Liverpool’s footballing prowess has made it the most successful club in England, but that wealth of honours has sometimes been tinged by tragedy.
Among Monday's crowds at the victory parade that was marred by a car striking supporters, were those who had witnessed the 1989 disaster at Hillsborough football ground in which 97 people died. A decades-long search for justice ensued for the families of the victims.
This month, Liverpool announced plans for a new memorial to mark 40 years since the 1985 Heysel Stadium disaster, in which 39 football supporters died before the European Cup final against Juventus in Brussels. The anniversary falls on Thursday this week.
Now the celebration of the 2024/25 Premier League victory – matching Manchester United's record 20 titles to go alongside the club's eight FA Cups and six European Cups – has been marred by horrific scenes.
This week's incident, while not comparable with Heysel or Hillsborough, still sounded echoes of those distressing times.
That there were, to date, no fatalities on this occasion was a measure of the emergency services' preparation for a mass event, with 750,000 people on the streets to celebrate the latest title win.
That meant medics were on hand to look after those injured by the Ford Galaxy that ploughed into the crowd. Police have arrested a white British man, 53, on suspicion of attempted murder, dangerous driving and drug driving.
His ethnicity, released at unparalleled speed by the police, also probably prevented further tragedy after lessons were learnt following last year's stabbings in Southport, a town 30km north of Liverpool, where three young girls were murdered.
Social media, which had sparked race riots after misinformation in the Southport attack, was already fomenting blatant untruths about terrorism minutes after Monday's attack. Liverpool’s sizeable Muslim community was on edge, fearing a backlash, before the official message came out.
Adversity
Liverpool’s resilience was also sorely tested in the 1980s under Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government, when unemployment and economic hardship were rife.
But this created a depth of spirit witnessed in shared adversity that has made the city unique. The strength of character among the city's half-million population was instantly recognisable in the compassion and care shown on Monday night.
“Liverpool has always pulled together in a tragedy or a disaster like this,” Peter Scarfe, chairman of the Hillsborough Survivors Supporters Alliance, told The National.
Alongside footballing tragedies, incidents such as the killing of three girls at a dance class or a terror attack in the nearby city of Manchester have galvanised its people, he says.
“We've got the lived experience of the aftermath of Hillsborough, Heysel, the Manchester arena attack [in 2017] where we had people from Liverpool killed, and then Southport, the city has just pulled together. We either know someone or we know someone who knows someone affected.”
Among those was a woman from his organisation whose father had been injured at Hillsborough. She was at Monday's parade and immediately dropped to her knees to help a man she saw knocked down by the vehicle.
“That's a measure of how many times we've been here as a city and how we pull together and support each other,” he added.
No matter what club they came from, whether its Liverpool or Everton, “everybody will stand” together, said Pat Moloney, a local councillor.
“We've seen this so many times in Liverpool, where there is such a strong local identity and strong support.”
The city’s “virtuous circle of success” had, Mr Moloney suggested, led to them being in places that others clubs had not, where calamity could strike.
That success, said Mr Scarfe, meant that its fans had experienced both distressing and uplifting moments. “They know how to deal with it. They also know how to avoid certain situations. It's not wrong place, wrong time, it's just that with success you travel more, achieve more and experience more.”
Blame game
The Muslims among the Hillsborough survivors had feared that Monday's attack was a deliberate act of terrorism that would be blamed on their community.
“We've got members who are from Muslim backgrounds who were there,” said Mr Scarfe. “The first thing they said to me was, ‘I pray that it's not a Muslim’ because they would have been blamed for this if the attacker’s background had not been released straight away.”
That was important as Imam Adam Kelwick, a faith leader from the Abdullah Quilliam Mosque in Liverpool, warned that far-right social media accounts were making false accusations that the perpetrator was a Muslim, minutes after the attack.
He told The National people had contacted him to say they felt “unsafe”, “isolated and targeted” as the fake news agitators pointed the finger at Muslims.
Mr Kelwick, who lived in Sheffield at the time of the Hillsborough disaster, was at the parade on Monday and said it was a “very sad end to what was a happy day".
But he cautioned against comparing the two incidents, out of respect for the fans who were affected by them.
For some survivors of those earlier tragedies, Monday's crash had a triggering effect.
John Ashton, a doctor and Liverpool supporter who tended to the injured at Hillsborough, told The National the incident brought back memories.
“I've become very apprehensive about big crowds and I'm very sensitive to when arrangements don't look as robust as they should do,” said Dr Ashton.
“So I was feeling quite triggered on Monday night. I think the people who were at Hillsborough may well have found yesterday particularly difficult.”
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More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
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Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
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Key features of new policy
Pupils to learn coding and other vocational skills from Grade 6
Exams to test critical thinking and application of knowledge
A new National Assessment Centre, PARAKH (Performance, Assessment, Review and Analysis for Holistic Development) will form the standard for schools
Schools to implement online system to encouraging transparency and accountability
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Stars: Gang Dong-won, Lee Jung-hyun, Lee Ra
Director: Yeon Sang-ho
Rating: 2/5
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Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
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Porsche Macan T: The Specs
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Match info
Deccan Gladiators 87-8
Asif Khan 25, Dwayne Bravo 2-16
Maratha Arabians 89-2
Chadwick Walton 51 not out
Arabians won the final by eight wickets
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Founders: Ines Mena, Claudia Ribas, Simona Agolini, Nourhan Hassan and Therese Hundt
Date started: January 2017, app launched November 2017
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Private/Retail/Leisure
Number of Employees: 18 employees, including full-time and flexible workers
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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 four: an affection for classic cars lives on
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About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
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Total fights: 32
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Teams
Oman, UAE, Namibia
Al Amerat, Muscat
Results
Oman beat UAE by five wickets
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Fixtures
Saturday January 11 - UAE v Oman
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Saudi Cup race day
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