Too Soon?

Channeling Dolly

 

Crooked FIFA Chief to Face Criminal Charges

UEFA (Europe's governing body for football) is preparing to make a criminal complaint against FIFA president Gianni Infantino for alleged “criminal mismanagement” in connection with his failed Fifa Forward Enterprise plan to sell off stakes in the World Cup to private investors.   Infantino is accused of a “stunning dereliction of duty” in sidelining the FIFA executive council in his attempt to pull off the plan.  The stunning display of greed was condemned by CONCACAF (the North, Central ­American and Caribbean ­confederation) and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).  UEFA itself threatened to boycott all FIFA-related events and tournaments if the plan went forward.

In an explosive escalation of the war engulfing football’s governing bodies, UEFA has made separate applications in the United States for information, including from FIFA and the investment firm Thrive Capital.  Thrive Capital, led by Joshua Kushner, was to be the lead investor in Infantino’s plan.  The request explains UEFA and other interested parties are “preparing to bring criminal claims in Switzerland against Infantino and possible other FIFA officials and advisers for criminal mismanagement under Article 158 of the Swiss Criminal Code”.

 

Olivia Rodrigo - Serena Joy

The Power of Spock

 

Glacial Collapse in Nepal Results in Massive Flooding

Massive flash floods in a border area of Nepal and China killed at least 160 people and left hundreds of tourists, workers and others missing Wednesday after suddenly sweeping through communities and halting travel in some areas. Experts said a glacial collapse caused the disaster in the warming Himalayan region.

Police in Nepal reported at least 157 dead. China’s state broadcaster CCTV reported at least three dead and 265 missing in the Tibet region’s Gyirong County near the national border. Drone footage showed roads destroyed and buildings buried by thundering water the color of wet cement. State news agency Xinhua reported significant casualties.

 

The region’s steep valleys are economic lifelines and travel corridors but are precarious when disaster strikes. Images showed what appeared to be the second floors of buildings in Nepal’s hard-hit Nuwakot district slathered in mud after the torrent rushed by. Debris hung from tree branches and wires, vehicles were buried and some stunned survivors were caked in mud.

There was little time for anyone to flee.  “When I reached Dhunge bazaar, in half an hour, the flood came and damaged all the market. People were preparing to go to office then,” resident Shoyam Rajbhandari said. “How many people are missing or dead, we don’t know.”

The region saw similar flash floods in August last year, when a glacial lake in Tibet overflowed because of high temperatures. Nine people were killed, and critical infrastructure, including a bridge connecting Nepal and China, was damaged.  The Himalayan mountain range spans several countries in South Asia and has many of the world’s highest peaks and remaining glaciers. The steep slopes and the lush valleys below are especially vulnerable to flooding and landslides, and extreme weather events like intense monsoons and melting glaciers have become more common because of warming due to human-caused climate change.  Researchers in Kathmandu found earlier this year that glaciers across the Hindu Kush Himalaya region are melting faster, with ice loss rates doubling since 2000.

 

 

A Tragic Loss