Four-time World Player of the Year Lionel Messi missed training on Monday due to "personal reasons", Barcelona have confirmed.
“Messi hasn’t trained today, with the permission of the club, due to personal reasons,” Barca said in a statement.
The Argentine continued his fine form with the winning goal as Barca came from behind twice to beat Villarreal 3-2 on Sunday.
Yet, it is just over a month since Messi missed another training session in front of the club’s fans, claiming to be suffering from gastroenteritis, a day after he had been left on the bench for Barca’s 1-0 defeat at Real Sociedad.
His absence on that occasion sparked a mini-crisis at the club as speculation grew over coach Luis Enrique’s future due to his frosty relationship with his star player.
However, since then Barca have strung together eight straight victories to move into the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey and remain just a point adrift of La Liga leaders Real Madrid.
Barca aren’t in action again until Sunday when they travel to face Athletic Bilbao, so Enrique has given all of his squad Tuesday and Wednesday off ahead of a return to training on Thursday.
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Company%20Profile
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Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
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Five hymns the crowds can join in
Papal Mass will begin at 10.30am at the Zayed Sports City Stadium on Tuesday
Some 17 hymns will be sung by a 120-strong UAE choir
Five hymns will be rehearsed with crowds on Tuesday morning before the Pope arrives at stadium
‘Christ be our Light’ as the entrance song
‘All that I am’ for the offertory or during the symbolic offering of gifts at the altar
‘Make me a Channel of your Peace’ and ‘Soul of my Saviour’ for the communion
‘Tell out my Soul’ as the final hymn after the blessings from the Pope
The choir will also sing the hymn ‘Legions of Heaven’ in Arabic as ‘Assakiroo Sama’
There are 15 Arabic speakers from Syria, Lebanon and Jordan in the choir that comprises residents from the Philippines, India, France, Italy, America, Netherlands, Armenia and Indonesia
The choir will be accompanied by a brass ensemble and an organ
They will practice for the first time at the stadium on the eve of the public mass on Monday evening
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Three ways to limit your social media use
Clinical psychologist, Dr Saliha Afridi at The Lighthouse Arabia suggests three easy things you can do every day to cut back on the time you spend online.
1. Put the social media app in a folder on the second or third screen of your phone so it has to remain a conscious decision to open, rather than something your fingers gravitate towards without consideration.
2. Schedule a time to use social media instead of consistently throughout the day. I recommend setting aside certain times of the day or week when you upload pictures or share information.
3. Take a mental snapshot rather than a photo on your phone. Instead of sharing it with your social world, try to absorb the moment, connect with your feeling, experience the moment with all five of your senses. You will have a memory of that moment more vividly and for far longer than if you take a picture of it.
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
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Company profile
Name: Infinite8
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Launch year: 2017
Number of employees: 90
Sector: Online gaming industry
Funding: $1.2m from a UAE angel investor
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Name: Greg Heinricks
From: Alberta, western Canada
Record fish: 56kg sailfish
Member of: International Game Fish Association
Company: Arabian Divers and Sportfishing Charters
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