chief executive of Bayern Munich, did not mind announcing he had spoken to Napoli's predident, Aurelio De Laurentiis, and given an assurance. "I told him he has nothing to worry about, as a far as Bayern playing their best against Manchester City is concerned."
Napoli may not even need favours from Bayern tonight. As long as they defeat Villarreal, they will finish runners-up to the German team in Group A and progress with Bayern to the next round. Should they only draw in Spain, then a City win against Bayern would propel the English club above the Italians. The slim hope in Manchester is that Villareal, out of contention, play with freedom and a verve they have been missing most of this season and that the Germans ease up.
Ease up? No chance, insist Bayern's players. Daniel Van Buyten, once of City, pointed out after the weekend's 4-1 win against Werder Bremen had reinforced Bayern's position at the top of the Bundesliga, that "it wouldn't be bad thing at all to get City out of the competition. They'd be a hard potential opponent for us later on."
"We'll play our own game and that will be tough for them," added Thomas Muller, who insists, ominously for City, that the fact he is suffering a cold should not stop him playing a part. Arjen Robben, now back from injury, is likely to start and having received a ticking-off from executive president Uli Hoeness about the selfishness of some of his recent football, has a point to make.
So does Rummenigge. What he and De Laurentiis have in common is a history of criticising City for the money their Abu Dhabi owner spends. They may just be envious; they say they prefer their own economic models. They both want to enter the new year without worrying about any damage City's wealth might directly inflict on them.
sports@thenational.ae
The%20Killer
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Stamp duty timeline
December 2014: Former UK finance minister George Osbourne reforms stamp duty, replacing the slab system with a blended rate scheme, with the top rate increasing to 12 per cent from 10 per cent:
Up to £125,000 - 0%; £125,000 to £250,000 – 2%; £250,000 to £925,000 – 5%; £925,000 to £1.5m: 10%; Over £1.5m – 12%
April 2016: New 3% surcharge applied to any buy-to-let properties or additional homes purchased.
July 2020: Rishi Sunak unveils SDLT holiday, with no tax to pay on the first £500,000, with buyers saving up to £15,000.
March 2021: Mr Sunak decides the fate of SDLT holiday at his March 3 budget, with expectations he will extend the perk unti June.
April 2021: 2% SDLT surcharge added to property transactions made by overseas buyers.
FORSPOKEN
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Starfield
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Water waste
In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.
Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.
A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.
The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
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Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup – Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
The story of Edge
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, established Edge in 2019.
It brought together 25 state-owned and independent companies specialising in weapons systems, cyber protection and electronic warfare.
Edge has an annual revenue of $5 billion and employs more than 12,000 people.
Some of the companies include Nimr, a maker of armoured vehicles, Caracal, which manufactures guns and ammunitions company, Lahab
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