A return of 41 goals in 46 appearances saw Mohamed Salah crowned the PFA Player of the Year on Sunday. Peter Powell / EPA
A return of 41 goals in 46 appearances saw Mohamed Salah crowned the PFA Player of the Year on Sunday. Peter Powell / EPA
A return of 41 goals in 46 appearances saw Mohamed Salah crowned the PFA Player of the Year on Sunday. Peter Powell / EPA
A return of 41 goals in 46 appearances saw Mohamed Salah crowned the PFA Player of the Year on Sunday. Peter Powell / EPA

WATCH: Mohamed Salah not expected to follow Luis Suarez and Philippe Coutinho out of Liverpool


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Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson is confident Mohamed Salah will not be lured away from Anfield in the same manner the Egyptian was tempted from Roma last year.

Salah has surpassed all expectations since his then-club record €42 million (Dh188.3m) move back to the Premier League last June and will face his old club in the first leg of Liverpool's Uefa Champions League semi-final on Tuesday.

A return of 41 goals in 46 appearances saw Salah crowned the PFA Player of the Year on Sunday.

However, unlike Liverpool stars of recent seasons such as Luis Suarez and Philippe Coutinho, who were attracted by the glamour of a move to Barcelona, Henderson hopes Salah is convinced to stay by the growing momentum at Liverpool and the belief they can compete for major trophies under Jurgen Klopp.

"He's a fantastic player, obviously he's up there with the world's best and there will be other clubs that want to take him away," Henderson said.

"But he's in a great place with a great set of lads, great team, with a great manager, going in the right direction. We want to create our own history here and I'm sure Mo will want to be part of that for many years to come."

Roma co-owner James Pallotta recognised this week that Liverpool did not even have to beat off much competition to Salah's signature, as he had only shown inconsistent flashes of his full potential in two years in the Italian capital.

Klopp is credited with finding the system to bring the best out of Salah.

And having led Liverpool back to the last four of the Champions League for the first time in a decade, Henderson said his teammates feel "privileged" to work with the German.

"He's one of the best managers in the world. First and foremost tactically it goes without question how knowledgeable he is within the game, you can see that in the performances, the style of play and how we play football," he added.

"Off the field he's a fantastic human. Very genuine, has a great passion for football and that transcends throughout the team.

"He always keeps you on your toes, always looking for more, he never wants the standards to drop no matter who we are playing. He's an amazing manager and everybody in the squad feels privileged to be working with him."

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Liverpool v Roma

Ian Hawkey: Roma set to face new Mohamed Salah in Champions League semis

PFA Awards: Salah keen to add Champions League title to Player of Year award

Richard Jolly: Salah great but Liverpool defenders left with plenty to talk about

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Roma have had to wait even longer for a European Cup semi-final with their last appearance coming 34 years ago when they beat Dundee United but went on to lose to Liverpool in the final.

The manner in which they reached the semi-finals even outshone Liverpool's 5-1 quarter-final thrashing of Premier League champions Manchester City as Roma came back from a 4-1 first leg deficit against Barcelona thanks to a 3-0 second leg victory masterminded by Roma's own impressive manager in Eusebio di Francesco.

But apart from their physical similarities, Di Francesco - who is making his debut as a manager in the Champions League this season - believes he has a long way to go to earn comparisons with Klopp.

"As Klopp mentioned there are similarities in that we both wear glasses and have a beard," he joked. "But I very much like his outlook.

"I am concerned we play a team coached by such a great manager. Klopp has proved himself, has won already titles, but I have great ambitions."

The%20specs
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UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

The Bio

Favourite vegetable: “I really like the taste of the beetroot, the potatoes and the eggplant we are producing.”

Holiday destination: “I like Paris very much, it’s a city very close to my heart.”

Book: “Das Kapital, by Karl Marx. I am not a communist, but there are a lot of lessons for the capitalist system, if you let it get out of control, and humanity.”

Musician: “I like very much Fairuz, the Lebanese singer, and the other is Umm Kulthum. Fairuz is for listening to in the morning, Umm Kulthum for the night.”

DUBAI CARNIVAL RESULTS

6.30pm Handicap US$135,000 (Turf) 2,410m

Winner Dubai Future, Harry Bentley (jockey), Saeed bin Suroor (trainer).

7.05pm UAE 1000 Guineas Listed $250,000 (Dirt) 1,600m

Winner Dubai Love, Patrick Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor.

7.40pm Dubai Dash Listed $175,000 (T) 1,000m

Winner: Equilateral, James Doyle, Charles Hills.

8.15pm Al Bastakiya Trial Conditions $100,000 (D) 1.900m

Winner Laser Show, Kevin Stott, Saeed bin Suroor.

8.50pm Al Fahidi Fort Group Two $250,000 (T) 1,400m

Winner Glorious Journey, James Doyle, Charlie Appleby.

9.25pm Handicap $135,000 (D) 2,000m

Winner George Villiers, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.

Classification of skills

A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation. 

A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.

The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000. 

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Emergency phone numbers in the UAE

Estijaba – 8001717 –  number to call to request coronavirus testing

Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111

Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre

Emirates airline – 600555555

Etihad Airways – 600555666

Ambulance – 998

Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

Desert Warrior

Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley

Director: Rupert Wyatt

Rating: 3/5

Who's who in Yemen conflict

Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government

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

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Squads

India (for first three ODIs) Kohli (capt), Rohit, Rahul, Pandey, Jadhav, Rahane, Dhoni, Pandya, Axar, Kuldeep, Chahal, Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar, Umesh, Shami.

Australia Smith (capt), Warner, Agar, Cartwright, Coulter-Nile, Cummins, Faulkner, Finch, Head, Maxwell, Richardson, Stoinis, Wade, Zampa.

South Africa squad

Faf du Plessis (captain), Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma, Quinton de Kock (wicketkeeper), Theunis de Bruyn, AB de Villiers, Dean Elgar, Heinrich Klaasen (wicketkeeper), Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Morne Morkel, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Vernon Philander and Kagiso Rabada.

SEMI-FINAL

Monterrey 1 

Funes Mori (14)

Liverpool 2

Keita (11), Firmino (90 1)

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

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh650,000

Plan to boost public schools

A major shake-up of government-run schools was rolled out across the country in 2017. Known as the Emirati School Model, it placed more emphasis on maths and science while also adding practical skills to the curriculum.

It was accompanied by the promise of a Dh5 billion investment, over six years, to pay for state-of-the-art infrastructure improvements.

Aspects of the school model will be extended to international private schools, the education minister has previously suggested.

Recent developments have also included the introduction of moral education - which public and private schools both must teach - along with reform of the exams system and tougher teacher licensing requirements.

UK’s AI plan
  • AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
  • £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
  • £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
  • £250m to train new AI models
57%20Seconds
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In numbers

Number of Chinese tourists coming to UAE in 2017 was... 1.3m

Alibaba’s new ‘Tech Town’  in Dubai is worth... $600m

China’s investment in the MIddle East in 2016 was... $29.5bn

The world’s most valuable start-up in 2018, TikTok, is valued at... $75bn

Boost to the UAE economy of 5G connectivity will be... $269bn 

The Birkin bag is made by Hermès. 
It is named after actress and singer Jane Birkin
Noone from Hermès will go on record to say how much a new Birkin costs, how long one would have to wait to get one, and how many bags are actually made each year.

Quick pearls of wisdom

Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”

Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.” 

Dr Afridi's warning signs of digital addiction

Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.

Neglecting personal, social, or academic responsibilities.

Losing interest in other activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed.

Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.

Experiencing sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns.

What are the guidelines?

Under 18 months: Avoid screen time altogether, except for video chatting with family.

Aged 18-24 months: If screens are introduced, it should be high-quality content watched with a caregiver to help the child understand what they are seeing.

Aged 2-5 years: Limit to one-hour per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing whenever possible.

Aged 6-12 years: Set consistent limits on screen time to ensure it does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or social interactions.

Teenagers: Encourage a balanced approach – screens should not replace sleep, exercise, or face-to-face socialisation.

Source: American Paediatric Association
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