Dirk Kuyt, in orange, shoots and scores in Holland's 5-3 victory against Hungary.
Dirk Kuyt, in orange, shoots and scores in Holland's 5-3 victory against Hungary.

Holland close in on Euro 2012 qualification



Holland moved to the brink of Euro 2012 qualification but were pushed all the way by Hungary in a thrilling Group E encounter at the Amsterdam ArenA.

Dirk Kuyt's late brace eventually settled a topsy-turvy encounter in the hosts' favour after the Hungarians – beaten 4-0 in the reverse fixture in Budapest on Friday – twice fought their way back into the game.

Robin van Persie's early strike gave the Dutch a half-time advantage but goals from Gergely Rudolf and Zoltan Gera turned the game on its head.

Gera equalised again after goals from Wesley Sneijder and Ruud van Nistelrooy had got Holland back in front, before Liverpool striker Kuyt had the final say to move Bert van Marwijk's side onto 18 points from six games.

The win put the Dutch nine points clear at the top of the group while Sweden replaced Hungary in second place on goal difference after Mikael Lustig and Sebastian Larsson scored in a 2-1 home win over Moldova.

Xavi and Juan Mata combined to make sure world and European champions Spain were not embarrassed by Lithuania on a difficult surface in Kaunas.

Xavi, embarking on his second century of appearances for Spain after winning his 100th cap in their Euro 2012 qualifier against the Czech Republic on Friday, opened the scoring after 20 minutes.

But Marius Stankevicius levelled 11 minutes after the break and it needed the intervention of substitute Mata, who brought about an own goal from Tadas Kijanskas after 70 minutes and finished himself six minutes from time, to decide things in Spain's favour.

The result extended Spain's 100 per cent start to their qualifying fixtures, and ensured they kept their lead at the top of Group I at six points over the Czech Republic, who beat Liechtenstein earlier.

The Czechs shrugged off the disappointment of their weekend loss to the Spaniards by coasting to a 2-0 win with goals from Milan Baros and Michael Kadlec.

Turkey moved into second place in Group A behind leaders Germany with a vital 2-0 win over Austria in Istanbul. Arda Turan and Gokhan Gonul scored the home side's goals.

Meanwhile Belgium also moved into contention as they hammered Azerbaijan 4-1 in Brussels. Jan Vertonghen, Timmy Simons, Nacer Chadli and Jelle Vossen scored in a comfortable win.

A late equaliser from Konstantin Vassiljev earned Estonia a 1-1 draw at home to Serbia in Group C and allowed Slovenia to cling onto second place in the group after a hard-fought goalless draw in Northern Ireland.

Tal Ben Haim scored the only goal as Israel edged past Georgia in Tel Aviv in Group F, while Adrian Mutu scored twice as Romania got back on track in Group D with a 3-1 win over Luxembourg.

Australia earned some measure of revenge for their World Cup thrashing at the hands of Germany with an unlikely victory in their international friendly in Dortmund.

Germany looked on course to replicate their 4-0 win in Durban last summer when Mario Gomez scored a 26th-minute opener in a dominant first half for the world's No 3 ranked side.

But the Socceroos stunned their hosts with two goals in four second-half minutes, first through David Carney and then a Luke Wilkshire penalty, to claim their first ever win over the Europeans.

Asamoah Gyan scored during stoppage time Tuesday, giving Ghana a 1-1 draw against England in an exhibition game at Wembley Stadium.
Gyan, a striker for Sunderland in the Premier League, wove his way through the England defence before curling a shot past goalkeeper Joe Hart.
Andy Carroll had put England in front before halftime with his first international goal. This was his second appearance for his country.

Russia were held to a shock 1-1 draw by Qatar in a friendly in Doha.

The 2022 World Cup hosts, 77 places below their opponents in the Fifa rankings, took the lead in the fourth minute through Mohamed Kasoula, but Tottenham striker Roman Pavlyuchenko levelled in the 34th minute.

The draw continued Russia's run of poor results after their 2012 qualifying draw in Armenia last week and friendly defeats to Iran and Belgium.

Andre Hainault's 58th-minute effort earned Canada a surprise 1-0 win over Belarus in Antalya in Turkey.

China beat Honduras 3-0 and Peru shared a goalless draw with Ecuador.

World Cup semi-finalists Uruguay needed a couple of glorious finishes to edge out the Republic of Ireland 3-2 in Dublin.

Defender Diego Lugano opened the scoring from close range and, after Shane Long had cancelled out his strike with a 15th-minute header, his strikers took over.

Edinson Cavani and Abel Hernandez put the visitors in the driving seat with sumptuous strikes after 22 and 40 minutes respectively.

Keith Fahey's 48th-minute penalty gave the Irish hope, but the South Americans held on.

Micael scored twice, in the 10th and 71st minutes, as Portugal beat Finland 2-0 in Aveiro.

Slovakia, who top qualifying Group B, went down to a 2-1 home defeat to Denmark.

A Kornel Salata own goal put Denmark in front after three minutes, but Filip Holosko equalised just after the half-hour mark.

Brondby winger Michael Krohn-Dehli fired in the winner in the 72nd minute.

First-half goals from Matias Fernandez and Jean Beausejour earned Chile a 2-0 win over Colombia in a friendly played in The Hague in Holland.

Martin Petrov's first-half goal earned Bulgaria a 1-0 win over Cyprus, while Greece and Poland drew 0-0.

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Moon Music

Artist: Coldplay

Label: Parlophone/Atlantic

Number of tracks: 10

Rating: 3/5

The specs

  Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now

Honeymoonish
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Our legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

Moral education needed in a 'rapidly changing world'

Moral education lessons for young people is needed in a rapidly changing world, the head of the programme said.

Alanood Al Kaabi, head of programmes at the Education Affairs Office of the Crown Price Court - Abu Dhabi, said: "The Crown Price Court is fully behind this initiative and have already seen the curriculum succeed in empowering young people and providing them with the necessary tools to succeed in building the future of the nation at all levels.

"Moral education touches on every aspect and subject that children engage in.

"It is not just limited to science or maths but it is involved in all subjects and it is helping children to adapt to integral moral practises.

"The moral education programme has been designed to develop children holistically in a world being rapidly transformed by technology and globalisation."

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yallacompare profile

Date of launch: 2014

Founder: Jon Richards, founder and chief executive; Samer Chebab, co-founder and chief operating officer, and Jonathan Rawlings, co-founder and chief financial officer

Based: Media City, Dubai 

Sector: Financial services

Size: 120 employees

Investors: 2014: $500,000 in a seed round led by Mulverhill Associates; 2015: $3m in Series A funding led by STC Ventures (managed by Iris Capital), Wamda and Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority; 2019: $8m in Series B funding with the same investors as Series A along with Precinct Partners, Saned and Argo Ventures (the VC arm of multinational insurer Argo Group)

Financial considerations before buying a property

Buyers should try to pay as much in cash as possible for a property, limiting the mortgage value to as little as they can afford. This means they not only pay less in interest but their monthly costs are also reduced. Ideally, the monthly mortgage payment should not exceed 20 per cent of the purchaser’s total household income, says Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching.

“If it’s a rental property, plan for the property to have periods when it does not have a tenant. Ensure you have enough cash set aside to pay the mortgage and other costs during these periods, ideally at least six months,” she says. 

Also, shop around for the best mortgage interest rate. Understand the terms and conditions, especially what happens after any introductory periods, Ms Glynn adds.

Using a good mortgage broker is worth the investment to obtain the best rate available for a buyer’s needs and circumstances. A good mortgage broker will help the buyer understand the terms and conditions of the mortgage and make the purchasing process efficient and easier. 

The biog:

Languages: Arabic, Farsi, Hindi, basic Russian 

Favourite food: Pizza 

Best food on the road: rice

Favourite colour: silver 

Favourite bike: Gold Wing, Honda

Favourite biking destination: Canada 

Jigra
Director: Vasan Bala
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
Rated: 3.5/5
Keep it fun and engaging

Stuart Ritchie, director of wealth advice at AES International, says children cannot learn something overnight, so it helps to have a fun routine that keeps them engaged and interested.

“I explain to my daughter that the money I draw from an ATM or the money on my bank card doesn’t just magically appear – it’s money I have earned from my job. I show her how this works by giving her little chores around the house so she can earn pocket money,” says Mr Ritchie.

His daughter is allowed to spend half of her pocket money, while the other half goes into a bank account. When this money hits a certain milestone, Mr Ritchie rewards his daughter with a small lump sum.

He also recommends books that teach the importance of money management for children, such as The Squirrel Manifesto by Ric Edelman and Jean Edelman.


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