Sharjah’s long-awaited return to the Asian Champions League ended in disappointment on Tuesday, with the UAE champions defeated 1-0 at home by Saudi Arabian side Al Taawoun.
The 2018/19 Arabian Gulf League winners, making only their second appearance in the continent’s lead club competition and first since 2004, were outdone at Sharjah Stadium by Faisal Darwish’s first-half free-kick.
Still without star playmaker Igor Corondao, Sharjah struggled to break down their obdurate opponents, the closest they came to scoring arriving nine minutes from time. However, Brazil goalkeeper Cassio saved superbly from Majed Surour’s deflected cross.
Sharjah, currently fourth in the domestic league, resume their Group C campaign next week with another home match, this time against Iran’s Persepolis.
“I congratulate Taawoun, but matches in our own ground we’re supposed to win,” said manager Abdulaziz Al Anbari. “We conceded a goal, we tried to come back. We have to accept all the results in football and try to improve.
“Our team wasn’t that bad, we tried. We were better in the second half, but Taawoun defended very well. This is football. We hope in the next match to do better.”
It was Taawoun who began the match the better, even if the first half had little in the way of real goalmouth action. On eight minutes, winger Abdulmajeed Al Suwat curled an effort inches wide of the Sharjah post.
Just after the half hour, the visitors took the lead. Mohammed Abdulbasit fouled needlessly right on the edge of his penalty area, leaving Darwish to chip a brilliant his free-kick beyond Adel Al Hosani in the hosts’ goal and into the top corner.
Suddenly sparked into life, Sharjah pressed forward. Yet they were wayward in whenever a half-chance came their way, first through Majed Surour’s back-post header and then when Ryan Mendes drilled over from the angle on the right. Both were well off target.
In the second half, Sharjah exerted more control, although on 54 minutes, Taawoun midfielder Cedric Amissi sent a free-kick from the left flashing past the upright.
With 14 minutes remaining, Sharjah left-back Al Hassan Saleh lifted a rebound from a corner high over the opposition crossbar. At that point, it was all the home side had to show for their endeavor.
Then, Sharjah thought they had stolen a point. Surour forged forward on the right and advanced into the Taawoun area, his centre was deflected goalwards to force Cassio into a fine reaction save. The ball was almost behind him. Somehow, Taawoun scrambled clear.
As the rain started to descend, Sharjah had one final chance in injury-time, only for Cassio to collect easily Caio’s free-kick. The best of a below-par bunch, the former Al Ain winger, recruited last month from Benfica, was his side’s main creative outlet. Despite his effort, Taawoun held on.
“Since I arrived I have created a family,” said Vitor Campelos, the visiting manager. “Our first problem was that we came here with many players missing, but the ones who played instead did a fantastic job. I thank them, the whole family, and our fans, who supported us from the first minute until the last.”
For Al Anbari, he rejected suggestions the club had resolved not to take seriously the Champions League.
“No, it’s important for me and the management,” the Emirati said. “We are new in this competition, but I see the players playing with spirit. This loss is only the responsibility of the technical staff. We take full responsibility, as always.
“We know this championship is not easy for a team like Sharjah and we have some key absences, such as Coronado, but always we must get the confidence in our players and as a technical staff we believe. We are always trying to make our best.”
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Country-size land deals
US interest in purchasing territory is not as outlandish as it sounds. Here's a look at some big land transactions between nations:
Louisiana Purchase
If Donald Trump is one who aims to broker "a deal of the century", then this was the "deal of the 19th Century". In 1803, the US nearly doubled in size when it bought 2,140,000 square kilometres from France for $15 million.
Florida Purchase Treaty
The US courted Spain for Florida for years. Spain eventually realised its burden in holding on to the territory and in 1819 effectively ceded it to America in a wider border treaty.
Alaska purchase
America's spending spree continued in 1867 when it acquired 1,518,800 km2 of Alaskan land from Russia for $7.2m. Critics panned the government for buying "useless land".
The Philippines
At the end of the Spanish-American War, a provision in the 1898 Treaty of Paris saw Spain surrender the Philippines for a payment of $20 million.
US Virgin Islands
It's not like a US president has never reached a deal with Denmark before. In 1917 the US purchased the Danish West Indies for $25m and renamed them the US Virgin Islands.
Gwadar
The most recent sovereign land purchase was in 1958 when Pakistan bought the southwestern port of Gwadar from Oman for 5.5bn Pakistan rupees.
UAE - India ties
The UAE is India’s third-largest trade partner after the US and China
Annual bilateral trade between India and the UAE has crossed US$ 60 billion
The UAE is the fourth-largest exporter of crude oil for India
Indians comprise the largest community with 3.3 million residents in the UAE
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi first visited the UAE in August 2015
His visit on August 23-24 will be the third in four years
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, visited India in February 2016
Sheikh Mohamed was the chief guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations in January 2017
Modi will visit Bahrain on August 24-25
Ads on social media can 'normalise' drugs
A UK report on youth social media habits commissioned by advocacy group Volteface found a quarter of young people were exposed to illegal drug dealers on social media.
The poll of 2,006 people aged 16-24 assessed their exposure to drug dealers online in a nationally representative survey.
Of those admitting to seeing drugs for sale online, 56 per cent saw them advertised on Snapchat, 55 per cent on Instagram and 47 per cent on Facebook.
Cannabis was the drug most pushed by online dealers, with 63 per cent of survey respondents claiming to have seen adverts on social media for the drug, followed by cocaine (26 per cent) and MDMA/ecstasy, with 24 per cent of people.
Points classification after Stage 4
1. Arnaud Demare (France / FDJ) 124
2. Marcel Kittel (Germany / Quick-Step) 81
3. Michael Matthews (Australia / Sunweb) 66
4. Andre Greipel (Germany / Lotto) 63
5. Alexander Kristoff (Norway / Katusha) 43
What is Diwali?
The Hindu festival is at once a celebration of the autumn harvest and the triumph of good over evil, as outlined in the Ramayana.
According to the Sanskrit epic, penned by the sage Valmiki, Diwali marks the time that the exiled king Rama – a mortal with superhuman powers – returned home to the city of Ayodhya with his wife Sita and brother Lakshman, after vanquishing the 10-headed demon Ravana and conquering his kingdom of Lanka. The people of Ayodhya are believed to have lit thousands of earthen lamps to illuminate the city and to guide the royal family home.
In its current iteration, Diwali is celebrated with a puja to welcome the goodness of prosperity Lakshmi (an incarnation of Sita) into the home, which is decorated with diyas (oil lamps) or fairy lights and rangoli designs with coloured powder. Fireworks light up the sky in some parts of the word, and sweetmeats are made (or bought) by most households. It is customary to get new clothes stitched, and visit friends and family to exchange gifts and greetings.
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
The National selections
Al Ain
5pm: Bolereau
5.30pm: Rich And Famous
6pm: Duc De Faust
6.30pm: Al Thoura
7pm: AF Arrab
7.30pm: Al Jazi
8pm: Futoon
Jebel Ali
1.45pm: AF Kal Noor
2.15pm: Galaxy Road
2.45pm: Dark Thunder
3.15pm: Inverleigh
3.45pm: Bawaasil
4.15pm: Initial
4.45pm: Tafaakhor
Match info
Karnataka Tuskers 110-3
J Charles 35, M Pretorius 1-19, Z Khan 0-16
Deccan Gladiators 111-5 in 8.3 overs
K Pollard 45*, S Zadran 2-18
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
RESULTS
Cagliari 5-2 Fiorentina
Udinese 0-0 SPAL
Sampdoria 0-0 Atalanta
Lazio 4-2 Lecce
Parma 2-0 Roma
Juventus 1-0 AC Milan
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
RedCrow Intelligence Company Profile
Started: 2016
Founders: Hussein Nasser Eddin, Laila Akel, Tayeb Akel
Based: Ramallah, Palestine
Sector: Technology, Security
# of staff: 13
Investment: $745,000
Investors: Palestine’s Ibtikar Fund, Abu Dhabi’s Gothams and angel investors
Meydan card
6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 (PA) Group 1 US$65,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
7.05pm: Conditions (TB) $100,000 (Turf) 1,400m
7.40pm: UAE 2000 Guineas Trial (TB) $100,000 (D) 1,600m
8.15pm: Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 1,200m
8.50pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 (TB) Group 2 $350,000 (D) 1,600m
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) $175,000 (D) 1,900m
10pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 1,600m
Richard Jewell
Director: Clint Eastwood
Stars: Paul Walter Hauser, Sam Rockwell, Brandon Stanley
Two-and-a-half out of five stars
