Thursday, Day 14, was a day off for the teams at Euro 2016, but we have collated some of the best of our content from the last 24 hours in one place. All the latests news, plus group guides, kick-off times and news from around the teams can be found at our special microsite.
1 — Wales, Hungary and Iceland made the most of rare opportunity
The group stage of the European Championship has now been completed, with 24 teams whittled down to 16 ahead of the start of the knockout rounds on Saturday.
It has been a mixed opening couple of weeks in France, with the tournament’s new format having a positive impact in some ways and a negative one in others.
Euro 2016’s goals-per-game ratio is currently lower than previous editions of the competition, for example, but the first set of matches were generally much more competitive than many predicted.
Read Greg Lea's a brief summary of all six groups at Euro 2016, as well as some awards based on the tournament's first 36 encounters.
2 — Bale, Payet, Kroos all make the group-stage team
Based on the first 36 encounters of Euro 2016, The National's Premier League correspondent Greg Lea selected his team of the group stage. A maximum of two players per country, and candidates had to have completed at least two full matches to be eligible. Based on a 4-3-3 formation. Who made the team? Click here to find out.
3 — Reykjavik braced for another meltdown
The Icelandic capital is facing another shutdown on Monday as the tiny North Atlantic nation’s Euro 2016 saga unfolds with a knockout tie against England in Nice.
A late winner over Austria handed Iceland second spot in Group F behind Hungary and qualification for the last 16, sending the Austrians home, with Portugal also going through as one of the four best third-placed teams.
Iceland is the smallest nation ever to qualify for the European Championship and an estimated 10 per cent of Iceland's population of around 330,000 is in France to follow the team, with the rest glued to their TV screens at home.
4 — Albania’s Euro 2016 squad return to Tirana to a heroes’ welcome
Albania’s football squad was welcomed home Thursday with a red-carpet ceremony on its return from the country’s first participation at the European Championship, despite the team being knocked out at the group stage.
Prime minister Edi Rama greeted the players at Tirana airport before they boarded an open-top bus.
Albania scored their first goal in a major tournament to beat Romania 1-0 and finish third in Group A. But narrow losses to Switzerland and host France cost them a place in the knockout stages as they failed to finish as one of the four best third-place teams.
5 — Diego Forlan’s words of wisdom
One of the most striking factors of the group stage has been the success of the tournament’s so-called smaller teams, with the likes of Croatia, Wales, and Hungary all topping groups boasting traditional heavyweights Spain, England, and Portugal.
While the big tests for these nations, and others such as Iceland and Northern Ireland, await in the knockout stages, our columnist Diego Forlan explains from first hand experience why a deep run at Euro 2016 is not beyond the smaller teams.
Forlan, the former Manchester United, Inter Milan, and Atletico Madrid striker, was central to Uruguay's run to the World Cup 2010 semi-finals, and in this week's column, provides some insight into how that success can be emulated this summer in France.
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Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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Company%20Profile
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The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre 6-cyl turbo
Power: 374hp at 5,500-6,500rpm
Torque: 500Nm from 1,900-5,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.5L/100km
Price: from Dh285,000
On sale: from January 2022
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Profile of Whizkey
Date founded: 04 November 2017
Founders: Abdulaziz AlBlooshi and Harsh Hirani
Based: Dubai, UAE
Number of employees: 10
Sector: AI, software
Cashflow: Dh2.5 Million
Funding stage: Series A
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 194hp at 5,600rpm
Torque: 275Nm from 2,000-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Price: from Dh155,000
On sale: now
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
