LONDON // Fifa's decision to award the 2022 World Cup to Qatar has come under fresh scrutiny.
The Sunday Times, published new allegations that Mohamed Bin Hammam used his wealth and top level contacts to buy support for the oil-rich country’s successful bid.
The British newspaper, which last week claimed that the former Fifa executive committee member made payments totalling US$5 million to senior football officials to seal support for Qatar, also accused Mr Bin Hammam of using $1.7m to secure key Asian votes.
It alleged that Mr Bin Hammam arranged government level talks for Thailand’s Fifa executive Worawi Makudi to discuss a gas sale “potentially worth tens of millions of dollars to Thailand” and that he was invited to visit President Vladimir Putin before Russia and Qatar’s victories in the votes for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
Sony, one of Fifa’s key sponsors, has called for the allegations to be “investigated appropriately”.
Under a front-page headline of "Gas deal turns heat on World Cup", the newspaper alleged that Mr Bin Hammam arranged meetings and favours for voters in the months leading to the ballots.
The 2010 vote, which awarded football’s biggest tournament to the tiny desert state, is under investigation by Fifa’s independent ethics prosecutor.
Qatar organisers deny any wrongdoing.
In a statement released on Saturday, following its Executive Committee’s second meeting of the year in Sao Paulo, Fifa said “the executive reaffirmed its position of letting the ethics committee complete its work before making any comment”.
According to the newspaper, which says it had access to millions of secret documents during its investigation, Mr Bin Hammam brokered two secret meetings with Qatari royals to discuss a major gas deal with a senior aide to Makudi.
“The exact nature of the deal on the table is unclear, but it came as Thailand sought to save tens of millions of pounds by renegotiating an arrangement with Qatar to purchase 1 million tons of liquefied natural gas each year at a contractual price it considered too high,” the newspaper said.
The Sunday Times said that Mr Makudi denied that he had received a personal “concession” from his involvement but did not elaborate.
Mr Bin Hammam is no longer a committee member of world football’s governing body after being caught up in a corruption scandal surrounding his failed campaign for its presidency in 2011.
The Sunday Times claimed that the $1.7m Mr Bin Hammam paid to Asian officials from funds controlled by his private company Kemco were used as he was campaigning for both the Qatar World Cup bid and for his own re-election to the post of president of the Asian Football Confederation.
The newspaper said he was invited to a meeting by Russia to discuss “bilateral relations” in sport between Qatar and Russia on October 30, 2010 – a month before the vote on the bids.
“Two days later, Qatar’s ruling emir also flew to Moscow for talks about joint gas production deals between the two countries,” the Sunday Times said.
* Associated Press
Full list of Emmy 2020 nominations
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Anthony Anderson, Black-ish
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Michael Douglas, The Kominsky Method
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Ramy Youssef, Ramy
LEAD ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Christina Applegate, Dead to Me
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Catherine O’Hara, Schitt’s Creek
Issa Rae, Insecure
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OUTSTANDING VARIETY/TALK SERIES
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
Jimmy Kimmel Live
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Jason Bateman, Ozark
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LEAD ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Jennifer Aniston, The Morning Show
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Jeremy Irons, Watchmen
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Mrs. America
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Unorthodox
Watchmen
OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES
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Insecure
The Kominsky Method
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What We Do In The Shadows
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The Handmaid’s Tale
Killing Eve
The Mandalorian
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Succession
House-hunting
Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove
- Edinburgh, Scotland
- Westminster, London
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Day 1, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Dimuth Karunaratne had batted with plenty of pluck, and no little skill, in getting to within seven runs of a first-day century. Then, while he ran what he thought was a comfortable single to mid-on, his batting partner Dinesh Chandimal opted to stay at home. The opener was run out by the length of the pitch.
Stat of the day - 1 One six was hit on Day 1. The boundary was only breached 18 times in total over the course of the 90 overs. When it did arrive, the lone six was a thing of beauty, as Niroshan Dickwella effortlessly clipped Mohammed Amir over the square-leg boundary.
The verdict Three wickets down at lunch, on a featherbed wicket having won the toss, and Sri Lanka’s fragile confidence must have been waning. Then Karunaratne and Chandimal's alliance of precisely 100 gave them a foothold in the match. Dickwella’s free-spirited strokeplay meant the Sri Lankans were handily placed at 227 for four at the close.
How being social media savvy can improve your well being
Next time when procastinating online remember that you can save thousands on paying for a personal trainer and a gym membership simply by watching YouTube videos and keeping up with the latest health tips and trends.
As social media apps are becoming more and more consumed by health experts and nutritionists who are using it to awareness and encourage patients to engage in physical activity.
Elizabeth Watson, a personal trainer from Stay Fit gym in Abu Dhabi suggests that “individuals can use social media as a means of keeping fit, there are a lot of great exercises you can do and train from experts at home just by watching videos on YouTube”.
Norlyn Torrena, a clinical nutritionist from Burjeel Hospital advises her clients to be more technologically active “most of my clients are so engaged with their phones that I advise them to download applications that offer health related services”.
Torrena said that “most people believe that dieting and keeping fit is boring”.
However, by using social media apps keeping fit means that people are “modern and are kept up to date with the latest heath tips and trends”.
“It can be a guide to a healthy lifestyle and exercise if used in the correct way, so I really encourage my clients to download health applications” said Mrs Torrena.
People can also connect with each other and exchange “tips and notes, it’s extremely healthy and fun”.
Tuesday's fixtures
Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
MATCH INFO
Everton v Tottenham, Sunday, 8.30pm (UAE)
Match is live on BeIN Sports
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THE SPECS
Touareg Highline
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The specs
Engine: 5.0-litre V8
Power: 480hp at 7,250rpm
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Fuel consumption: L/100km
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The specs: 2018 Ducati SuperSport S
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Engine: 937cc
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Power: 110hp @ 9,000rpm
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Fuel economy, combined: 5.9L / 100km
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The Gandhi Murder
- 71 - Years since the death of MK Gandhi, also christened India's Father of the Nation
- 34 - Nationalities featured in the film The Gandhi Murder
- 7 - million dollars, the film's budget
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The specs: 2018 Mercedes-Benz S 450
Price, base / as tested Dh525,000 / Dh559,000
Engine: 3.0L V6 biturbo
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Power: 369hp at 5,500rpm
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Fuel economy, combined: 8.0L / 100km
'Avengers: Infinity War'
Dir: The Russo Brothers
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Four stars
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- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Winners
Best Men's Player of the Year: Kylian Mbappe (PSG)
Maradona Award for Best Goal Scorer of the Year: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
TikTok Fans’ Player of the Year: Robert Lewandowski
Top Goal Scorer of All Time: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
Best Women's Player of the Year: Alexia Putellas (Barcelona)
Best Men's Club of the Year: Chelsea
Best Women's Club of the Year: Barcelona
Best Defender of the Year: Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus/Italy)
Best Goalkeeper of the Year: Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG/Italy)
Best Coach of the Year: Roberto Mancini (Italy)
Best National Team of the Year: Italy
Best Agent of the Year: Federico Pastorello
Best Sporting Director of the Year: Txiki Begiristain (Manchester City)
Player Career Award: Ronaldinho
More on animal trafficking
'Skin'
Dir: Guy Nattiv
Starring: Jamie Bell, Danielle McDonald, Bill Camp, Vera Farmiga
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
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UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
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SPECS
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Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
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Price: From Dh590,000
Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest
Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia
