Blatter wins fifth Fifa term as challenger concedes

Sepp Blatter was re-elected president of Fifa for a fifth term yesterday after his only challenger conceded defeat in an election overshadowed by allegations of rampant corruption in world soccer.

Blatter won despite demands that he quit in the face of a major bribery scandal being investigated by US, Swiss and other law enforcement agencies that plunged football’s governing body into the worst crisis in its 111-year history.

Yet his mandate, which was far from convincing, raises fresh questions over his leadership with the possibility of civil war in international football, unhappy sponsors demanding reform and prosecutors looking to widen their investigations.

Neither Blatter nor Jordanian opponent Prince Ali bin Al Hussein received the necessary two-thirds of votes in the first round, with Blatter securing 133 votes against 73 for Prince Ali. However, Prince Ali swiftly conceded.

“I congratulate you if you voted for Prince Ali, he was a good candidate, but I am the president now, the president of everybody,” the 79-year-old Blatter said in his victory speech, knowing he faces a barrage of criticism and countless problems.

UEFA, the powerful European confederation, has been staunchly opposed to another term for the Swiss official and UEFA president Michel Platini has even raised the possibility, albeit unlikely, of Europe boycotting the World Cup.

There has also been talk of UEFA breaking away from Fifa, which is also unlikely, but nothing can be ruled out.

Blatter’s future could yet depend on the reaction of Fifa’s major sponsors and stakeholders who have been deeply dismayed by the dawn arrests in Zurich on Wednesday of several Fifa officials and US prosecutors announcing indictments of officials and companies.

Pele to Harimau Malaya: Play abroad!

Football legend Pele advises the Malaysian national team to play more matches abroad in order to be stronger and aim not only to win regional tournaments.

He said the exposure from playing football in various away grounds would bring wonders to the team spirit and enhance the players' tactics and skills.

"I think for the national team, the best advice is to have the opportunity to play abroad. It's different.

"Sometimes, the team is very good in your own town but sometimes, (when playing at) the different grounds, it's different," he told the media and national team today.

Edson Arantes do Nascimento, more known by his football monicker Pele, has scored more than 1,200 goals in his career for Brazil and clubs Santos and New York Cosmos.

Widely regarded as the greatest football player of all time, he was in Kuala Lumpur today for a meet and greet session with the national football team Harimau Malaya and the press, organised by 100Plus.

In a country in which football is a religion, Pele has God-like status among his countrymen for bringing a total of three World Cup titles - the first as a 17-year-old in 1958.

The legend spent about 90 minutes talking and joking with Malaysians in an event moderated by former Manchester United and England fullback Paul Parker.

Team spirit

According to Pele, the better the team, the more pressure they will face.

The mark of a great player, he added, is those who believe in themselves and the ability of their teammates.

"I remember when I first scored and won my first World Cup (title) in Sweden, I was 17.

"People asked, 'Was it difficult for you?'. I say I don't have any problem because senior players like Didi and Garrincha are the ones who shoulder the responsibility of winning.

"But when taking the penalty kick for my 1,000th goal in Maracana (Stadium in Rio de Janeiro), when I stepped up to score, I am shaking (in) my legs and hands because all of the people want me to score," he said.

Pele, who once served as the sports minister for Brazil, said the most important aspect going for a team is teamwork, and not just depending on the skill of individual players like him.

He said the understanding shared by the whole team playing together as a unit is the most important factor in guaranteeing victory.

"People remembered me for scoring. But I can't score a thousand goals alone. My teammates make me look great.

"It is better to have teamwork and understanding among players than having one or two great players," he concluded.

 

Source : http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/300124

‘I just wanted to die,’ says human trafficking victim

“There was only one thing on my mind - death. I wanted to die because dying would be easier than living,” said a Rohingya migrant who managed to escape from the transit camp in Wang Kelian.

Speaking exclusively to Bernama in Alor Setar yesterday, Nurul Amin Nobi Hussein, 25, said during the two months he was held at the transit camp in Wang Kelian last year, he lost all hope of surviving and only thought of death.

“I was locked up in a cage like the goats and chickens, and all the time, I was surrounded by death. Each day, five or six of us would die, either from illness or were beaten up and shot,” he said.

He added that the Rohingya migrants were crammed into what could be described as small coops which housed between 200 and 300 people, with the men and women kept in separate cages.

He said about five to six guards who spoke Thai would patrol round the clock, armed with sticks, knives, pistols and rifles, watching the estimated 1,500 people held there.

“The detainees were not allowed to talk. Anyone who talked would be beaten up. The guards often screamed ‘sleep, sleep, sleep,’ ordering us all to sleep, and not talk among ourselves,” he said.

Nurul Amin said the ‘coops’ were surrounded by sticks and built on soft ground, and when it rained, it would become muddy, and the detainees only given plastic covers to sit on.

When it rained, the detainees would stand or sit in the muddy water, causing many to be infected with diseases which led to death, he said.

“Many of the detained Rohingyas suffered swollen legs from sitting too long in the mud, resulting in them not being able to move and eat, and finally died,” Nurul Amin, who was from Maungdaw, Myanmar, said.

He said they were given very little food - rice with some anchovies, and potatoes to keep them from getting hungry, nevertheless, causing many to die of starvation.

Maradona cheers FIFA arrests, warns Blatter next

Argentine football great Diego Maradona on Wednesday applauded the arrest of top FIFA officials in an anti-corruption sting, and warned that Sepp Blatter, the president of world football's governing body, may be next.

Maradona said he was "enjoying" the news of the arrest of seven officials, including two FIFA vice-presidents, in a dawn raid at a luxury hotel in Zurich.

They face deportation to the United States on charges of accepting more than US$150 million (RM547 million) in bribes, and the outspoken former star said Blatter could follow in their footsteps.

"Watch out, Blatter may have to go the United States to explain himself. They've been after him for 10 years," he told Buenos Aires radio station La Red.

The crackdown came two days before Blatter seeks a fifth term as the head of the multi-billion-dollar organization.

Maradona has a long history of scathing attacks on Blatter dating back to the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, when he protested the decision to schedule matches in the midday heat.

He has lobbied against Blatter's bid for a new term as FIFA president, writing in the Telegraph this week that he had become a "dictator for life" and the organization "a playground for the corrupt."

"I have been saying this for a long time. They said I was crazy. Today the FBI spoke the truth," he said Wednesday.

"We'll have to see if Blatter wins after this. The Americans did an impeccable job," he added.

Maradona, 54, was considered the greatest player of his day, playing in four World Cups and leading Argentina to victory in 1986. –

Source : AFP, 

World football rocked by arrests of officials for graft

The world’s most popular sport was plunged into turmoil yesterday as seven senior football officials were arrested on US corruption charges and faced extradition from Switzerland, whose authorities also announced a criminal investigation into the awarding of the next two World Cups.

The arrests in a dawn raid at a five-star Zurich hotel mark an unprecedented blow against football’s governing body Fifa, which for years has been dogged by allegations of corruption but always escaped major criminal cases.

US prosecutors said they aimed to make more arrests but would not be drawn on whether Fifa president Sepp Blatter, for long the most powerful man in the sport, was a target of the probe. Blatter, 79, is standing for re-election to a fifth term at the Fifa Congress in Zurich tomorrow, and Fifa said the vote would go ahead as planned.

The European football body UEFA called for the election to be postponed, saying “the European associations will have to consider carefully if they should even attend this Congress”.

In a scathing indictment of corruption in football, US authorities said nine officials and five sports media and promotions executives were charged in cases involving more than US$150 million in bribes over a period of 24 years. They said their investigation exposed complex money laundering schemes, millions of dollars in untaxed incomes and tens of millions in offshore accounts held by Fifa officials.

WHY IS MS.JAYALALITHA"S RETURN TO THE HELM OF AFFAIRS IS GOOD FOR THE STATE ?

“Its an exaggerated Judgement” was every AIADMK cadre’s war cry last September, the DMK felt happy saying “Truth Prevailed”, whereas every common man on a TN street felt “Good or bad this should not have happened at this point in time” (considering the brisk pace at which developments were planned in the state).

 Days passed, September met May, charges were reverted (we don’t hold the authority to analyse and comment on a Top court’s Judgement), jubilation’s began for the AIADMK, Opposition felt dismayed and again the common man hoped for return of normalcy.

Why is J Jayalalitha’s return to the helm of affairs is good for the state ? We strongly believe, the role of a voter in our society is very much equivalent to that of a rag picker, you know you are digging into rags, still your job is to choose the best one suited for your livelihood among what is made available to you.

Right, we can hear you saying why not 49 o, it’s ultimately of no use at the end (refer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/49-O#Disqualification_hoax).

By above means in 2011, among those were available before us we chose the AIADMK and Ms.Jayalalitha. Things were more than fine, the government made reality many a populist schemes, it had an vision for 2023, it’s not that the Government fulfilled all it’s poll promises, but positive energy prevailed everywhere that it will fulfill it.

All of a sudden that happened on Sep 27 and dirty politics was there to be seen for everybody in TN for the last 7 months.

The State Government took a paid sabbatical, things went off-course, decisions were denied to be made, and people were given bizarre excuses for the Government’s sluggishness.

237 days passed, the swearing in yesterday brought back the hope of development, hope of normalcy and an end to inactivity. Let’s not waste time in arguing about the past of a person, let’s think what’s the best possibility available at present to achieve quick growth and sustainability.

We need someone who is not afraid to make decisions, who can establish a strong connect with the center, who should have impeccable administrative capabilities (leaving dirty politics aside, everybody does that for a reason). For us, it all sums up to Ms.J.Jayalaitha at the moment.

Let’s have our fingers crossed, its time for TN to shout Peace, Prosperity and Progress!!



Source : http://winationz.com/why-is-ms-jayalalithas-return-to-the-helm-of-affairs-is-good-for-the-state/#

Malaysian filmmaker Indrani Kopal bags award at Cannes Film Festival

PETALING JAYA: It was a reel honour for Malaysian filmmaker Indrani Kopal (pic)when she won the Best Student Documentary award at the American Pavilion's Emerging Filmmaker Showcase in Cannes Film Festival on May 19.

Her documentary The Game Changer focused on how dance instructor Susan Slotnick used dance as part of a rehabilitation programme at a correctional facility in New York.

In a Facebook posting, the 35-year-old former web producer described her win as “surreal”.

Indrani said: “Such a special evening. Thank you all for all the wishes, shares. I know this is a little too much! After Cannes, I promise I will go away quietly, and hide from the news feed.”

Previously, The Game Changer had picked up an award for Best Short Documentary at the Harlem International Film Festival in New York.

Indrani is currently doing her Masters in documentary studies and production at Hofstra University in New York. In an interview with The Star last year, she announced plans to produce The Incarcerated Rhythm, a sequel to The Game Changer.

Source : http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2015/05/21/Indrani-wins-at-Cannes/

MACC to pay RM660k for Teoh Beng Hock death

After almost six years of tussle, the government today finally agreed to pay a compensation of RM600,000 to the family of the late Teoh Beng Hock for negligence.

Teoh, who was brought in as a witness by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on July 15, 2009 was found dead the following day after falling from the 14tth floor of the Selangor MACC headquarters in Shah Alam.

Kulai MP Teo Nie Ching, who has been assisting Teoh's family, said the settlement was formalised and agreed upon by both parties at the Kuala Lumpur High Court today.

"The MACC had made the offer three months ago after the Court of Appeal ruled they was liable for Teoh's death," she told Malaysiakini.

On Sept 5 last year, a three-member Court of Appeal panel had reversed the High Court's open verdict decision, ruling that Teoh's death was "accelerated by unlawful acts by MACC officers".

In today's settlement, the MACC also said it will to police investigations claims of assault and battery against Teoh.

Acquittal makes Jaya invincible, big advantage for AIADMK, body blow to rivals

New Delhi: The AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa's acquittal by the Karnataka High Court in a 19-year-old corruption case has come as a huge relief for Jayalalithaa and her party. It will make her the chief minister of Tamil Nadu once again enabling her to lead the party in the assembly election due in May 2016. The public prosecutor in the case also feels that there is no ground for appeal against the acquittal making Jaya's position formidable in the coming days.

The Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) BV Acharya expressed surprise over the judgement. Speaking to the media after the acquittal, he said "one can't predict court judgements."

This 19-year-old disproportionate assets case (DA) had been the biggest stumbling block for her. As she is off the hook, reenergised Jaya can launch powerful attack on her detractors and political rivals.

It has come as a huge setback for her main rival the DMK and other political parties in Tamil Nadu. The DMK with its wheelchair-bound 93-year-old leader M Karunanidhi leading the party once again may not be able to take on the might of Jaya led AIADMK.

Spurs vs M'sia XI: KJ gets royal yellow card

Crown prince of Johor Tunku Ismail Idris has noted how various issues in the country have been politicised of late.

However, he wanted Khairy Jamaluddin to ensure that the same fate does not befall the sport of football in Malaysia.

And in order to do this, Tunku Ismail said the youth and sports minister should stand for what is right.

Taking to Facebook, the crown prince penned his disappointment with Khairy for defending the match between the national team and Tottenham Hotspur, which is slated for May 27.

"You know that this match does not benefit the national team, but I'm surprised that you say it does and you stand alongside the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM).

"This match serves one purpose and one purpose only - the proceeds of this match go to the organisers responsible to bring the team to Malaysia and FAM.

"But what benefit does it bring the national team for the World Cup qualifiers?" he asked.