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A living legend in Liverpool, Mohamed Salah has two more years to burnish his astonishing legacy at Anfield after extending his contract on Friday.In the midst of constant speculation over his future, the 32-year-old has produced one of the great all-time individual seasons to take the Reds to the brink of the Premier League title.The Egyptian has scored 27 goals and provided 17 assists in 31 league appearances to help Arne Slot’s men open up an 11-point lead for with seven games to go.A third player of the year award from both his fellow players and football writers is a formality as Salah’s latest prolific season has propelled him into the debate over who is the greatest player of the Premier League era.Salah’s 184 goals in the English top flight is the joint fifth highest in Premier League history, while he also now sits in the top 10 for assists.He did not arrive at Anfield as a superstar destined for greatness when Liverpool paid Roma £34 million ($44 million) for his services in 2017.As a pacy winger with promise, Salah had hitherto struggled for consistency and end product with a string of European clubs since making the move from his homeland to Swiss side Basel as a 19-year-old.Salah failed to make the grade in his first spell in the Premier League at Chelsea as the Blues discarded him after just 19 games in what proved to be a monumental mistake.A move to Italy, firstly on loan at Fiorentina, before heading to Roma on a permanent basis restored Salah’s reputation to tempt Liverpool into taking a punt on his potential, even if he was not Jurgen Klopp’s first choice.The German manager had wanted his compatriot Julian Brandt instead, but was convinced by the club’s recruitment team and together they rebuilt the Reds into a force of English and European football once more.- Fitness fanatic -Klopp did not take long to be convinced as Salah scored 44 times in a stunning debut season, leading Liverpool to the Champions League final and a top-four Premier League finish.He was quickly christened “The Egyptian King” on Merseyside and soon the trophies began to flow like his goals.Salah left the 2018 Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid in tears after being forced off by a shoulder injury in the first half which also limited the impact he could make for his country at the World Cup finals in Russia a few weeks later.One year on, he scored in the final as Liverpool beat Tottenham 2-0 to deliver the first silverware of the Klopp era.The club’s first Premier League title for 30 years followed in the coronavirus-disrupted 2019/2020 season.The FA Cup, two League Cups and another run to the Champions League final in 2022 underlined Liverpool’s return to serial trophy contenders under Klopp — and with it Salah’s heightened status within the game and further afield.He was named among Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in 2019 in which he was described as an “iconic figure for Egyptians, Scousers and Muslims the world over.”Salah has used that profile to call for greater gender equality in the Arab world and to appeal for humanitarian aid to be allowed into Gaza following an Israeli air bombardment last year.However, he has mostly done his talking on the field.A fitness fanatic, Salah regularly posts images of his workouts on social media which he credits for allowing him to remain among the world’s best despite his advancing age.Klopp’s emotional departure last year was seen by many as the end of an era for this Liverpool side.Instead, in the first season under Dutch coach Slot, Salah has been the catalyst for an unexpected cruise towards the Premier League title.”It’s not a coincidence because the first day I arrived over here, we did a fitness test and he was our fittest player,” said Slot.“So it tells you what his plans were for the season. It also tells you a player that has so many great seasons at a club like this comes back like that tells you a lot about his personality.”

Smartphone buyers were cheered by shopkeepers in Jakarta on Friday after Apple’s latest smartphone went on sale following a monthslong ban in Indonesia.The marketing and sale of iPhone 16 models was prohibited by the government in October over Apple’s failure to meet regulation requiring that 40 percent of smartphone components be made from local parts.But …

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The Tesla electric vehicle company owned by billionaire Elon Musk on Thursday opened its first showrooms in oil-rich Saudi Arabia — where hybrid cars remain a rare sight.The opening of showrooms in the capital Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam comes as Tesla global sales fall.Showrooms in the United States have been attacked, reportedly because of links between Musk, the world’s richest person, and US President Donald Trump. The company’s share price has slumped since Musk started working with the US government.”Today we are proud to officially launch in the kingdom,” said Naseem Akbarzada, Tesla country manager for Saudi Arabia, hailing the start of a “long-term presence”.He added that charging stations for electric cars would be opened from Friday in the three cities where the showrooms had been established, with more to follow.Saudi Arabia is a key regional US ally and Trump forged close ties during his first term with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has promised to inject $600 billion into US trade and investments.Mainly young Saudis gathered to look at the Tesla cars, even though demand for electric vehicles is low in Saudi Arabia. The world’s largest oil exporter enjoys bargain-basement fuel prices with a litre of petrol costing just 2.33 riyals ($0.62).Cheap fuel and prolonged periods of extreme heat in the vast desert country means big oil-consuming cars reign supreme.Saudi economist Mohammed Al-Qahtani welcomed Tesla’s move, but urged more efforts by Musk’s firm.”We do not want a showroom; we want a factory,” he said. “We want to be part of the production process, not just consumption.”A lack of charging infrastructure and the country’s vast size mean that many Saudi drivers will view EVs as suitable for shorter trips, rather than as replacements for conventional vehicles.About 950 kilometres (590 miles) separate the capital from second city Jeddah — more than the maximum range of most electric car batteries.According to data platform Statista, before Tesla’s arrival Saudi Arabia had just 101 charging stations, compared with 261 in the much smaller neighbouring United Arab Emirates.Although the Saudi EV market remains small, it tripled last year to nearly 800 cars, according to business news outlet Al-Iqtisadiyah.Authorities are seeking to diversify the economy, which relies heavily on oil, aiming to install 5,000 electric vehicle chargers by 2030.Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, PIF, now controls 60 percent of luxury electric vehicle company Lucid.It has also secured a deal with South Korea’s Hyundai to establish a plant in the kingdom for electric and petrol-powered cars.Saudi EV brand CEER, launched in 2022, plans to start production in 2025.A vehicle from Lucid, which opened a factory in Jeddah in 2023 after a billion-dollar Saudi investment, costs $92,000.Last May, Chinese company BYD opened a showroom in Riyadh, selling more affordable electric cars.