Anthony Watmough, of NSW, is thwarted by the Queensland defence during yesterday's defeat to the Maroons.
Anthony Watmough, of NSW, is thwarted by the Queensland defence during yesterday's defeat to the Maroons.

Maroons win series opener



Johnathan Thurston inspired Queensland to a 28-24 victory in the opening match of Australia's State of Origin series against New South Wales in Sydney yesterday. The Maroons, bidding for an unprecedented fifth Origin series victory, had control for much of the match before 68,753 fans at the Olympic Stadium, building up a 28-14 advantage until two late tries by NSW reduced the final margin.

Man-of-the-match Thurston, the Australia half-back, was in outstanding form and had a hand in all of Queensland's five tries as well as kicking four conversions. The Maroons, fielding a near-Test-strength backline, have now won nine of the last 13 Origin matches and have not lost an inter-state series since 2005. "We were slow out of the blocks but got some good tries in the end," Thurston said. "It's the Queensland way - it's our never-give-up attitude, this team's got a special bond. They keep writing us off with no [Cameron] Smith, [Steve] Price, [Ben] Hannant. We love it."

Darius Boyd, Billy Slater, Darren Lockyer, Greg Inglis and Sam Thaiday touched down for Queensland while NSW scored four tries of their own through Jarryd Hayne, Anthony Watmough, Jamal Idris and Ben Creagh with Jamie Lyon, the stand-off, landing four goals. The Blues began the stronger of the two sides and grabbed the first try of the match when Hayne touched down after opposing winger Boyd spilt a high kick in the wet conditions in the eighth minute.

But Queensland gradually gained control through the skill of Thurston. It was his lobbed pass that put Boyd in seven minutes later and he converted the try to level the scores. Lyon edged NSW ahead 8-6 with a penalty before some more Thurston magic conjured a try for Slater, the full-back. The half-back kicked deftly off the outside of his boot and Slater charged through to claim the ball and score four minutes before half-time.

Queensland dominated the second half with Lockyer scoring after early lead-up work from Thurston, before Inglis and Thaiday also got on the try-sheet after more influential play from the mercurial Thurston. NSW narrowed the gap when Idris, who was making his Origin debut at centre, powered over the line in the 73rd minute and then Creagh, the second rower, won the chase for a kick for a try in the final minute. Queensland can wrap up the best of three series in the second game, in Brisbane on June 16. * AFP

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League semi-finals, second leg:

Liverpool (0) v Barcelona (3), Tuesday, 11pm UAE

Game is on BeIN Sports

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Joker: Folie a Deux

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson

Director: Todd Phillips 

Rating: 2/5

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
Jigra
Director: Vasan Bala
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
Rated: 3.5/5
Moon Music

Artist: Coldplay

Label: Parlophone/Atlantic

Number of tracks: 10

Rating: 3/5

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Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

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

APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)

Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits

Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine

Storage: 128/256/512GB

Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4

Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps

Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID

Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight

In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter

Price: From Dh2,099

If you go

Flying

Despite the extreme distance, flying to Fairbanks is relatively simple, requiring just one transfer in Seattle, which can be reached directly from Dubai with Emirates for Dh6,800 return.

 

Touring

Gondwana Ecotours’ seven-day Polar Bear Adventure starts in Fairbanks in central Alaska before visiting Kaktovik and Utqiarvik on the North Slope. Polar bear viewing is highly likely in Kaktovik, with up to five two-hour boat tours included. Prices start from Dh11,500 per person, with all local flights, meals and accommodation included; gondwanaecotours.com 

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE. 

Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

Our legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

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

Manchester City transfers:

OUTS
Pablo Zabaleta, Bacary Sagna, Gael Clichy, Willy Caballero and Jesus Navas (all released)

INS
Ederson (Benfica) £34.7m, Bernardo Silva (Monaco) £43m 

ON THEIR WAY OUT?
Joe Hart, Eliaquim Mangala, Samir Nasri, Wilfried Bony, Fabian Delph, Nolito and Kelechi Iheanacho

ON THEIR WAY IN?
Dani Alves (Juventus), Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal)
 

Engine: 3.5-litre V6

Transmission: eight-speed automatic

Power: 290hp

Torque: 340Nm

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UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

Tree of Hell

Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla

Director: Raed Zeno

Rating: 4/5

COMPANY PROFILE

Company: Bidzi

● Started: 2024

● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid

● Based: Dubai, UAE

● Industry: M&A

● Funding size: Bootstrapped

● No of employees: Nine

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Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
Power: 320bhp
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
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Community Shield info

Where, when and at what time Wembley Stadium in London on Sunday at 5pm (UAE time)

Arsenal line up (3-4-2-1) Petr Cech; Rob Holding, Per Mertesacker, Nacho Monreal; Hector Bellerin, Mohamed Elneny, Granit Xhaka, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain; Alex Iwobi, Danny Welbeck; Alexandre Lacazette

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger

Chelsea line up (3-4-2-1) Thibaut Courtois; Cesar Azpilicueta, David Luiz, Gary Cahill; Victor Moses, Cesc Fabregas, N'Golo Kante, Marcos Alonso; Willian, Pedro; Michy Batshuayi

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte

Referee Bobby Madley

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Company%20Profile
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Australia World Cup squad

Aaron Finch (capt), Usman Khawaja, David Warner, Steve Smith, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Jhye Richardson, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Jason Behrendorff, Nathan Lyon, Adam Zampa


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