Vinicius Junior celebrated Real Madrid's Copa del Rey quarter-final victory over Atletico Madrid on Thursday by hitting back after an effigy of him was hung from a bridge.
A dummy dressed in a Vinicius shirt was strung up near Real Madrid's training ground overnight before the game with a message reading "Madrid hates Real."
Both Real Madrid and Atletico, as well as La Liga and the Spanish football federation, condemned the incident; Real described the effigy as a "disgusting act of racism, xenophobia and hatred" while coach Carlo Ancelotti said it was "very regrettable".
"There's only one Madrid. We all know," Brazil international Vinicius wrote on Twitter after his side eliminated their city rivals to reach the semi-finals.
The forward drifted in and out of the match but netted at the end of extra-time to secure a 3-1 win for his team at the Bernabeu. "I think the goal was his reward for his great work," Ancelotti told a press conference.
The spiky, gripping derby clash turned against Diego Simeone's side in extra time when defender Stefan Savic was sent off.
Atletico took the lead through Alvaro Morata after 19 minutes but Rodrygo's sensational slalom run past three defenders and slick finish pulled Madrid level with 11 minutes remaining.
After Savic's 99th minute red card, Karim Benzema tucked home from Marco Asensio's pass and Vinicius netted at the death to send Los Blancos through to the final four for the first time since 2019.
"Today we had a very difficult game but with the character and the players that we have, we were able to turn it around," Benzema told Teledeporte.
"Suffering is not good — we have to score the goals earlier."
Atletico players claimed that Real midfielder Dani Ceballos should have been sent off earlier when he fouled Geoffrey Kondogbia while on a yellow card.
"I think it was a red [for Savic], but they should have had one too when we were 1-0 up," complained Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak.
"They could have had a second yellow but [the referee] decided it how he decided, we are used to that, and it's complicated, but the team fought to the end, we did everything to score."
Despite their improving performances, the rest of Atletico's season is looking barren, given they were eliminated from the Champions League at the group stage and are 13 points behind La Liga leaders Barcelona, having played a game more.
"We are out of Europe and now the cup, the team has the second half of the season ahead of them to try and qualify for the Champions League, that's the objective the club needs," said Simeone, who cast some doubt on his future.
The Argentine coach has been at the club since 2011 and has a contract until 2024.
"After that, calmly, we will look at what is convenient for everyone," he continued.
"Being at Atletico gives me enormous joy, I will give 1,000 percent until the day that I leave."
Earlier Athletic Bilbao won 3-1 at Valencia to join record 31-time winners Barcelona and Osasuna in Monday's semi-final draw.
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What is graphene?
Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged like honeycomb.
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were "playing about" with sticky tape and graphite - the material used as "lead" in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But as they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment had led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
At the time, many believed it was impossible for such thin crystalline materials to be stable. But examined under a microscope, the material remained stable, and when tested was found to have incredible properties.
It is many times times stronger than steel, yet incredibly lightweight and flexible. It is electrically and thermally conductive but also transparent. The world's first 2D material, it is one million times thinner than the diameter of a single human hair.
But the 'sticky tape' method would not work on an industrial scale. Since then, scientists have been working on manufacturing graphene, to make use of its incredible properties.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. Their discovery meant physicists could study a new class of two-dimensional materials with unique properties.
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
EA Sports FC 26
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Rating: 3/5
Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
