Fifa president Sepp Blatter, left, alongside AFC presidetn and staunch supporter Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa. Saeed Khan / AFP
Fifa president Sepp Blatter, left, alongside AFC presidetn and staunch supporter Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa. Saeed Khan / AFP
Fifa president Sepp Blatter, left, alongside AFC presidetn and staunch supporter Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa. Saeed Khan / AFP
Fifa president Sepp Blatter, left, alongside AFC presidetn and staunch supporter Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa. Saeed Khan / AFP

AFC unmoved by reports of Sepp Blatter U-turn despite previously staunch support for Fifa chief


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KUALA LUMPUR // The Asian Football Confederation remains unmoved by reports that Sepp Blatter may seek to stay on as Fifa president despite announcing his intention to resign amid a major corruption scandal.

Swiss newspaper Schweiz am Sonntag reported that Blatter had not ruled out staying in office after being honoured by messages of support from African and Asian football associations.

Support for Blatter’s leadership has traditionally been strong in the 46-nation Asian bloc but the AFC declined to throw its weight behind any push to keep the Swiss in power for a fifth term.

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"With regard to recent media stories, the Asian Football Confederation confirms its position as previously outlined, namely that the AFC takes note of the Fifa President's intention to step down at an Extraordinary Congress scheduled to be called later this year or early 2016, which will be the subject of the upcoming Fifa Executive Committee meeting on 20 July," the AFC said in a statement emailed to Reuters on Tuesday.

“AFC fully respects the decision of the Fifa President to step down and is sure that it was taken after deep and careful consideration.”

Africa’s football confederation (CAF) said on Monday it had not heard of any of its members asking Blatter to stay on.

"At CAF level we are not aware of any African countries who have written to ask Blatter to stay on," Kalusha Bwalya, a CAF executive committee member and president of the Football Association of Zambia, told Reuters.

“We feel it is better to get on with our own work in the mean time and see what everyone has to say in the next months. Everybody is waiting for clarity.”

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Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S E Performance: the specs

Engine: 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 plus rear-mounted electric motor

Power: 843hp at N/A rpm

Torque: 1470Nm N/A rpm

Transmission: 9-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 8.6L/100km

On sale: October to December

Price: From Dh875,000 (estimate)

The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
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(Toronto lead 3-1 in best-of-seven series_

Game 1 Raptors 118 Warriors 109

Game 2 Raptors 104 Warriors 109

Game 3 Warriors 109 Raptors 123

Game 4 Warriors 92 Raptors 105

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

While you're here
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Tearful appearance

Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday. 

Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow. 

She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.

A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.

Global state-owned investor ranking by size

1.

United States

2.

China

3.

UAE

4.

Japan

5

Norway

6.

Canada

7.

Singapore

8.

Australia

9.

Saudi Arabia

10.

South Korea

Brave CF 27 fight card

Welterweight:
Abdoul Abdouraguimov (champion, FRA) v Jarrah Al Selawe (JOR)

Lightweight:
Anas Siraj Mounir (TUN) v Alex Martinez (CAN)

Welterweight:
Mzwandile Hlongwa (RSA) v Khamzat Chimaev (SWE)

Middleweight:
Tarek Suleiman (SYR) v Rustam Chsiev (RUS)
Mohammad Fakhreddine (LEB) v Christofer Silva (BRA)

Super lightweight:
Alex Nacfur (BRA) v Dwight Brooks (USA)

Bantamweight:
Jalal Al Daaja (JOR) v Tariq Ismail (CAN)
Chris Corton (PHI) v Zia Mashwani (PAK)

Featherweight:
Sulaiman (KUW) v Abdullatip (RUS)

Super lightweight:
Flavio Serafin (BRA) v Mohammad Al Katib (JOR)

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Front camera: 40MP f/2.2

Battery: 5000mAh, fast wireless charging 2.0 Wireless PowerShare

Connectivity: 5G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC

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Who's who in Yemen conflict

Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government

Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council

Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south

Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory

TEAMS

US Team
Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth
Justin Thomas, Daniel Berger
Brooks Koepka, Rickie Fowler
Kevin Kisner, Patrick Reed
Matt Kuchar, Kevin Chappell
Charley Hoffman*, Phil Mickelson*

International Team
Hideki Matsuyama, Jason Day 
Adam Scott, Louis Oosthuizen
Marc Leishman, Charl Schwartzel
Branden Grace, Si Woo Kim
Jhonattan Vegas, Adam Hadwin
Emiliano Grillo*, Anirban Lahiri*

denotes captain's picks

 

 

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match info

Southampton 0

Arsenal 2 (Nketiah 20', Willock 87')

Red card: Jack Stephens (Southampton)

Man of the match: Rob Holding (Arsenal)

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