Agencies
LONDON // Manager Roy Hodgson said he endured a nervous and emotional night as England booked their place in next year’s World Cup by beating Poland 2-0 at Wembley in a pulsating final Group H qualifier on Tuesday.
Hodgson steered his team through an unbeaten campaign that ended with them taking top spot courtesy of six wins and four draws following Tuesday’s triumph, sealed by goals from Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard.
Anything other than a win would have left the 1966 world champions in second place but England finished on 22 points, one ahead of Ukraine who crushed San Marino 8-0.
“You can imagine quite a few emotions are churning around inside me,” Hodgson said. “I died a thousand deaths every time they crossed the halfway line.
“I will put on hold my thoughts about what we are going to do in Brazil until a later date,” he added, referring to the 2014 finals. “I am, though, naturally delighted we completed the job.”
Rooney grabbed his 38th goal in his 86th international with a 41st-minute header scored without his protective headband on.
Skipper Gerrard then ended all fears of a Poland fightback in the 88th minute with his 21st goal on his 107th appearance.
“It was very fitting Steven Gerrard scored the goal that put the game beyond doubt,” said Hodgson, “because if anyone has played a captain’s innings throughout these 10 games it has been him.”
The Liverpool midfielder, who said before the game he was still haunted by England’s 3-2 home defeat by Croatia in November 2007 that put them out of Euro 2008, was also a happy man.
“We are delighted with the result but they made us work very hard for it,” said Gerrard. “We were determined not to suffer what we went through after we failed to reach the Euros in 2008.
“Now we can prepare for the World Cup and that is a great feeling. I know Wayne and me scored the goals tonight but it was a collective effort and many players have played their part over the last two seasons to get us here.”
Rooney is now 11 goals shy of Bobby Charlton’s all-time England record tally of 49.
In other European qualifying action, Bosnia-Herzegovina reached their first ever major finals as a 1-0 win over Lithuania saw them confirm their place at next year’s World Cup.
They will be joined by Russia, who had not reached a World Cup finals since 2002 and who sealed their place at Brazil 2014 with a 1-1 away draw in Azerbaijan.
Bosnia – who had lost twice to Portugal in play-offs for the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012 – progress at the expense of Greece, who go into the play-offs, while Portugal finish runners-up to Russia and will also contest a winner takes all play-off.
Vedad Ibisevic was Bosnia’s hero as he scored what was the most important of his 20 international goals as the 29-year-old Stuttgart striker struck in the 68th minute.
His sidefooted effort came just two minutes after he had seen another shot brilliantly saved by Giederius Arlauskas, who had denied Bosnia throughout the match in a stunning performance.
Arlausakas’s performance could be put into the context that only the Germans and the Dutch have scored more goals in the qualifying games than the Bosnians.
Greece by contrast have failed to sparkle in front of goal and were only able to beat Liechtenstein 2-0 in Athens.
Dimitris Salpingidis scored in the seventh minute but the goal shy Greeks – who had only scored 10 goals going into the match from their previous nine qualifiers – failed to add to that until veteran Giorgos Karagounis, appearing in his 130th game for the national side, scored with a free kick nine minutes from time.
Portugal, who were missing the suspended Cristiano Ronaldo, got on top early at home to Luxembourg as Silvestre Varela and Nani scored in the first-half – but only after Luxembourg had had a player sent off.
However, they were only able to add one more in the second-half as veteran striker Helder Postiga scored 11 minutes from time.
Portugal and Greece will learn who their opponents are in the play-offs in the draw next Monday.
Mario Balotelli came off the bench to save Italy’s blushes in a 2-2 draw with Armenia which threatened to end in the hosts’ first defeat of a successful World Cup qualifying campaign, and Croatia coach Igor Stimac announced he had offered to resign following the 2-0 defeat to Scotland in their final 2014 World Cup qualifying match.
A stunning strike from Franck Ribery, a Joona Toivio own goal and a late volley from Karim Benzema ensured France finished their World Cup qualifying Group I campaign with a 3-0 win at the Stade de France, as well.
Cinco in numbers
Dh3.7 million
The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown
46
The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.
1,000
The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]
50
How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday
3,000
The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
1.1 million
The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.
Company%C2%A0profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eamana%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2010%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Karim%20Farra%20and%20Ziad%20Aboujeb%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EUAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERegulator%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDFSA%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinancial%20services%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E85%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESelf-funded%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
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%3Cp%3EGiven%20its%20remote%20location%2C%20getting%20to%20Borneo%20can%20feel%20daunting%20even%20for%20the%20most%20seasoned%20traveller.%20But%20you%20can%20fly%20directly%20from%20Kuala%20Lumpur%20to%20Sandakan%20and%20Sepilok%20is%20only%20half%20an%20hour%20away%20by%20taxi.%20Sandakan%20has%20plenty%20of%20accommodation%20options%2C%20while%20Sepilok%20has%20a%20few%20nature%20lodges%20close%20to%20the%20main%20attractions.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
THE BIO
Occupation: Specialised chief medical laboratory technologist
Age: 78
Favourite destination: Always Al Ain “Dar Al Zain”
Hobbies: his work - “ the thing which I am most passionate for and which occupied all my time in the morning and evening from 1963 to 2019”
Other hobbies: football
Favorite football club: Al Ain Sports Club
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
PROFILE
Name: Enhance Fitness
Year started: 2018
Based: UAE
Employees: 200
Amount raised: $3m
Investors: Global Ventures and angel investors
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Scoreline
Man Utd 2 Pogba 27', Martial 49'
Everton 1 Sigurdsson 77'
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Akeed
Based: Muscat
Launch year: 2018
Number of employees: 40
Sector: Online food delivery
Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Saturday, May 16 (kick-offs UAE time)
Borussia Dortmund v Schalke (4.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Freiburg (4.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Hertha Berlin (4.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Paderborn (4.30pm)
Augsburg v Wolfsburg (4.30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia Monchengladbach (7.30pm)
Sunday, May 17
Cologne v Mainz (4.30pm),
Union Berlin v Bayern Munich (7pm)
Monday, May 18
Werder Bremen v Bayer Leverkusen (9.30pm)
The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
On sale: Now
Why your domicile status is important
Your UK residence status is assessed using the statutory residence test. While your residence status – ie where you live - is assessed every year, your domicile status is assessed over your lifetime.
Your domicile of origin generally comes from your parents and if your parents were not married, then it is decided by your father. Your domicile is generally the country your father considered his permanent home when you were born.
UK residents who have their permanent home ("domicile") outside the UK may not have to pay UK tax on foreign income. For example, they do not pay tax on foreign income or gains if they are less than £2,000 in the tax year and do not transfer that gain to a UK bank account.
A UK-domiciled person, however, is liable for UK tax on their worldwide income and gains when they are resident in the UK.
Spider-Man%202
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDeveloper%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Insomniac%20Games%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%20Sony%20Interactive%20Entertainment%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EConsole%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPlayStation%205%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%205%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
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
((Disclaimer))
The Liechtensteinische Landesbank AG (“Bank”) assumes no liability or guarantee for the accuracy, balance, or completeness of the information in this publication. The content may change at any time due to given circumstances, and the Liechtensteinische Landesbank AG is under no obligation to update information once it has been published. This publication is intended for information purposes only and does not constitute an offer, a recommendation or an invitation by, or on behalf of, Liechtensteinische Landesbank (DIFC Branch), Liechtensteinische Landesbank AG, or any of its group affiliates to make any investments or obtain services. This publication has not been reviewed, disapproved or approved by the United Arab Emirates (“UAE”) Central Bank, Dubai Financial Services Authority (“DFSA”) or any other relevant licensing authorities in the UAE. It may not be relied upon by or distributed to retail clients. Liechtensteinische Landesbank (DIFC Branch) is regulated by the DFSA and this advertorial is intended for Professional Clients (as defined by the DFSA) who have sufficient financial experience and understanding of financial markets, products or transactions and any associated risks.
