Diary: Blatter steps in to defend tournament


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Sepp Blatter, the Fifa president, has defended the World Cup from criticism over empty seats and poor refereeing standards. The head of world football's governing body also claimed he was not surprised by the poor showing by African countries. Instead, Blatter, 74, believes the decision by Ivory Coast and Nigeria to change coaches just months before the tournament made it very difficult for them to make an impact. "You cannot manage a national team when you coach two or three months before the competition and this has happened in two of the associations, Ivory Coast and Nigeria," Blatter told BBC Radio 5 Live. On the empty seats, Blatter added: "Empty seats, yes, but not empty stadia. Don't forget 95 per cent of all tickets have been sold."

Nelson Mandela came to the closing ceremony ahead of last night's final between Holland and Spain, capping South Africa's pride in staging a successful tournament. Mandela, 91, who is in frail health, waved as he briefly toured the pitch in a golf cart surrounded by bodyguards. He was given an ecstatic welcome by the crowd chanting his clan name, Madiba, and blowing vuvuzela trumpets. The much-loved former president, who led the country out of apartheid in 1994, was unable to attend the opening ceremony on June 11 because his great granddaughter was killed in a car accident the night before. But his grandson Mandla said earlier he wanted to visit briefly to greet the crowds at the giant Soccer City stadium.

Bastian Schweinsteiger, the Germany midfielder, has hinted at a move away from Bayern Munich by stating he is not "married" to the Bundesliga champions. One of the standout performers at the World Cup, Schweinsteiger, 25, has a contract at the Allianz Arena until 2012, which he insists he is happy to honour. But he also concedes a move abroad would excite him. "I have a contract with FC Bayern until 2012 and I really respect the club and the contract," he told the German publication Bild. "But I cannot say that I am married to FC Bayern. That would not be fair to the fans. I know that there is something great at FC Bayern. We didn't reach the Champions League final without good reason, and to win it is my ambition. The Bundesliga is great, and has become more important, but if I were to move on, then, of course, the idea of going abroad is what excites me."

Germany's president says he will award Joachim Loew, the coach, the country's Federal Cross of Merit for taking the national team to third place at the tournament. Christian Wulff said in a televised press conference yesterday that the players will be decorated with the Silver Laurel. About 300,000 people were reported to have gathered at public viewing areas in Germany to watch the 3-2 third-place play-off win over Uruguay on Saturday. About 100,000 were near Berlin's Brandenburg Gate, roughly a third the number that attended previous Germany games. Berlin police said yesterday the atmosphere was peaceful.

Leaders of Australia's 2022 World Cup bid expect Fifa to clear them of allegations they offered illegal gifts and inducements in their campaign. Frank Lowy, the Football Federation Australia chairman, told The Associated Pressthat he believes Fifa's ethics committee could publish its favourable report "within days". Lowy said the episode has done the bid no credit, but it broke no rules. Fifa started investigating last month after The Age newspaper reported that Fifa executive members - who choose World Cup hosts - were given jewellery and offered travel expenses. Australia's government cleared the federation of further allegations about accounting practices and use of taxpayer funds. The federation is suing the newspaper for defamation.

Keisuke Honda, the Japan forward, has signed on to help his country's bid to host their 2022 bid. Japan's bid committee announced yesterday that Honda will join a team of bid ambassadors that includes Zico, Philippe Troussier and Ivica Osim - the former Japan coaches. Honda, who plays for CSKA Moscow, scored two goals to help Japan reach the last 16 in South Africa. Japan, which co-hosted the 2002 World Cup with South Korea, is competing for 2022 against Australia, the United States, Qatar and South Korea.

Pharaoh's curse

British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.

PROFILE OF CURE.FIT

Started: July 2016

Founders: Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori

Based: Bangalore, India

Sector: Health & wellness

Size: 500 employees

Investment: $250 million

Investors: Accel, Oaktree Capital (US); Chiratae Ventures, Epiq Capital, Innoven Capital, Kalaari Capital, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Piramal Group’s Anand Piramal, Pratithi Investment Trust, Ratan Tata (India); and Unilever Ventures (Unilever’s global venture capital arm)

Scoreline:

Manchester City 1

Jesus 4'

Brighton 0

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
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  • 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
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MATCH INFO

What: 2006 World Cup quarter-final
When: July 1
Where: Gelsenkirchen Stadium, Gelsenkirchen, Germany

Result:
England 0 Portugal 0
(Portugal win 3-1 on penalties)

The specs
  • Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
  • Power: 640hp
  • Torque: 760nm
  • On sale: 2026
  • Price: Not announced yet
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ELIO

Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett

Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina

Rating: 4/5

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Robo-advisers use an online sign-up process to gauge an investor’s risk tolerance by feeding information such as their age, income, saving goals and investment history into an algorithm, which then assigns them an investment portfolio, ranging from more conservative to higher risk ones.

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Investing in ETFs allows robo-advisers to offer fees far lower than traditional investments, such as actively managed mutual funds bought through a bank or broker. Investors can buy ETFs directly via a brokerage, but with robo-advisers they benefit from investment portfolios matched to their risk tolerance as well as being user friendly.

Many robo-advisers charge what are called wrap fees, meaning there are no additional fees such as subscription or withdrawal fees, success fees or fees for rebalancing.

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French Touch

Carla Bruni

(Verve)

Sukuk explained

Sukuk are Sharia-compliant financial certificates issued by governments, corporates and other entities. While as an asset class they resemble conventional bonds, there are some significant differences. As interest is prohibited under Sharia, sukuk must contain an underlying transaction, for example a leaseback agreement, and the income that is paid to investors is generated by the underlying asset. Investors must also be prepared to share in both the profits and losses of an enterprise. Nevertheless, sukuk are similar to conventional bonds in that they provide regular payments, and are considered less risky than equities. Most investors would not buy sukuk directly due to high minimum subscriptions, but invest via funds.

Top Hundred overseas picks

London Spirit: Kieron Pollard, Riley Meredith 

Welsh Fire: Adam Zampa, David Miller, Naseem Shah 

Manchester Originals: Andre Russell, Wanindu Hasaranga, Sean Abbott

Northern Superchargers: Dwayne Bravo, Wahab Riaz

Oval Invincibles: Sunil Narine, Rilee Rossouw

Trent Rockets: Colin Munro

Birmingham Phoenix: Matthew Wade, Kane Richardson

Southern Brave: Quinton de Kock

88 Video's most popular rentals

Avengers 3: Infinity War: an American superhero film released in 2018 and based on the Marvel Comics story.  

Sholay: a 1975 Indian action-adventure film. It follows the adventures of two criminals hired by police to catch a vagabond. The film was panned on release but is now considered a classic.

Lucifer: is a 2019 Malayalam-language action film. It dives into the gritty world of Kerala’s politics and has become one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films of all time.

Arabian Gulf Cup FINAL

Al Nasr 2

(Negredo 1, Tozo 50)

Shabab Al Ahli 1

(Jaber 13)

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Squads

India: Kohli (c), Rahul, Shaw, Agarwal, Pujara, Rahane, Vihari, Pant (wk), Ashwin, Jadeja, Kuldeep, Shami, Umesh, Siraj, Thakur

West Indies: Holder (c), Ambris, Bishoo, Brathwaite, Chase, Dowrich (wk), Gabriel, Hamilton, Hetmyer, Hope, Lewis, Paul, Powell, Roach, Warrican, Joseph

The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting 

2. Prayer 

3. Hajj 

4. Shahada 

5. Zakat 

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO

Manchester United 2 (Heaton (og) 42', Lindelof 64')

Aston Villa 2 (Grealish 11', Mings 66')

Joker: Folie a Deux

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson

Director: Todd Phillips 

Rating: 2/5

What are the influencer academy modules?
  1. Mastery of audio-visual content creation. 
  2. Cinematography, shots and movement.
  3. All aspects of post-production.
  4. Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
  5. Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
  6. Tourism industry knowledge.
  7. Professional ethics.

SPECS

Toyota land Cruiser 2020 5.7L VXR

Engine: 5.7-litre V8

Transmission: eight-speed automatic

Power: 362hp

Torque: 530Nm

Price: Dh329,000 (base model 4.0L EXR Dh215,900)

The specs

Engine: 1.5-litre, 4-cylinder turbo

Transmission: CVT

Power: 170bhp

Torque: 220Nm

Price: Dh98,900

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