Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany has hailed his team's strength in depth following a busy summer transfer window and said the extra competition will help them challenge on all fronts this season, the British media reported.
City have made a blistering start to their league campaign and currently sit top of the table with three wins out of three and no goals conceded, a run that included a 3-0 drubbing of defending champions Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium on August 16.
Manager Manuel Pellegrini has brought in several new faces during the transfer window, including midfielder Raheem Sterling from Liverpool and defender Nicolas Otamendi from Spanish side Valencia.
Read more: Thomas Woods writes Kurt Zouma is ready to replace John Terry at Chelsea
“The extra competition is good, really good. You don’t play for a top team unless you have that.
“That is one of the reasons we have started so strong,” the 29-year-old Kompany said.
“You can’t really afford to do anything wrong during the week leading up to the game.
“Then, during the game, you can’t do anything wrong either as there is always someone looking over your shoulder, waiting, who is just as good as you,” the Belgian international added.
“If they are in a better moment and they deserve a chance, they will take your place.”
Kompany says he is back to his best after being criticised for a dip in form last season, which ended in disappointment as City finished eight points behind eventual champions Chelsea.
“It shows on the pitch that I feel good and I feel happy with myself,” he said.
“I just don’t want to miss any opportunities to have a good game or have a good season. Every game counts for me. That’s when I need to perform.”
The defender is also relishing the prospect of competing for his place in the team.
“We have got (Jason) Denayer, (Martin) Demichelis, Otamendi, (Eliaquim) Mangala and myself.
“You have got to be at the top of your game. This is what you are seeing, a group of guys who know that they need to perform. If they don’t, someone else will do it,” he said.
“If you want to go for every trophy, you need that to go for it.”
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What is 'Soft Power'?
Soft power was first mentioned in 1990 by former US Defence Secretary Joseph Nye.
He believed that there were alternative ways of cultivating support from other countries, instead of achieving goals using military strength.
Soft power is, at its root, the ability to convince other states to do what you want without force.
This is traditionally achieved by proving that you share morals and values.
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Difference between fractional ownership and timeshare
Although similar in its appearance, the concept of a fractional title deed is unlike that of a timeshare, which usually involves multiple investors buying “time” in a property whereby the owner has the right to occupation for a specified period of time in any year, as opposed to the actual real estate, said John Peacock, Head of Indirect Tax and Conveyancing, BSA Ahmad Bin Hezeem & Associates, a law firm.
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
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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