Former Chelsea forward Adrian Mutu has joined FC Pune City as their marquee player for the second season of the Indian Super League (ISL), the club announced on Thursday.
Managed by former England captain David Platt, the club also signed former Tottenham Hotspur and Ivory Coast midfielder Didier Zokora for the second season of the eight-team league beginning on Oct. 3.
“The commitment of the management for having me as a part of the club was one of the primary reasons for me to join,” Mutu said in a club statement.
Mutu, 36, who has played for a string of Italian clubs including Inter Milan and Juventus, was fired by Chelsea in 2004 following a positive drug test.
“This certainly will be one of the biggest challenges of my career so far and I look forward to it,” he said.
“The team has gathered some quality signings from India as well as abroad and excellent backroom staff will make us an exciting side.”
Platt said he was looking forward to working with the player.
“Adrian has experience at the highest level and a professional motivation to succeed,” said the former midfielder.
“I’ve admired him from afar for some years and am very excited at the prospect of us working together for the benefit of FC Pune City.”
The ISL got off to a rousing start last year with Brazilian Zico headlining the managers’ list and its marquee players including Italian duo Alessandro Del Piero and Marco Materazzi, and Frenchman Nicholas Anelka.
Zico has returned for his second year at FC Goa, who also signed former Bayern Munich defender Lucio as their marquee player.
Anelka has returned to Mumbai FC while former Brazil and Real Madrid defender Roberto Carlos has joined Delhi as their marquee player and manager.
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From Europe to the Middle East, economic success brings wealth - and lifestyle diseases
A rise in obesity figures and the need for more public spending is a familiar trend in the developing world as western lifestyles are adopted.
One in five deaths around the world is now caused by bad diet, with obesity the fastest growing global risk. A high body mass index is also the top cause of metabolic diseases relating to death and disability in Kuwait, Qatar and Oman – and second on the list in Bahrain.
In Britain, heart disease, lung cancer and Alzheimer’s remain among the leading causes of death, and people there are spending more time suffering from health problems.
The UK is expected to spend $421.4 billion on healthcare by 2040, up from $239.3 billion in 2014.
And development assistance for health is talking about the financial aid given to governments to support social, environmental development of developing countries.
Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
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Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
THE SPECS
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Power: 420kW
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Transmission: 8-speed automatic
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Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
