'It's our time' - Mohamed Salah ready to party as Liverpool move to brink of the title - in pictures


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Mohamed Salah is preparing for Liverpool's title party after scoring in a 4-0 thrashing of Crystal Palace  to move to the brink of winning the top-flight for the first time in 30 years.

Liverpool will be champions on Thursday if Manchester City do not win at Chelsea, or by avoiding defeat when they travel to City on July 2.

"Two points to go to win the league, it's great," said Salah. "I feel great. Since I came here I said I want to win the Premier League. The city did not win it for a long time.

"Last year we had a chance but Man City also played really well and deserved it. It's our time to win the league."

Trent Alexander-Arnold opened the floodgates with a brilliant free-kick as Liverpool looked far slicker than in a 0-0 draw at Everton on Sunday in their first match for three months.

Salah doubled the hosts' advantage just before half-time and goals from Fabinho and Sadio Mane after the break rounded off a fine team performance despite the eery atmosphere of an empty Anfield.

"For the first game back at Anfield, it couldn't have gone any better," said Alexander-Arnold.

Jurgen Klopp lamented the fact no fans were in the stands to witness one of his side's best displays of the season.

"Imagine how this stadium would have been full today and all the people would have experienced that live," said Klopp. "I don't think the game would have been any better."

But the German hailed his players ability to motivate themselves without a crowd.

"This today was a reaction (from the Everton match), I liked it a lot. 4-0 up, 87th minute and four players are chasing one poor Crystal Palace player like it is the only ball in the world," added Klopp.

"Wonderful result, wonderful game. It was important we showed our supporters we are still here.

"Tonight was a big step, that's clear. We've all still got to play seven games. If we play like this it's really not nice to play against us."

City boss Pep Guardiola said on Wednesday his priority is Sunday's FA Cup quarter-final rather than prolonging Liverpool's wait and he could rest players for a trip to Newcastle at the weekend.

"Pep should play poker," added Klopp. "They are brilliant, the football they play is unbelievable.

"We are different and we have to be. There are different ways of playing football and I like them both."

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Stars: Robert Downey Jr, Michael Sheen

One-and-a-half out of five stars

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Tips to avoid getting scammed

1) Beware of cheques presented late on Thursday

2) Visit an RTA centre to change registration only after receiving payment

3) Be aware of people asking to test drive the car alone

4) Try not to close the sale at night

5) Don't be rushed into a sale 

6) Call 901 if you see any suspicious behaviour

The five stages of early child’s play

From Dubai-based clinical psychologist Daniella Salazar:

1. Solitary Play: This is where Infants and toddlers start to play on their own without seeming to notice the people around them. This is the beginning of play.

2. Onlooker play: This occurs where the toddler enjoys watching other people play. There doesn’t necessarily need to be any effort to begin play. They are learning how to imitate behaviours from others. This type of play may also appear in children who are more shy and introverted.

3. Parallel Play: This generally starts when children begin playing side-by-side without any interaction. Even though they aren’t physically interacting they are paying attention to each other. This is the beginning of the desire to be with other children.

4. Associative Play: At around age four or five, children become more interested in each other than in toys and begin to interact more. In this stage children start asking questions and talking about the different activities they are engaging in. They realise they have similar goals in play such as building a tower or playing with cars.

5. Social Play: In this stage children are starting to socialise more. They begin to share ideas and follow certain rules in a game. They slowly learn the definition of teamwork. They get to engage in basic social skills and interests begin to lead social interactions.

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Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council

Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south

Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory

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TOURNAMENT INFO

Fixtures
Sunday January 5 - Oman v UAE
Monday January 6 - UAE v Namibia
Wednesday January 8 - Oman v Namibia
Thursday January 9 - Oman v UAE
Saturday January 11 - UAE v Namibia
Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia

UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Waheed Ahmed, Zawar Farid, Darius D’Silva, Karthik Meiyappan, Jonathan Figy, Vriitya Aravind, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Basil Hameed, Chirag Suri

The alternatives

• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.

• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.

• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.

2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.

• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases -  but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.