Mexico City:

A Dutch drug trafficker who was one of Europe’s most wanted criminals and once reportedly faked his own death has been murdered in Mexico, an official said Friday.

Marco Ebben, 32, was shot on Thursday in Atizapan de Zaragoza, a municipality about 25 kilometers (15 miles) from the capital Mexico City.

Experts confirmed Ebben’s identity, an official at the state prosecutor’s office told AFP, asking not to be named because they were not authorized to talk about the case.

European law enforcement agency Europol listed Ebben as one of Europe’s “most wanted fugitives” for smuggling drugs from Brazil to the Netherlands.

Its website says he was sentenced in October 2020 to more than seven years in prison.

Between 2014 and 2015, Ebben and his accomplices allegedly smuggled 400 kilos of cocaine in containers filled with pineapples, according to Europol.

To evade arrest, the Dutchman reportedly faked his death last October in the Mexican cartel stronghold of Culiacan amid a turf war between two factions of the Sinaloa Cartel.

According to local media, Ebben was accused of links to one of the factions but no evidence of his death was found at the time, except for a statement from an alleged girlfriend who claimed to have recognized the body.

The violence in Sinaloa follows the surprise arrest on US soil of cartel co-founder Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada in late July, which is believed to have unleashed an internal power struggle.

Mexican authorities said Friday they had arrested a suspected Sinaloa Cartel drug trafficker active in the northern state of Chihuahua who was wanted by the United States. Local media identified him as Humberto Rivera, alias “El Chato,” “El Don” or “El Viejon.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

The names of 425,000 individuals suspected of collaborating with Nazi Germany have been published online in the Netherlands for the first time under a project called “War in Court”, according to a BBC report. The names were released after the expiry of a law on New Year’s Day that restricted public access to the archive, marking a new era of transparency regarding the nation’s wartime past.

The Huygens Institute helped digitise the archive which was previously only accessible by visiting the Dutch National Archives in The Hague.

“This archive contains important stories for both present and future generations. From children who want to know what their father did in the war, to historians researching the grey areas of collaboration,” the Huygens Institute says.

The archive has almost 32 million pages and details the lives and actions of mostly Dutch citizens who worked in various capacities with the German occupiers during World War II. Apart from the names, the database contains the date and place of birth of the suspects, which are only searchable using specific personal details.

Only a fifth of the nearly half a million suspected collaborators were ever presented before a court while other cases concerned lesser offences such as being a member of the Nationalist Socialist Movement – the Dutch Nazi party.

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Privacy vs transparency

Although the names were released to ensure transparency, the entire episode has drawn criticism from both descendants of the accused as well as families of victims. It has also sparked a debate on the ethics of privacy versus the public’s right to historical truth.

Some fear that the archive could reignite old tensions and stigmatise individuals linked to the dark period of Dutch history. Meanwhile, supporters argue that such transparency is essential for historical education and for healing the wounds of the past. 

Research suggests that approximately a fifth of Dutch people are not comfortable with the idea of children of Nazi collaborators holding public office.

The archive does not specify whether a particular person was found guilty, or what form of collaboration they were suspected of. Users will have to file a request to see this particular information and even then, they must declare a legitimate interest in viewing them.

Spain won the last edition of the Nations League after beating Croatia on penalties.© AFP

Germany rounded off their Nations League group stage campaign with a 1-1 draw in Hungary after a Dominik Szoboszlai penalty in the 99th minute rescued a point for the hosts, while Netherlands were held to the same scoreline by Bosnia and Hercegovina. There was little to play for in Group A3 going into the final day. The Germans had already wrapped up top spot. The Dutch were secure in second and Hungary sat four points ahead of the already-relegated Bosnia.

“With a win, we would’ve gone into the break with a nicer feeling but we can still be very satisfied about what we achieved in 2024 and can kick things off again in March,” said German midfielder Robert Andrich.

In Group B4, a 4-1 victory for Wales against Iceland ensured automatic promotion to the top division at the expense of Turkey, who went down 3-1 in Montenegro.

Czech Republic booked top spot in Group B1 with a 2-1 win over Georgia. Ukraine leapfrogged the Georgians into second place by downing Albania.

In Budapest, Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann rang the changes with his team having confirmed top spot last week with a 7-0 thumping of Bosnia.

Felix Nmecha broke a goalless stalemate when he prodded home from inside the six-yard box with 14 minutes remaining.

Germany seemed set to close out their fifth win in six outings until the seventh minute of injury time.

VAR decided that Robin Koch had committed a handball in the box and Hungarian captain Szoboszlai stepped up two minutes later to dink home from 12 yards.

“It’s been a real rollercoaster of a year, but I believe that with this match we can go into 2025 in good spirits,” said Szoboszlai.

Netherlands finished five points behind their historic rivals as they were held to a draw in Zenica.

Brian Brobbey headed in the opener for Ronald Koeman’s side midway through the first period but despite dominating the rest of the half the Dutch were unable to double their lead.

The Oranje were made to pay in the 67th minute when Hamburg-born Bosnian attacker Ermedin Demirovic adjusted his body magnificently to nod a rebound over goalkeeper Mark Flekken.

“I’m not satisfied with a point. I think we had to win,” said Koeman.

‘Really happy’

Wales bounced back from an early Andri Gudjohnsen goal in Cardiff to put four past Iceland and jump to first place in their group.

“It’s something we set out to do,” Wales’ Liam Cullen told Sgorio.

“We knew we couldn’t control what was going on in the Turkey game, but we really wanted to put our stamp on this game and win convincingly, so really happy that we’ve done that.”

Cullen scored a double to put the hosts in front by half-time, before Brennan Johnson and Harry Wilson put the seal on the match inside the final half-hour.

Wales needed victory to have any chance of obtaining automatic promotion to League A, but they needed Montenegro’s upset of Turkey to claim that spot with a one-point buffer.

Nikola Krstovic’s hat-trick in Niksic condemned Turkey to the play-off spot as Montenegro picked up their first points of the campaign after five consecutive defeats.

Two 2-1 wins flipped Group B1 on its head after three points had separated the four teams going into the final matchday.

Ukraine were fourth before their trip to Tirana but two goals in the first 10 minutes from Oleksandr Zinchenko and Roman Yaremchuk gave them the perfect start.

Zinchenko celebrated his opener by holding up a shirt printed “1000”, marking one thousand days since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

A Nedim Bajrami penalty gave Albania hope in the last quarter of an hour but the Ukrainians held on to claim second spot.

The Czechs had sat top of the group on eight points and consolidated top spot when first-half strikes by Pavel Sulc and Adam Hlozek were enough to give them a 2-1 home win over Georgia.

In League C, Sweden showcased their striking prowess with a 6-0 thumping of Azerbaijan as they emphatically topped their group.

Much-heralded 26-year-old striker Viktor Gyokeres netted four goals in the rout, with Dejan Kulusevski grabbing a brace.

Netherlands outclassed Hungary with a 4-0 victory in their winner-takes-all Nations League encounter on Saturday while record-setting Germany hammered Bosnia and Hercegovina 7-0. Netherlands and Hungary went into the match tied on five points each and with the winner set to join Germany in ensuring their progress from Group A3 to the quarter-finals. First-half penalties by Wout Weghorst and Cody Gakpo sent the Oranje on their way, before Denzel Dumfries and Teun Koopmeiners made the game safe in the second period. 

“There are always things we can improve upon,” Dutch captain Virgil van Dijk told SBS6. “But in the end, we deserved to win.”

The match at the Johan Cruyff Arena was briefly interrupted in the seventh minute following a medical emergency on the Hungarian bench.

The referee stopped play for some 10 minutes while Hungary’s assistant coach Adam Szalai received treatment, shielded from view by huddled players and staff members, as well as a large white sheet.

Szalai, 36, was stretchered off to applause from spectators and players alike, the Hungarian FA later released a statement saying he was “conscious” and in a “stable condition” at an Amsterdam hospital.

“It was a scare of course,” Gakpo told NOS. “Fortunately, I just heard he regained consciousness on the pitch. Things like this are more important than football.”

Almost forgotten in the aftermath of the worrying incident was the handball by Tamas Nikitscher as the ball was crossed into the Hungarian box.

The referee consulted the touchline video monitor and promptly restarted play by pointing to the spot, allowing Weghorst to sweep the Netherlands in front.

Denes Dibusz was the busier of the two goalkeepers as the first period wore on and had to be alert to keep out efforts from Tijjani Reijnders and Donyell Malen.

In the 11th minute of added time, Dutch dominance told and Malen was clipped by Zsolt Nagy in the box.

Gakpo dispatched the resulting spot-kick, sending Dibusz the wrong way and Netherlands into a two-goal lead.

Right-back Dumfries sealed the Netherlands’ spot in the quarters as he latched onto Malen’s flick-on at the back post and fizzed a volley back into the far corner shortly after the hour.

Koopmeiners marked his first international match since 2022 by nodding in a fourth in the 86th minute.

‘Good fun’

Germany cemented their spot at the top of the group with a 7-0 win over Bosnia — the heaviest in the six-year history of the Nations League.

“It was good fun tonight. After a couple of goals we did the work defensively and then everything came together offensively. The more that happens, the more fun we have on the pitch,” German attacker Jamal Musiala told UEFA’s website.

Musiala opened the floodgates after two minutes with a header from Joshua Kimmich‘s cross.

Tim Kleindienst scored his first goal for Germany in the 23rd minute and Kai Havertz made the game safe eight minutes before the break, slotting home after a slick one-two with Florian Wirtz.

Wirtz then made it four on 50 minutes with a sublime swerving free-kick from wide on the left, before doubling up seven minutes later.

“Seeing Flo (Wirtz’s) free-kick was kind of nice but just in general everyone played well, had good moments. We’re just playing good football,” added Musiala.

Substitute Leroy Sane scored Germany’s sixth in the 66th minute and Kleindienst completed the rout just over 10 minutes from time as he guided home a pinpoint cross from centre-half Antonio Rudiger.

The emphatic result leaves Germany five points ahead of Netherlands with only one match left to play.

In Group B1, Georgia played out a 1-1 draw at home to Ukraine and stay two points ahead of the fourth-placed visitors.

The Czech Republic drew 0-0 in Albania and remain top of the group on eight points, one ahead of Georgia in second and their third-placed opponents.

Turkey stayed top of Group B4 with a 0-0 draw at home to Wales, while Iceland beat Montenegro 2-0.

Turkey were presented with a golden opportunity to grow their two-point lead over Wales but Kerem Akturkoglu sent his 89th-minute penalty wide.

Deniz Undav scored twice as Germany defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-1 to edge closer to the Nations League quarter-finals on Friday as 10-man Netherlands rescued a 1-1 draw in Hungary. Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz laid on a backheel for Undav’s opener after 30 minutes in Zenica. The Stuttgart forward then made it two when he turned in Maximilian Mittlestaedt’s cross. Bosnia hit back with 20 minutes remaining when 38-year-old former Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko headed in from a corner for his 67th international goal.

“After they scored, things heated up a bit, but we controlled things confidently,” Undav, making just his second international start, told German broadcaster RTL.

The win moves Germany onto seven points from three games, two ahead of the Netherlands with the heavyweights facing each other on Monday in Munich.

“We scored too few goals for the number of chances we had,” said Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann.

At the Puskas Arena in Budapest, Hungary and Dutch players, as well as spectators, observed a minute’s silence in memory of former Netherlands great Johan Neeskens who passed away this week at the age of 73.

Hungary took the lead in the 32nd minute when Roland Sallai scored with a close-range finish after being teed up by Zsolt Nagy.

It was the perfect start to the game for Hungarian coach Marco Rossi who was taking charge of the national team for the 69th time.

Hungary were looking at defeating the Dutch in the teams’ first meeting since they were mauled 8-1 in 2013.

That prospect brightened when Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk was red-carded in the 79th minute.

However, four minutes later, the Dutch made a mockery of their one-man disadvantage when Denzel Dumfries headed in a free-kick from Cody Gakpo.

“Even with ten men, we tried to put pressure forward,” said Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman. “I did think we were going to score.”

Wales squandered a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 with Iceland in Reykjavik.

Tottenham’s Brennan Johnson, scoring for the seventh consecutive game for club and country, and Harry Wilson gave Craig Bellamy‘s team a comfortable 2-0 lead at the break but Iceland hit back in the second half.

Substitute Logi Tomasson cut the deficit in the 69th minute before Wales goalkeeper Danny Ward allowed a 72nd minute drive from the same player to bounce off his elbow and into the net.

“In the long run, I’m really happy. And this is not me trying to sugar-coat drawing after being 2-0 up, it really isn’t,” said Bellamy.

“What I’m telling you now I told the players. This was really good.”

In the same group, Turkey defeated Montenegro 1-0.

Elsewhere on Friday, Sweden let slip a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 in Slovakia, a result which left both teams on seven points from three games but with the Swedes ahead on goal difference in their group.

Yasin Ayari and Ken Sema had Sweden 2-0 up after 32 minutes in Bratislava but Slovakia battled back for a point thanks to a brace from David Strelec.

Tomas Chory scored twice to give the Czech Republic a 2-0 home win over Albania.

The Czechs are level on six points with pool leaders Georgia who lost 1-0 to Ukraine thanks to Mykhailo Mudryk‘s 35th-minute cool finish.

While many countries grapple with overcrowded prisons, the Netherlands faces a unique challenge: too few inmates. Unlike the UK and other nations, the Dutch prison system struggles with empty cells due to low crime rates.

According to a BBC report, in the past few years, 19 prisons have closed down, and more are slated for closure next year. How has this happened, and why do some people think it’s a problem? A decade ago, the Netherlands had one of the highest incarceration rates in Europe, but it now claims one of the lowest.

One empty prison was turned into a fancy hotel south of Amsterdam, with its four most expensive suites named The Lawyer, The Judge, The Governor, and The Jailer. But others, converted into asylum reception centres, have provided work for some former prison guards.

According to The Guardian, since 2014, 23 prisons have been shut down, turning into temporary asylum centres, housing, and hotels. The country has Europe’s third-lowest incarceration rate, at 54.4 per 100,000 inhabitants. According to the justice ministry’s WODC Research and Documentation Centre, the number of prison sentences imposed fell from 42,000 in 2008 to 31,000 in 2018, along with a two-thirds drop in jail terms for young offenders. Registered crimes plummeted by 40% in the same period, to 785,000 in 2018.

Miranda Boone, a professor of criminology at Leiden University, has studied the collapse in the prison population. “There is no doubt that the prison population has been reduced very significantly in the last 13 years-an amazing and, in the western world, unparalleled development,” she says.

Interestingly, one vacant prison in south of Amsterdam was transformed into a luxury hotel, with its four premium suites aptly named The Lawyer, The Judge, The Governor, and The Jailer. Meanwhile, other empty prisons were repurposed into asylum reception centers, offering employment opportunities to former prison guards. This creative reuse of space reflects the Netherlands’ unique approach to addressing its shortage of inmates.

Virgil van Dijk in an interaction with the referee during Netherlands vs England Euro 2024 semi-final.© AFP

Ollie Watkins struck a stunning injury-time winner as England beat the Netherlands 2-1 on Wednesday to set up a Euro 2024 final showdown with Spain in Berlin. It was an incredible finish to an evening that began badly for England, as Xavi Simons gave the Netherlands an early lead in the semi-final in Dortmund. However, England were soon level through a Harry Kane penalty following a contentions VAR call by German referee Felix Zwayer, and the match looked set to drift towards extra time until Watkins struck. On for Harry Kane, Watkins received a pass from fellow substitute Cole Palmer with his back to goal in the first minute of stoppage time, turned and fired low into the far corner to leave the Netherlands completely stunned.

It has rarely been a convincing campaign from Gareth Southgate’s England side, but they are through to their second consecutive European Championship final as they dream of finally winning a first major trophy since 1966.

To do that they will surely have to perform better than at any point so far in Germany as they face an outstanding Spain team.

Spain will also have had an extra 24 hours to prepare for the final, having defeated France 2-1 on Tuesday.

The Netherlands had been hoping to repeat their triumph at the last Euros held in Germany, in 1988, but their current side lacks anyone with the star quality of Marco van Basten or Ruud Gullit.

A victory for them would have seen this Euros conclude with the same final as the 2010 World Cup. Instead they now go home.

England had got to this stage despite not winning any of their last four matches in 90 minutes, and having been taken to extra time by Slovakia and Switzerland.

That might have given the Dutch an edge physically, after the Oranje shrugged off finishing third in their group to brush aside Romania and then see off Turkey.

England welcomed back Marc Guehi in defence after suspension, while Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman opted to start Donyell Malen in attack in the ground where he plays club football for Borussia Dortmund.

The Westfalenstadion is a special place for the Dutch, as the scene of their 2-0 win over Brazil that took them through to the 1974 World Cup final.

They went ahead here after just seven minutes thanks to a stunning goal by Simons, who robbed Declan Rice 35 metres from goal and advanced before sending a rasping drive beyond Jordan Pickford.

The Dutch players ran off to celebrate with their fans behind that goal, as England found themselves behind for the third game running.

Just like against the Swiss in the quarter-finals, however, they reacted swiftly.

Kane forced a save from Bart Verbruggen and moments later sent a volley over the bar, and was caught by Denzel Dumfries on the follow-through.

It seemed totally innocuous but Zwayer was summoned across to review the images and gave a penalty.

Kane, whose missed spot-kick against France cost England dear in the 2022 World Cup, made no mistake, slotting low into the bottom-left corner.

It settled into an open and entertaining game, with Dumfries redeeming himself by clearing off the line from Phil Foden.

Dumfries crashed a header off the bar from a Simons corner, but Foden responded by curling a superb shot from range off the top of the post.

England’s midfielders were being given too much time on the ball, and Koeman used an injury to Memphis Depay to reinforce the centre, replacing the forward with Joey Veerman.

Another change followed at the interval, with Wout Weghorst –- super-sub in previous rounds –- replacing Malen.

Yet the game became more cagey as the minutes went on and the fear of making a mistake grew.

Pickford denied Virgil van Dijk on 65 minutes and the Netherlands began to take control as England’s leading players started to tire.

England did have the ball in the net on 79 minutes when Bukayo Saka turned in a Kyle Walker cutback, but the latter was just offside and the flag cut short the celebrations.

Southgate then decided to remove Kane and Foden, with Watkins and Palmer entering the fray to devastating effect.

Netherlands vs England Live Streaming Euro 2024 Semi-Final: Gareth Southgate will be aiming to guide England to a second successive UEFA Euro final, as they take on Netherlands in the second semi-final of Euro 2024. England have drawn criticism for a dull brand of football given the rich talent they possess but, once again, find themselves in the final four of a major tournament. Netherlands have been quietly getting better, and a win would see them set up a rematch of the 2010 FIFA World Cup final against Spain.  Netherlands’ Cody Gakpo has been one of the best players of Euro 2024 so far, while England will rely on their starcast of Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka and co. to fire them to victory.

When will the Netherlands vs England, Euro 2024 Semi-Final match take place?

The Netherlands vs England, Euro 2024 Semi-Final match will take place on Thursday, July 11 (IST).

Where will the Netherlands vs England, Euro 2024 Semi-Final match be played?

The Netherlands vs England, Euro 2024 Semi-Final match will be played at the Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund.

What time will the Netherlands vs England, Euro 2024 Semi-Final match start?

The Netherlands vs England, Euro 2024 Semi-Final match will start at 12:30 AM IST.

Which TV channels will telecast the Netherlands vs England, Euro 2024 Semi-Final match?

The Netherlands vs England, Euro 2024 Semi-Final match will be telecast on the Sony Sports Network.

Where to follow the live streaming of the Netherlands vs England, Euro 2024 Semi-Final match?

The Netherlands vs England, Euro 2024 Semi-Final match will be streamed live on SonyLiv app and website.

(All the details are as per the information provided by the broadcaster)