UEFA Euro 2016: Germany eye last 16 against Northern Island; Spain target easier path vs Croatia

Northern Ireland, who beat Ukraine 2-0 in their second game, are guaranteed to finish no worse than third. But a victory could propel Michael O`Neill`s side to the top if Poland slip up against Ukraine.

Paris: World champions Germany headline a host of sides chasing places in the Euro 2016 knockout phase on Tuesday while title-holders Spain are out to avoid a heavyweight clash with Italy.

Joachim Loew`s team will progress to the last 16 with a draw against Northern Ireland in Paris, and Poland can join their neighbours by avoiding defeat to already eliminated Ukraine in Marseille.

Spain, seeking a third straight title, are assured of reaching the next round, but Vicente Del Bosque`s side are keen to clinch top spot in Group D when they face second-place Croatia in Bordeaux

Czech Republic could poach the other automatic qualifying berth should they beat Turkey and Croatia lose. But coming second, instead of third, in that group could prove a poisoned chalice.

Germany laboured to a 0-0 draw with Poland last Wednesday, after which Loew lambasted a toothless display, but they remain in pole position in Group C.

Mats Hummels, who returned after missing Germany`s opening 2-0 win over Ukraine through injury, said the Germans must be wary of Northern Ireland.

"We know they could get the confidence to beat us if we let them.

"We have to try to be the better team from the beginning so they don`t start believing they can win it," he said.

Northern Ireland, who beat Ukraine 2-0 in their second game, are guaranteed to finish no worse than third. But a victory could propel Michael O`Neill`s side to the top if Poland slip up against Ukraine.

"I don`t think there`s any tension. I think this is a special moment," said O`Neill.

"We have to obviously try and get a result and get to the next phase of the tournament. It`s as simple as that."

A point for Poland would secure their place in the last 16, but all three teams remain in the running to finish first.Spain strolled into the second round with victories over Czech Republic and Turkey. But they will face a daunting challenge should they lose to Croatia in their final game.

With Italy guaranteed to finish top of Group E, whoever finishes second in Group D will likely have to get past the Euro 2012 finalists and then hosts France to reach the semi-finals.

Germany could then stand in the way of a place in the July 10 final, but midfielder David Silva is confident Spain will steer clear of that perilous path.

"At this stage it is normal that they make you favourites. We have won the last two European Championships and also for the games in the past few days," he said.

"We have had a very good start. We need to win or draw to stay top of the group. We need to maintain our level and if it remains so high, we can win the tournament."

Croatia could be without midfielder Luka Modric after the Real Madrid star hobbled off in Friday`s 2-2 draw with Czech Republic. Key striker Mario Mandzukic is also an injury doubt.

Hardcore supporters of Croatian club Hajduk split, suspected of throwing flares that temporarily halted play against the Czechs, have threatened to disrupt Tuesday`s game with Spain.

UEFA fined the Croatian Football Federation (HNS) 100,000 euros ($113,000) on Monday after fans threw more than 10 flares onto the pitch at the end of the Saint-Etienne match.

Czech Republic and Turkey, who have yet to register a goal or point, both must win to maintain hopes of progressing.

However, veteran Czech midfielder Tomas Rosicky has been ruled out of the rest of the tournament with a hamstring problem.

Man charged for 'attempting to kill' Donald Trump

Michael Sandford held for trying to grab a police officer's gun in alleged shooting attempt at a Las Vegas rally.

Trump speaking during his campaign rally in Las Vegas, Nevada, on June 18

A 19-year-old man has been charged for trying to grab a police officer's gun at a Donald Trump rally in Las Vegas and use it to kill the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.

According to a complaint filed in the US District Court in Nevada on Monday, Michael Sandford tried to disarm the officer at the June 18 rally at the Mystere Theatre in the Treasure Island Casino before being overpowered.

It said the young man, who holds a British driving licence, told a Secret Service agent after his arrest that he had driven from California to Las Vegas "to kill Trump", and had been to a range a day earlier to learn to shoot as he had never fired a gun before.

"Sandford acknowledged that he would likely only be able to fire one to two rounds and stated he was convinced he would be killed by law enforcement during his attempt on Trump's life," the complaint said.

It said Sandford told investigators that he had purchased tickets for a rally in Phoenix where he "would try again to kill Trump" in the event his plan in Las Vegas failed.

Nationality unconfirmed

Officials would not confirm Sandford's nationality saying only that he had told investigators he had been in the United States for about 18 months, and had lived in Hoboken, New Jersey, before travelling to California.

A spokeswoman at the Las Vegas prosecutor's office said the young man was due to appear in court later Monday on a charge of act of violence on restricted grounds.

Trump's campaign confirmed Lewandowski will no longer be working for the presumptive Republican presidential candidate

Trump's campaign confirmed Lewandowski will no longer be working for the presumptive Republican presidential candidate

Trump's campaign confirmed Lewandowski will no longer be working for the presumptive Republican presidential candidate [Brendan McDermid/Reuters]

Earlier on Monday, Corey Lewandowski, the controversial campaign manager who helped Trump win the Republican Party's presidential nominating contests, was dismissed.

Trump's campaign issued a statement carried by a number of US media outlets saying Lewandowski "will no longer be working with the campaign" and thanked him for his hard work.

The firing was another shake-up for a campaign already at odds with many senior Republican figures over the presumptive nominee's policies, with the party's nominating convention in Cleveland less than a month away.

UN urges solutions as refugee population hits record high.

GENEVA (AP) — Imagine the entire population of France uprooted from their homes, forced to flee danger, persecution or starvation. The U.N. refugee agency says more people than that — 65 million — were displaced worldwide at the end of last year, easily setting a new postwar record.

And it warned that European and other rich nations can expect the flow to continue if root causes aren't addressed.

After a year when more than a million people arrived on European shores, UNHCR said Monday — World Refugee Day — that continued conflicts and persecution in places like Syria and Afghanistan fueled a nearly 10-percent increase in the total number of refugees and internally displaced people in 2015.

FILE - In this Friday, June 3, 2016 file photo, Iraqi families displaced during fighting between Iraqi security forces and the Islamic State group, during a military operation to regain control the city, outside an Iraqi army military Camp near Fallujah, Iraq. The U.N. refugee agency says just over 65 million people were displaced worldwide by the end of last year, easily setting a new postwar record, as it warned that European and other rich nations can expect the tide to continue if root causes aren't addressed

"I hope that the message carried by those forcibly displaced reaches the leaderships: We need action, political action, to stop conflicts," said Filippo Grandi, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. "The message that they have carried is: 'If you don't solve problems, problems will come to you.'"

The Geneva-based agency's latest Global Trends Report shows that for the first time since World War II, the 60-million mark was crossed.

"If these 65.3 million persons were a nation, they would make up the 21st largest in the world," the report said.

In stark detail, UNHCR said that, on average, 24 people had been displaced every minute last year — or 34,000 people a day — up from six every minute in 2005. The total number of displaced people has roughly doubled since 1997, and risen by 50 percent since 2011 alone, when the Syria war began.

About 11.5 million people from Syria have fled their homes: 6.6 million remaining within the war-ravaged country and 4.9 million moving abroad. At the end of last year, more than half of all refugees were from three countries: Syria, Afghanistan and Somalia. More than half of all displaced people were children, UNCHR said.

Turkey was the top host country for the second year running, with 2.5 million refugees — nearly all from neighboring Syria. Afghanistan's neighbor Pakistan had 1.6 million, while Lebanon, next to Syria, hosted 1.1 million.

"The scale of this human suffering is almost unimaginable; the need for the world to respond is beyond question," said U.S. President Barack Obama, adding that he planned to convene a summit on refugees in September when world leaders meet for the U.N. General Assembly.

"In advance of that summit, the United States is urging other governments to contribute more funding for humanitarian aid operations, to grant more refugees the chance to work and attend school, and to provide more resettlement opportunities for refugees who cannot safely go home or remain where they are," he said in a statement. "We are urging our non-governmental partners, including the private sector, to do more as well."

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan noted that displacement has been a "major challenge" throughout history but "humanity stands idly by as more than 65 million people escape from inhumane treatment and oppression today."

"Governments whose policies aggravate humanitarian crises around the globe remain reluctant to lend their victims a helping hand," Erdogan said. "The international community has a political and moral obligation to restore the human dignity of refugees."

UNHCR's Grandi said policymakers and advocacy groups face daunting challenges in helping the largest subset of displaced people: Some 40.8 million living away from their homes within countries in conflict. Another 21.3 million are refugees and some 3.2 million more are seeking asylum.

More than a million people fled to Europe last year, causing a political crisis in the EU — with Greece and Italy facing the initial wave, Germany welcoming in hundreds of thousands, and some eastern European countries erecting barriers to block the flow.

Concerns about immigration have affected the debate in Britain about whether to remain in the European bloc in Thursday's referendum.

This year, the flow of refugees into Europe has eased through the Turkey-to-Greece route that was the dominant thoroughfare last year. A recent EU-Turkey deal allows Greece to return Syrian asylum-seekers to Turkey without evaluation of their protection claims on the basis it is a "safe third country."

Human Rights Watch on Monday urged the EU to evaluate Syrian refugees' protection claims on the merits.

Grandi called on countries to combat the anti-foreigner hatred that has accompanied the rise in refugee populations, and decried both physical barriers — like fences erected by some European countries — and legislative ones that limit access to richer, more peaceful EU states.

Such European policies are "spreading a negative example around the world," he said.

"There is no plan B for Europe in the long run," Grandi said. "Europe will continue to receive people seeking asylum. Their numbers may vary ... but it is inevitable."