In the last minute of the 76th hour Luka Modric has been active in competitive football this season, he looked down at the penalty spot in Rotterdam’s De Kuip stadium. He glanced up briefly at the target, and with a short, efficient run-up, sent the goalkeeper the wrong way.
The contest was deep into extra-time. Modric’s penalty had completed a comeback from a goal down, and from a 96th-minute Netherlands equaliser. It was Croatia’s fourth goal of a long, warm evening and they had eliminated the hosts of the Uefa Nations League finals.
It means Modric will lead his country into Sunday’s gold medal match against Spain, chasing that elusive international trophy that is the lone gap on his vast catalogue of honours.
It is five years since Modric inspired a nation of less than four million people by leading Croatia to a World Cup final, and six months since Croatia finished third at the 2022 tournament. In less than three months’ time, their captain will celebrate his 38th birthday.
A few hours after Modric’s heroics, Real Madrid, his club, were unveiling Jude Bellingham, their marquee summer signing, hired at an initial €103 million from Borussia Dortmund, a fee that if the midfielder reaches certain targets could rise over the next six years by around €30m.
As it is, Bellingham has become the second most expensive footballer in Madrid’s history, overtaking the sums paid for Cristiano Ronaldo 14 summers ago, and Gareth Bale, Bellingham’s fellow Briton, a decade back.
The club assume their investment in Bellingham, an England international, yields better dividends than the €115m they paid for Eden Hazard in 2019. The Belgian has just left Madrid, contract cancelled, after a forlorn, injury-hit stay spent mostly as a bystander to the gradual transitions Madrid are now enacting with vigour, a generational shift framed by Modric at one end, and Bellingham at the other.
Almost 20 years divide the pair in age. Bellingham is still a teenager, at least for one more week of his fast-tracked life, so precocious that in less than three years since making his senior professional debut for Birmingham City in the English Championship, he had been named Player of the Year in the German Bundesliga. He has already starred at a World Cup. “He will become the best midfielder in the world,” predicts Manchester City’s Phil Foden, Bellingham’s England teammate.
Modric has spent the best part of two decades as a compulsory part of any conversations about who might be the game’s best creative midfielder. But approaching his 39th year, is obliged to wonder for how much longer he remains in that category. He has spent recent weeks contemplating whether or not, with strong interest in him from the Saudi Arabia Pro League, he commits to a 12th season at Madrid, with his contract up at the end of this month.
The expectation is that he will continue in Spain for at least another year. Sunday’s display in Rotterdam confirmed his evergreen quality, replicating the sorts of masterly showings in high-stakes fixtures madridistas regard as standard. It was Modric who was brought down for the penalty that Andrej Kramaric converted to answer Donyell Malan’s first-half strike for the Dutch. Modric was involved in the goal, from Bruno Petkovic, that put Croatia 3-1 up in extra-time.
Zlatko Dalic, the former Al Ain coach who has had Croatia consistently punching above their weight over the last six years, took Modric off once the skipper had sealed the outcome, with a minute left of the two hours of ebb-and-flow – an invitation to the crowd to applaud a genius of the modern game.
Sunday’s final will be Modric’s 70th match, club and country combined since the beginning of June 22, an odyssey that took him across Europe in Madrid’s defence of the Champions League, ending with the semi-final defeat to Manchester City, through seven World Cup games in Qatar, to Saudi Arabia for the Spanish Super Cup, and to Morocco for a victorious Club World Cup.
Modric’s stamina is just one among the many virtues Bellingham yesterday cited as “invaluable”. The Englishman says he intends to stick close to Modric and his long time partner in Madrid’s midfield, Toni Kroos, when Madrid gather for pre-season training. “Their experience and the way they read games is incredible,” said the new signing, the prodigy earmarked to one day fill the role of the peerless Modric.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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
Company%C2%A0profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDate%20started%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMay%202022%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EHusam%20Aboul%20Hosn%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDIFC%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%20%E2%80%94%20Innovation%20Hub%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EEmployees%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eeight%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Epre-seed%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Epre-seed%20funding%20raised%20from%20family%20and%20friends%20earlier%20this%20year%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
What is hepatitis?
Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver, which can lead to fibrosis (scarring), cirrhosis or liver cancer.
There are 5 main hepatitis viruses, referred to as types A, B, C, D and E.
Hepatitis C is mostly transmitted through exposure to infective blood. This can occur through blood transfusions, contaminated injections during medical procedures, and through injecting drugs. Sexual transmission is also possible, but is much less common.
People infected with hepatitis C experience few or no symptoms, meaning they can live with the virus for years without being diagnosed. This delay in treatment can increase the risk of significant liver damage.
There are an estimated 170 million carriers of Hepatitis C around the world.
The virus causes approximately 399,000 fatalities each year worldwide, according to WHO.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut
Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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UAE SQUAD
Omar Abdulrahman (Al Hilal), Ali Khaseif, Ali Mabkhout, Salem Rashed, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Zayed Al Ameri, Mohammed Al Attas (Al Jazira), Khalid Essa, Ahmed Barman, Ryan Yaslam, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Habib Fardan, Tariq Ahmed, Mohammed Al Akbari (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmin (Al Wasl), Adel Al Hosani, Ali Hassan Saleh, Majed Suroor (Sharjah), Ahmed Khalil, Walid Abbas, Majed Hassan, Ismail Al Hammadi (Shabab Al Ahli), Hassan Al Muharrami, Fahad Al Dhahani (Bani Yas), Mohammed Al Shaker (Ajman)
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Revibe%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hamza%20Iraqui%20and%20Abdessamad%20Ben%20Zakour%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Refurbished%20electronics%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%20so%20far%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410m%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFlat6Labs%2C%20Resonance%20and%20various%20others%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
More from Aya Iskandarani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Race card:
6.30pm: Baniyas (PA) Group 2 Dh195,000 1,400m.
7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 1,400m.
7.40pm: Handicap (TB) Dh190,000 1,200m.
8.15pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 1,200m.
8.50pm: Rated Conditions (TB) Dh240,000 1,600m.
9.20pm: Handicap (TB) Dh165,000 1,400m.
10pm: Handicap (TB) Dh175,000 2,000m.
How it works
A $10 hand-powered LED light and battery bank
Device is operated by hand cranking it at any time during the day or night
The charge is stored inside a battery
The ratio is that for every minute you crank, it provides 10 minutes light on the brightest mode
A full hand wound charge is of 16.5minutes
This gives 1.1 hours of light on high mode or 2.5 hours of light on low mode
When more light is needed, it can be recharged by winding again
The larger version costs between $18-20 and generates more than 15 hours of light with a 45-minute charge
No limit on how many times you can charge
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Company%C2%A0profile
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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
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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