Euro 2016: France kick off tournament amid security, strike and weather fears

Euro 2016
Host: France Dates: 10 June to 10 July
Coverage: Live commentary on BBC TV, BBC Radio, the BBC Sport website and app. Live text commentary on every game on BBC Sport website.

Euro 2016 kicks off on Friday when hosts France face Group A opponents Romania at the Stade de France amid an unprecedented security operation.

France remains under a state of emergency after last November's attacks on Paris, when 130 people were killed.

More than 90,000 police, soldiers and private guards will be deployed at the tournament, with seven million fans expected to visit the 10 host venues.

The US and British governments have both warned fans they could be at risk.

But organisers Uefa and French authorities insist they have done everything possible to keep the 2.5 million spectators expected at the 51 matches safe.

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Paris alone will have a security force of at least 13,000 to patrol two zones and two stadiums, with the country's state of emergency allowing police extra powers to conduct searches and put people under house arrest.

France coach Didier Deschamps, whose side were playing Germany in an international friendly when the Stade de France was targeted by suicide bombers, says November's attacks evoked "very strong emotions".

"We lived through some tragic moments," he said. "So it will remain with us, even if with time we can think about it a little less.

"Today to have zero risk doesn't exist, sadly, but we have to go forward and these Euros have to be a festival of football and the festival has to be as beautiful as possible."

Richard Walton, the Metropolitan Police's former head of counter-terrorism, said the threat to Euro 2016 is "more acute than for any other international sporting event in history".

With a reported 500,000 British fans among the seven million supporters in France, the British Foreign Office has warned that stadiums, fan zones and transport hubs are possible targets for attack.

Two English football fans were arrested after police used tear gas to disperse a brawl outside a pub in Marseille shortly before midnight on Thursday.

Police said one of the fans was arrested for assaulting a barman and the other for violent disorder, with one England supporter suffering a head injury after being hit across the face with a wooden chair.

England manager Roy Hodgson said: "My message to the fans is simple. We really appreciate your support. It has been fantastic during my time. We hope they will come and support us as they always do, enjoy the tournament, enjoy watching us and avoid any troubles that might be lurking around the corner."

England goalkeeper Joe Hart says players will adhere to the advice of security officials at the 24-team championship.

"We're a team of footballers, but we're a group," he said. "We work together with the security and press officers. Everyone's got their various jobs and I'm very confident on everyone completing them."

France's junior minister for sports, Thierry Braillard, said official fan zones are the only outdoor public spaces where screens will be installed, with bar and restaurant owners told not to host large outdoor TV broadcasts.

He added: "We can't accept unorganised gatherings because police forces don't have the means to secure them."

Paris is one of 10 host venues, with games also taking place in Bordeaux, Lens, Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Nice, Saint-Denis, Saint-Etienne and Toulouse.

Jean-Christophe Bouvier, defence secretary for the Lille region, says 200 security staff will be inside the city's fan zone, with 3,400 police and military forces working each day and hundreds extra on call if needed.

President of the Lille region, Damien Castelain, said: "It's a very secure place in the fan zone.

"It's easier to secure one place like this one than have people going to several places where it would have been impossible to make people safe."

Mat Bastard, Lille's Euro 2016 ambassador, added: "If France win, it'll be so, so good, but my first victory is everything is well and everyone has fun."

The Euro 2016 draw
Group A	Group B	Group C
France	England	Germany
Romania	Russia	Ukraine
Albania	Wales	Poland
Switzerland	Slovakia	Northern Ireland
Group D	Group E	Group F
Spain	Belgium	Portugal
Czech Republic	Italy	Iceland
Turkey	Republic of Ireland	Austria
Croatia	Sweden	Hungary

Alongside the terror threat, French authorities have also been forced to deal with extreme weather conditions and protests over labour law reforms.

Strikes in Paris could cause problems for supporters heading to the 80,000-capacity national stadium on Friday.

The national SNCF rail company said that one of the two main overland train lines linking the Stade de France in the capital's northern suburbs to the city centre had two-thirds of its services wiped out because of strikes on Thursday, while six out of 10 were not running on the other.

The company is working on a fallback plan, while an underground Metro line to the stadium will have extra trains running.

President Francois Hollande said he would take "all necessary measures" to make sure transport strikes, due to roll into a 10th day on Friday, would not disrupt the tournament.

"Rest assured that public services will be provided and that the state will assume its full responsibilities," he said.

Strikes are planned from Saturday on the national air carrier, Air France, while piles of rubbish have also gone uncollected.

France captain Hugo Lloris said: "I hope it won't spoil the party because we have to show a great image of our country."

France's opener against Romania should avoid the bad weather that saw the River Seine burst its banks and rise to its highest level in more than 30 years.

England and Wales begin their campaigns further south on Saturday are also expected to avoid the worst of the thunderstorms.

Uefa says all 24 teams are in France, with Portugal - travelling in a plane bearing the name of legendary striker Eusebio - the last to arrive on Thursday.

Spain are hoping for a third successive title, but Germany are world champions and France were winners when they hosted the tournament in 1984.

Current national coach Deschamps captained Les Bleus to World Cup glory on home soil in 1998.

England are eyeing a first success at the ninth attempt, while Wales, Northern Ireland, Albania, Iceland and Slovakia all make their championship debut.

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Muhammad Ali funeral: Thousands line route for farewell

Thousands are attending a farewell procession for boxing legend Muhammad Ali in his home city of Louisville, in the US state of Kentucky.

Onlookers lining the roadside waved, took photos and chanted "Ali, Ali" as a cortege led by the hearse carrying his coffin drove through the downtown area.

The heavyweight champion and rights activist died last Friday aged 74.

The cortege is taking Ali's body past key sites in his life, ahead of an interfaith memorial service.

Actor Will Smith and ex-boxer Lennox Lewis will be among the pallbearers, while former President Bill Clinton will deliver one of the eulogies.

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Thousands of free tickets for the memorial service, taking place at a major sports centre, were snapped up within half an hour.

Image copyrightREUTERS

Image captionThe pallbearers, including Mike Tyson and Will Smith, loaded the coffin into the hearse for the procession

Image copyrightREUTERS

Image captionPeople chanted Ali's name as the cortege left the funeral home

Image copyrightAP

Image captionA Louisville city bus displays the words "Ali the Greatest"

Image copyrightAP

Image captionA Muhammad Ali action figure sits on the seat of a bicycle as fans await the funeral procession

The motorcade procession began at about 10:35 local time (14:35 GMT), more than an hour behind schedule, and took the coffin past his childhood home, the Ali Center, the Center for African American Heritage and then down Muhammad Ali Boulevard.

Fans threw flowers at the hearse and rose petals were scattered along the route.

In one neighbourhood, several young men ran alongside the vehicle carrying a placard which read: "Ali is the greatest, thanks 4 all the memories."

The procession will end at the Cave Hill Cemetery where Ali will be laid to rest in a private ceremony.

The funeral service at the KFC Yum! Centre is due to begin at 14:00 local time.

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Comedian Billy Crystal will also deliver a eulogy, while sports journalist Bryant Gumbel, the daughter of civil rights activist Malcolm X, Attallah Shabazz, and Ali's wife, Lonnie, and daughters, Maryum and Rasheda, are also expected to speak.

Among those expected to attend the service is King Abdullah of Jordan.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attended Thursday's prayer ceremony and had been due at the service, but reports say he has cut short his visit to the US.

The reasons for his departure are not clear, though there are reports of differences with the funeral's organisers.

President Barack Obama will not be there, as he is to attend his eldest daughter Malia's graduation.

But in a video message, he said: "This week we lost an icon. A person who for African Americans, I think, liberated their minds in recognising that they could be proud of who they were."

Muhammad Ali

Born Cassius Marcellus Clay, 17 January 1942

61 fights

over a professional career lasting 21 years

56 wins

including 37 knockouts

• 3 times crowned World Heavyweight Champion
• 1 Light-heavyweight Olympic gold medal
• 31 straight wins before being beaten by Joe Frazier

Getty

White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett - who knew Ali - will represent the president.

Lennox Lewis, a former world heavyweight boxing champion himself, said it was an honour to be a pallbearer and that Ali's memory would never fade.

"The term 'float like a butterfly, sting like a bee' will always be remembered. He is an icon and a legend of boxing," he said.

The other pallbearers are family and friends, along with Will Smith, who portrayed Ali in the 2001 film about the boxer's life.

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Woman from Kolkata abducted in Kabul; officials trying to secure early release

Late on Thursday, a 40-year-old Indian woman, hailing from Kolkata, was abducted in Afghanistan's Kabul, reports said. According to a report by CNN-News 18, the woman was identified as Judith D'Souza and the report added that she was working as a senior technical advisor for an NGO Aga Khan Development Network.

"She was abducted around 10:40 pm on Thursday from the Taimani area of Kabul," CNN-News18 reported.

However, NewsX report said that the abduction took place close to Qala-e-Fatullah, an area of Kabul where many such incidents have taken place in the past. No group has come forward to claim responsibility for the abduction yet.

The Indian authorities are in touch with the Afghan government and are trying to secure an early release of the woman. The authorities also got in touch with the Judith's family. Government sources claimed that all efforts are being made to ensure safe and early release of the woman.

"Our Embassy is in touch with senior Afghan authorities and the government is in touch with her family in Kolkata too. All efforts are being made by Afghan authorities to secure her early release", Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) officials were reported saying.

Given the volatile situation and a spate in terrorist activities in Afghanistan, in May this year the Indian Embassy had alerted Indians living in the country to be careful. The notice was also issued for those travelling to Afghanistan.

"All Indians residing in Afghanistan and Indian travellers to Afghanistan are advised that the security situation in Afghanistan remains highly volatile. Terrorist attacks have taken place in many parts of the country against a variety of targets including foreigners and are expected to continue. There is also the risk of kidnapping and hostage taking throughout the Afghanistan,” the statement had said.

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Experiment 'turns waste CO2 to stone'

Image copyrightJUERG MATTER

Image captionThe experiment injected 220 tonnes of carbon dioxide several hundred metres underground

Scientists think they have found a smart way to constrain carbon dioxide emissions - just turn them to stone.

The researchers report an experiment in Iceland where they have pumped CO2 and water underground into volcanic rock.

Reactions with the minerals in the deep basalts convert the carbon dioxide to a stable, immobile chalky solid.

Even more encouraging, the team writes in Science magazine, is the speed at which this process occurs: on the order of months.

"Of our 220 tonnes of injected CO2, 95% was converted to limestone in less than two years," said lead author Juerg Matter from Southampton University, UK.

"It was a huge surprise to all the scientists involved in the project, and we thought, 'Wow! This is really fast'," he recalled on the BBC's Science In Action programme.

Image copyrightLAMONT-DOHERTY EARTH OBSERVATORY

Image captionThe reactions in the volcanic rock produced immobile carbonates (white deposits)

With carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere marching ever upwards and warming the planet, researchers are keen to investigate so called "carbon capture and storage" (CCS) solutions.

Previous experiments have seen pure CO2 injected into sandstone, or deep, salty aquifers. Chosen sites - which have included disused oil and gas wells - have relied on layers of impermeable capping rocks to hold down the carbon dioxide. But the fear is always that the CO2 could find a way to leak back out into the atmosphere.

Image copyrightJUERG MATTER

Image captionCores were drilled to check on the progress of the subterranean reactions

The Carbfix project on Iceland, on the other hand, seeks to solidify the unwanted carbon in place.

Working with the Hellisheidi geothermal power plant outside Reykjavik, it combined the waste CO2 with water to make a slightly acidic liquid that was then sent hundreds of metres down into the volcanic basalts that make up so much of the North Atlantic island.

The low pH water (3.2) worked to dissolve the calcium and magnesium ions in the basalts, which then reacted with the carbon dioxide to make calcium and magnesium carbonates. Cores drilled into the experimental site pulled up rock with the tell-tale white carbonates occupying the pore spaces.

The researchers also tagged the CO2 with carbon-14, a radioactive form of the element. In this way, they were able to tell if any of the injected CO2 was leaking back to the surface or finding its way out through a distant watercourse. No such escape was detected.

"This means that we can pump down large amounts of CO2 and store it in a very safe way over a very short period of time," said study co-author Martin Stute from Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, US.

"In the future, we could think of using this for power plants in places where there's a lot of basalt - and there are many such places."

Dr Matter added: "You can find basalts on every continent and, certainly, you can find them offshore because all the oceanic crust - so below the seafloor - is all basaltic rocks. In terms of the availability of basaltic rocks to take care of CO2 emissions globally - no problem."

Image copyrightTHINKSTOCK

Image captionIceland has abundant basalts, but these rocks are not found everywhere

Image copyrightP.HUEY/SCIENCE/AAAS

Image captionSome CCS experiments have pumped pure CO2 into sedimentary rocks (L) where the gas is trapped below an impermeable caprock. In CarbFix (R), the CO2 is dissolved in water and chemical reactions at depth then ensure nothing leaks back to the surface

There is, however, the issue of cost. Capture of the CO2 at power stations and other industrial complexes is expensive, and without incentives it is currently deemed to be uneconomic. The infrastructure needed to pump the gas to the burial site also has to be considered.

And in the case of the Carbfix approach, a substantial amount of water is required. Only something like 5% of the mass sent underground is CO2.

Christopher Rochelle is an expert on CCS at the British Geological Survey and was not involved in the Iceland experiment.

He said Carbfix underlined the importance of moving beyond modelling and lab studies to real-world demonstrations. Only by doing this can the technology readiness be properly assessed.

"We need to do more field-scale tests, like this one in Iceland, to better understand the types of processes that are ongoing and how fast they work," he told BBC News.

"Here, they injected into reactive rocks and the minerals precipitated relatively quickly and are then unable to migrate anywhere. That's great, but the rocks under Iceland are different to those under the North Sea, for example. So the approach that is taken is going to have to vary depending on where you are. We are going to need a portfolio of techniques."

The Hellisheidi geothermal power station has now moved beyond the experiment reported in Science magazine and is routinely injecting CO2 into the subsurface in larger quantities. The company is also burying hydrogen sulphide - another byproduct from the plant. This benefits the locals who have had to suffer the occasional waft of rotten eggs coming over their properties.

Image copyrightLAMONT-DOHERTY EARTH OBSERVATORY

Image captionThe Hellisheidi geothermal power station continues to pump CO2 under Iceland

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