Ariel Alvarado, a Panamanian who was a member of FIFA's ethics committee, has been banned from football for life, the governing body announced on Thursday.
FIFA's adjudicatory chamber said in a statement Alvarado was "guilty of bribery in violation of the FIFA Code of Ethics."
The charges stem from the sale of television rights for matches involving Pananama and other teams in the region. Alvarado is only the latest former FIFA official to be banned. Several have been jailed by US courts.
Alvarado who was president of his national federation and a member of the executive committee of the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean football (CONCACAF) was also fined 500,000 Swiss francs (459,000 euros or $511,000).
The statement said in calculating the fine "the Panel took into consideration the undue pecuniary advantages offered and accepted by Mr Alvarado as bribes ($230,000)" and decided the amount should both "have a preventative effect" and "be higher than the benefit Mr 

FIFA bans Panamanian Alvarado for life for bribery

PTI Automatic

England's three-day match against South Africa A, starting at Willowmoore Park on Friday, has been downgraded because of the illness of three England bowlers.
Stuart Broad, Jofra Archer and Jack Leach are all struggling with illness.  Cricket South Africa announced on Thursday that it had agreed to a request by England to change the match from a fixture with first-class status to a non-first-class friendly game.
Any 11 players will be able to bat or bowl, which will enable the tourists to bring players in during the match, even if they are not fit enough to start.
England team media manager Danny Reuben said all three players started feeling flu-like symptoms two days ago and had progressively felt worse.
All three stayed at the team hotel on Wednesday when England were in the field on the second day of a two-day match against a Cricket South Africa Invitation XI at Willowmoore Park.
"Two to three other members of the team and two members of the backroom staff felt unwell today with ..

Tour match downgraded as England hit by illness

Italian police said Thursday they have arrested 334 people, including a police colonel and a former MP, in a major operation against the southern 'Ndrangheta organised crime syndicate, considered Italy's most powerful mafia group.
The swoop by helicopter-borne tactical units was the biggest in years and targeted the 'Ndrangheta in Vibo Valentia -- near the tip of Italy's boot -- but also in regions farther north, including Veneto, Lombardy and Tuscany.
Some 2,500 police as well as army paratroopers took part in the raid, which netted the former MP, from Silvio Berlusconi's party, as well as the head of the Calabrian mayors' association.
"This is the biggest sweep since the Palermo maxi-trial (475 suspects tried in 1986-87)," Cantanzo prosecutor Nicola Gratteri said in a statement.
The elite tactical ROS unit took part, while some of those held were arrested in Germany, Switzerland and Bulgaria on European arrest warrants.
"Some of the bosses knew that the operation was planned for ...

Hundreds held in huge police raid on Italy's 'Ndrangheta mafia

Gunfire broke out in central Moscow near an office of the FSB security service Thursday, with armed officers seen running through a busy shopping area, according to Russian media and footage on social media.
Several videos shot from different vantage points showed armed men running out of the office as gunfire rang out, with some reports saying there were casualties.

Shootout near security service office in Moscow: Russian media

Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Soviet leader, told Russian media on Thursday that he is being treated in hospital for pneumonia.
Confirming a radio report about his illness, the 88-year-old told RIA Novosti news agency by phone: "It's true but I'm recovering. The treatment is basically over, now they are keeping me in for a couple of days and that's it."
Gorbachev led the Soviet Union from 1985 and spearheaded reforms aimed at greater public discussion and openness while his foreign policy achievements included defusing the US-Soviet nuclear standoff.
He became the only president of the USSR in 1990 but the reforms and freedoms he championed hastened the breakup of the multi-ethnic empire the following year and he is still widely reviled at home for this.
He has suffered ill health in recent years.

Gorbachev says hospitalised with pneumonia

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday dropped a cryptic hint seen by some as a sign he may not serve another term while also staunchly defending his Kremlin policies in a marathon news conference.
Clocking in at four hours and twenty-five minutes, the question-and-answer session was one of the longest ever held by Putin in a format that has become an annual end-of-year tradition for the Russian leader.
Putin -- who will shortly mark two decades since Boris Yeltsin dramatically handed him the presidency at the start of 2000 -- faced the media with Russia still isolated internationally and speculation growing about his own plans when his mandate ends in 2024.
Many of the questions posed by some 1,800 reporters accredited for the event focused on bread-and-butter regional issues in a country that stretches from the Baltic to the Pacific, which Putin traditionally responded to with a stream of statistics.
But the most talked about moment came when Putin indicated he was in favour ..

Putin drops cryptic hint on 2024 exit in press marathon

President Donald Trump phoned the head of Boeing ahead of the company's announcement Monday that it was halting production of the 737 MAX, a person familiar with the matter said Thursday.
Trump called Boeing Chief Executive Dennis Muilenburg on Sunday for details about the MAX production plans, the person said, confirming reports in US media.
Muilenburg assured Trump that the company's plan to halt output on the troubled plane would not result in layoffs, the person told AFP.
The MAX has been grounded since mid-March following two deadly crashes that together killed 346 people.
Boeing announced Monday that it was shutting down production for an unspecified time, saying the move was necessary because the regulatory process to recertify the plane was taking longer than expected.
That has hampered the ability to safely deliver some 400 planes built and stored since the regulators grounded the popular aircraft.
The MAX crisis is expected to hit Boeing's earnings for the next couple of ...

Trump called Boeing CEO ahead of MAX shutdown: source

Preliminary results from Afghanistan's delayed presidential polls will be announced in the coming days, an election official said Thursday, after a main candidate ended his boycott of a recount.
The country has been stuck in political limbo since the vote, with the two top candidates -- President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah -- locked in a close race.
Independent Election Commission (IEC) spokesman Zabih Sadat told AFP the key recount and audit of votes from the September 28 election had been completed in all but one province.
"The recount in one remaining province will be completed today," Sadat said.
"Then we will gather data and announce the preliminary results to the public early next week." In Afghanistan, Saturdays mark the start of the week.
The result was originally due on October 19 but was repeatedly delayed amid technical issues, as well as fraud allegations from Abdullah's team.
Abdullah last month withdrew his team's election observers from an ...

Afghanistan poll results expected in coming days: official

Lebanese academic and former minister Hassan Diab received the backing of Shiite group Hezbollah and looked set Thursday to be named the crisis-wracked country's new prime minister.
Caretaker premier Saad Hariri pulled out of the race on Wednesday and his bloc did not nominate any candidate when much-delayed consultations to form a new government got under way at the presidential palace.
The nomination of Diab would yield a lopsided government that observers warn could fuel sectarian tensions on the streets and complicate efforts to secure international aid needed to pull Lebanon back from the brink of default.
Hariri resigned seven weeks ago under pressure from an unprecedented wave of protests demanding a complete overhaul of the political system, leaving the country without a government to tackle its worst ever economic crisis.
Diab, a professor at the American University of Beirut and a former education minister, was endorsed by Hezbollah, which with its allies holds a majority in 

Hezbollah-backed Diab set to be nominated Lebanon PM

Ten people were arrested and over 60 injured in clashes between Catalan separatists and police outside of Barcelona's Camp Nou stadium on Wednesday night as Barcelona and Real Madrid faced off, local authorities said Thursday.
Masked protesters set bins on fire and threw rocks and glass bottles at police who responded with foam bullets and baton charges in a street near the stadium during the first "Clasico" match of the season between the two arch-rivals.
Police detained 10 people during the clashes for affront to authority and causing public disorder, said a spokesman for Catalonia's regional police force, the Mossos d'Esquadra.
Emergency services said it treated 64 people for light injuries, including 39 police officers.
But the police spokesman said a total of 56 officers were injured, including two with broken bones.
Some 3,000 police officers and private security agents had been deployed for the game amid calls for Catalan separatists to protest outside the stadium during the ...

Ten arrested in clashes outside Spain's Camp Nou stadium during Clasico

Arsenal are expected to appoint Manchester City assistant coach Mikel Arteta as their new manager in the next 24 hours after postponing Thursday's scheduled press conference.
Interim boss Freddie Ljungberg was expected to face the media at the club's training ground at 1:30 pm (1330 GMT) to preview the Gunners' trip to Everton on Saturday.
The Swede has taken charge of Arsenal since Unai Emery was sacked on November 29, but has overseen just one victory in his five-match tenure.
A 3-0 defeat at home to Manchester City on Sunday left the club seven points off fourth-placed Chelsea and the same number off the bottom three.
It led to the Arsenal hierarchy stepping up their plans to appoint Emery's successor, with managing director Vinai Venkatesham pictured outside Arteta's house in the early hours of Monday.
It is understood City are unhappy that Arsenal did not ask for permission to speak to Arteta and are especially annoyed because Pep Guardiola's side played at the Emirates on Sunday 

Arteta speculation spikes as Arsenal cancel press conference

Scoreboard on the opening day of the second Test between Pakistan and Sri Lanka at National stadium on Thursday:
Pakistan 1st innings
Shan Masood b Fernando
5
Abid Ali lbw b Kumara
38
Azhar Ali b Fernando
0
Babar Azam st Dickwella b Embuldeniya
60
Asad Shafiq c Fernando b Kumara
63
Haris Sohail lbw b Embuldeniya
9
Mohammad Rizwan b Kumara
4
Yasir Shah lbw b Kumara
0
Mohammad Abbas c de Silva b Embuldeniya
0
Shaheen Shah Afridi c Mathews b Embuldeniya  5
Naseem Shah not out
1
Extras: (b 4, lb 2)
6
Total: (all out; 59.3 overs)
191
Fall of wickets: 1-10, 2-10, 3-65, 4-127, 5-167, 6-172, 7-172, 8-179, 9-185.
Bowling: Fernando 13-3-31-2, Kumara 18-5-49-4, Karunaratne 1-0-11-0, Embuldeniya 20.3-3-71-4, Perera 7-0-23-0.
Sri Lanka
O. Fernando c Rizwan b Shaheen
4
D. Karunaratne b Abbas
25
K. Mendis c Haris b Abbas
13
A. Mathews not out
8
L. Embuldeniya not out
3
Extras: (lb 6, w5)
11
Total: (for three wkts; 19 overs)
64
Fall of wickets: 1-28, 2-39, 3-61.
Bowling: Shaheen 6-2-18-1, Abbas ...

Pakistan vs Sri Lanka Second Test scoreboard

Vladan Milojevic announced on Thursday that he was quitting as manager of Red Star Belgrade even though the team is 11 points clear in the Serbian league.
"I've decided I'm no longer the coach of the Red Star. I would like to thank my staff, my family and above all the fans," Milojevic said at a press conference.
The 49-year-old came through the Red Star youth system but spent most of his playing career in Greece.
He took over as manager in 2017, winning the Serbian league in both his full seasons in charge and twice guiding the club into the group stages of the Champions League.
Last season he masterminded a 2-0 home victory over eventual winners Liverpool.
This year Red Star won their first home game against Olympiakos 3-1 but lost their other five matches by an aggregate score of 19-0. They finished bottom of their group both seasons.

Red Star Belgrade manager quits with team top of league

Pakistan fought back after being dismissed relatively cheaply Thursday as bowlers dominated the opening day of the second Test against Sri Lanka in Karachi.
Lahiru Kumara and Lasith Embuldeniya grabbed four wickets each to dismiss Pakistan for just 191 before the home team had the visitors at 64-3 at stumps at the National Stadium.
Pacer Kumara took 4-49 while left-arm spinner Embuldeniya finished with 4-71 after Pakistan won the toss.
But Pakistan staged a fightback with the wickets of Oshada Fernando (four), Dimuth Karunaratne (25) and Kusal Mendis (13) leaving Sri Lanka still 127 runs behind on the first innings.
Lanky pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi had Fernando caught behind before Mohammad Abbas removed Karunaratne and Mendis.
At stumps, Angelo Mathews was eight not out and nightwatchman Embuldeniya unbeaten on three.
Pakistan were well set at 127-3 with Babar Azam (60) and Asad Shafiq (63) involved in a 62-run stand for the fourth wicket, but once Azam fell the home side lost their ..

Pakistan fight back after Sri Lankan bowlers shine in second Test

The German government will next year issue its first so-called green bonds, borrowing on financial markets to fund projects with "a positive ecological-sustainable effect" as calls grow for climate action.
"In the second half of 2020, the German Federal Government intends to issue Green German Government securities for the first time," Berlin's Finance Agency said in a statement Thursday.
The "twin" bonds will mirror normal debt issued by the German government, with "the same maturity and coupon" (annual interest payment), the agency said.
But proceeds from the green bonds "will completely be allocated to already existing expenditures with a positive ecological-sustainable effect," it added.
The move comes as Germany has stepped up its ambitions for tackling climate change, while at the EU level negotiators this week struck a compromise deal on what spending exactly should be rubber-stamped as "green".
Lawmakers in the German parliament are voting Thursday on a "climate package" that .

Germany to issue first 'green' bonds

The body of Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin should stay in its mausoleum on Red Square in Moscow, so long as Russians retain personal memories of the Soviet period, President Vladimir Putin said Thursday.
Asked at his annual press conference whether the embalmed body of the first Soviet leader, who died in 1924, should be removed, Putin said his position had not changed but also criticised the way Lenin set up the USSR.
"In my view we should not touch this, at least while we have very many people who connect their own lives with this... connect this with achievements of the past, of the Soviet years," said Putin.
Liberals regularly raise the question of removing Lenin's body for burial and more than 60 percent of Russians support this according to a 2017 survey by VTsIOM state pollster.
However,the topic remains highly controversial in a country where the Communist Party is still the largest opposition faction in parliament.
Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov in 2017 said Putin ..

Russia 'shouldn't touch' Lenin's body in mausoleum: Putin

Ukraine on Thursday brushed off the impeachment of Donald Trump an a US "internal issue", despite the process being triggered by a telephone conversation between the American leader and his Ukrainian counterpart.
Trump was impeached on Wednesday by the House of Representatives for abuse of power over the July conversation with President Volodymyr Zelensky.
"Ukraine does not interfere in the internal affairs of any state," Zelensky's spokeswoman Yuliya Mendel told AFP.
"The United States remains a strategic partner for us, and we are pleased to strengthen our relations by expanding cooperation in various fields," she said.
In the conversation, Trump pressured Zelensky to investigate his potential White House challenger in 2020, the veteran Democrat Joe Biden.
Despite being embroiled in the controversy, Ukraine is seeking to preserve the bipartisan support from the United States which is crucial in its protracted conflict with Russian-backed separatists in the east of the ...

Ukraine says Trump impeachment 'internal US issue'

Novak Djokovic has described his longtime rival Andy Murray as a "warrior" and says he is "inspired" by the former world No.1's journey back from a career-threatening injury.
Djokovic watched Murray's recently-released documentary that chronicled the Brit's two-year battle with a hip issue that required multiple surgeries and was moved by what he saw.
Just 11 months ago, a tearful Murray told reporters at the Australian Open that he might never be able to play tennis again but the 32-year-old has since undergone a hip resurfacing operation that saved his career. He returned to singles action in Cincinnati in August, and remarkably lifted his first trophy in two and a half years in Antwerp in October.
While his preseason preparations have been hampered by a groin injury sustained late in the year, Murray is planning on contesting next month's Australian Open - something that seemed highly unlikely when he bid farewell to the tournament in Melbourne last January.
"I've seen his ...

Djokovic says he was moved by 'amazing warrior' Murray

Russia decided on Thursday to contest its ban from major sporting events over doping violations, as President Vladimir Putin slammed its sidelining as unfair and insisted athletes should be able to compete under the national flag.
Russia's RUSADA anti-doping agency "made a decision not to agree" with the four-year ban by the World Anti-Doping Agency's decision, the head of RUSADA's supervisory board, Alexander Ivlev, told journalists.
The decision will have to be communicated to WADA before the end of the month, triggering the appeal process in the Lausanne-based Court of Arbitration for Sport.
WADA on December 10 banned Russia for four years from major global events, including the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, over manipulated doping data.
Putin appeared to indicate a lengthy legal battle loomed, as he addressed a throng of journalists in his annual press conference.
"We will have to calmly await all the relevant decisions, including the decision by the ...

Russia to contest doping ban, Putin defiant

Rafael Nadal insists he is not focused on chasing Roger Federer's record Grand Slam haul, but admits it would be "amazing" if he manages to eclipse the Swiss star's tally of 20 majors won.
Nadal's heroics in 2019 saw him capture a 12th Roland Garros and fourth US Open and the Spaniard is now just one Slam shy of Federer's men's all-time record.
At 33, Nadal became the oldest year-end No.1 when he secured that position last month, following a tremendous season that saw him scoop four titles on tour, along with the Davis Cup crown for Spain.
"Happy to achieve these things, but I would love to have five years less," Nadal joked with reporters in Abu Dhabi on Thursday ahead of his 10th appearance at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship exhibition.
"It has been a little bit of a magic year because it had been a good start, but then I went through a couple of very hard months in terms of injuries.
"Then I came back and I came back well. I started to play at a very high level again. I ...

Nadal not focused on Federer's Grand Slam record

A state of emergency was declared in Australia's most populated region on Thursday as an unprecedented heatwave fanned out-of-control bushfires, destroying homes and smothering huge areas with a toxic smoke.
As thousands of firefighters battled blazes, temperatures neared 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) in some places and authorities warned the extreme weather conditions could get even worse.
Australia endures bushfires every year but the early and intense start to this season, along with the record temperatures, has fuelled concerns about global warming.
In New South Wales, Australia's most populated state with Sydney as its capital, more than 100 bushfires were burning on Thursday, many of them out of control.
New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian declared a seven-day state of emergency, the second since the bushfire season began early in September, due to "catastrophic weather conditions".
At Buxton, about 100 kilometres (62 miles) southwest of Sydney, longtime ...

AFP

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