Barcelona attacking midfielder Philippe Coutinho has backed new coach Xavi to bring success back to the troubled Catalan giants.
Xavi returned to the club he graced as a player on Monday to replace Ronald Koeman following the Dutchman's sacking 10 days earlier.
Barcelona sit ninth in La Liga after winning just four of their opening 12 league matches.
"Xavi was a great player, a football icon, and now he is back home at Barcelona. I hope he has a lot of success with the group that we are," Coutinho said.
"Given the person he is, he will definitely do very well at Barcelona."
Coutinho, 29, was used sparingly by Koeman after returning from a loan at Bayern Munich 18 months ago having helped the German club win the Champions League, inflicting a humiliating 8-2 defeat on Barca en route to the title.
Coutinho suffered a knee injury last December that ended his season and following two operations he has played little this campaign. He has nonetheless earned himself a recall to the Brazil squad for this month's World Cup qualifiers against Colombia and Argentina.
"It's like it was my first time," said Coutinho of his surprise recall to coach Tite's squad after a year out. "It's always an honour to wear this jersey."
Brazil can book their ticket to Qatar if they beat Colombia on Thursday, and a draw would also be enough should Uruguay lose to Argentina the next day.
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French business
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
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It firmly rejected “acts of terrorism, which constitute a flagrant violation of the sanctity of houses of worship”.
“Attacking places of worship is a form of terrorism and extremism that threatens peace and stability within societies,” it said.
The council also warned against the rise of hate speech, racism, extremism and Islamophobia. It urged the international community to join efforts to promote tolerance and peaceful coexistence.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
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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Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
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- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
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There are two kinds of dialysis — haemodialysis and peritoneal.
In haemodialysis, blood is pumped out of your body to an artificial kidney machine that filter your blood and returns it to your body by tubes.
In peritoneal dialysis, the inside lining of your own belly acts as a natural filter. Wastes are taken out by means of a cleansing fluid which is washed in and out of your belly in cycles.
It isn’t an option for everyone but if eligible, can be done at home by the patient or caregiver. This, as opposed to home haemodialysis, is covered by insurance in the UAE.
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