LONDON // The former England captain David Beckham has been appointed a vice president for England's bid to stage the 2018 World Cup.
The Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder will support a newly formed Football Association (FA) executive board which has the task of bringing football's biggest event back to the country that last staged it in 1966, when England captured the trophy - their only World Cup triumph.
"I'm proud to be part of the FA's 2018 World Cup bid and will do everything I can to help bring the tournament to England," Beckham told thefa.com website.
"I was able to play my part in the successful London 2012 Olympic bid and, throughout my career, have witnessed the difference sport makes to peoples' lives, all over the world."
The FA announced Beckham will be joined by another former England star, John Barnes, who begins work as coach of Jamaica's national team next month. More vice presidents will be announced soon.
England will face opposition in Europe from a joint bid by Belgium and the Netherlands and there is speculation that Australia and China might also be interested in hosting the event.
While the United States is also considering a move, the Fifa President Sepp Blatter suggested two weeks ago that, because the Americas already have the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, the US would stand a better chance in 2022.
The 2018 host will be selected at an executive committee meeting in 2011 and Blatter said Fifa is looking at the possibility of selecting the 2022 host at the same time.
Meanwhile, the Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport reported that Beckham will start training with Italian club AC Milan in January to keep up his fitness levels after the Major League Soccer (MLS) season ends.
The paper says Beckham wants to remain fit so that he can be called up to play in England's World Cup qualifying matches.
The England coach Fabio Capello has said he will not pick players who are not playing in a league championship.
"I'm in agreement with this and don't see any downside," the paper quoted the Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti as saying. "We will get to know a true champion."
The MLS season ends in November after which Beckham's LA Galaxy side will travel to Australia and New Zealand in December to play friendlies.
Beckham may stay in Europe after training with Milan to play either in Italy or Spain even though he has three years left on his contract with the Galaxy, Gazzetta said without citing sources.
"Ancelotti and I will be waiting for Beckham at Milanello," the club's vice president Adriano Galliani told Gazzetta referring to his team's training grounds.
"You all want to know if we will buy him? We'll talk about that in the future."
*AP
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I Care A Lot
Directed by: J Blakeson
Starring: Rosamund Pike, Peter Dinklage
3/5 stars
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
'The worst thing you can eat'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
The biog
Hometown: Cairo
Age: 37
Favourite TV series: The Handmaid’s Tale, Black Mirror
Favourite anime series: Death Note, One Piece and Hellsing
Favourite book: Designing Brand Identity, Fifth Edition
Stree
Producer: Maddock Films, Jio Movies
Director: Amar Kaushik
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, Aparshakti Khurana, Abhishek Banerjee
Rating: 3.5
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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.
