Romelu Lukaku's club record move to Inter Milan from Manchester United was the headline deal of a typically busy final day of the Premier League's summer transfer window on Thursday.
After weeks of protracted negotiations, the 26-year-old Belgian striker completed a deal reported to be worth £74 million (Dh330m), making him the third most expensive player in Italian football history, behind only Juventus forwards Cristiano Ronaldo and Gonzalo Higuain.
"Inter were the only club I wanted, because Inter is Not For Everyone. I’m here to bring the Nerazzurri back to the top," Lukaku, who signed a five-year contract, said referring to the San Siro club's slogan.
Lukaku joined United in 2017 for £75m and went on to score 42 goals in 96 games. He scored 15 goals in 45 appearances last season, but fell behind Marcus Rashford in the pecking order following Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's arrival as manager.
While the Belgian was no longer considered first-choice, his exit has left United with a shortage of forward options after the Premier League club opted not to make any new signings on deadline day.
Croatian World Cup finalist Mario Mandzukic was linked with a move to Old Trafford, but after tentative talks, United opted not to pursue a deal for the 33-year-old Juventus player.
United were also reportedly interested in former Tottenham Hotspur target man Fernando Llorente, but ultimately nothing materialised.
Llorente's old club proved to be one of the busiest on Thursday after Spurs completed the signings of England under-21 full-back Ryan Sessegnon and Argentina midfielder Giovani Lo Celso.
Sessegnon was signed from Championship side Fulham for a reported £25m and the 19-year-old has signed a five-year contract with the option of a sixth year, while Lo Celso joined on loan from Real Betis with the option of a permanent move at the end of the season.
"I can't wait to get started at Spurs," Sessegnon said in his introduction video. "It's a young team, an exciting team on the up. This is the place to be."
However, one deal that did not go through for Tottenham was for Juventus forward Paulo Dybala. The 25-year-old Argentine looked set to move to the Champions League finalists after the two clubs agreed on a fee of €70m (Dh288.2m), only for the deal to fall through over personal terms and image rights.
Across North London, Arsenal landed long-term target Kieran Tierney from Celtic, the left-back signing a"long-term deal" after the Scottish champions accepted a £25m transfer fee.
“We’re delighted Kieran is joining us," Arsenal manager Unai Emery said. "He’s a very talented player who will continue to improve. He increases our options defensively and I look forward to him joining our group.”
Newcastle United managed to complete two signings on Thursday, with the return of Andy Carroll to his boyhood club giving fans reason to celebrate. The England international endured an injury-hit six years at West Ham United and has moved to St James' Park on a one-year contract.
“I enjoyed the time I spent here, and hopefully I can carry on where I left off," Carroll said. "When I left eight-and-a-half years ago, I was scoring goals and I was enjoying my football. It’s been a pretty tough time since then, and I just want to get back to that.
“I know it’s home. I’ve played here, I’ve spoken to the fans – I am a fan – and my family is here. For me to get back to where I was, I think this is the only place for me.”
Newcastle also signed Sweden international full-back Emil Krafth from Amiens on a four-year deal.
Elsewhere, Leicester City pushed it fine but got a deal over the line for midfielder Dennis Praet, signing the Belgian midfielder from Sampdoria for a reported £18m and on a four-year contract.
Meanwhile, Chelsea midfielder Danny Drinkwater secured a loan move to Burnley, while Aaron Mooy joined Brighton & Hove Albion for the season from Huddersfield Town.
Sour%20Grapes
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RESULT
Bayer Leverkusen 2 Bayern Munich 4
Leverkusen: Alario (9'), Wirtz (89')
Bayern: Coman (27'), Goretzka (42'), Gnabry (45'), Lewandowski (66')
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size
1.
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United States
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2.
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China
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3.
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UAE
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4.
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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6.
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Canada
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7.
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Singapore
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8.
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Australia
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9.
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
MEDIEVIL%20(1998)
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Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
If%20you%20go
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Scoreline
Liverpool 4
Oxlade-Chamberlain 9', Firmino 59', Mane 61', Salah 68'
Manchester City 3
Sane 40', Bernardo Silva 84', Gundogan 90' 1
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5