Latest news with #MohdRASFAN
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'Oh no!': Malaysian PM sticks boot into booed Man Utd
Fans cheer before the friendly between Manchester United and ASEAN All-Stars (Mohd RASFAN) Malaysia's prime minister has stuck the boot into Manchester United by suggesting they could be relegated next season, having watched the fallen Premier League giants booed off in Kuala Lumpur. Ruben Amorim's demoralised side suffered an embarrassing 1-0 friendly defeat to a Southeast Asian XI in front of more than 70,000 in the Malaysian capital on Wednesday. Advertisement That came after United finished a lowly 15th in the league and failed to lift a trophy, one of their poorest seasons in recent memory. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim was in the crowd at Bukit Jalil National Stadium and could not resist a dig afterwards. "Oh no! Manchester United failed to win a trophy again. Looks like you guys are going to have a 'headache' next season," Anwar wrote on Facebook. "Hopefully you don't get relegated to the Championship," he added, referring to England's second tier of football. Amorim's side play the Hong Kong team on Friday in their second and final match of their Asian post-season tour. The game at the 40,000-capacity Hong Kong Stadium was yet to sell out on the eve of the friendly. bur-pst/pbt
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Toothless Man Utd beaten in Malaysia friendly
Fans before the friendly football match between Manchester United and Asean All-Stars (Mohd RASFAN) Manchester United's dismal season suffered fresh embarrassment as they were beaten 1-0 by a Southeast Asian XI in sweltering Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday in front of a crowd of 72,550. Ruben Amorim's side, who finished 15th in the Premier League for their worst season since 1974, looked lethargic and devoid of ideas in the heat. Advertisement Some fans at Bukit Jalil national stadium left before the end and a few boos rang out at the final whistle. In their first of two post-season games in Asia, United started with several regulars including Harry Maguire, Rasmus Hojlund, Casemiro, Diogo Dalot, Manuel Ugarte, Kobbie Mainoo and Andre Onana. In temperatures of 32 degrees Celsius (90 Fahrenheit) at kickoff, it was the ASEAN All Stars who looked more threatening. Filipino defender Amani Aguinaldo blasted a shot just wide in the 16th minute. Onana was called into action midway through the first half with a low save that endeared him to the largely United-supporting crowd. Advertisement Mainoo provided the first real threat for Manchester Utd with a 25-yard effort that was turned behind for a corner, before the young midfielder saw his shot cleared off the line in the 38th minute. Captain Bruno Fernandes came on in the second half and his half-volley drew a loud cheer after a drab restart. The Southeast Asian side stunned Amorim's men through a brilliant counter-attack in the 71st minute. Burmese attacker Maung Maung Lwin found himself clean through on goal and the 29-year-old fired emphatically into the top corner past Tom Heaton. The home team could have had a second soon after, but Heaton came to the rescue to prevent further embarrassment. United now head to Hong Kong for a friendly on Friday. str/pst
The Star
03-05-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Singapore's ruling party PAP on course for election win, preliminary results show
People gather at Serangoon Stadium to wait for the results of the general election in Singapore on Saturday, May 3, 2025. Polls closed on May 3 in an election where Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong faces his first major test against a rejuvenated opposition in uncertain economic times for the trade-centred nation. -- Photo by Mohd RASFAN / AFP SINGAPORE (Reuters): Singapore's People's Action Party was on course on Saturday for a decisive victory for a 14th successive election, samples of official vote counts showed, as the party looked set to extend its unbroken six-decade rule of the city-state. Samples of voting in 15 of the 32 constituencies being contested showed the PAP had won all but one of the races tracked, translating to more than a quarter of house seats.T he vote count was ongoing and more sample counts were being released by the election commission. The election was a bellwether of the popularity of the PAP, which has ruled since before Singapore's 1965 independence, with attention on whether the opposition can challenge the ruling party's tight grip on power and make further inroads after small but unprecedented gains in the last contest. Though the PAP has consistently won in landslides with about 90% of seats, its share of the popular vote is closely watched as a measure of the strength of its mandate, with new premier Lawrence Wong keen to improve on the PAP's 60.1% in the 2020 election - one of its worst performances on record. A final result was expected in the early hours of Sunday. The early vote counts released by the election commission were from random samples of 100 votes taken in each polling station, with a 4% margin of error. LOPSIDED CONTEST Although a PAP defeat was extremely unlikely, some analysts have said the election could alter the political dynamic in the years ahead if the opposition can make more headway, with younger voters keen to see alternative voices, greater scrutiny and more robust debate. But that could take time. Like previous elections, Saturday's contest was a lopsided affair, with 46% of all candidates representing the PAP, which contested all 97 seats compared to 26 for its biggest rival, the Workers' Party, which won 10 last time, the most by an opposition party. The PAP has long had the upper hand, with a big membership to draw from, influence in state institutions and far greater resources than its untested opponents, which ran in only a small number of constituencies. The PAP had five seats in the bag even before polling day, with no opponent in one multi-member constituency. The Workers' Party won in one constituency worth five seats, the early sample voting count showed. The election was the PAP's first under the leadership of Wong, 52, who became the Asian financial hub's fourth prime minister last year, promising continuity, new blood and to lead the country of 6 million people his own way. He took over at the end of the two-decade premiership of Lee Hsien Loong, the son of former leader Lee Kuan Yew, the founder of modern Singapore. Living costs and housing availability in one of the world's most expensive cities were key issues in Saturday's election and remain a significant challenge for Wong, whose government has warned of recession if the trade-dependent economy becomes collateral damage in the war over steep US tariffs. The PAP was keen to avoid upsets and had warned voters of the consequences of seat losses for key cabinet members, whom Wong said were critical to balancing ties between the United States and China and navigating Singapore through potentially choppy economic waters. (Reporting by Xinghui Kok, Jun Yuan Yong and Bing Hong Lok; Editing by Martin Petty) - Reuters
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Asian football chief fears 'chaos' if 2030 World Cup expands to 64 teams
President of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa is opposed to a 64-team World Cup in 2030 (Mohd RASFAN) Asian Football Confederation (AFC) president Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, on Saturday opposed a South American request to expand the 2030 World Cup to 64 teams, saying such increases in numbers would lead to "chaos". Advertisement The centenary edition, hosted by Spain, Portugal and Morocco with three matches also being staged in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay, is already set to welcome 48 teams - a far cry from the 13 in the inaugural event in Uruguay in 1930. "Personally, I don't agree," the Bahraini leader told AFP, adding the 2030 edition had settled on 48 teams "so the matter is settled". His counterpart from South American football's governing body CONMEBOL, Alejandro Dominguez, on Thursday called on FIFA to expand the event in a one-off gesture. He also asked for South America to host the first round of one of the groups, instead of just three matches. Advertisement The global event is due to expand from 32 to 48 teams at the 2026 World Cup, hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. "If the issue remains open to change, then the door will not only be open to expanding the tournament to 64 teams, but someone might come along and demand raising the number to 132 teams," said Salman on the sidelines of the 35th AFC Congress in Kuala Lumpur. "Where would we end up then? It would become chaos." However, the Asian leader refused to close the door on a change after the 2034 World Cup in Saudi Arabia, which will host 48 teams. "If we want to discuss subsequent tournaments... that's a different matter," he said. Advertisement UEFA boss Aleksander Ceferin, dismissed it as a "bad idea" but FIFA secretary general Mattias Grafstrom said the world body would "analyse" the South American proposal. "There are many things that need to be studied, and we will take our time, consult everyone," he said. str/bur/cyj/iwd
