Former Fifa president Sepp Blatter, announcing Qatar as the host of the 2022 World Cup, above in 2010, suggested that French economic interests meant it ordered a vote for Qatar. AFP
Former Fifa president Sepp Blatter, announcing Qatar as the host of the 2022 World Cup, above in 2010, suggested that French economic interests meant it ordered a vote for Qatar. AFP
Former Fifa president Sepp Blatter, announcing Qatar as the host of the 2022 World Cup, above in 2010, suggested that French economic interests meant it ordered a vote for Qatar. AFP
Former Fifa president Sepp Blatter, announcing Qatar as the host of the 2022 World Cup, above in 2010, suggested that French economic interests meant it ordered a vote for Qatar. AFP

Qatar accusations puts Fifa under pressure


Damien McElroy
  • English
  • Arabic

Fifa was scrambling to hold the line under Qatar's 2022 World Cup on Monday as politicians and sport administrators called on the governing body to reopen investigations into dirty tricks allegations.

Legal pressure on the Swiss-based organisation centres on the need to revive the two-year inquiry that cleared Qatar of allegations of corruption during the bidding for the tournament. It only released the results of the inquiry, led by the American lawyer Michael Garcia, last month.

It is unclear if the evidence of an operation to produce fake propaganda about rivals, reported by the Sunday Times, was presented to Mr Gracia's team.

Officials said the new allegations were serious enough to strip the rights from Qatar.

“Absolutely they could switch this,” Mark Palios, the former Football Association chief executive, told the BBC.

Sepp Blatter, the disgraced former Fifa boss, added to its woes by tweeting that the use of a "black-ops" public relations campaign was not the only serious allegation facing the 2022 bid.

“Bad news: Qatar accused of denigration of other bidders. Fact is Qatar won after a political intervention by the former French President Sarkozy to FIFA Vie-President Platini,” he tweeted.

Criminal investigations into corruption in Fifa by the US Federal Bureau of Investigations have so far treated the organisation as a victim of its own officials under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (Rica).

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However lawyers believe a failure to pursue the new claims by the whistleblower who has exposed the campaign orchestrated by the firm Brown Lloyd Jones, could flip the legal view of Fifa into conspirator.

Nasser al-Khelaifi, the Qatari president of Paris St.-Germain and head of BEIN sports, was named last year in a US court as the potential buyer of an Argentina firm at the centre of bribery allegations paid under the code “Q2022”, a reference to Qatar's 2022 bid.

Avatar: Fire and Ash

Director: James Cameron

Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana

Rating: 4.5/5

Titanium Escrow profile

Started: December 2016
Founder: Ibrahim Kamalmaz
Based: UAE
Sector: Finance / legal
Size: 3 employees, pre-revenue  
Stage: Early stage
Investors: Founder's friends and Family

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Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz

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Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley

Director: Rupert Wyatt

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Dubai Rugby Sevens, December 5 -7

World Sevens Series Pools

A – Fiji, France, Argentina, Japan

B – United States, Australia, Scotland, Ireland

C – New Zealand, Samoa, Canada, Wales

D – South Africa, England, Spain, Kenya

While you're here
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Know before you go
  • Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
  • If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
  • By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
  • Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
  • Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.

 

Tank warfare

Lt Gen Erik Petersen, deputy chief of programs, US Army, has argued it took a “three decade holiday” on modernising tanks. 

“There clearly remains a significant armoured heavy ground manoeuvre threat in this world and maintaining a world class armoured force is absolutely vital,” the general said in London last week.

“We are developing next generation capabilities to compete with and deter adversaries to prevent opportunism or miscalculation, and, if necessary, defeat any foe decisively.”

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Name: Salem Alkarbi

Age: 32

Favourite Al Wasl player: Alexandre Oliveira

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The biog

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Age: 34

Emirate: Dubai

Favourite quote: "No one has ever become poor by giving"

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE. 

Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

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Artist: Coldplay

Label: Parlophone/Atlantic

Number of tracks: 10

Rating: 3/5

Yahya Al Ghassani's bio

Date of birth: April 18, 1998

Playing position: Winger

Clubs: 2015-2017 – Al Ahli Dubai; March-June 2018 – Paris FC; August – Al Wahda

The specs
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  • Power: 640hp
  • Torque: 760nm
  • On sale: 2026
  • Price: Not announced yet
UAE tour of the Netherlands

UAE squad: Rohan Mustafa (captain), Shaiman Anwar, Ghulam Shabber, Mohammed Qasim, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Chirag Suri, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Mohammed Naveed, Amjad Javed, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
Fixtures:
Monday, 1st 50-over match
Wednesday, 2nd 50-over match
Thursday, 3rd 50-over match

Dust and sand storms compared

Sand storm

  • Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
  • Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
  • Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
  • Travel distance: Limited 
  • Source: Open desert areas with strong winds

Dust storm

  • Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
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  • Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
  • Source: Can be carried from distant regions
EA Sports FC 26

Publisher: EA Sports

Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S

Rating: 3/5

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yallacompare profile

Date of launch: 2014

Founder: Jon Richards, founder and chief executive; Samer Chebab, co-founder and chief operating officer, and Jonathan Rawlings, co-founder and chief financial officer

Based: Media City, Dubai 

Sector: Financial services

Size: 120 employees

Investors: 2014: $500,000 in a seed round led by Mulverhill Associates; 2015: $3m in Series A funding led by STC Ventures (managed by Iris Capital), Wamda and Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority; 2019: $8m in Series B funding with the same investors as Series A along with Precinct Partners, Saned and Argo Ventures (the VC arm of multinational insurer Argo Group)

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Russia's Muslim Heartlands

Dominic Rubin, Oxford

Infiniti QX80 specs

Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6

Power: 450hp

Torque: 700Nm

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