Mohamed bin Hammam, the president of the Asian Football Confederation, has dropped a further hint that he could challenge Sepp Blatter for the Fifa presidency.
Bin Hamman is yet to publicly announce whether he will stand in June's election. But he posted yesterday on a Facebook account linked to his official website that "competition is good for the organisation (Fifa), whether (the) president or any other posts. Competition is the best way to make the organisation vibrant and alive."
Blatter has been president since 1998 and is up for re-election for a fourth four-year term.
When asked recently whether he would challenge the Swiss incumbent, bin Hammam said: "I did not make up my mind yet. I would rather wait and see."
Also yesterday, football's rule-makers agreed to extend goal-line technology tests for another year, but time is running out to introduce it at the 2014 World Cup.
High-profile mistakes by referees at last year's World Cup led to Blatter reversing his long-held opposition to officials using high-tech aids to assist in decision-making.
But 10 systems investigated by Fifa last month all failed stringent tests, preventing the International Football Association Board (IFAB) from approving trials in real games.
Fifa general secretary Jerome Valcke told the Associated Press there should be "additional tests in the future, at least until 2012, to see if it works".
Football has previously refused to make changes while major sports including tennis, American football, baseball and ice hockey have employed video replay and other high-tech equipment to help officials get calls right.
"It has got to be reliable, quick and affordable and nothing has worked at the moment," said Chuck Blazer, a Fifa executive committee member from the US. "If anyone can meet that criteria I continue to be open to it."
The IFAB approved the use of two additional referees' assistants at the 2012 European Championship after successful testing with the Uefa president Michel Platini's five-official system in the Europa League.
In a ruling that will displease some footballers in cold conditions, IFAB banned players from wearing neck-warming snoods from July 1.
"There was not even a discussion because this is not part of the uniform and it can be dangerous," Blatter said.
IFAB is a 125-year-old body comprising officials from England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, plus Fifa representing the other 204 football nations and referees, coaches and players worldwide.
In Spain, Jose Mourinho, the Real Madrid coach, has played down media reports of a knife attack apparently launched against him in La Coruna last weekend in which a club security guard was slightly injured.
The Spanish radio station Cadena Ser said on Friday the guard had sustained a cut to his back during the usual melee with fans at the city's airport.
However, it was not clear how the guard had been injured or whether there was an aggressor present.
Mourinho said at a news conference ahead of Real's game at Racing Santander today that he knew nothing about the incident other than that the club had told him the guard "had something on his back done with something sharp".
"I don't know anything, I didn't see anything," the Portuguese said. "I arrived, went to the hotel, played the match, returned to Madrid. For me there is no story.
"We had the normal protection the team has, which is not for aggression but for passion of fans.
"I don't know any more and I don't want to know. It doesn't interest me."
* Agencies
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The Energy Research Centre
Founded 50 years ago as a nuclear research institute, scientists at the centre believed nuclear would be the “solution for everything”.
Although they still do, they discovered in 1955 that the Netherlands had a lot of natural gas. “We still had the idea that, by 2000, it would all be nuclear,” said Harm Jeeninga, director of business and programme development at the centre.
"In the 1990s, we found out about global warming so we focused on energy savings and tackling the greenhouse gas effect.”
The energy centre’s research focuses on biomass, energy efficiency, the environment, wind and solar, as well as energy engineering and socio-economic research.
Company%20Profile
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McIlroy's recent struggles
Last six stroke-play events (First round score in brackets)
Arnold Palmer Invitational Tied for 4th (74)
The US Masters Tied for 7th (72)
The Players Championship Tied for 35th (73)
US Open Missed the cut (78)
Travellers Championship Tied for 17th (67)
Irish Open Missed the cut (72)
The Breadwinner
Director: Nora Twomey
Starring: Saara Chaudry, Soma Chhaya, Laara Sadiq
Three stars
Fixtures
Wednesday
4.15pm: Japan v Spain (Group A)
5.30pm: UAE v Italy (Group A)
6.45pm: Russia v Mexico (Group B)
8pm: Iran v Egypt (Group B)
The Case For Trump
By Victor Davis Hanson
Company%20profile
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the pledge
I pledge to uphold the duty of tolerance
I pledge to take a first stand against hate and injustice
I pledge to respect and accept people whose abilities, beliefs and culture are different from my own
I pledge to wish for others what I wish for myself
I pledge to live in harmony with my community
I pledge to always be open to dialogue and forgiveness
I pledge to do my part to create peace for all
I pledge to exercise benevolence and choose kindness in all my dealings with my community
I pledge to always stand up for these values: Zayed's values for tolerance and human fraternity
US households add $601bn of debt in 2019
American households borrowed another $601 billion (Dh2.2bn) in 2019, the largest yearly gain since 2007, just before the global financial crisis, according to February data from the New York Federal Reserve Bank.
Fuelled by rising mortgage debt as homebuyers continued to take advantage of low interest rates, the increase last year brought total household debt to a record high, surpassing the previous peak reached in 2008 just before the market crash, according to the report.
Following the 22nd straight quarter of growth, American household debt swelled to $14.15 trillion by the end of 2019, the New York Fed said in its quarterly report.
In the final three months of the year, new home loans jumped to their highest volume since the fourth quarter of 2005, while credit cards and auto loans also added to the increase.
The bad debt load is taking its toll on some households, and the New York Fed warned that more and more credit card borrowers — particularly young people — were falling behind on their payments.
"Younger borrowers, who are disproportionately likely to have credit cards and student loans as their primary form of debt, struggle more than others with on-time repayment," New York Fed researchers said.
Director: Shady Ali
Cast: Boumi Fouad , Mohamed Tharout and Hisham Ismael
Rating: 3/5
MATCH INFO
Barcelona 2
Suarez (10'), Messi (52')
Real Madrid 2
Ronaldo (14'), Bale (72')
Third Test
Day 3, stumps
India 443-7 (d) & 54-5 (27 ov)
Australia 151
India lead by 346 runs with 5 wickets remaining
Oppenheimer
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The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: seven-speed
Power: 620bhp
Torque: 760Nm
Price: Dh898,000
On sale: now
The 24-man squad:
Goalkeepers: Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea), Simon Mignolet (Liverpool), Koen Casteels (VfL Wolfsburg).
Defenders: Toby Alderweireld (Tottenham), Thomas Meunier (Paris Saint-Germain), Thomas Vermaelen (Barcelona), Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham), Dedryck Boyata (Celtic), Vincent Kompany (Manchester City).
Midfielders: Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United), Axel Witsel (Tianjin Quanjian), Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City), Eden Hazard (Chelsea), Nacer Chadli (West Bromwich Albion), Leander Dendoncker (Anderlecht), Thorgan Hazard (Borussia Moenchengladbach), Youri Tielemans (Monaco), Mousa Dembele (Tottenham Hotspur).
Forwards: Michy Batshuayi (Chelsea/Dortmund), Yannick Carrasco (Dalian Yifang), Adnan Januzaj (Real Sociedad), Romelu Lukaku (Manchester United), Dries Mertens (Napoli).
Standby player: Laurent Ciman (Los Angeles FC).
The specs
Price, base / as tested Dh135,000
Engine 1.6L turbo
Gearbox Six speed automatic with manual and sports mode
Power 165hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 240Nm @ 1,400rpm 0-100kph: 9.2 seconds
Top speed 420 kph (governed)
Fuel economy, combined 35.2L / 100km (est)
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The struggle is on for active managers
David Einhorn closed out 2018 with his biggest annual loss ever for the 22-year-old Greenlight Capital.
The firm’s main hedge fund fell 9 per cent in December, extending this year’s decline to 34 percent, according to an investor update viewed by Bloomberg.
Greenlight posted some of the industry’s best returns in its early years, but has stumbled since losing more than 20 per cent in 2015.
Other value-investing managers have also struggled, as a decade of historically low interest rates and the rise of passive investing and quant trading pushed growth stocks past their inexpensive brethren. Three Bays Capital and SPO Partners & Co., which sought to make wagers on undervalued stocks, closed in 2018. Mr Einhorn has repeatedly expressed his frustration with the poor performance this year, while remaining steadfast in his commitment to value investing.
Greenlight, which posted gains only in May and October, underperformed both the broader market and its peers in 2018. The S&P 500 Index dropped 4.4 per cent, including dividends, while the HFRX Global Hedge Fund Index, an early indicator of industry performance, fell 7 per cent through December. 28.
At the start of the year, Greenlight managed $6.3 billion in assets, according to a regulatory filing. By May, the firm was down to $5.5bn.
