Following Friday's draw for the semi-finals of the Uefa Champions League, here is an analysis of the two ties and a prediction on who will make it through to the final in Kiev on May 26.
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
This is the fourth time in the past seven tournaments that the sides have met in the semi-final stages.
Bayern prevailed in 2012 in a penalty shoot-out, but in both 2014 and last year it was Real who prevailed and they look well poised to make it a hat-trick this time around.
Cristiano Ronaldo was the hero 12 months ago, netting five times over the two legs in the 6-3 aggregate win, and after his heroics against Juventus in the quarter-finals he will be the man to carry the hopes of Zinedine Zidane's side.
Bayern are the last side to have won the European Cup three years in a row, a feat achieved between 1974 and 1976.
Real are on course to match that, having won the past tournaments, and it would be fitting if they conquered the last side to achieve the feat on their way to making it three on the trot.
Ronaldo is in terrific form and could well be the difference maker.
Bayern have won the Bundesliga at a canter, but they were not convincing in defeating Sevilla in their quarter-final tie.
Given Real's quality, and the fact they have found their form at the right time, it is hard not to see Real reaching a fourth final in five years.
Prediction Real Madrid to prevail
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Read more
Liverpool take on Roma and Real Madrid face Bayern Munich: Uefa Champions League draw
Mohamed Salah and Liverpool thrash Bournemouth: Premier League predictions
Arsenal face Atletico Madrid in Europa League semi-finals
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Liverpool v Roma
Mohamed Salah has been one of the best signings of the season as he has galvanised Liverpool's offensive line-up and his goals helped upset Manchester City in the quarter-finals.
He now faces Roma, the club he joined Liverpool from in the summer, and it will be an interesting test for the Egyptian as he goes up against opponents who will be more than familiar with his skills.
Roma will not be overawed by the prospect of Liverpool, given their sensational comeback to defeat Barcelona in the quarter-finals.
This is a rematch of the 1984 European Cup final where Liverpool won the fourth of their five titles in the competition, triumphing after a penalty shoot-out. Rome was also the scene of Liverpool's first European Cup win in 1977 when they beat Borussia Monchengladbach 3-1 in the final.
All attention will be on Salah this time around but Liverpool are more than one player, and in Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane they have the quality to progress to their first final since 2007.
Prediction Liverpool triumph
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From exhibitions to the battlefield
In 2016, the Shaded Dome was awarded with the 'De Vernufteling' people's choice award, an annual prize by the Dutch Association of Consulting Engineers and the Royal Netherlands Society of Engineers for the most innovative project by a Dutch engineering firm.
It was assigned by the Dutch Ministry of Defence to modify the Shaded Dome to make it suitable for ballistic protection. Royal HaskoningDHV, one of the companies which designed the dome, is an independent international engineering and project management consultancy, leading the way in sustainable development and innovation.
It is driving positive change through innovation and technology, helping use resources more efficiently.
It aims to minimise the impact on the environment by leading by example in its projects in sustainable development and innovation, to become part of the solution to a more sustainable society now and into the future.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The results of the first round are as follows:
Qais Saied (Independent): 18.4 per cent
Nabil Karoui (Qalb Tounes): 15.58 per cent
Abdelfattah Mourou (Ennahdha party): 12.88 per cent
Abdelkarim Zbidi (two-time defence minister backed by Nidaa Tounes party): 10.7 per cent
Youssef Chahed (former prime minister, leader of Long Live Tunisia): 7.3 per cent
Lexus LX700h specs
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Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
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Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
Silent Hill f
Publisher: Konami
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Rating: 4.5/5
WHAT IS GRAPHENE?
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were experimenting with sticky tape and graphite, the material used as lead in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But when they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics.
In Full Flight: A Story of Africa and Atonement
John Heminway, Knopff
Pearls on a Branch: Oral Tales
Najlaa Khoury, Archipelago Books
Ready Player One
Dir: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, Mark Rylance
Start-up hopes to end Japan's love affair with cash
Across most of Asia, people pay for taxi rides, restaurant meals and merchandise with smartphone-readable barcodes — except in Japan, where cash still rules. Now, as the country’s biggest web companies race to dominate the payments market, one Tokyo-based startup says it has a fighting chance to win with its QR app.
Origami had a head start when it introduced a QR-code payment service in late 2015 and has since signed up fast-food chain KFC, Tokyo’s largest cab company Nihon Kotsu and convenience store operator Lawson. The company raised $66 million in September to expand nationwide and plans to more than double its staff of about 100 employees, says founder Yoshiki Yasui.
Origami is betting that stores, which until now relied on direct mail and email newsletters, will pay for the ability to reach customers on their smartphones. For example, a hair salon using Origami’s payment app would be able to send a message to past customers with a coupon for their next haircut.
Quick Response codes, the dotted squares that can be read by smartphone cameras, were invented in the 1990s by a unit of Toyota Motor to track automotive parts. But when the Japanese pioneered digital payments almost two decades ago with contactless cards for train fares, they chose the so-called near-field communications technology. The high cost of rolling out NFC payments, convenient ATMs and a culture where lost wallets are often returned have all been cited as reasons why cash remains king in the archipelago. In China, however, QR codes dominate.
Cashless payments, which includes credit cards, accounted for just 20 per cent of total consumer spending in Japan during 2016, compared with 60 per cent in China and 89 per cent in South Korea, according to a report by the Bank of Japan.
India cancels school-leaving examinations
Honeymoonish
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BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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