Fifa widen bribery investigation in Caribbean Football Union



ZURICH // Fifa's investigation into a bribery scandal went deeper, as more Caribbean Football Union (CFU) officials were put under investigation over an alleged election plot involving the former presidential candidate Mohamed bin Hammam.

Football's world governing body said it wanted to interview 10 officials from six countries, as part of an investigation being conducted by the agency of former FBI director Louis Freeh.

"The cases will be submitted to the Fifa Ethics Committee at its next meeting in mid-November," Fifa said in a statement.

Patrick John, the former prime minister of Dominica, is among those under suspicion.

Fifa is also investigating Oliver Camps, the general secretary of Trinidad and Tobago's football federation and an ally of the former Fifa vice-president Jack Warner.

One of the accused is from the Bahamas federation, which was the original whistle-blower that alerted Fifa to US$40,000 (Dh146,920) cash payments being offered during bin Hammam's campaign visit to Trinidad in May.

Lionel Haven was the general secretary of Bahamas football then, when Warner summoned his CFU members to a two-day conference to meet the Qatari candidate.

Bin Hammam denies bribery and he is appealing his life ban at the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Warner resigned from all football activity after 28 years in Fifa's high command to avoid an investigation.

Colin Klass and Horace Burrell, Fifa committee members, also were suspended, for 26 months and six months respectively. Three more elected officials and two CFU staffers also have been banned for between one and 18 months.

Fifa has not specified why they were suspended or what the 10 new cases are about.

Under Fifa's code of ethics, officials are not allowed to accept cash gifts and must report suspected corruption.

Some officials declined to cooperate with Freeh's investigators, who set up several meetings in Miami, the Bahamas and elsewhere in the Caribbean to interview officials.

After the scandal emerged in May, bin Hammam withdrew his election bid three days before the Fifa vote.

Sepp Blatter, the Fifa President, ran unopposed and won a fourth four-year presidential term, with the backing of 186 Fifa members, including most Caribbean islands.

Blatter has pledged an anti-corruption drive to clean up world football and its damaged image.

Officials under investigation: Raymond Guishard, Damien Hughes (both Anguilla), Everton Gonsalves, Derrick Gordon (both Antigua & Barbuda), Lionel Haven (Bahamas, Caribbean Football Union), Patrick John, Philippe White (both Dominica), Vincent Cassell, Tandica Hughes (both Montserrat), Oliver Camps (Trinidad & Tobago).

Electoral College Victory

Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate. 

 

Popular Vote Tally

The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.

The specs

Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6

Power: 400hp

Torque: 475Nm

Transmission: 9-speed automatic

Price: From Dh215,900

On sale: Now

COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed 

Company%20Profile
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Company%20profile
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If you go:

 

Getting there:

Flying to Guyana requires first reaching New York with either Emirates or Etihad, then connecting with JetBlue or Caribbean Air at JFK airport. Prices start from around Dh7,000.

 

Getting around:

Wildlife Worldwide offers a range of Guyana itineraries, such as its small group tour, the 15-day ‘Ultimate Guyana Nature Experience’ which features Georgetown, the Iwokrama Rainforest (one of the world’s four remaining pristine tropical rainforests left in the world), the Amerindian village of Surama and the Rupununi Savannah, known for its giant anteaters and river otters; wildlifeworldwide.com

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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MATCH INFO

Who: UAE v USA
What: first T20 international
When: Friday, 2pm
Where: ICC Academy in Dubai

Ant-Man and the Wasp

Director: Peyton Reed

Starring: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas

Three stars

Disclaimer

Director: Alfonso Cuaron 

Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville 

Rating: 4/5

If you go

 

  • The nearest international airport to the start of the Chuysky Trakt is in Novosibirsk. Emirates (www.emirates.com) offer codeshare flights with S7 Airlines (www.s7.ru) via Moscow for US$5,300 (Dh19,467) return including taxes. Cheaper flights are available on Flydubai and Air Astana or Aeroflot combination, flying via Astana in Kazakhstan or Moscow. Economy class tickets are available for US$650 (Dh2,400).
  • The Double Tree by Hilton in Novosibirsk ( 7 383 2230100,) has double rooms from US$60 (Dh220). You can rent cabins at camp grounds or rooms in guesthouses in the towns for around US$25 (Dh90).
  • The transport Minibuses run along the Chuysky Trakt but if you want to stop for sightseeing, hire a taxi from Gorno-Altaisk for about US$100 (Dh360) a day. Take a Russian phrasebook or download a translation app. Tour companies such as  Altair-Tour ( 7 383 2125115 ) offer hiking and adventure packages.
Singham Again

Director: Rohit Shetty

Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone

Rating: 3/5

Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale

Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni

Director: Amith Krishnan

Rating: 3.5/5

WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?

1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull

2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight

3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge

4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own

5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed

The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Power: 268bhp / 536bhp
Torque: 343Nm / 686Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
On sale: Later this year
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
TERMINAL HIGH ALTITUDE AREA DEFENCE (THAAD)

What is THAAD?

It is considered to be the US's most superior missile defence system.

Production:

It was created in 2008.

Speed:

THAAD missiles can travel at over Mach 8, so fast that it is hypersonic.

Abilities:

THAAD is designed to take out  ballistic missiles as they are on their downward trajectory towards their target, otherwise known as the "terminal phase".

Purpose:

To protect high-value strategic sites, such as airfields or population centres.

Range:

THAAD can target projectiles inside and outside the Earth's atmosphere, at an altitude of 150 kilometres above the Earth's surface.

Creators:

Lockheed Martin was originally granted the contract to develop the system in 1992. Defence company Raytheon sub-contracts to develop other major parts of the system, such as ground-based radar.

UAE and THAAD:

In 2011, the UAE became the first country outside of the US to buy two THAAD missile defence systems. It then stationed them in 2016, becoming the first Gulf country to do so.

'Nope'
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The specs
 
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
FIXTURES (all times UAE)

Sunday
Brescia v Lazio (3.30pm)
SPAL v Verona (6pm)
Genoa v Sassuolo (9pm)
AS Roma v Torino (11.45pm)

Monday
Bologna v Fiorentina (3.30pm)
AC Milan v Sampdoria (6pm)
Juventus v Cagliari (6pm)
Atalanta v Parma (6pm)
Lecce v Udinese (9pm)
Napoli v Inter Milan (11.45pm)

Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode

Directors: Raj & DK

Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon

Rating: 4/5

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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