On Thursday, the UAE opened the final stage of qualification for the 2018 World Cup with an incredible victory against Japan at Saitama Stadium 2002. Goalkeeper Khalid Essa spoke to the travelling UAE media afterwards.
Focus, fight and a little good fortune
The UAE, seeking to reach only a second World Cup, began their Group B campaign against serial qualifiers Japan. The hosts went ahead on 10 minutes through AC Milan's Keisuke Honda, but the UAE turned around the match thanks to two goals from Ahmed Khalil. Japan should have had an equaliser late on, though, when Takuma Asano's effort clearly crossed the line before Essa palmed it to safety. The UAE hung on for a precious three points. The Japanese Football Association said Friday they had lodged a formal protest over the controversially disallowed goal, missed by Qatari referee Abdulrahman Al Jassim, with the Asian Football Confederation.
• UAE's road to Russia: All our coverage in one place
On rebounding from an early setback
“The goal came from a great striker in the Japanese team, but nevertheless we still trusted in ourselves, were not shaken and did not lose hope,” Essa said. “Because every player recognised that there was still a long way to go and our goal was to fight for the win. We do that because the dream of qualifying for the World Cup has become a major target for everyone in the national team.”
On the ghost-goal equaliser
“I did not see the ball enter the goal, I’ve just made a save as soon as it approached me,” Essa said. “But it is important that we won, we have achieved what was required because we came to Japan to win. The focus was at its highest level, as was the seriousness throughout the successive training camps in the build-up, and I was confident in my ability to cope with the Japanese players, who represent some of the biggest European clubs.”
On shifting focus to Australia on Tuesday
“We know that the next match will be even more difficult, but we have to maintain the confidence we have in ourselves,” Essa said. “We have achieved part of a great job, but the journey is still long. I hope we find lots of support from UAE supporters in filling the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium, so we can continue on this path with the same focus and get another three points to put us in a really good position to qualify early for the World Cup.”
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Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
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Though mostly conservative, Florida is usually always “close” in presidential elections. In most elections, the candidate that wins the Sunshine State almost always wins the election, as evidenced in 2016 when Trump took Florida, a state which has not had a democratic governor since 1991.
Joe Biden’s campaign has spent $100 million there to turn things around, understandable given the state’s crucial 29 electoral votes.
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MATCH INFO
Azerbaijan 0
Wales 2 (Moore 10', Wilson 34')
RESULT
Arsenal 1 Chelsea 2
Arsenal: Aubameyang (13')
Chelsea: Jorginho (83'), Abraham (87')
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, first leg
Liverpool v Roma
When: April 24, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Anfield, Liverpool
Live: BeIN Sports HD
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Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
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How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
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19% in UK say BBC is not biased at all
Source: YouGov
