United's Dimitar Berbatov , second left, celebrates with teammate Ryan Giggs and Darren Gibson, far left, after scoring his third goal against Birmingham.
United's Dimitar Berbatov , second left, celebrates with teammate Ryan Giggs and Darren Gibson, far left, after scoring his third goal against Birmingham.

Hat-trick from United's Berbatov piles on agony for Birmingham



MANCHESTER // Dimitar Berbatov scored his third hat trick of the season as Manchester United routed a struggling Birmingham 5-0 to remain unbeaten in the Premier League after 22 games.

Berbatov gave United the lead after just two minutes with a close-range header and added the second in the 31st. He then combined with Wayne Rooney to set up Ryan Giggs for the third just before the break, before completing his hat trick by sliding home Giggs' cross in the 53rd.

Nani completed the rout with a long-range effort in the 76th. United tops the table with 48 points.

Birmingham goalkeeper Ben Foster had a miserable night as Berbatov opened the scoring with an easy header after Giggs swung over a corner and John O'Shea's flicked-on header was met by the Bulgarian from barely two yards out.

Foster then almost gifted United a second goal moments later.

The England goalkeeper's weak kick was scuffed straight into Berbatov's path, and after combining with Rooney the in-form striker was denied as Foster redeemed himself with a save.

United kept up the pressure and Birmingham continued to gift possession, as Roger Johnson's error saw Rooney collect the loose ball before feeding Berbatov, who beat Foster with a low shot from 12 yards out.

Berbatov, who scored five goals against Blackburn at Old Trafford earlier this season, then came close to adding to his tally when his 20-yard shot flew inches wide.

But Giggs wouldn't be denied in added time when he met Rooney's cross and fired into the roof of the net.

Rooney should have scored when he met Nani's cross just moments after the restart, but missed an easy header. Instead it was Berbatov who added the fourth, with Giggs as the provider as his cross was stabbed home by the in-form striker off the underside of the crossbar.

Birmingham's misery was compounded when Fahey somehow missed from point-blank range.

And Nani only piled on the woe when he struck home in the 76th from just outside the box as Manchester United sent out another message of intent to their title rivals.

Lennon saves Tottenham the blushes

Aaron Lennon scored an injury-time equaliser Saturday to give Tottenham a 1-1 draw at Newcastle.

The England winger fired a shot into the bottom corner in the first minute of added time after sustained pressure by Tottenham.

It was the second week in a row that Newcastle allowed an injury-time equalizer, after dropping points against Sunderland the previous weekend.

Newcastle looked to have won it when defender Fabricio Coloccini fired home a stunning 59th-minute opener and substitute Nile Ranger could have killed the game off before Lennon's late intervention.

Fulham win to move away from drop zone

The United States midfielder Clint Dempsey scored either side of halftime Saturday to lead Fulham to a 2-0 win over 10-man Stoke, only the team's fourth home victory this season.

Dempsey gave the hosts the lead in the 33rd minute, sliding the ball home from a cross by Andy Johnson after Damien Duff had pounced on a loose ball.

The Stoke captain Ryan Shawcross was sent off in the 55th minute for fouling Dempsey in the box, and the US international stepped up to slot the spot kick home for his ninth goal of the season and eighth in the league.

Fulham moved to 26 points, four above the drop zone. Stoke stayed on 30 points.

Everton holds West Ham to Grant's added frustration

Marouane Fellaini scored an injury-time equaliser as Everton twice came from behind to draw struggling West Ham 2-2 and deny the visitors a much-needed win.

The Hammers and their beleaguered manager Avram Grant seemed on course for victory at Goodison Park as Frederic Piquionne headed them in front for the second time six minutes from time.

But Piquionne was sent off for celebrating with fans and the Hammers, who remain bottom of the Barclays Premier League, were denied as Fellaini struck.

Jonathan Spector scored his first Premier League goal to put West Ham ahead in the 26th minute, but Everton pulled level in the 77th as substitute Diniyar Bilyaletdinov beat goalkeeper Robert Green with a fierce drive.

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

A MINECRAFT MOVIE

Director: Jared Hess

Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa

Rating: 3/5

What is graphene?

Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged like honeycomb.

It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were "playing about" with sticky tape and graphite - the material used as "lead" in pencils.

Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But as they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.

By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment had led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.

At the time, many believed it was impossible for such thin crystalline materials to be stable. But examined under a microscope, the material remained stable, and when tested was found to have incredible properties.

It is many times times stronger than steel, yet incredibly lightweight and flexible. It is electrically and thermally conductive but also transparent. The world's first 2D material, it is one million times thinner than the diameter of a single human hair.

But the 'sticky tape' method would not work on an industrial scale. Since then, scientists have been working on manufacturing graphene, to make use of its incredible properties.

In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. Their discovery meant physicists could study a new class of two-dimensional materials with unique properties. 

 

Specs

Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric

Range: Up to 610km

Power: 905hp

Torque: 985Nm

Price: From Dh439,000

Available: Now

NO OTHER LAND

Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal

Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham

Rating: 3.5/5

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Tips for job-seekers
  • Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
  • Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.

David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East

Paatal Lok season two

Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy 

Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong

Rating: 4.5/5

Honeymoonish
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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

The specs

Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8

Power: 712hp at 6,100rpm

Torque: 881Nm at 4,800rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km

Price: Dh380,000

On sale: now 

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 PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
Based: Tunisia 
 
Sector: Water technology 
 
Number of staff: 22 
 
Investment raised: $4 million 
SWEET%20TOOTH
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Skewed figures

In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458. 

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
Biog

Mr Kandhari is legally authorised to conduct marriages in the gurdwara

He has officiated weddings of Sikhs and people of different faiths from Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Russia, the US and Canada

Father of two sons, grandfather of six

Plays golf once a week

Enjoys trying new holiday destinations with his wife and family

Walks for an hour every morning

Completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Loyola College, Chennai, India

2019 is a milestone because he completes 50 years in business

 

Company%20Profile
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Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale

Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni

Director: Amith Krishnan

Rating: 3.5/5

How to register as a donor

1) Organ donors can register on the Hayat app, run by the Ministry of Health and Prevention

2) There are about 11,000 patients in the country in need of organ transplants

3) People must be over 21. Emiratis and residents can register. 

4) The campaign uses the hashtag  #donate_hope

Specs

Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request

German intelligence warnings
  • 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
  • 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
  • 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250 

Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution

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