Defender Fabio Aurelio to leave Liverpool next week

Liverpool defender Fabio Aurelio is to leave the club next week after failing to agree a new contract.

The 30-year-old became the first Brazilian to sign for the Merseyside outfit when he joined in July 2006 on a free transfer from Valencia.

But his Anfield career was hampered by injuries and he has turned down the offer of a new pay-as-you-play deal.

"We had been trying to work something out but it was a pity that we couldn't," said manager Rafael Benitez.

"He has given us absolutely fantastic service. The one problem we had with Fabio was that he suffered too many injuries and it was such a pity because he has great quality."

Aurelio missed the start of 2009/10 season after sustaining a freak knee problem while playing football with his children and a thigh problem at the end of February prematurely ended his season.

He made a total of 23 appearances in 2009/10, including 14 in the Premier League and seven in Europe.

Benitez said Aurelio's injury problems put more pressure on 21-year-old left-back Emiliano Insua. The Argentine played 44 matches before he too succumbed to injury late in the season.

"With Fabio being out so much, it meant that we had to use Insua more than we would have liked and that was not easy for him," added Benitez.

"It has been a pleasure having him here and we really will miss him. You are talking about an amazing person who gave 100% all the time. We wish him all the best."

Source BBC

Posted on Tuesday 25th May 2010

Obama Administration, Congress and Africa celebrate 10-years of AGOA

Ten years after the enactment of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a group of its original architects and supporters from the US government and Congress, the private sector, as well as members of the African diplomatic corps, met on Capitol Hill to celebrate its success in spurring economic development in Africa and to call for a recommitment to protect, extend and expand the landmark legislation.

"By opening the American market to almost all goods from beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries, AGOA has helped Africans use trade to fight poverty and grow their economies - and AGOA is also good for US business," said Ambassador Kirk, the United States Trade Representative, at the widely-attended ceremony.Since AGOA was enacted in 2,000, it has brought about $300 billion in export earnings to Africa and created more than 300,000 jobs, mostly in the manufacturing sector.

In addition, the AGOA era has seen a dramatic increase in US exports to Africa, from $5.9 billion in 2001 to $18.5 billion in 2008.Ambassador Kirk; Rep. Sander Levin (D-MI), Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee; former Chairman Charlie Rangel; Congressman Donald Payne (D-NJ), Chairman of the House Sub-committee on Africa and Global Health; and Congressman Ed Royce (R-CA) paid tribute to all those who had worked to draft and enact AGOA and to advocate for the three enhancements it has undergone over the past ten years.

They particularly lauded Rosa Whitaker, President and CEO of The Whitaker Group, the premier consultancy group facilitating trade, investment and enterprise solutions in Africa. As Senior Trade Advisor to Congressman Charlie Rangel (D-NY), Ms. Whitaker was a chief architect of AGOA and is a co-chair of the AGOA Action Committee, which has led successful work to extend and improve the legislation. Several months ago she received a Congressional Resolution applauding her commitment to Africa over the years.AGOA, which garnered strong bipartisan support when it was enacted, received praise from both sides of the political aisle.

Former Ways and Means Chairman Bill Thomas urged the Obama Administration to strengthen and extend AGOA to beyond its current expiration date of 2015, and Congressman Royce (R-CA) called for a reduction in US agricultural subsidies, which render African agricultural exports uncompetitive in the US market.Also speaking at the AGOA anniversary was His Excellency Ambassador David Mohlomi Rantekoa of Lesotho.

He spoke of how AGOA had transformed Lesotho's economy by enabling a huge expansion of the apparel sector, which currently employs 40,000 people, mostly women. "Thanks to AGOA, Lesotho was able to attract foreign investment into its small existing textile and apparel sectors, including a $120 million denim fabric mill, further integrating Lesotho into the global marketplace," he said.

Thanks to AGOA, Lesotho's exports of apparel increased from $140 million in 2000 to nearly $350 million in 2008, making the small Kingdom sub-Saharan Africa's largest exporter of apparel. Ambassador Rantekoa also outlined some of AGOA's successes in other countries. Under AGOA, he said, South African exports of automotive and transportation equipment to the US have grown 1,100% from $148 million in 2000 to $1.9 billion in 2008; in Tanzania, coffee and tea exports have grown more than 500% to $15.8 million in 2008; Kenya's apparel industry has experienced a 700% increase in its exports to the US to $250 million in 2008; and AGOA has helped Ethiopia launch a cut-flower industry worth more than $4 million in exports to AGOA in 2008.Mr. Martin Trust, President of Brandot International Ltd., an investment firm specializing in creating joint venture partnerships with textile and apparel companies, spoke out on behalf of the US private sector, which would like to see an enhanced AGOA that would contain a provision giving a tax credit on the repatriation of profits by US companies with investments in Africa.

The ceremony was one in a series of recent events in Washington, DC celebrating a decade of success under AGOA. On April 26, the AGOA Action Committee, co-chaired by Rosa Whitaker, co-hosted a Leaders Forum to assess progress made under AGOA over the past decade, and to introduce a new policy proposal, entitled Enterprise for Development. The proposal, presented to the Obama Administration, calls for the continuation of AGOA's exclusive duty-and quota-free access to the US market for African goods, as well as policies to strengthen and grow indigenous enterprises in Africa and measures that support job creation, export promotion and prosperity in both the US and Africa."Over the past decade, we have learned that AGOA should be just one tool - albeit a critical one - in America's arsenal to support Africa as it grows its own prosperity. We have learned that what Africa needs from the United States is a concerted, multifaceted trade and investment policy that brings together the trade preferences of AGOA with trade capacity building, strategic development assistance and incentives to spur greater foreign direct investment by U.S. businesses in Africa," Ms. Whitaker said.She issued an impassioned call to action and warned that if current trade preference reform proposals in the US Congress to extend AGOA benefits - duty and quota-free access to the US market - to all Least Developed Countries (LDCs), including hyper-competitive Asian nations, it would have catastrophic consequences for Africa, particularly to its nascent apparel exporting sector.Also speaking at the Leaders Forum, which was attended by African Ministers of Finance and Ambassadors, as well as other AGOA stakeholders and business and policy leaders, were the Honorable Mr. Timothy Thahane, Minister of Finance and Development Planning for the Kingdom of Lesotho, and renowned development economist Dr. Paul Collier, Director of the Center for the Study of African Economies at Oxford University.Minister Thahane warned that if major apparel exporters like Bangladesh and Cambodia receive AGOA-like benefits, Africa's apparel sector would be devastated. "AGOA has demonstrated that if we have the market opportunities, Africa can respond, it can produce, it can deliver. Give us a break and we can deliver," he said. "African governments are trying to reach larger markets through regional integration, but we have to have the infrastructure and we also need the skills. The entry point has been AGOA and let us not dilute it, let us expand it and make it global."Dr. Collier described AGOA as so successful that it should be replicated by the European Union and Japan. "There is a real opportunity for AGOA to go global.

If we had a Super AGOA that included Europe and Japan, it would make life so much easier for Africa," he said, describing the trade preferences offered by AGOA as the "pump priming mechanisms" that are helping African nations to break into manufacturing and the global market.AGOA's tenth anniversary comes at a pivotal time as Congress and Africa advocates worldwide seek a "way forward" on US Africa trade policy.

The expiration of two major US trade preference programs, the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) and the Andean Trade Preference Act (ATPA), at the end of 2010 has prompted broader discussions on more expansive reforms to US trade preference programs, including AGOA. Congress is also considering major reforms to US foreign assistance programs. Given this unique opportunity, the AGOA Action Committee has urged Congress and the Obama Administration to pursue a multi-dimensional policy platform that will create jobs in America and Africa and fundamentally change and strengthen US-Africa economic relations.

Greater economic development in Africa will create a more attractive and lucrative environment for American firms investing abroad, and greater interdependence and rising prosperity will improve conditions for all.

Story by Prince Osei Bonsu (Source: myjobyonline)

Posted on Friday 21st May 2010

What makes Mourinho tick

Jose Mourinho, aiming to complete a treble triumph with Inter Milan this weekend, puts his achievements down to his work ethic, his leadership skills and his faith in God.

The Inter coach, with the Serie A title and Coppa Italia already in the bag, faces Bayern Munich in the Champions League final on Saturday, aiming to win the tournament for a second time.

When I asked Mourinho this week for the secret to his success, he said: "I pray a lot. I am Catholic, I believe in God. I try to be a good man so He can have a bit of time to give me a hand when I need it."

And with this weekend's game at the Santiago Bernabeu in mind, he added that it was important "to play the final not with an obsession but with a dream".

To find out what makes Mourinho tick, I spoke to his former professor at the University of Lisbon, his trusted fitness coach, ex-Chelsea player Arjen Robben and Inter sporting director Marco Branca.

Each one of them talked of Mourinho's dedication, his forensic preparation for each match and his unique relationship with his players.

But the man himself was just as enlightening.

"You must work hard and work well," said the 47-year-old Portuguese, who has an enviable CV after enjoying major success at Porto, Chelsea and now Inter.

"Many people work hard, but not well. You must create good leadership with the players, which is an accepted leadership, not leadership by power or status.

"You must create a positive atmosphere and make everyone feel part of the group. In this club, if you go to the barrier, the man at the door feels part of the group and success. The people who work in the kitchen feel part of this family. And I'm one of them."

Robben, currently playing some of the best football of his life for Bayern, quit Chelsea for Real Madrid in 2007 after dropping down Mourinho's pecking order at Stamford Bridge.

"He is a bit special in his approach to every game," the Netherlands international told me.

"Every player is very well prepared. They know their job. He is also very good at dealing with big-name players. He gets their respect. And it is mutual."

At the age of 20, Mourinho studied sports science at the University of Lisbon. Professor Carlos Neto, who lectured on the course, was at pains to stress that the young Jose was "a good student, but not exceptional".

"He worked hard and was never any trouble," said Neto. "He was always on time and he used to get 15 out of 20 for his work, when the average was 12. But he did not stand out from the crowd."

Was he shy, possibly even a bit dull? "He was a normal student," replied Neto. "He was popular, but quite quiet."

Those who have been part of Mourinho's journey, which really began in 1990 when he was assistant coach at Portuguese side Estrela Amadora, talk about a determined young man who knew very early on that he was not good enough to be a top player.

Instead, he concentrated all his efforts on coaching and trying to be the best.

From a coaching role at Porto, he became translator and then an assistant coach at Barcelona during Bobby Robson's reign.

Then came moves to Benfica, Uniao Leiria and the glory of that Champions League triumph with Porto in 2004. Premier League titles with Chelsea and a clean sweep of domestic honours in Italy followed.

Mourinho does not hang around at one club for long. Two seasons is about it - a statistic which could be proved again this summer if he moves from Inter to Real Madrid.

Inter sporting director Branca, whom many British football fans will remember from his brief time as a striker with Middlesbrough, has worked closely with the Portuguese over the past two years.

So what has Mourinho done that previous Inter boss Roberto Mancini did not do?

"Everything is different," said Branca. "He is complete. His approach is unique. Every phrase he uses is important. He is totally professional.

"His attention to detail, his planning and preparation, his understanding of the opposition, his tactics... everything."

But could not the same be said of Sir Alex Ferguson, Fabio Capello or Louis van Gaal, Bayern's boss and Mourinho's former mentor? What is different about Mourinho?

Branca thought for a while and said: "He is Jose. That's his secret."

Fitness coach Rui Faria, who has worked alongside Mourinho at Porto, Chelsea and Inter, added: "Every other top coach says they work hard and they prepare better than anyone else, but they can't make what Mourinho does.

"Everything he does is better. He works harder than anyone else. He knows everything about every player and every game."

Posted on Thursday 20th May 2010

Patel Sees 300,000 Green Energy Jobs in S. Africa

May 18 (Bloomberg) -- South African investment in "green energy" such as hydropower, solar energy and biofuels may create 300,000 jobs in 10 years, Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel said.

The government's Industrial Development Corp., which will spearhead the development of a green economy, will invest 11.7 billion rand ($1.55 billion) in the industries over the next five years, he told a conference in Johannesburg today.

"We need to move with speed as countries around the world are competing to take a slice of the green economy," Patel said.

A rich biodiversity, lots of sunshine, a long and windy coastline, as well as modern infrastructure, are competitive advantages for South Africa, the continent's largest economy, as it seeks to attract green investments, Patel said.

--Editors: Philip Sanders, Karl Maier

To contact the reporter on this story: Franz Wild in Johannesburg at fwild@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Antony Sguazzin at asguazzin@bloomberg.net

Posted on Wednesday 19th May 2010

Redknapp is a golden oldie

Harry Redknapp struck the latest blow for English management's older generation by completing the transformation of Tottenham Hotspur from fallen giant flirting with relegation to Champions League qualifiers.

Fulham's 62-year-old Roy Hodgson had already demonstrated there is life in the old dogs yet by guiding the Cottagers to a Europa League final against Atletico Madrid. Now Redknapp, another elder statesmen, is celebrating spectacular success.

The sprightly 63-year-old walked into White Hart Lane in late October 2008 as Juande Ramos left behind him a team anchored firmly to the foot of the Premier League.

Today, Spurs are back among Europe's elite after beating Manchester City at Eastlands in what effectively amounted to a fourth place play-off.

And Redknapp, as the main strategist, takes most of the credit.

The former Portsmouth and West Ham boss, suit still dripping from the soaking he received from his joyous players, initially couched his delight behind such bland soundbites as: "It's nice. It's good."

Judging by the wild scenes in a small corner of Eastlands, Spurs fans pitched it slightly higher than that, while chairman Daniel Levy is likely to feel similarly euphoric as a potential jackpot of at least £30m looms into view.

Redknapp is so often damned with faint praise, labelled a "wheeler dealer" rather than a shrewd tactician. Yet he got the better of Manchester City when it really mattered.

While the home side too often looked wrapped in a cloak of caution, Spurs, fielding a team packed with attacking intent, went on the offensive in the knowledge three points would win the season-long battle with City, Aston Villa and Liverpool for fourth place.

"I thought people might think I was mad to come here and play with two up top, but we did and it's worked," admitted Redknapp. "We were talking before the game and I said 'we've got Aaron Lennon, Peter Crouch, Jermain Defoe and Gareth Bale - let's go for it'."

Crouch's late goal was a long overdue reward for Spurs, who dominated the second half and were by far the more accomplished team as Roberto Mancini's City became devoid of ideas long before referee Steve Bennett officially ushered Redknapp and his team back into the big time.

Spurs had gone back to basics - and to what some purists may regard as an old-fashioned and outdated managerial set-up - when they dispensed with Ramos and much-maligned sporting director Damien Comolli in exchange for one of the game's most enduring figures.

And the return to a traditional style of management yielded dividends. Redknapp transmitted his own enthusiasm and know-how to a talented squad that had lost its way, augmenting it with shrewd signings that brought stability before moving the club forward into the top four.

Now, inspired even further by claiming the Champions League prize, he is fit and firing for the new challenges ahead. "I know I'm good at my job," he insisted. "You don't last 1,100 games in management if you're a mug. People didn't keep me just because the chairman liked me. Most of them actually probably didn't like me."

The new territory Spurs are about to enter holds no terrors for a man with such enthusiasm and who insists the end of his long career is nowhere in sight.

"I don't see any reason why I should pack in. I'm still driving in at 5.30am every day and I drive home every night because I like to go home," he said. "If I felt like an old man, I would walk the dogs on the beach every day. But if I got out of this, I'd still go and manage a kids' team on a Sunday."

No need for that yet, Harry. Not now you're set to become only the sixth Englishman to manage a team in the Champions League.

Spurs illustrated exactly why they deserve fourth place as City were reduced to second best. Ledley King and Michael Dawson were virtually faultless, demonstrating why the watching Engand coach Fabio Capello may be tempted to take both to the World Cup in South Africa this summer.

For City, their Abu Dhabi hierarchy and manager Mancini, it is hardly back to the drawing board after ensuring a return to European competition, albeit in the less salubrious surroundings of the Europa League. The season has marked progress, of sorts.

But lessons must be learned - and perhaps Redknapp's success can provide one of them. City unceremoniously dumped Mark Hughes back in December because they were not on course to achieve a pre-agreed target of 70 points.

No thought appeared to be given to allowing Hughes more time - and it is unlikely any thought was devoted to the idea of giving a British coach his chance.

City went for former Inter Milan coach Mancini, perhaps someone they thought of as a more high-profile and glamorous European figure, when maybe a glance at Redknapp's work at White Hart Lane might have suggested British is not such a bad idea.

They will still miss that 70-point target and the top four has proved beyond them. It is questionable whether Mancini has done any better than Hughes would have done had he remained in charge.

Mancini was defiant when questioned about his position - and City insisted he will not be sacked - but behind the polite applause among the power brokers in the Eastlands directors' box, there were some grim faces.

City's fans took the disappointment with typical good grace, although the PA announcer's decision to play The Smiths' 'Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now' after the final whistle was borderline black humour.

From the moment City decided to evoke memories of Gazza and Italia 90 by employing celebrated tenor Martin Toal to regale Eastlands with 'Nessum Dorma' prior to kick-off, there was every chance this would end in tears.

City's assault on the summit of world football will continue, but sights may have to be adjusted. Had they reached the Champions League, it was possible their spending this summer would have altered the game's landscape in this country and beyond.

The spending will continue but they will have to try a little bit harder to attract their top targets and may find that some, such as Liverpool's Fernando Torres, have been pushed beyond their reach by this setback.

Some who took offence at City's attempt to shake up the game may revel in Wednesday's result, although, of course, many of the same people would love their own club to be in the same position. It is a simple case of jealousy.

For Spurs, however, this result marked a return to what they regard as a place that befits their status - and a case of finally putting behind them their "Lasagnagate" final-day failure to reach the Champions League four years ago.

And for Redknapp, like his Fulham counterpart Hodgson, he has proved age is no barrier to finding new football territory to conquer.

Posted on Thursday 6th May 2010

China economic growth points to possible rise in yuan

China's economy grew at an annual rate of 11.9% in the first quarter of the year, which experts say could lead to a revaluation of the yuan.

The growth figure was slightly higher than expected, while consumer price inflation was surprisingly low at 2.2%.

"We have got off to a good start this year," a Chinese spokesman said.

The figures have helped to fuel debate among experts about whether the recent fiscal stimulus package could be stoking up problems for the economy.

"There is a lot of talk about overheating," Glenn Maguire, chief economist for Asia Pacific at Societe Generale, told the BBC. "But the classic symptom is inflation."

March's consumer price inflation was 2.4% versus expectations of 2.7%, and producer price inflation was 5.9% versus the expected 6.4%.

 

"There had been speculation on the back of strong construction data [of] an imminent rate hike," added Mr Maguire. But given the low inflation, he now thinks the next step will be a revaluation of the yuan.

Either policy - a rise in interest rates or an increase in the value of the yuan - could be used to help slow the Chinese economy.

However, China has been under pressure from President Obama to address the yuan, which many commentators say is undervalued and gives the Chinese an unfair advantage in export markets.

But the Chinese refuse to be rushed. "I think, on the exchange rate problem, the biggest headache we face isn't the economic problem, rather it is that this problem is being highly politicised," Chinese commerce minister Yi Xiao Zhun told the BBC.

"China should still maintain stability in the trade policy and exchange rate policy," he added.

Wasted investment?

However, other economists fear that the rush by the Chinese authorities to boost investment spending during the global recession may have been too hasty.

 

"In the short term you can get as much growth as you are willing to pay for", Michael Pettis, professor at Peking University's Guanghua School of Management, told the BBC.

"[But] it has turned out to be very hard for Beijng to rein in investment spending, especially at the local [government] level," he added.

"The worry is that these seemingly-strong growth numbers may reflect a surge in investing that turns out to be very wasteful in the longer run."

Bubble

Data showed that urban property prices in March grew at their fastest rate in over four years.

Cheap and plentiful loans are helping to push up housing prices and raising fears of a bubble, BBC business reporter Linda Duffin says.

That is why mortgage rates have been raised and a new sales tax on homes has been introduced, she adds.

But the low inflation rate in the first quarter eases pressure on Beijing's policymakers to raise interest rates and cool the boom.

And if the government is successful at keeping growth at a manageable rate, China is likely to overtake Japan as the world's second biggest economy this year, our reporter says.

Li Xiaochao, spokesman for China's National Bureau of Statistics, told reporters in Beijing that the "momentum of national economic recovery" had further expanded and there was "a good foundation for reaching the targets set for the whole year".

Posted on Thursday 15th April 2010

Gas safety worries over old certificates

A third of tenants are renting properties that have out-of-date gas safety certificates, a poll suggests.

In a survey of just over 1,000 UK tenants, 36% said that the legal time limit had elapsed and 26% said they had never been given a safety certificate.

Landlords are legally required to ensure an annual gas safety check is carried out and provide tenants with a copy of the certificate.

This must be performed by a registered engineer.

This register is overseen by the Gas Safe Register, a safety body that replaced Corgi in April 2009.

Deaths

Some 18 people died and 310 were injured in the UK as a result of gas leaks, fires, explosions and carbon monoxide poisoning in the UK last year.

Landlords can face prosecution if a tenant is hurt or killed owing to a gas leak or explosion.

"One of the main reasons why gas safety checks are not being carried out is a lack of knowledge on the part of the landlord, in particular amateur landlords, many of whom may not even realise they need a gas safety certificate," said Matt Hutchinson, director of Spareroom.co.uk which conducted the survey on its website.

"While professional landlords have many years of experience and know the tenancy rules and regulations inside out, amateur landlords who buy second properties to rent out as a long-term investment may not have any previous experience of the rental market.

"This means they may not be aware of their legal obligations, particularly if they have advertised for tenants privately, rather than through a letting agent," he added.

The Gas Safety Register has previously warned that an estimated 250,000 gas appliances in Britain and the Isle of Man are installed or serviced by illegal fitters each year.

Posted on Thursday 15th April 2010

Late payments hurting small and medium-sized firms

More small and medium-sized businesses are suffering as their customers make late payments, research suggests.

A study by RBS and Natwest found that 71% of firms had suffered from late payments in the past 12 months.

Meanwhile the latest data from payment group BACS said small firms waited an average of 41 days longer than original agreed terms, before being paid.

About 4,000 firms collapsed in 2008 due to late payments, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) said.

The RBS study said that in the UK, firms were owed about £62bn in bills that were unpaid beyond the agreed deadline. Of this, about £15bn was more than 120 days overdue.

'Huge problem'

Late payments are a problem for all firms because they disrupt their cashflow.

If payments do not arrive on time, they have to use their own funds to cover the delay, or go to their banks to try and extend overdrafts.

It also forces them to invest time and resources on chasing payments.

"It's a huge problem for small businesses," Stephen Alambritis of the FSB told the BBC.

"When a small firm is paid late, it's forced to go to the bank and with the banks being a bit tetchy at the moment, it's a difficult position.

"Banks are not loaning and giving overdrafts which means small firms feel like banks themselves. Large firms are improving their cash flow on the back of smaller suppliers."

Mr Alambritis called on large, blue-chip firms to "ethically" pay on time.

'Endemic'

The chairman of small business banking at RBS, Peter Ibbetson, said that there were services to help companies overcome the problem of late payments.

"Bad debts and late payment of invoices are endemic problems for UK businesses. What's concerning is that so few are making use of services from their bank to help alleviate the problem," he said.

Most firms have payment terms that include a deadline - however, enforcing it is difficult. Companies do have a legal right to demand interest on unpaid bills.

Posted on Thursday 15th April 2010

LVMH luxury sales soar as consumer spending returns

LVMH, the world's biggest luxury goods firm, has said it believes consumers are back in the spending habit.

The group reported a forecast-beating 13% rise in like-for-like sales in the three months to 31 March, helped by strong growth in the US and Europe.

The Paris-based maker of Louis Vuitton handbags, Hennessy cognac, and Tag Heuer watches saw sales top 4.47bn euros ($6.3bn; £4bn).

LVMH said that all its five divisions saw double-digit revenue growth.

The luxury goods industry has been hard hit by recession, but consumer spending is up and companies are replenishing their stocks, LVMH said.

 

"The group continues to perform well in Asia and has seen a strong rebound in the US and Europe," the company said in a trading update.

First-quarter sales at its wines and spirits unit, which makes Moet & Chandon and Ruinart champagne and Glenmorangie whisky, rose 20% to 635m euros.

LVMH's watches and jewellery business, whose brands include Chaumet, reported like-for-like growth of 34% to 204m euros.

In the company's biggest segment, fashion and leather goods, sales rose 10% to 1.7bn euros.

Last week LVMH announced plans to expand in the luxury hotels business, starting with two projects in the Middle East in partnership with Orascom Holdings.

Analysts at HSBC bank said in a research note: "There seems to be a perfect alignment of stars for LVMH at the moment."

And Dennis Weber, of Evolution Securities, said: "The performance looks very impressive and of high quality."

Posted on Tuesday 13th April 2010

Retail sales enjoy Easter boost

UK retail sales enjoyed a strong rise last month, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC), with the figures boosted by Easter shopping.

The total value of sales jumped 6.6% in March from a year ago, while like-for-like sales were up 4.4%.

However, the BRC said sales were not as strong when Easter trading was excluded and prospects remained "uncertain".

A separate survey found that fewer retailers fell into administration in the first three months of the year.

A survey, by financial services firm Deloitte, found 44 retailers fell into administration during the period, down 65% from a year ago and the lowest number in a three-month period since 2006.

Still cautious

The BRC's survey covered the period from 28 February to 3 April, and so included Good Friday and Easter Saturday of the Easter weekend unlike the survey for March carried out in 2009.

The inclusion of Easter meant that food and drink sales showed strong growth. However, clothing and footwear sales slowed because of the colder weather in March compared with a year ago.

The consortium said that when the impact of Easter was stripped out, like-for-like sales were up by about 2%.

"The timing of the majority of Easter spending, falling into the March 2010 period but in April last year, has boosted this month's figures and makes year-on-year comparisons difficult," said Helen Dickinson, head of retail at KPMG, which produces the figures with the BRC.

"Without this uplift a gloomier picture would have emerged - concern about the future continues to weigh on consumers' minds and the outlook for spending remains uncertain."

Slow growth

Deloitte also warned that the retail outlook was "far from plain sailing", despite the number of retail administrations in the first quarter of 2010 hitting a four-year low.

Some of the highest profile retail administrations so far this year have included childrenswear chain Adams and clothing retailer Ethel Austin.

Deloitte warned that measures by the next government to tackle the budget deficit were expected to hit consumers' disposable income in the next year, which would have a knock-on effect on retailers.

"Retail sales are likely to remain broadly flat this year and probably next, whilst costs continue to increase. Growth will be hard to come by and further retail failures seem inevitable," said Ian Geddes from Deloitte.

Posted on Tuesday 13th April 2010

Pension schemes in surplus for first time since 2008

The UK's private sector final-salary pension schemes have collectively moved back into surplus for the first time since June 2008.

The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) said the 7,400 pension schemes had a total surplus last month of £0.3bn, compared with a deficit in February of £15bn.

A year ago the deficit was much higher, standing at £242bn.

However, despite the improvement overall, 68.5% of schemes are still in deficit with only 31.5% in surplus.

Changing methods

The PPF said rising share prices meant the funds' assets had risen by more than the cost of paying for pensions.

"Total scheme assets amounted to £915.4bn in March 2010, representing an increase of 3.9% over the month and an increase of 22% over the year to March 2010," the PPF said.

"Meanwhile, scheme liabilities decreased by 7.6% over the year to March 2010, to £915bn [but] increased 2.1% over the month from £895.9bn in February 2010."

As well as rising share prices, the PPF said the picture had also improved because last October it changed the way it calculated the likely cost of paying for pensions in the future.

This had had the effect of reducing the calculation of the schemes' liabilities - the value of assets they need to meet their pension promises - by about 8%, equivalent to £70bn.

Posted on Tuesday 13th April 2010

Greece bond issue clears test of investors' confidence

Greece has raised 1.56bn euros ($2bn; £1.3bn) in an over-subscribed bond issue that was a key test of investor confidence in the debt-laden country.

The issue is Greece's first debt sale since Sunday's agreement by eurozone countries to provide Athens with a financial safety net if it defaults.

However, Greece had to agree to pay a higher rate of return to investors to get the latest bond issue away.

The yield on 12-month bonds was 4.85%, and on 6-month notes it was 4.55%.

This compares with a yield of 2.2% paid on 12-month bills, and 1.38% on 6-month bonds, in an issue it made in January.

Greece's debt management agency had originally sought to raise 1.2bn euros from the issue.

Ben May, an economist at Capital Economics, said the issue looked "pretty successful" and was likely to ease some immediate concerns among investors about Greece's financial health.

"It's a positive endorsement of the [eurozone] bail-out measures that went out over the weekend," Mr May said. "But clearly the yields are still very high... so it does not really change the underlying position that Greece has very tough times ahead."

Solvency challenge

It is thought that Pacific Investment Management (Pimco), the world's biggest investor in bonds, may have shunned the issue.

Mohamed El-Erian, Pimco's chief executive, had earlier told the Reuters news agency that the eurozone's rescue package did not address Greece's fundamental crisis.

"Markets have signalled that Greece faces both refinancing, or liquidity challenges, as well as stock of debt, or solvency challenges," Mr El-Erian said.

"Based on what we know right now, we would not be a buyer [of the Greek bonds]. We are very cautious toward Greece and we are in a 'wait and see' attitude and we would like to see greater evidence of adjustment on Greece," he said.

Greece must raise about 11bn euros by the end of May to refinance maturing debt and interest charges. Its overall 2010 borrowing need is 53bn euros.

Some analysts believe the latest bond issue went smoothly because the treasury bills have short maturities.

However, Greece is soon to raise another 10bn euros via longer-term bills, which will test investors' appetite for locking in their money for a longer period.

On Sunday, eurozone countries and the International Monetary Fund agreed a 30bn euro standby aid package that Greece can call upon should its financial crisis worsen.

'Borrow freely'

The country's finance minister, George Papaconstantinou, said the government would continue to tap the markets for money, rather than draw on the package.

"Our aim remains - and I believe we will continue to do it - to continue to freely borrow from the markets, as wedid today," he said.

"I stress that the Greek government has not requested the activation of this [aid] mechanism, despite that fact that it is immediately available if required," he added.

However, many analysts believe Greece's heavy debt burden means it will eventually be forced to call on the emergency funds. Capital Economics' Mr May believes there is "a strong chance" of this happening.

Posted on Tuesday 13th April 2010

Twitter unveils advertising plans

Twitter has said it will allow advertising on its site for the first time.

The social networking site said advertisers would be able to buy "Promoted Tweets" that will appear on Twitter's search results pages.

It has been reluctant to allow advertising in the past.

However, co-founder Biz Stone said they would not be traditional adverts. They must be Tweets that "resonate with users" and be part of conversations.

Twitter has already signed up a raft of big name organisations such as Sony Pictures, coffee chain Starbucks and US retailer Best Buy.

 

It describes the Promoted Tweets as "ordinary Tweets that businesses and organisations want to highlight to a wider group of users".

Initially, Promoted Tweets would only appear in Twitter search results, the company said, and only one Tweet would show up on each search results page.

It is the first toe in the advertising water for the social networking site, which has yet to make a profit and has only just begun to do deals to raise revenue from the high profile service.

It is an approach that the company described as a "stubborn insistence on a slow and thoughtful approach to monetization".

It follows Twitter's announcement over the weekend that it will buy Atebits, the developer behind iPhone application "Tweetie", which is one of the main user access points to Twitter.

The acquisition means that Twitter will for the first time be able to control directly the service they deliver to iPhone users, instead of relying on third party application developers to do this for them.

Risks

However, analysts say it also means that Twitter is turning the remaining application developers that it has worked with in the past into direct competitors.

This raises the possibility that if Promoted Tweets prove unpopular with users, rival application developers may offer products that filter them out.

"There is a risk that users may get turned off by too much advertising," says Christine Overby, vice president of interactive marketing at research company Forrester.

"But I think this risk is easy to manage - they can look at how Google for example has handled this."

However, Ms Overby thinks there is another risk in Twitter's plans to pay advertisers based on a "pay for resonance" model, which they will calculate using various measures of user response to Promoted Tweets.

"Advertisers are accustomed to 'pay per click' or 'pay per thousand' [advertising units] models," she adds. "They may not appreciate this model - there will certainly be a discussion as to what the 'pay for resonance' model actually is."

The advertising and Tweetie moves are not the first revenue-raising initiatives by Twitter - in October the company announced tie-ups with Google and Microsoft's Bing under which the two search engines pay Twitter to include Tweets in their search results.

'Exciting'

Twitter's latest initiative is the first phase of its advertising plans. In future, Promoted Tweets will appear in users' stream of posts, not just on Twitter search results pages.

Keen not to alienate his members, Biz Stone said that if users did not interact with Promoted Tweets by replying to them, "favoriting" them or retweeting them, they would "disappear".

Unsurprisingly, Promoted Tweets soon appeared as one of the most talked about topics on Twitter.

One user, brigidhaywood, said this was "big, exciting news" and she was curious to see how the concept would evolve.

However, Xenon_360, said: "If Sony Pictures starts advertising on Twitter, I'm out."

Posted on Tuesday 13th April 2010

Northern Rock former directors fined and banned by FSA

Two former Northern Rock directors have been fined by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and banned from working for a regulated financial firm again.

The City regulator fined former deputy chief executive David Baker £504,000 for misreporting mortgage arrears data.

Former credit director Richard Barclay was fined £140,000 for also failing to ensure accurate financial information.

The FSA said the two had admitted their misconduct and received reduced fines as a result of their co-operation.

In a statement, David Baker said he accepted the FSA's findings "with great sadness".

Market perception

Mr Baker was Northern Rock's deputy chief executive between 2004 and 2008, and was responsible for the bank's reporting of financial information.

The FSA said he became aware in 2007 that there were 1,917 loans left out of the mortgage arrears or repossession figures.

But he failed to make sure the figures were corrected, or to refer the matter up to the chief executive, and he subsequently made misleading statements to market analysts.

If these omitted loans had been included, the number of borrowers in arrears would have increased by 50%.

Mr Baker said he decided in January 2007 to give the unit involved six months to rectify the mis-reporting, to "resolve, not hide the reporting error".

"I made an error of judgement and I regret it," he said.

He argued that his actions did not affect customers or have anything to do with Northern Rock's collapse later that year, when it had to be rescued by the government.

Market perception

The FSA stressed that these figures were important to analysts and outside investors when judging the health of the company.

This was particularly the case for Northern Rock as it relied on a positive market perception of its performance in order to fund its rapid expansion during a time in which it became the UK's fifth largest lender.

"Important to the firm's rapid growth was the maintenance of its asset quality," said the FSA.

"The value of Northern Rock's securities [shares and bonds] was in part derived from a market perception of how its loan book was performing."

'Improper'

The FSA said staff in the debt management unit, where Richard Barclay was a director, felt under pressure to maintain a lower-than-average level of mortgages in arrears and properties they had lent money against that had been repossessed.

This resulted in actions that "improperly reduced" the reported numbers of what are known as impaired loans.

However, the FSA stressed there was no evidence that Mr Baker, who ran the unit, was involved in these actions.

'Clear message'

According to the regulator Richard Barclay failed to prevent a number of "improper practices" and his failings were abused by some members of staff, leading to an under-reporting of arrears figures.

As the detailed report on his actions said: "Mr Barclay's conduct demonstrated a lack of skill, care and diligence in establishing and overseeing effective systems and controls."

The FSA said Mr Barclay was aware that Northern Rock's (NR's) arrears position was being misrepresented.

"[He] took no steps however to ascertain the extent to which the arrears figures were being adjusted. Mr Barclay was also aware that the firm's arrears position enabled people within NR, analysts, NR stakeholders and the FSA to form a view of NR's asset quality.

However, the FSA said it was not possible to calculate the exact extent of the mis-reporting.

"The fines we have imposed on them leave no doubt that we will take action against individuals who either fail to act with integrity or who fail to perform their roles to a high standard," said Margaret Cole, FSA director of enforcement and financial crime.

"This is a loud and clear message that we are serious about taking action against senior directors where they step over the line."

Simon Morris, of City law firm CMC Cameron McKenna, said: "Every senior manager would do well to read these cases carefully.

"[The] FSA is in effect providing two case studies... explaining the standard to which it requires all individually approved managers to operate."

Posted on Tuesday 13th April 2010

US trade deficit widens as imports outpace exports

The US trade deficit widened to $39.7bn (£20.8bn) in February, as import growth continued to outpace exports.

The overall trade deficit increased by $2.7bn from January, the Commerce Department said.

At $182.9bn, imports were up 20.5% on the same month a year ago, while exports of $143.2bn were up only 14.3%.

The trade figures confirm the trend of resurgent imports outpacing the rebound in exports as the US economy recovers from recession.

Compared with January on a seasonally-adjusted basis, imports were up 1.72% and exports were up 0.21%.

Export growth was dominated by manufacturing, while imports were driven by consumption.

The figures suggest that the surprise fall in the US trade deficit recorded in January may only have been a blip.

Posted on Tuesday 13th April 2010

Virgin Atlantic is pleased to announce its new route to Accra, Ghana

Virgin Atlantic is pleased to announce its new route to Accra, Ghana. Fly Economy or treat yourself in Premium Economy with the amazing fares below.All fares displayed are:

• Based on round trip adult fares and include all taxes, fees and surcharges. Additional credit card charges and weekend travel supplements apply.
• Subject to terms and conditions shown below.

These fares are available until 16 March 2010. ECONOMY

Departing from London to:Flight number:Sale fare from:Departure dates:   Ghana 657/658 £451 24 May - 30 Jun 10

PREMIUM ECONOMY

Departing from London to:Flight number:Sale fare from:Departure dates:   Ghana 657/658 £852 24 May - 30 Jun 10

To take advantage of this offer, please book through the contact centre*Please note - we plan to operate three services a week, subject to government approval.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

1. The fares and book by date shown above are correct as of 05 March 2010, but are subject to change or extension depending on take up and market conditions.

2. Economy reservations are required at least 7 days before departure. Premium Economy reservations are required at least 21 days before departure

3. The fares detailed above are strictly subject to availability and are offered on a first come, first served basis. The number of seats available on each flight at the fare detailed above is restricted and it is possible that the seats allocated on a particular flight may be fully booked, even though seats are still available in other booking classes. Some flights may have no availability on certain dates and popular dates (i.e. weekends, school and public holidays) will fill quickly.

4. The fares detailed above are for outbound travel on selected dates: a. Round trips are permitted. b. Round trips where the destination of the outward sector and the departure point of the return sector differ are permitted. c. Trips including sectors on airlines other than Virgin Atlantic including codeshares are not permitted. e. Stopovers are not permitted.

5. Minimum stay is one Saturday night from date of departure from the UK. Maximum stay is 12 months.

6. Children (under 12) and infants (under 2) who require a seat pay 75% of the full adult fare. Alternatively infants (under 2) who do not require a seat pay 10% of the full adult fare (exclusive of passenger taxes, fees and surcharges).

7. Flying Club miles, bonus miles and tier points are available on selected flights. Please check at time of booking.

8. Virgin Atlantic's published Conditions of Carriage apply (subject to change from time to time) and are available from Virgin Atlantic.

9. Once tickets have been issued Virgin Atlantic shall not be liable for any failure to comply with its obligations caused by (but not limited to) weather conditions, fire, flood, strike, hurricane, industrial dispute, war, terrorist activity, hostilities, political unrest, riots, civil commotion, or any other circumstances beyond the control of Virgin Atlantic.

10. These Terms and Conditions are subject to English Law and the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.

Posted on Monday 12th April 2010

Could terrorists get hold of a nuclear bomb?

World leaders are heading for Washington to discuss what Barack Obama has described as "the most immediate and extreme threat to global security" - the risk that terrorists could acquire a nuclear bomb. But how likely is this scenario?

A former investigator with the CIA and the US department of energy, Rolf Mowatt-Larssen, says there are three headlines that keep him awake at night:

• Pakistani 'loose nukes' in the hands of terrorists
• North Korea supplies terrorists with nuclear bombs
• Al-Qaeda launches nuclear attack

The good news is that he thinks "the odds are stacked against" terrorists acquiring a nuclear bomb.

But the low probability, he argues, has to be weighed against the awfulness of the consequences.

In today's unpredictable world, he writes in an article for the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, "a probability-based approach to managing risk" makes less sense than one "focused on mitigating threats in descending order of their possible consequences".

It's an argument that Barack Obama was making long before his election.

"Instead of taking aggressive steps to secure the world's most dangerous technology, [the US has] spent almost $1 trillion to occupy a country in the heart of the Middle East that no longer had any weapons of mass destruction," he said in a speech at Purdue University, Indiana, in July 2008.

Three months later, a commission set up by the US Congress warned that without decisive action it was "more likely than not" that a terrorist attack involving WMD would occur by the end of 2013.

Pakistan

In Rolf Mowatt-Larssen's view, there is "a greater possibility of a nuclear meltdown in Pakistan than anywhere else in the world".

The region has more violent extremists than any other, the country is unstable, and its arsenal of nuclear weapons is expanding.

Once a new plutonium reactor comes on line in the near future "smaller, more lethal plutonium bombs will be produced in greater numbers", he says.

 

The possibility of a Taliban takeover is, he admits, a "worst-case scenario".

But the Taliban and al-Qaeda are not the only shadows on the Pakistani landscape. There is also the Lashkar-e-Taiba militant group, which is accused of carrying out the Mumbai attack in November 2008, and like the Pakistani officer corps, recruits mostly in the Punjab.

"As one senior Pakistani general once told me," wrote Bruce Riedel of the Brookings Institution last week, "the relationship between the army and the Lashkar-e-Taiba is a family affair".

He went on: "Pakistan has taken serious measures to protect the crown jewels of its national security, but it lives in a perilous time. If there is a nightmare nuclear security scenario in Pakistan today it is probably an inside-the-family-job that ends up in a nuclear armageddon in India."

The point is echoed by Ian Kearns of the British American Security Information Council (Basic), who writes of the danger that states could use terrorist groups to attack adversaries "by proxy", engineering nuclear security breakdowns to facilitate terrorist access to weapons or materials.

BBC correspondents say there is every indication that the Pakistani military is in total control of the country's nuclear facilities.

North Korea

The reason North Korea keeps Rolf Mowatt-Larssen awake at night is connected with the mysterious site at al-Kibar in Syria, destroyed by Israeli missiles in 2007.

 

It's his view that North Korea was helping Syria build a reactor there and that the outside world only found out because of a "windfall of intelligence".

"Taking into account the sobering reality that Kim Jong-il came close to providing Syria with the building blocks for nuclear weapons... how confident can the international community be that there is not a long-running 'AQ Kim' network in North Korea that is analogous to the AQ Khan rogue state nuclear supplier network in Pakistan?" he asks.

The episode showed, in his view, that it is hard enough for the intelligence community to spot state-related clandestine nuclear activity, let alone clandestine nuclear trafficking of non-state actors, which would have a much smaller footprint.

North Korea's "erratic and irresponsible behaviour" makes it a leading potential source for terrorists seeking to acquire nuclear-related technologies and materials, he says.

Al-Qaeda

Though he now works in academia, Rolf Mowatt-Larssen led US efforts to determine whether al-Qaeda possessed a nuclear bomb, in the wake of 9/11.

 

He doesn't believe it does. But "the group's long-held intent and persistent efforts to acquire nuclear and biological weapons represent a unique means of potentially fulfilling their wildest hopes and aspirations," he writes.

Al-Qaeda's experience on the nuclear black market has taught its planners that its best chance lies in constructing an "improvised nuclear device (IND)," he says.

For this they would need either a quantity of plutonium or 25kg-50kg of highly enriched uranium (HEU), the size of one or two grapefruits.

HEU is held in hundreds of buildings in dozens of countries. "Security measures for many of these stocks are excellent, but security for others is appalling," according to a report published in 2008 by the Nuclear Threat Initiative.

The IAEA registered 15 confirmed cases of unauthorised possession of plutonium or HEU between 1993 and 2008, a few of which involved kilogram-sized quantities. In most cases the quantity was far lower but in some cases the sellers indicated there was more. (If there was, it hasn't been traced.)

There is no global inventory of either material, so no-one can be sure how much has gone missing over the years.

Neither are there agreed international standards for security and accounting of these materials. UN Security Council Resolution 1540 merely calls for "appropriate and effective" measures, without defining this in detail.

"It is a stark and worrying fact, therefore, that nuclear materials and weapons around the world are not as secure as they should be," writes Ian Kearns, in his Basic report.

The main goal of the Washington summit is to make progress on this issue.

Posted on Monday 12th April 2010

Is it time to defend our rights?

We must not let corporations stamp out creativity on the net

Copyright is not the only thing that matters online, says Bill ThompsonJohn Young is a brave and tenacious man, an architect based in New York whose website, cryptome.org, has been a safe online repository for documents that someone, somewhere does not want published.Since 1996 he has resisted pressure from governments, companies and individuals, using the strong protection against prior restraint provided by the US Bill of Rights to publish information about secret surveillance, spying, war crimes and many other topics.Thanks to a robust policy on the part of his current internet service provider, his site has remained online despite the best efforts of those who are embarrassed by its contents.

Until last month, that is, when cryptome.org disappeared from the internet after Network Solutions disabled access to the site's domain.

Mr Young had not revealed military secrets that put the lives of soldiers at risk, or published the finer details of Britain's nuclear deterrent capability.

The document that got the site kicked offline was not a detailed map of the presidential escape route from the White House, or a list of the lobbyists who have visited Downing Street in the last year, but a 22-page document written by Microsoft. It details how US government agencies can request access to customer data stored on Microsoft servers, like your Hotmail messages, and Microsoft used copyright law to achieve what the US government could not.

The company has since withdrawn its complaint, noting that it only wanted one document removed and was not attempting to restrict access to the whole of Cryptome. Network Solutions has put it back online - with the offending file still present. But the fact that laws passed to protect the commercial interests of creators of original content can evidently have more force than national security concerns should make us all pause.

Comic capers

 

John Young is not the only one in trouble at the moment. My friend Mark Kobayashi-Hillary had uploaded more than 900 videos to YouTube over the years, most of them related to his specialist area of globalisation and outsourcing, but his account has been removed because of claims that he is infringing copyright.

After some investigation Mark has been told that since he has had three videos removed at the request of rights holders he is a "repeat offender".

His account was terminated to comply with Federal law after comedian Jimmy Carr's management company complained of a video he had taken at a recent Carr performance.

YouTube is a US company, so applying US rules seems reasonable, but there has been no legal process and his account was closed without any notice being given to him, so he had no opportunity to question it in advance.

And what tips this particular case over from mere irritation into something worthy of Kafka is that the camera phone clip that got Mark's account removed showed the audience waiting for Jimmy Carr to appear on stage, and not a second of the comic's performance.

Yet Chambers Management claims that it holds the copyright in any material filmed inside the venue and so his video is infringing.

I haven't seen Mark's ticket and it may well be that he has assigned copyright to the company by agreeing to the terms and conditions printed in one-point on the back, but even if this is so the absurdity remains.

Right is might

It seems that copyright, a legal framework developed over 300 years to ensure a balance between the interests of the wider community and those of the creative artist has become so tipped towards those of the "rights holder" that few of us can go through a day without breaking the law in one way or another.

The current debate over the Digital Economy Bill in the UK Parliament has revealed that provisions intended to protect the interests of rights-holders by forcing service providers whose networks are used to download unlicensed content to take preventive measures and face prosecution themselves could well force small businesses, universities and even public libraries to severely limit or even abandon their provision of free net access.

And people around the UK are still receiving letters from the legal firm ACS:Law accusing them of downloading material and asking for money to "settle" any claim without recourse to legal process, causing deep concern to many who feel that they are being unjustly accused and coerced into making payments through fear of a legal process they do not understand.

Elsewhere representatives of many governments, including the UK, are currently discussing the detailed provisions of ACTA, the "Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement", although the exact details are being kept secret and we have only occasional leaks to go by.

ACTA began as an attempt to control the trade in counterfeit goods, which is laudable when applied to prescription medicines and less defensible when applied to cheap handbags.

Unfortunately it has expanded in scope to cover digital counterfeiting, and intellectual property rights are apparently now central, offering the prospect that the sort of protections embodied in the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the provisions that obliged YouTube to pull a video when infringement is merely alleged, would apply worldwide.

 

This has got to stop. We have to say "enough is enough" to those who hold copyrights in songs and images and words and videos. We must refuse to remake the digital world in order to serve only their interests.

There is so much more to online life than watching ripped-off copies of big-budget movies or looking at low-resolution cameraphone videos of bands. We are on the verge of building so many restrictions into online activity that the creativity, inventiveness and sheer joy of life on the net will be squeezed out just to ensure that over-hyped comedians are able to censor videos of their fans waiting for the show to begin.

This is not the way forward, but if we do not act now then it will shape the internet that we offer to the billions waiting to get online and change the world. It would be a tragedy if the network the people of East Africa found, now that they have fast fibre links to the rest of the internet, was locked-down, limited and restricted by laws passed to placate fearful Western rights holders and they decided, as a result, that it wasn't worth joining.

Bill Thompson is an independent journalist and regular commentator on the BBC World Service programme Digital Planet. He is currently working with the BBC on its archive project.

Posted on Sunday 21st March 2010

Hacking 'fun' for British teens

One in four young Britons attempts to access the Facebook accounts of their friends, a survey claims.

The most common route of access was by working out - or "cracking" - each other's passwords.

The poll of 1,150 under-19s found that nearly half of those who accessed other accounts did so from either their own computer or one at school.

The main reason given for doing it was for fun, and a further 21% admitted they hoped to cause disruption.

The young people questioned took part in the online survey anonymously.

78% of them said that they knew that hacking was wrong and 82% said they found it difficult to do in practice.

Reuven Harrison, co-founder of Tufin Technologies which commissioned the survey, told the BBC that young people need better education in order to understand when hacking is unacceptable.

"Playing around with computers and trying to understand the system can be leveraged for good and bad purposes," he said.

"There's a fine line at which point it becomes something bad. Children don't always understand where that line is."

20% of those who admitted to hacking in the survey believed they could make money from the activity and 5% described hacking as a career option.

"Hacking into personal online accounts can be child's play if users do not protect their own passwords," said Deputy Chief Constable Stuart Hyde, president of the Society for the Policing of Cyberspace.

"Hacking is illegal and we need to ensure everyone understands that."

Posted on Sunday 21st March 2010

Spammers survive botnet shutdowns

Spam levels have not been dented by a series of strikes against controllers of networks of hijacked computers.

Early 2010 has seen four such networks, or botnets, tackled via arrests, net access cutoffs and by infiltrating command systems.

The successes have not inconvenienced hi-tech criminals who found other routes to send spam, say experts.

And, they add, despite falling response rates, spam remains too lucrative for criminals to abandon.

Cable cutting

In early March, many parts of the command and control (C&C) system for the Zeus botnet were knocked out of action as Cisco and others cut off the Kazakhstani ISP being used to administer it.

The action comes on top of similar success against the Lethic, Waledac and Marioposa botnets in early 2010.

"So as far as impact on spam goes it has been minimal," said Rik Ferguson, a senior security analyst at Trend Micro.

Statistics on spam and botnet numbers in the UK gathered by Trend Micro show that the rates of both have stayed constant despite the growing numbers of successes against these networks of hijacked home PCs.

Victims, typically users of Windows machines, often fall victim via booby-trapped e-mail messages or through websites that slip malware onto computers via software vulnerabilities.

Botnet controllers have shown resilience in recovering swiftly after a shutdown. 2008 saw the close down of an ISP called McColo which provided net connections for many botnets. As a result of that, global spam levels dropped by 70% but it did not take long for junk mail levels to start climbing again.

Similarly, the recent action against the Zeus botnet briefly caused the number of C&C computers behind it dropping by a quarter. Since then, however, numbers have been climbing and the network is closing in on its earlier total.

The problem, say experts, is that those who send spam are not those that run the botnets. As a result, if one botnet disappears then spammers and other hi-tech criminals simply shop around for another.

Cashing in

Hi-tech criminals persist with spam despite evidence that response rates are plummeting.

Only 28 responses were recorded from a spam campaign of 350 million e-mails found a study carried out by Professor Stefan Savage and colleagues at the University of California, San Diego.

Of those 350 million, only 23.8% made it through spam filters to e-mail inboxes and resulted in more than 10,000 visits to site peddling cheap pills.

Professor Savage said it was difficult to draw conclusions based on its limited data but said even with response rates of 0.00001%, the most prolific spammers could potentially make millions of dollars per year.

"It is true that over the years spam campaigns have become less successful for certain age demographics in the USA and most of Europe, but not so much in Asia and developing countries." said Paul Sop, chief technology officer at security firm Prolexic.

"What counts is not the amount of spam being sent, but how profitable/effective the campaign is," he said. "Smaller more targeted spam campaigns, especially phishing, are more effective."

Mr Ferguson from Trend Micro said low response rates did not mean that spam had become a solved problem in some countries.

"Spam is not just about selling spurious bargains anymore," he said. Typically, he said, spam was the trigger that led people to a website where they may fall victim to some kind of malware.

"Most non-commercial spam these days is aimed solely to get you to click on a link, even out of curiosity," he said. "As soon as you click on that link, you're infected, most likely to become yet another botnet victim, have your identity and information stolen and go on to participate, all unknowingly in the infection of further victims."

Posted on Sunday 21st March 2010

Movie industry debates DVD releases

A hot topic in Hollywood right now is how long cinema audiences should wait until they can watch a movie on DVD.

The subject has been high on the agenda at the ShoWest convention in Las Vegas this week as the industry grapples with the impact of home cinema systems and changing viewer habits.

The issue was thrust into the spotlight last month when the Odeon cinema chain threatened to boycott Disney's Alice in Wonderland in the UK, Irish Republic and Italy.

Disney wanted to release Tim Burton's 3D fantasy on DVD at the end of May - three months after it opened in cinemas.

In the UK, the usual window for theatrical release is 17 weeks. Ten years ago the gap was six months.

 

Odeon reversed its decision after reaching "an enduring agreement" with Disney.

Actor Michael Sheen, who played the White Rabbit in Alice, described the row as "a storm in a mad hatter's tea cup".

But the reduced gap has worried some cinema owners who fear that it will dent ticket sales as film fans wait for the DVD instead of paying for the big screen experience.

In a speech at ShoWest, Michael Lynton, chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment, said the theatrical window was important, but the industry needed to adapt.

"Showing films in theatres is what makes a movie a movie," he said. "It's what makes stars stars. It's what makes films famous. It's what makes the public perk up and pay attention."

But he added: "It is clear from the changing economic model of our industry that we're going to have to re-evaluate the way in which the current window structure operates.

"To meet audience demand for entertainment when and where they want it, and to keep ahead of the pirates who will fill any void we leave, we've all got to be open to experimenting with new and different windows..."

World Cup effect

Richard Cooper, a senior analyst at Screen Digest, points out that Disney's actions over Alice in Wonderland doesn't necessarily mean that all windows will be shortened.

"What we've seen in the UK already indicates that it's only a handful of films that will see shortened windows - and it really will be to make the most of high sales points such as Christmas or Easter.

"The shortening of the window on Alice is largely so that it not only coincides with half term but also so that it misses the beginning of the World Cup - which historically has really dampened DVD sales."

Last month Disney told the BBC it was "committed" to theatrical windows, but there was a "need for exceptions to accommodate a shortened time-frame on a case-by-case basis".

According to Screen Digest, the "burn rate" of 3D films is a lot slower than 2D films - they continue to make money at the box office for a longer period. Nearly 30% of revenues are made after week four , compared to 16% on 2D films.

Sci-fi success

 

"What we've seen with Up and Avatar was the burn was far longer and this is almost irrespective of the number of theatres they are being shown in," says Mr Cooper.

This week, Twentieth Century Fox announced that the 2D DVD and Blu-ray version of Avatar would begins its global release on 21 April.

James Cameron's 3D sci-fi juggernaut was released in cinemas in December and is the highest grossing movie of all time, taking over $2.6bn (£1.7bn) globally.

Meanwhile, Alice in Wonderland has taken $400m (£262.4m) worldwide after just two weekends.

As well as cutting down on piracy, another reason why studios would like to see DVDs on the shelves sooner is to cut marketing costs.

"While it is in the cinema, the film acts as a very powerful marketing tool," says Mr Cooper. "That is a crucial part of the mix - the studios are trying to cut down on expenditure, now that package media sales are in decline worldwide."

The Cinema Exhibitors' Association, which represents the interests of around 90 per cent of UK cinema operators, says the Disney/Odeon row reflects wider-ranging efforts by studios to change "a key element of long-standing trading relationships".

"Cinema is not the music industry, where existing business models are widely seen as broken," it says, adding that UK cinema admissions have been steadily rising for the past 25 years.

3D screens

 

"Many cinemas have invested huge amounts of their own money in improving the cinema-going experience, most recently through digital 3D. Without a clear window between a film's theatrical release and its release on other platforms, such as DVD, that investment is at risk.

"Significant changes to the release window could cause a marked reduction in cinema admissions, particularly for those smaller operators who can only play a film several weeks after it is released.

"Hundreds of cinemas up and down the country would be put at risk by any significant reduction in admissions," the CEA says.

Unlike the UK, France has a more rigid model concerning DVD releases. DVD, Blu-ray and digital video-on-demand releases are available four months after the cinematic release.

Screen Digest's Richard Cooper says: "This is one of the few places where there is an officially mandated release window, there's some very firm legislation in place in France. Everywhere else it is by negotiation."

And while the debate about DVD release windows goes on, a further element in the mix is the dawn of 3D television.

3D sets are already on sale in the US, and manufacturers hope to launch their products in the UK and Europe over the next couple of months.

Sky rolls out its 3D service to customers later this year.

"3D in the home is coming," says Mr Cooper, "but those TV sets are going to be a bit more expensive than the standard top of the range 2D HD TVs - and if people want to watch 3D films it is a question of buying into a 3D enabled Blu-ray player."

Posted on Sunday 21st March 2010

How to Deal With a Negative Coworker: Negativity Matters

Some people exude negativity. They don't like their jobs or they don't like their company. Their bosses are always jerks and they are always treated unfairly. The company is always going down the tube and customers are worthless. You know these negative Neds and Nellies - every organization has some - and you can best address their impact on you via avoidance.

On the other hand, sometimes normally positive people are negative. Some of the time, too, their reasons for negativity are legitimate. You will take a completely different tack with these occasionally negative people. We'll deal with both of these varieties of negativity from people.

Tips for Dealing With Occasional Negativity

• Listen to the employee or coworker's complaints until you are certain that they feel heard out and listened to. Sometimes people repeat negative sentiments over and over because they don't feel like you have really listened to them. Ask questions. Clarify their statements. Make sure you have actively listened.
• Decide if you believe the employee or coworker has legitimate reasons for their negativity. If you decide affirmatively, ask if they'd like your help to solve the problem. If they ask for help, provide advice or ideas for how the coworker can address the reason for their negativity.Short term advice that points a person in a positive direction is welcome. But, your role is not to provide therapy or counseling. Nor, is your role to provide comprehensive career advice or long term recommendations. Point the coworker to helpful books, seminars, or the Human Resources Department to solve their problem. Know your limits when advising coworkers.
• Sometimes, the coworker just wants to complain to a friendly, listening ear; they don't want your advice or assistance to address the situation. Listen, but set limits so the coworker does not overstay or over-talk his or her welcome. Long term complaining saps your energy and positive outlook. Don't allow that to happen. Walk away. Tell the coworker you'd prefer to move on to more positive subjects.
• If you listen to the coworker's negativity, and decide the concerns are not legitimate, practice personal courage and tell them what you think. Tell the coworker you care about their concern and about their happiness at work, but you disagree with their assessment of the situation.Back gracefully out of additional conversations. The coworker will attempt to appeal to your sympathetic nature, but if you believe the negativity is unwarranted, don't spend your time listening or helping the coworker to address the negative feelings. You will only encourage long term and growing negative feelings and, potentially, behavior. You will set yourself up as a negativity magnet. Constant negative interactions will eventually permeate your interaction with your workplace.

Tips for Dealing With Negative Coworkers

Deal with genuinely negative people by spending as little time with them as possible. Just as you set limits with the coworkers whose negativity you believe is baseless or unwarranted, you need to set limits with genuinely negative people.

Causes of their long term negativity are not your concern. Every negative person has a story. Don't impact your positive outlook by listening to the stories, or reviewing the history and the background about the grievances purported to cause the negativity. You reinforce the negativity; negativity is a choice. Negativity mongers need a new job, a new company, a new career, a new outlook, or counseling. They don't need you.

Deal with negative coworkers in these ways.

• Avoid spending time with a negative coworker.
• If you are forced, through your role in the company, to work with a negative person, set limits. Do not allow yourself to be drawn into negative discussions. Tell the negative coworker, you prefer to think about your job positively. Avoid providing a sympathetic audience for the negativity.
• Suggest the negative person seek assistance from human resources or their supervisor.
• If all else fails, talk to your own supervisor or human resources staff about the challenges you are experiencing in dealing with the negative person. Your supervisor may have ideas, may be willing to address the negativity, and may address the issue with the negative person's supervisor. Persistent negativity, that impacts coworkers' work is a work behavior that may require disciplinary action.
• If negativity among employees in your company is persistent, if the issues that warrant negativity are left unaddressed, and the negativity affects your ability to professionally perform your work, you may want to consider moving on. Your current culture will not support your desired work environment. And, if no one is working to improve a work culture that enables negativity, don't expect the culture to change any time soon.

Posted on Thursday 18th March 2010

Are You the Victim of a Bad Boss?

How many times have you witnessed someone working in a supervisory position without the necessary supervisory skills? How many times have you questioned why some leaders get the roles that they do? Probably, often. It should come as no surprise to you, then, that at least once in your working life, you will be the victim of a bad boss.

Stanley Bing recently updated his 1992 book, Crazy Bosses. (Compare prices.) In fact, there are several popular books that address wicked, mean, dysfunctional, or just plain, bad bosses. But what if your boss isn't that bad? What if all your boss needs is a little supervisory skills training?

You have come to terms with the fact that your boss will never be the leader he appeared to be during the interview. You reluctantly realize your boss prefers golf or shopping to mentoring you. She stole your ideas. He even assigned you a couple of high-profile controversial projects that went bad. Naturally when this happened he went missing. But will a book like Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Boss?. (Compare prices. help you out? Wouldn't it just be easier to anonymously slip her a copy of Super Skills for Supervisors? (Compare prices.)

Signs of a Bad Boss

How can you tell if your boss is "mean," "dumb," "toxic," "out to get you," or if he simply never had the advantage of Supervisory Skills 101? You know that promotion to supervisor is often a reward for a good worker. Remember that the "Peter Principle" suggests that people are often promoted to their level of incompetence. The Principle is still alive and well in corporate America. Here are a few clues that your boss could use some basic supervisory skills training.

• He ignores the classic, time honored cliché, "Praise in public, criticize in private."
• She gives you assignments and doesn't follow up.
• He doesn't support you when something goes wrong.
• She thinks everything is fine when it isn't.
• He constantly claims that he is empowering you, but isn't.
• She micro-manages and needs to know everything.
• He acts paranoid.
• She jumps to conclusions.
• He doesn't know how to plan, prioritize or organize.
• If it isn't her idea, then it can't be good.
• He implements two-faced attacks.
• She tells sarcastic jokes or teases.

How to Deal With Your Bad Boss

Now that you've come to the conclusion that your boss doesn't lie awake at night thinking about how to torment you, is there anything you can do? One activity that may be a cathartic experience is to make a list of the supervisory skills you think he or she is missing. Next, rank the list from most annoying to least annoying. Pick the top two or three worst offenses. Recognize that these are your hot buttons and start developing a strategy. Don't wait for these things to happen again without having a plan for your own actions. The worst thing you can do is - nothing, hoping the problems will resolve themselves.

Don't sacrifice your health or self-esteem. Polite confrontation should always be your first move. However, a bad boss lacking supervisory skills may not recognize your attempt and this tactic may backfire. Limiting contact may help you personally but isn't usually a good professional move. However, putting some distance between you and your supervisor might be a temporary solution.

 

Action Plan: Deal With a Bad Boss With Poor Supervisory Skills

Here are a few other suggestions for dealing with a bad boss with poor supervisory skills:

1. Find someone you can trust for a sanity check. It is probably better if this person does not work in the same environment as you.
2. Make a pact with yourself that you will use the time to adopt good supervisory skills yourself.
3. Remember that the best employees don't always make the best supervisors.
4. Do not fret if you have experienced a total meltdown with this person; it is time to try a new strategy: forgiveness. Regain your strength and move forward with confidence and professionalism.
5. Start identifying other sources of positive reinforcement for doing your job to the best of your abilities. We all want approval and recognition for a job well done.
6. Read and learn from the experts. Just make sure you are reading the right material. If you have decided that your boss simply lacks supervisory skills, try Managing Up: How to Forge an Effective Relationship With Those Above You. (Compare prices.)

Recommended Resources:

• Stanley Bing, Crazy Bosses - Fully Revised and Updated. (Compare prices.) (Harper Collins), 2007.
• Gini Graham Scott, A Survival Guide for Working With Bad Bosses: Dealing With Bullies, Idiots, Back-stabbers, and Other Managers from Hell. (Compare prices.) (AMACON), 2005.
• Jean Lipman-Blumen, The Allure of Toxic Leaders: Why We Follow Destructive Bosses and Corrupt Politicians - and How We Can Survive Them. (Compare prices.) (Blumen), 2006.
• Marilyn Haight, Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Boss? 13 Types and How to Survive Them. (Compare prices.) (Infinity), 2005.
• Frank Buchar, Super Skills for Supervisors: A Narrative Approach to Developing Supervisory Skills. (Compare prices.) (Buchar), 2005.
• Roseanne Badowski and Roger Gittens, Managing Up: How to Forge an Effective Relationship With Those Above You. (Compare prices.) (Currency), 2003.

Posted on Tuesday 16th March 2010

Cover Letter Template

The following cover letter template lists the information you need to include in the cover letter you submit with your resume. Use the cover letter template as a guideline to create customized cover letters to send to employers.

Then review cover letter samples to get ideas on writing your own cover letter.

Cover Letter Template

Contact InformationThe first section of your cover letter should include information on how the employer can contact you. If you have contact information for the employer, include that. Otherwise, just list your information.

 

Your Contact InformationYour Name Your Address Your City, State, Zip Code Your Phone Number Your Email Address

Date

Employer Contact InformationName Title CompanyAddress City, State, Zip Code

 

Salutation

Dear Mr./Ms. Last Name:

Body of Cover Letter

The body of your cover letter lets the employer know what position you are applying for, why the employer should select you for an interview, and how you will follow-up.

First Paragraph: The first paragraph of your letter should include information on why you are writing. Mention the position you are applying for. Include the name of a mutual contact, if you have one. Be clear and concise regarding your request. Convince the reader that they should grant the interview or appointment you requested in the first paragraph.

Middle Paragraphs: The next section of your cover letter should describe what you have to offer the employer. Make strong connections between your abilities and their needs. Mention specifically how your skills and experience match the job you are applying for. Remember, you are interpreting your resume, not repeating it. Try to support each statement you make with a piece of evidence. Use several shorter paragraphs or bullets rather than one large block of text.

Final Paragraph: Conclude your cover letter by thanking the employer for considering you for the position. Include information on how you will follow-up. State that you will do so and indicate when (one week's time is typical). You may want to reduce the time between sending out your resume and follow up if you fax or e-mail it.

Complimentary Close: Respectfully yours,

 

Signature:

Handwritten Signature (for a mailed letter)

Typed Signature

 

Cover Letter Articles and Advice

Posted on Monday 15th March 2010

Latvian 'Robin Hood' hacker leaks bank details to TV

An alleged hacker has been hailed as a latter-day Robin Hood for leaking data about the finances of banks and state-owned firms to Latvian TV.

Using the alias "Neo" - a reference to The Matrix films - the hacker claims he wants to expose those cashing in on the recession in Latvia.

He is slowly passing details of leading Latvian firms via Twitter to the TV station and has its audiences hooked.

The Latvian government and police are investigating the security breach.

Data leaked so far includes pay details of managers from a Latvian bank that received a bail-out.

It reveals that many did not take the salary cuts they promised.

Other data shows that state-owned companies secretly awarded bonuses while publicly asking the government for help.

'Cult status'

The anonymous hacker claims to be part of a group - called the Fourth Awakening People's Army - that downloaded more than seven million confidential tax documents from the State Revenue Service. He is thought to be based in Britain.

Over a three month period they downloaded the private data of up to 1,000 companies.

Ilze Nagla, a TV presenter on the state-owned Latvian TV, told the BBC the hacker has attained cult status for some.

"A lot of people perceive him as a modern, virtual Robin Hood," she told the BBC.

"On the one hand of course he has stolen confidential data... and he actually has committed a crime. But at the same time there is value for the public in the sense that now a lot of information gets disclosed and the whole system maybe becomes a little more transparent," she said.

Latvia is currently in the middle of its worst economic crisis since it broke free from the Soviet Union in 1991.

Unemployment, at 23%, is the highest in the European Union and over the last two years economic output has dropped by almost a quarter.

Posted on Thursday 25th February 2010

British Library warns UK's web heritage 'could be lost'

The UK's online heritage could be lost forever if the government does not grant a "right to archive", a group of leading libraries has said.

The British Library, along with other institutions, has been archiving UK websites since 2004 but has only been able to cover 6,000 of an estimated 8m.

Currently, it must ask permission from website owners before archiving them.

The group, which has just made its UK Web Archive available to the public, warned of "a digital black hole".

"We've got the know-how but we need the rules to say we don't need to ask permission," said a spokesman for the British Library.

"We're archiving for the nation rather than commercial gain."

The British Library believes the UK Web Archive could prove as useful to historians as ancient pamphlets and other ephemeral material in its archive.

'Ridiculous position'

The consortium, which also includes the National Library of Wales and the Wellcome Library, is lobbying the government to clarify elements of the Legal Deposit Libraries Act.

The act, which among other things means that every UK print publication is automatically deposited by publishers in the British Library, was extended in 2003 to cover online material.

But the British Library says it never clarified what steps had to be taken before electronic material was recorded.

"We're in the ridiculous position where we have to ask permission of each webmaster before we archive a site," the spokesman said.

The Department of Culture Media and Sport is currently consulting on the act.

"Limited by the existing legal position, at the current rate it will be feasible to collect just 1% of all free UK websites by 2011," said British Library chief executive, Dame Lynne Brindley.

She said the UK Web Archive project was necessary to help "avoid the creation of a 'digital black hole' in the nation's memory".

Defunct companies

The project was first launched in 2004 and so far has archived web forums where people discussed the London bombings in 2005, material documenting the credit crunch - including the sites of companies which went bust, like Woolworths - and defunct political sites, such as those of MPs who have died or lost their seats.

"We can't make a judgement about what people in the future will find useful," said the British Library spokesman.

"The most ephemeral material from the past contains the most social detail - such as graphic design, and literacy. Websites are the successor to that."

The British Library said research showed that the average life expectancy of a website was just 44 to 75 days, and suggested that at least 10% of all UK websites were either lost or replaced by new material every six months.

Several other countries - including Australia, New Zealand, Finland and Portugal - have already have started to archive their national web material.

Other informal projects - such as the WayBack Machine - also exist.

Posted on Thursday 25th February 2010

The 27th African Cup of Nations 2010

Group A

Algeria Angola Malawi Mali  

Group B 

 Burkina Faso Ivory Coast Ghana Togo

Group C 

Benin Egypt Mozambique Nigeria  

Group D 

Cameroon Gabon Tunisia Zambia

Posted on Tuesday 5th January 2010

Arsenal 3 - 0 Tottenham

Arsenal emphatically swept aside claims from Tottenham that they were ready to challenge the supremacy of their north London rivals with a convincing victory at the Emirates.

The game turned inside 11 seconds shortly before the interval as the Gunners struck twice to set up a victory that gave manager Arsene Wenger 1000 Premier League points since his arrival at the club in 1996.

It also ended any hopes Spurs may have harboured of ending a winless league sequence against Arsenal that now stretches back 20 games.

Boss Harry Redknapp would have been satisfied with how his side had coped with Arsenal's threat until they imploded spectacularly as half-time approached.

We committed suicide - Redknapp

Robin van Persie reacted quicker than Ledley King to meet Bacary Sagna's cross in the 42nd minute, but Spurs keeper Heurelho Gomes should have done much better than fumble the ball over the line.

And worse was to follow for the visitors straight from the kick-off when Wilson Palacios gifted possession to Cesc Fabregas, who ran through the heart of a static defence to beat Gomes.

Any lingering optimism that Redknapp's side could follow in the footsteps of West Ham and claw back a two-goal lead against Arsenal was snuffed out by more crass defending that saw the hosts add another on the hour.

Referee Mark Clattenburg played a clever advantage after Benoit Assou-Ekotto had fouled Eduardo and, while Spurs inexplicably waited for a whistle that was never going to come, Sagna set up Van Persie for his second from eight yards.

Robbie Keane had insisted, perhaps unwisely given the timing, that they now had a squad capable of competing with their neighbours. But it soon became clear that the absence of suspended Jermain Defoe, injured Aaron Lennon and long-term casualty Luka Modric had robbed Tottenham of a crucial cutting edge.

Arsenal had absentees of their own with Theo Walcott and Tomas Rosicky again sidelined, but they coped with their losses more convincingly than Spurs.

The vast swathe of empty spaces in the visitors' section, well before the final whistle, told the story of another day of derby disappointment for their half of north London.

And, as the Gunners performed their passing party pieces in the closing stages - when Eduardo should have added a fourth - Spurs's misery was complete as defender Sebastien Bassong pulled up with a hamstring injury.

Wenger recalled Manuel Almunia in goal with Lukasz Fabianski sidelined by a thigh injury and Vito Mannone relegated to the bench while Spurs gave starts to Peter Crouch and David Bentley.

The former Arsenal man, so often a marginal figure in his Spurs career, appeared over-eager to prove a point in the early stages and was fortunate to be spared by the leniency of referee Clattenburg.

He escaped a yellow card for deliberately handling a clearance and then received only a lecture when a late lunge left defender Thomas Vermaelen requiring lengthy treatment.

Spurs keeper Gomes has been dogged by inconsistency - as he was to subsequently prove - but he showed his best side when he saved superbly from Fabregas after 20 minutes when Andrey Arshavin's effort deflected invitingly into his path off King.

We should have scored more - Wenger

Arsenal were forced into a change two minutes later when Nicklas Bendtner, who had made a bright start, signalled to the bench that was struggling with an injury and limped off, to be replaced by Eduardo. Wenger later said Bendtner can expect to be out "for a while".

The away side were surviving in relative comfort and even threatened to prosper as the Emirates crowd started to show signs of frustration, but they gifted Arsenal control of what had been a tightly contested game in a minute of madness shortly before the interval.

Slack marking from a throw-in allowed Sagna to cross for Van Persie to beat King and steer in a near-post finish which left question marks over Gomes, who allowed the ball to squirm through his grasp.

As the Emirates basked joyously in the breaking of the deadlock, matters became considerably worse for Spurs as Palacios was robbed straight from the kick-off by Fabregas, who waltzed through unchallenged to fire a composed shot low past the exposed Gomes.

The gap between the goals was timed at 11 seconds - and in that space of time, the destiny of the three points was decided.

Spurs needed to find a way back into a game in which they had self-destructed, and Bentley almost provided hope with a long-range free-kick turned over the top in acrobatic fashion by Almunia.

Then, as if to confirm their defensive incompetence of the first half was by no means an accident, Spurs switched off fatally once more as Arsenal extended their lead with a third goal on the hour.

As the linesman flagged for a foul by Assou-Ekotto on Eduardo, Spurs defenders stood around obligingly as referee Clattenburg played a splendid advantage. Sagna took advantage with a ball into the box that was bundled home by Van Persie.

Keane was hauled off to a reception liberally sprinkled with mockery as Redknapp took the desperate measure of introducing Roman Pavlyuchenko.

Arsenal were revelling in the time and space they were being afforded and Eduardo was guilty of squandering an opportunity to make it four when he shot wide with only Gomes to beat after being released by Fabregas.

Tottenham simply indulged in damage limitation until the final whistle - but many of their aspirations have now been placed in context, after they failed to seriously test an Arsenal team they believe they can beat to a place in the Premier League's top four.

 

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger:

"It was the kind of game where both teams lacked fluidity in the first 25 minutes. We took advantage of two opportunities and that changed the game completely - it could have been four or five. We should have scored more.

"The back five did very well, we didn't give any chances away and during a difficult period of the game they kept us in it. But any mistakes and your opponent can take advantage of them, and we did that. It was a shock for them to concede the first goal and we took advantage of the goal.

"Our club deserves a lot of credit - a derby is a very different game no matter how good you are, but it shows we can prepare and turn up for the game every time."

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp:

"On 42 minutes I felt the crowd were getting onto them, they weren't creating anything worth talking about, and I felt very comfortable. I'm looking up at the clock with three minutes to half time and thinking we've done our job. I could see us certainly getting a big result. But it all turned upside-down.

"We switched off from a throw-in, then gave them the ball back, we're 2-0 down and the game's over. We committed suicide, really. All three goals were scandalous, there wasn't a good goal amongst them. Giving Fabregas the ball from the kick-off was Sunday morning football.

"We've not hit a blip - we got beaten by Arsenal today but we've got 19 points and we'll still be right up there at the end of the season."

source: bbc

Posted on Saturday 31st October 2009

Superb Hamilton storms to pole

McLaren's Lewis Hamilton will start the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in pole position after dominating qualifying at the final race of the season.

Hamilton, who has appeared throughout the weekend to have an edge over his closest rivals, headed the Red Bulls of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber.

Brawn's Rubens Barrichello, fighting with Vettel for second in the championship, will start fourth.

The Brazilian is ahead of team-mate and new world champion Jenson Button.

Hamilton, who became Formula 1's youngest world champion in 2008, struggled in a poor car at the start of the season.

But he and his team are right back on form and, after an hour-long session which started in daylight but finished under a setting sun with the floodlights on, the 24-year-old landed his 17th career pole in 52 races with a lap almost 0.7 seconds quicker than second-placed Vettel.

"It's never easy, but it was definitely as fun as it looked," he said.

"The car is the best it has been all year. It was a smooth lap, and it just kept getting better and better."

"The place is just stunning. They all said it would be a great event, but it's mind-blowing. I hope we can put on a great show tomorrow."

Button, the man who has deposed Hamilton as champion, has not been on pole since Monaco in May and will attempt to win his first race since Turkey in early June with four of his strongest rivals in front of him.

"Was that satisfactory? No, of course not," he told BBC Sport.

"Qualifying was really good... [but then] in Q3 I had massive vibrations and I don't know why. I don't know if it's to do with the brakes or the tyres. Hopefully we can sort it out because that would be a nightmare in the race."

Most drivers struggled to find early grip on the lavish and expensive new track, but that should not prove a real problem on Sunday as more and more rubber gets laid down during the sport's first-ever twilight race.

Button disappointed with qualifying

In double world champion Fernando Alonso's final appearance for Renault before he leaves for Ferrari, the Spaniard suffered the worst qualifying session of his underwhelming season to finish down in 16th.

But he was optimistic he will be able to end his seven-year career racing for the French team with a positive result.

"Hopefully tomorrow we can have a good race with plenty of overtaking manoeuvres," he told BBC Sport. "The track is quite wide so there should be places to get past people."

After stopping with transmission problems in the second session, Hamilton's team-mate Heikki Kovalainen qualified only 13th - and he was demoted a further five places when it emerged McLaren would have to change his gearbox.

Speaking about the effects of driving as the natural light gives way to artificial light, Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen - who will start Sunday's race from 11th - said it was not a major factor.

"You don't really notice because the lights are so strong," he said. "It doesn't make any difference really."

Vettel is aiming to cement his second place in the drivers' championship by finishing ahead of Barrichello on Sunday.

"It's a great way to start the last race of the year," said the German. "Both of us [he and Webber] are a little surprised at the gap to Lewis, but he has been strong all weekend.

Abu Dhabi qualifying - top three drivers

"It's been difficult to match him, but let's see the fuel loads and let's see on Sunday because we've good race pace."

Webber added: "Today is the story of the second half of the championship as Lewis has been strong, and Brawn have been there as well."

Fuel loads, which help to give a better picture of race pace and pit-stop strategy, are as yet unknown.

But the view across the paddock is that Abu Dhabi's inaugural race is Hamilton's to lose.

"He's come with a point to prove," said McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh. "He's scored more racing points than anyone else in the second half of the season. Lewis wants another win and so do we."

source: bbc

Posted on Saturday 31st October 2009

Eto'o seeks payout from Barcelona

Cameroon striker Samuel Eto'o is demanding almost £2.75m from Spanish club Barcelona after his transfer to Italian side Inter Milan.

The amount represents 15% of the US$29 million (£17.7m) fee which the Inter paid Barcelona in July.

His demand is based on a Spanish rule that a player should get 15% of the amount of his transfer to another Spanish club.

If the parties fail to reach a solution the matter could got to court.

But Barcelona argues it does not owe Eto'o anything because the rule is an agreement between Spanish clubs and that the percentage payment is the responsibility of the club that buys the player.

A Spanish judge in February 2008 found in a similar case that Deportivo La Coruna had to pay approximately £1.9m to Spanish striker Albert Luque, the equivalent of 15% of his transfer to Newcastle in August 2005.

"We are going to defend our interests," the Barcelona official said, adding each transfer was different.

The deal for Eto'o also saw Inter's Swedan international Zlatan Ibrahimovic go in the opposite direction for US$68 million (£41.6m).

source: bbc

Posted on Tuesday 22nd September 2009

'Open internet' rules criticised

Mobile providers have said that US proposals to ensure all traffic on the internet is treated equally should not be applied to wireless traffic.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) wants rules to prevent providers blocking or slowing down bandwidth-heavy usage such as streaming video.

Providers claim a two-tiered system is essential for the future vitality of the net.

Mobile operators said any regulation would damage innovation.

FCC chairman Julius Genachowski said doing nothing was not an option.

In his first major speech since his appointment earlier in the summer, he told an audience in Washington that the rules were "not about government regulation of the internet".

"History's lesson is clear. Ensuring a robust and open internet is the best thing we can do to promote investment and innovation," he told the audience at Washington think tank the Brookings Institution.

"And while there are some who see every policy decision as either pro-business or pro-consumer, I reject that approach; it's not the right way to see technology's role in America."

The FCC's proposals are meant to ensure that internet service providers cannot block or slow down traffic, such as bandwidth-hogging video downloads. Operators must also be transparent about network management, it said.

But providers have argued that a two-tiered internet is essential to effectively manage their networks.

'Phenomenal success'

Almost as soon as Mr Genachowski stepped off the podium, industry critics condemned the inclusion of wireless traffic in the new policy proposals.

"We are concerned the FCC appears ready to extend the entire array of net neutrality requirements to what is perhaps the most competitive consumer market in America - wireless services," said AT&T's Jim Cicconi.

"The internet in America has been a phenomenal success that has spawned technological and business innovation unmatched anywhere else in the world," said David Cohen, executive vice-president at Comcast.

"So it's still fair to ask whether increased regulation of the internet is a solution in search of a problem."

Verizon, the nation's biggest cellphone operator, said it believed the FCC had no reason to impose "a new set of regulations that will limit customer choices and affect content providers, application developers, device manufacturers and network builders".

Politicians also weighed in on the proposals.

Six Republican senators introduced a measure that would cut the FCC's funding to "develop and implement new regulatory mandates".

Meanwhile, the two Republicans on the FCC's board said they were not convinced that there were widespread problems of internet providers blocking or slowing traffic that needed to be addressed with new rules.

'Pivotal moment'

However, just as many supporters as critics stood up to praise the FCC's move.

The FCC "took an important step in... ensuring that the internet remains a platform for innovation, economic growth, and free expression", wrote Google internet evangelist Vint Cerf, on a company blog.

Consumer groups saw the move as a victory.

"This is a tremendous day for millions of us who have been clamouring to keep the internet free from discrimination," said John Silver, executive director of advocacy group Free Press.

Mr Genachowski said the increasing number of people who went online using their mobile phones could not be ignored.

"The revolution in wireless technologies and the creation of path-breaking devices like the Blackberry and iPhone have enabled millions of us to carry the internet in our pockets and purses."

Gigi Sohn of digital rights group Public Knowledge told BBC News the move was necessary given that "wireless is the next frontier and where the great growth of internet access is going to come from".

Mr Genachowski said he wants as much feedback from consumers, the industry and others on the proposals.

"This is about fair rules of the road for companies that control access to the internet," said the FCC chairman.

source: bbc

Posted on Tuesday 22nd September 2009

Ghana marks leader's centenary

Ghana is marking 100 years since the birth of Kwame Nkrumah, the country's first president and a founding father of Africa's independence movement.

The governing National Democratic Congress designated the day a national holiday and organised celebrations.

Hundreds of Ghanaians gathered in the capital, Accra, for a vigil.

Nkrumah led Ghana to independence from the British in 1957 and served as president afterwards. He was eventually overthrown in a coup in 1966.

President John Atta Mills called for the nation to show "collective pride" on what he has labelled Founder's Day.

He described Nkrumah as the man who "lit the flame that blazed a liberation struggle of the African continent".

Radio and TV have been filled with sights and sounds from Ghana's independence struggle in the run-up to Founder's Day.

 

Ghanaians are celebrating with concerts, processions and ceremonial gatherings.

The BBC's David Amanor, in Accra, says the decision to dedicate a national holiday to the former leader has raised controversy.

Our correspondent says many Ghanaians have mixed feelings about Nkrumah.

By the time he was overthrown, he was an isolated and authoritarian leader presiding over a flagging economy and a population disillusioned with him.

 

He had outlawed trade union strikes, indoctrinated the youth and concentrated more on foreign affairs than domestic concerns.

After a bomb was placed in a bouquet of flowers in a botched assassination attempt, he introduced a the Preventive Detention Act, allowing him to jail his opponents at will.

The military eventually overthrew him while he was on a foreign trip.

But our correspondent says many of his ideas have made a comeback in recent years.

Many Ghanaians now remember him as a champion of education, industrialisation and black pride.

source: bbc

Posted on Monday 21st September 2009

Bold Rwanda takes broadband leap

Landlocked Rwanda is weeks away from completing a link to a new fibre-optic network promising high-speed internet for East Africa, officials say.

Engineers expect the capital, Kigali, to be connected to newly-arrived undersea cables in Kenya by November.

A national fibre-optic ring is due to go online early in 2010.

The new link is the key part of a plan to transform Rwanda from an impoverished, agricultural society into a hi-tech economic innovator.

Most of Rwanda's nine million inhabitants still make a living from small-scale farming, and much of the country remains without basic services - including a reliable electricity supply.

Yet 15 years after a genocide, which saw around 800,000 Rwandans brutally murdered, the government - led by one-time rebel leader President Paul Kagame - appears determined to push ahead with development on multiple fronts.

Rwanda remains one of the poorest countries in the world, but has a fast-growing population, of which more than 50% are aged 14 or under.

"We're in a hurry," Patrick Nyirishema told the BBC. "In five or 10 years' time, all those people are going to be looking for jobs."

Mr Nyirishema, a slight man of 34, took up his post at the helm of Rwanda's Information Technology Authority just one week ago. He found 160 ongoing projects in his in-tray.

"Rwanda is the most densely-populated country in the continent, and most of our people are subsistence farmers," he said.

"We can't wait until we have water, until we have built roads, before we get round to ICT (information and communications technology). We have to do everything at the same time."

Held back

Evidence of Africa's need for faster connectivity is easy to spot.

In central Kigali, towering satellite dishes belonging to one private company bring in most of the country's existing internet bandwidth.

As in other parts of East Africa which have long relied on satellite connections, the links are in the hands of a handful of operators and are sold on at high prices way out of reach of most ordinary Rwandans.

For a country which has publicly stated an ambition to turn itself into "the Singapore of Africa" - a globally important centre for business and communications - the reliance on satellite has held the country back.

Most Rwandans lack significant computer skills and few have regular access to the internet. Many of those who do are yet to explore the web's full potential.

"I first used the internet one year ago," said Carine Umulisa, a 24-year-old Kigali student.

"I sometimes go to the cyber cafe and I send messages to my family. It's very expensive now. But it's important for Rwanda to develop technology."

Even where there is bandwidth, people struggle with unpredictable connections. A bus carrying 20 laptop computers is currently travelling the country offering internet services to students and local business people.

When BBC News visited the bus in Kamonyi district, an area just 30 minutes' drive from Kigali but without any mains electricity, the connection was so erratic that the young people using the facility were unable even to sign up for their first e-mail account.

Great leap forward

At the national stadium in Kigali, inconspicuous antennae tethered to a floodlight pylon are the only outward sign of one of Rwanda's most arresting projects.

When operational, the antennae will blanket the city with a WiBro (Wireless Broadband) signal - a state-of-the-art South Korean wireless protocol - sometimes known as Wimax - designed to funnel data at high speed to new 4G mobile devices.

 

It is a clear statement of intent - building a 21st Century mobile data network in a country where many people still eke out a 19th Century existence.

But officials brush off suggestions that the WiBro network could be too niche, or that the cost of compatible devices will be prohibitively high. Linking Rwanda to the technology giants of South Korea and China is as safe as bets come, they say.

"We are really focussing on the future," one project engineer, Manzi Rwaka, told the BBC. "We are doing our best not to be left out of the world."

In a way, Mr Rwaka, 27, embodies the new country Rwanda is trying to become. Born outside of Rwanda after his family fled following the first outbreak of deadly civil violence in 1959, his parents chose to return home after the 1994 genocide, when Paul Kagame's RPF took power.

Fifteen years later, and with a university education in South Africa under his belt, Mr Rwaka works on the WiBro project and speaks in an almost evangelical tone about the future of his country.

"Coming from where we have been, we really want to focus on our position in the region. We know we are in a difficult situation but we are trying to get out of it. We want a solid economy and we will get there.

"If we sit down and wait for others to do something [we] might be waiting forever."

Critics muted

As the size of Mr Nyirishema's in-tray suggests, the WiBro plan is just one of many technology projects Rwanda's government is trying to push through in a hurry.

But while the scale of the ambition is clear, concerns remain that the government may be aiming too high.

In stark contrast to a regional neighbour such as Kenya, where mobile phone penetration is almost universal, just 20% of Rwandans own mobile phones, state media reported this week.

In an effort to boost mobile phone use and give farmers easy access to market information, the government plans to hand out 35,000 mobile phones across the country as part of a joint venture with major telecoms operators.

According to accepted international indicators Rwanda remains a desperately poor country, with a per capita annual income of just $315. Women each have an average of 5.5 children.

And some Western observers are critical of President Paul Kagame's hard-headed style of government. Amnesty International's annual report on global human rights issues regularly highlights the restricted nature of political debate in Rwanda and the lack of a free press.

But Mr Kagame, president since 2001, appears to remain genuinely popular and plans to stand for a second full seven-year term in elections in 2010. Two other candidates are likely to stand - neither is expected to come close to victory.

Despite his authoritarian tendencies, at the moment Mr Kagame appears to have support for his efforts to transform his country. He first identified technology as the way forward for Rwanda back in 1997, as the country began its long recovery from genocide.

Today, in a continent cursed with leaders who show an authoritarian streak and yet fail to improve the lot of their people, few appear willing to criticise Mr Kagame.

"Technology sits at the centre of everything we do," Patrick Nyirishema explained.

"But the biggest challenge we face is skills. Every extra step we take comes with a need for new skills."

With the arrival of East Africa's fibre-optic cables, Paul Kagame's bold strategy is about to get the connectivity it needs.

Whether the farmers and schoolchildren in electricity-starved Kamonyi can become the skilled workers Rwanda needs in the years to come is yet to be seen.

source: bbc

Posted on Monday 21st September 2009

SA wants athletics chief 'fired'

South Africa's government has demanded that athletics chief Leonard Chuene be sacked after he admitted lying about runner Caster Semenya's gender tests.

Chuene had previously denied knowing that tests were carried out on the runner in South Africa before her 800m world title win in August.

He then expressed outrage when governing body the IAAF ordered its own tests after the Berlin championships.

Chuene, though, insisted: "I will face this head on. I won't jump ship."

SA deputy sports minister demanded Athletics South Africa "fire" Chuene.

"If they fail to do so, they run the risk of being led by a liar," said Gert Oosthuizen.

The statement added his ministry had been shocked when Chuene admitted lying about his knowledge of tests conducted on Semenya ahead of the athletics World Championships in Berlin last month.

Information from the confidential gender tests was leaked to the press ahead of the official publication of the results.

Oosthuizen said his department had twice requested a report from Chuene on events before, during and after Berlin, but had received nothing in return.

Chuene admitted on Saturday that he had lied to the South African public about his knowledge of the tests, conducted on Semenya in Pretoria on 7 August, but said the deception had been intended to protect Semenya's confidentiality.

"Mr Chuene has not only lied to us as the ministry, but to the whole country, and this is not acceptable," the statement contended.

"We are convinced that the perpetual denial of knowledge of these tests has fuelled the continuous violation of Ms Semenya's rights and dignity, by foreign and some local media.

"We are of the view that his lies were to Ms Semenya's detriment."

South Africa's official opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, joined in the calls for Chuene to leave his post.

Democratic Alliance spokesman Donald Lee said Chuene had seriously damaged South Africa's image.

Chuene apologised for his actions on Saturday, admitting: "It was an error of judgement and I could have been more forthcoming with this information, even if it was difficult."

Semenya first burst on to the world stage in July when she ran one minute, 56.72 seconds for the 800m in Bambous, smashing her previous personal best by more than seven seconds.

Though South African officials insisted no gender tests were carried out within the country, it has emerged that the IAAF asked for Semenya to be withdrawn from the South African team for the World Championships following initial tests conducted locally, before the event.

However, Athletics South Africa insisted she should run and has since said it is certain she is female, a claim backed up by her family.

Chuene said he "was not going to stop her talent because of rumours" and said conclusive test results had not been available.

"On what basis should I have withdrawn her? My only crime committed was to take a decision that she must run, and she won."

Semenya won the world title in another personal best of 1:55.45, two seconds clear of defending champion Janeth Jepkosgei.

The IAAF ordered more tests following that victory, which BBC Sport understands are likely to show Semenya has an intersex status, exhibiting both male and female sex characteristics.

source: bbc

Posted on Sunday 20th September 2009

Classy Mayweather pummels Marquez

Floyd Mayweather Jr returned to the ring for the first time in 21 months with a unanimous points victory over Juan Manuel Marquez in Las Vegas.

Mayweather, who announced his retirement after beating Ricky Hatton in 2007, dominated his five-time, three-weight world champion opponent.

The American knocked down Marquez in the second round, then peppered him with damaging shots to remain unbeaten.

Marquez stepped up two weight classes for the non-title welterweight fight.

And that step up told as 32-year-old Mayweather dominated all 12 rounds against his smaller opponent with his left jab and agile movement, improving his career record to 40-0 with 25 knockouts.

Mayweather, who had a significant weight and reach advantage, was a heavy favourite going into the bout at the MGM Grand Garden Arena and floored Marquez, 36, with a stinging left hook in the second round.

And he showed no signs of rust after his lengthy stint away and controlled the pace of the fight with his lightning hand and foot speed, rock-solid defence and a series of telling combinations.

Marquez, who has fought most of his career at featherweight but is a reigning world champion at lightweight, suffered a bloody nose as Mayweather landed several hard shots late in the sixth.

And whenever he appeared to land a combination, Mayweather simply backed away with a grin.

Mayweather ended the 11th round by landing a crunching right hook and maintained control until the final bell sounded to end the 12th.

"I've been off for almost two years but it felt really good to be back. I was happy with the victory but I know I can get better, " said Mayweather, who gained one-sided verdicts from all three judges - by 118-109, 120-107 and 119-108.

But he paid tribute to his "tough as nails" opponent, adding: "He was a great little big man. I threw a hell of a shot that dropped him, and then he got back up and kept fighting. He's a tough guy."

Marquez, who had never before fought above 135 pounds and was four pounds lighter at Friday's weigh-in, said: "He surprised me with the knockdown. He hurt me in that round but not at any other time."

He added: "I don't want to make excuses but the weight was the problem.

"He's too fast. When I hit him he laughed but I knew he felt my punches. I did the best I could do."

Eighteen months ago, Marquez lost a narrow decision to Manny Pacquiao - who is believed to be Mayweather's first choice for his next bout.

The prospect of a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight would be hugely appealing, but it was 'Sugar' Shane Mosley, another potential opponent, who demanded the attention of Mayweather in the ring immediately after the fight, with officials forced to separate the two.

Mayweather did not comment on a fight with Mosley, but his uncle and trainer, Roger Mayweather, earlier said Mosley would produce "a better fight than Pacquiao".

Meanwhile, Indonesia's Chris John retained his WBA featherweight title with an unanimous decision over Rocky Juarez on the Mayweather-Marquez undercard and Australian Michael Katsidis took the interim WBO lightweight title with a split-decision win over Vicente Escobedo.

In Germany, local favourite Sebastian Sylvester became the new IBF world middleweight champion after winning the title decider against Giovanni Lorenzo of the Dominican Republic.

source: bbc

Posted on Sunday 20th September 2009

SA chief issues Semenya apology

Athletics South Africa's president Leonard Chuene has apologised for denying knowledge of gender tests conducted on runner Caster Semenya.

The tests were carried out in South Africa in August but Chuene said he wanted to protect Semenya's privacy.

Semenya has been the focus of attention since she won the 800m world title last month and the sport's governing body, the IAAF, ordered fresh gender tests.

"I felt I was acting in the best interests of Semenya," said Chuene.

"I believed at the time my consistent denials would help protect her. "I have however realised that it was an error of judgment and that I could have been more forthcoming with this information, even if it was difficult."

Semenya first burst on to the world stage in July when she ran one minute, 56.72 seconds for the 800m in Bambous, smashing her previous personal best by more than seven seconds.

The IAAF demanded Semenya take a gender test before the World Championships in Berlin amid fears she might not be able to run as a woman.

But South African officials repeatedly said tests were carried out abroad, not at home.

Following the findings of initial tests, the IAAF asked South Africa to withdraw her from their team for Germany.

However, the ASA insisted she should run and has since said it is certain she is female, a claim backed up by her family.

Semenya went on to win the world title in another personal best time of 1.55.45 seconds, two seconds clear of defending champion Janeth Jepkosgei.

The IAAF then ordered more tests, saying questions had been raised about her muscular physique, running style and recent stunning improvement in times.

BBC Sport understands the test results are likely to show Semenya has an intersex status.

That means that although she has been brought up as a girl and lives as a woman, she may prove to have both male and female sex characteristics.

The ASA and IAAF have been pointing fingers at each other, while South Africa's sports minister Reverend Makhenkesi Stofile threatened a "third world war" should the IAAF ban Semenya from competing.

However, the ASA recently vowed to launch an inquiry into their handling of the affair prompting Chuene to make the latest revelations.

Chuene said tests were carried out at a Pretoria hospital on 7 August at the behest of the IAAF, adding that it was unclear whether Semenya was informed of the nature of the examinations.

"I can no longer stand before you and say that I am not aware of gender tests conducted on Caster Semenya," Chuene said.

He also said that despite medical advice and the request from the IAAF, he refused to withdraw Semenya from the World Championships because the test results were not available.

"I was not going to stop her talent because of rumours," he said.

"On what basis should I have withdrawn her? My only crime committed was to take a decision that she must run, and she won."

Media reports in Australia earlier this month claimed a source had revealed that Semenya's test results showed her to be a hermaphrodite - someone who has some or all of the primary sex characteristics of both men and women.

But Chuene said he could not confirm any reports about her gender and accused the IAAF of violating her rights and privacy.

"The IAAF publicly revealed her name. The IAAF betrayed her. The IAAF has a lot to answer for," he added.

sourc: bbc 

Posted on Saturday 19th September 2009

Arsenal 4 - 0 Wigan

Arsenal produced an incisive, attacking display to cruise to an impressive victory against a lacklustre Wigan.

Thomas Vermaelen rose to head the Gunners into the lead from a corner before curling in his, and the Gunners second from the edge of the box.

Arsenal's third was struck initially by Eduardo but found the net courtesy of a deflection from Emmanuel Eboue, who may well ultimately claim it.

Cesc Fabregas' back-heel finish in injury time crowned a superb win.

Source

Posted on Saturday 19th September 2009

Man City to fight Adebayor charge

Manchester City boss Mark Hughes has confirmed the club will contest the Football Association's improper conduct charge against Emmanuel Adebayor.

The charge relates to Adebayor's actions in running the length of the pitch to celebrate in front of the Arsenal supporters after scoring.

The Togo international, 25, later apologised for his actions.

The striker has already been suspended for three matches for violent conduct during the match, which City won 4-2.

Adebayor was banned for stamping on his former teammate Robin van Persie, a challenge which left the Dutchman needing treatment on a cut to his face.

Manchester City decided against contesting Adebayor's violent conduct charge and he will now miss Sunday's trip to Manchester United and home games against Fulham - in the Carling Cup - and West Ham.

However, Hughes is adamant his £25m summer-signing from Arsenal should not be reprimanded for his goal celebration.

"He didn't leave the field of the play. He laid on his knees - it was his normal celebration," said Hughes.

After the match it emerged that a steward needed hospital treatment after being hit by a flying object as several Arsenal fans vented their fury towards Adebayor, who was booked by referee Mark Clattenburg for the celebration.

But Hughes is determined to take a stance and pointed to the large amount of abuse Adebayor was forced to endure from Arsenal fans during the game.

"It's important you don't take the emotion out of the game - it's part and parcel of what football's all about - because of the emotion," added Hughes.

"The circumstances of the game and amount of criticism and vitriol he had to take wasn't nice. It was difficult for him - it was the first time he was up against former team-mates and some of those felt they couldn't even shake his hand.

"All these things maybe affect somebody's emotional state in the game. The celebrations were an outpouring of that. I have to say he didn't leave the field of play and there are others things we can add to that and we will do.

"I think there are comparisons to be made between Ade's celebration and Van Persie's celebration when he scored."

Adebayor says sorry for goal celebration

Adebayor apologised for his behaviour immediately after the match but claimed he had been provoked by the Arsenal fans.

"The emotion took over me," said Adebayor. "Now I just have to say sorry.

"It was silly to run up in front of the Arsenal fans but these people have been insulting me all game. Even in the warm-up they were insulting me. They were saying things that are not nice to hear, personal things."

Sports Minister Gerry Sutcliffe has suggested possible points penalties for clubs as a deterrent for further behavioural breaches.

"Do we need to look at clubs losing points for serious misbehaviour?" he said.

"If a player gets banned for three games, it's easy to put someone else in there if you are a big club, though for small clubs it's more difficult.

"It's just a personal idea but football should be looking at all it can do to make sure that the image of the game.

"It's something that should be looked to make sure that clubs and players act in a responsible way."

source: bbc

Posted on Friday 18th September 2009

Man Utd have got weaker - Hughes

Manchester City manager Mark Hughes believes derby rivals United have a weaker squad than last season.

In an on-going spat between the bosses ahead of Sunday's clash, Sir Alex Ferguson said City's banned Emmanuel Adebayor was their "best player".

Hughes has hit back, saying United miss Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez.

"They've lost two significant players. You can't afford to lose players of that standard and not replace them and I don't think they have," Hughes said.

With Adebayor suspended for the Old Trafford visit and former United striker Tevez doubtful with a knee injury, Ferguson said: "I am not bothered whether Tevez plays or not. City's best player won't be playing."

Tevez has yet to score a league goal for City - his only strike so far coming in the Carling Cup second-round tie at Crystal Palace - while fellow striker Adebayor has scored in every Premier League game since his £25m summer move from Arsenal.

Ferguson repeated his claim that City behaved in an "arrogant and cocky" manner when they displayed a giant banner bearing Tevez's image and the words "Welcome to Manchester" in the city's main shopping area this summer, following the 25-year-old's move to Eastlands.

Responding to the Scot, who managed him at United, Hughes said: "We just take it as a bit of flattery. In recent years City haven't really affected the thinking of United - possibly that's changed now."

The Welshman continued the pair's war of words by suggesting that United were struggling this season after off-loading Ronaldo to Real Madrid in the summer and losing Argentine striker Tevez.

"I have watched a number of their games this season and I don't think they are playing as well as they did last year," Hughes added.

"They played well against Tottenham [winning 3-1 after being a goal down]. That was their stand-out performance but prior to that they have been below par."

The Blues go into Sunday's highly-anticipated match with just one fit striker out of six available.

Togo international Adebayor begins his three-match ban for stamping on Arsenal's Robin van Persie, Paraguay striker Roque Santa Cruz is recovering from knee surgery and Robinho injured his ankle playing for Brazil in the game that saw Tevez damage his knee.

City head to the home of their local rivals looking to preserve their 100% start to the season and Hughes cannot wait for kick-off.

"We're looking forward to it," he said. "It's a derby that has captured everybody's imagination. The interest that surrounds the game is greater than it has been in many, many years.

"It's a challenge for us and it's about giving a good account of ourselves. We're here to make a challenge and we're not going away any time soon. We played well last week and we'll have to hit the same levels again but we can cause any team a problem."

Ferguson is aware the derby clash has far more interest and significance now City are pushing for a top-four place, having spent in excess of £120m this summer.

However, he stated that he continues to view Liverpool as the club's main rival.

"To me, Liverpool has always been the derby," he said. "It is because of the history. My aim was always to do well against them. It is hard for me to think any other way."

Meanwhile, Hughes also revealed on Friday that he was close to quitting the club before it was bought by Sheikh Mansour a year ago.

After joining from Blackburn in 2008, he became frustrated by problems when working under the club's former owner Thaksin Shinawatra.

Hughes told the Guardian: "If you get to a point where it is untenable and not manageable, then you make the decision to walk away.

"The reality wasn't exactly what was described and sold to me. We were able to go into the transfer market, but there seemed a focus that players had to be sold, and I realised that maybe the resources weren't in place that I thought."

 source: bbc

Posted on Friday 18th September 2009

'Oil discovered' off Sierra Leone

A US oil firm has announced the discovery of a deepwater oil well off the coast of Sierra Leone.

Anadarko Petroleum Corporation said it confirmed the existence of an "active petroleum system" in the Sierra Leone-Liberian basin.

Two years ago, oil was discovered off Ghana by the same drillers.

Sierra Leone is one of the poorest countries in the world and still faces the challenge of reconstruction after a brutal civil war which ended in 2002.

The country is also rich in diamonds and other minerals, but the trade in illicit gems, known as "blood diamonds" for their role in funding conflicts, perpetuated the civil war.

Anadarko Petroleum said the new well - called Venus - is one of more than 30 identified prospects across 10 blocks offshore of Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast and Ghana.

"We are optimistic that the continued success of our West African Cretaceous program will create substantial value for our stakeholders as well as the people of West Africa through continued investment and increased activity," said Bob Daniels, Andarko vice-president.

source: bbc

Posted on Friday 18th September 2009

Poorer countries 'need bailout help too'

Some of the people worst affected by the current economic crisis are those living in the developing world, the World Bank's managing director has said.

Developing world economies have been hit hard by the collapse of export markets, falling remittances and a widespread lack of bank credit, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told a BBC World Service debate on the aftermath of the collapse of Lehman Brothers.

Furthermore, such countries cannot afford the kind of government stimulus packages that are boosting economies in the West, she said.

"There are countries that have no fiscal space for stimulus," she says. "Low income countries need to be talked about and have the developed countries help them."

Her comments underline another lesson from the collapse of Lehman Brothers, that the economy is now truly global. No one escaped the impact.

Influential

But to some extent there have been winners and losers.

On the winners side, China's swift measures to limit the impact have allowed it's growth to continue to roar ahead, bringing in its wake a greater influence in the political debate.

"The fact is that the standing, the influence of the United States will be greatly diminished by this crisis," says Nobel prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz.

 

"Its ability to say that it knows how to run an economy is obviously going to be questioned."

Professor Robert Shiller from Yale University says he saw the current crisis coming back in 2005. Unfortunately, at the time, nobody listened.

Now he admits he could have been more outspoken, but he too got swept away in the enthusiasm of the boom.

"The human species is empathetic," he says. "We see other people getting excited, and we get excited too. We self-censor ourselves. We don't want to spoil the party."

The lesson: economic bubbles are the result of behaviour that is hardwired into the way we are built. In other words, there will be more.

"[A] crisis will happen again," says former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan, "but it'll be different. They are all different.

"But they have one fundamental source, and that is the unquenchable capability of human beings, when confronted with long periods of prosperity to presume that it will continue. And they begin to take speculative excesses."

Crisis management

So how do we learn to live with a world of recurring crises?

 

The first thing is to minimise their ferocity says Prof Shiller.

"At the G20 meeting, the big concept seems to be executive salaries," he added.

"That's a politically popular movement. But it's not central to making the system work better. There's a lot of boring stuff that has to be done."

Better and more joined up regulation, he thinks, would stop bubbles developing at a much earlier stage. It's something that Wall Street insiders have long known.

There are already plenty of regulators. For Lawrence McDonald, formerly a trading Vice President at Lehman Brothers, there are too many and they are too un-coordinated.

Questions raised

He also highlights other lessons from the current crisis: the sheer difficulty of managing banks with such massive and complex liabilities, the lack of understanding among bank bosses about the risks their staff were taking and, of course, the bonuses.

 

"I have some advice for the G20," he says. "Let's take some of the TARP (bailout) money... let's give bonuses to the people at the SEC (the financial regulator)... Two million dollar bonuses, if they uncover the next Bernie Madoff."

So, in future we'll be dealing with a multi-polar world in which further crises cannot be ruled out - they can only be better managed. And that's assuming the current crisis is actually over.

"This thing could turn ugly again," cautions Prof Shiller. "We have to be ready to give more stimulus."

Even if it doesn't come to that, economists and politicians need to think hard about the role that banks will play in future around the globe.

"The important thing," says Prof Shiller, "is to make finance serve the people. That has to be the emphasis."

source: bbc

Posted on Friday 18th September 2009

Brazil eyes Amazon sugar cane ban

The Brazilian government has unveiled plans to ban sugar cane plantations in environmentally sensitive areas.

The proposal, which must be passed by Congress, comes amid concerns that Brazil's developing biofuels industry is increasing Amazon deforestation.

Environment Minister Carlos Minc said the measures would mean ethanol made from sugar cane would be "100% green".

The government agenda is becoming more environmentally friendly ahead of the 2010 presidential poll, analysts say.

The plans unveiled by Mr Minc would limit sugar cane plantations to 7.5% of Brazilian territory or 64m hectares, and prevent the clearing of new land for the crop.

 

The proposed legislation, expected to be put to Congress next year, would also prohibit the building of ethanol distillation plants in food-growing areas or in the vast wetlands of the Pantanal, on Brazil's border with Bolivia.

Brazil, the world's top producer of sugar, has long championed ethanol as an environmentally friendly source of energy but concerns have grown over its potential hazards.

Critics have said that the spread of sugar cane plantations into areas like the Amazon and the Pantanal has increased deforestation.

"This legislation is extremely welcome because it sends a clear signal to farmers and to the world that the government wants to exercise control," Paulo Moutinho from environmental group Imazon told the AFP news agency.

Green votes

The debate over the environmental credentials of ethanol has become increasingly sensitive in Brazil, raising tensions among ministers, says the BBC's Gary Duffy in Sao Paulo.

But our correspondent says that as next year's presidential election approaches, the government of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has been stressing its green credentials with renewed vigour.

President Lula, who enjoys high approval ratings, cannot stand for a third term but is keen to see his chief of staff Dilma Rousseff succeed him.

Complicating the electoral scene, however, is the likely candidacy for the Green Party of Marina Silva, the former environment minister, who left the president's Workers Party (PT) earlier this year.

Ms Silva, a stanch defender of the Amazon rainforest, is highly unlikely to win but with her green background she could help to splinter the PT base and take some votes from Ms Rousseff.

source: bbc

Posted on Friday 18th September 2009

Brown book breaks record in hours

Dan Brown's follow-up to The Da Vinci Code has sold more copies in its first 36 hours of UK release than any other adult hardback novel, say publishers.

The Lost Symbol, which went on sale on Tuesday, has shifted more than 300,000 copies in the UK, Transworld said.

Publishers said sales in the US, Canada and the UK had already topped 1m, amid claims of record-breaking sales of the digital edition in the US.

The Lost Symbol is Brown's first book since 2003's The Da Vinci Code.

Set in Washington DC, it once again features Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon, this time delving into the secret world of the Freemasons.

"We are seeing historic, record-breaking sales across all types of our accounts in North America for The Lost Symbol," said Sonny Mehta, editor in chief of US publisher Knopf Doubleday.

Digital sales

Dan Brown on new novel release

In the US, both online retailer Amazon and booksellers Barnes & Noble claimed record one-day sales for adult fiction.

However, the book fell well short of sales figures of JK Rowling's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, which sold more than 8 million copies on its first day in the US alone.

"The biggest surprise was that, despite sustained, strong physical book sales, on Tuesday we saw the Kindle [electronic reader] edition outsell hardcover editions on the book's release day," said Amazon spokesman Andrew Hardener, referring to strong e-book sales in the US.

His calculations, however, did not include pre-orders.

Sony spokesman Kyle Austin also claimed The Lost Symbol set a single day record for e-sales, outselling other releases more than 10 times on Tuesday.

Doubleday released the digital edition of the thriller, despite industry concerns that the lower priced e-book could harm sales of the hardback.

The Da Vinci Code has sold 81 million copies around the world and is the UK's biggest-selling paperback of all time.

source: bbc

Posted on Thursday 17th September 2009

Google turns page on news content

Google has unveiled a service called Fast Flip to let users consume news more quickly and to boost the flagging fortunes of the news industry.

The product is designed to mirror the way readers flick through magazines and newspapers.

Google has teamed up with more than 30 providers such as the BBC to provide what it calls a new reading experience.

The search giant was recently called a parasite for making money aggregating content it did not create.

"I don't believe we are part of the problem. I believe we are part of the solution," Google's vice-president of search, Marissa Mayer, told BBC News.

"We have tried to build platforms and tools that build a healthy, rich eco-system online that is supportive of content. This is a new way of looking at content."

Earlier this year, Wall Street Journal chief Robert Thomson called the search company and other aggregators such as Yahoo "parasites or tech tapeworms in the intestines of the internet".

The news industry has been struggling with how to broaden the size of its online audience and how to make money from content it has long given away free.

Last month, media mogul Rupert Murdoch said he hoped all of his major newspapers would be charging for online content by the end of June next year.

Preferences

Fast Flip imitates a conventional print publication by offering screenshots of the web pages containing relevant articles.

The stories are organised following a number of different criteria. For example, readers will be offered articles that have been popular all day, that reflect their personal preference or that have been recommended by friends.

Users who want to dig deeper into the story can click through to the publisher's website.

To make money, Fast Flip also serves up contextual adverts around the screenshots.

Publishers who have signed up to provide content to the service will share in that revenue; that was proof, said Ms Mayer, that Google was keen to help the industry at a time when it was clearly struggling.

"We are excited to team with publishers and look at a new possibility for how people might consume news online and how to monetise it," said Ms Mayer.

Google admitted that there was no "magic bullet" to quickly solve the challenges the publishing industry faced but it added that "we believe encouraging readers to read more news is a necessary part of the solution".

Ms Mayer said the science behind this was simple.

"Advertising responds well when you have engaged users.

"If you have users that stay on the site for a long time and who do a lot of page views, all of those are good measurers because you will have a better chance to engage them with the ads and learn from their behaviour what type of ads to target," explained Ms Mayer.

Hands-on control

Ms Mayer told TechCrunch 50, a conference aimed at start-up companies, that Google co-founder Larry Page had asked why the web was not more like a magazine, allowing users to flip from screen to screen seamlessly.

Delegates were told that one reason had to do with media-rich content that took time to load - five to 10 seconds.

"Imagine if it took that long to flip a magazine page," said Krishna Bharat, a distinguished engineer at Google who led the creation of the Google news service.

"We wanted to bring the advantages of print media, the speed and hands-on control you get with a newspaper or magazine, and combine that with the technical advantages of the internet. We wanted the best of both worlds," said Mr Bharat.

Ms Mayer revealed that initially they thought a solution to the problem posed by Mr Page was "a decade away".

She explained that Google had long been trying to harness increased speed, "shaving a millisecond here and another millisecond there".

But Ms Mayer said that the success of Fast Flip was down to having a specific problem to solve.

"A big part of innovation is having the right goal and asking the right question," she said.

Initially Fast Flip will concentrate on audiences in the US. The BBC is the only UK-based media outlet to have a presence on the site, due largely to its popularity in America.

Other publishers involved include Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Elle, Popular Mechanics, Slate, Salon, the New York Times, the Washington Post and ProPublica.

 source: bbc

Posted on Tuesday 15th September 2009

Mugabe hails landmark EU meeting

President Robert Mugabe says Zimbabwe's first high-level talks with top EU officials in seven years went well.

After the talks, in Harare, he again called for international sanctions imposed since disputed presidential election in 2002 to be lifted.

The EU team also praised the meeting but indicated it was not appropriate yet for sanctions to end and complained about the slow pace of reforms.

The EU team later met PM Morgan Tsvangirai.

'Good rapport'

Before going into the talks with the EU team, Mr Mugabe said: "We welcome you with open arms. We hope our talks will be fruitful with a positive outcome."

 

When he reappeared after they ended, he told the BBC the talks had gone well.He said: "We established a good rapport, it was a friendly meeting. Obviously they thought the Global Political Agreement was not working well."

The General Political Agreement is the power-sharing deal that was sealed a year ago, most importantly with Mr Tsvangirai.

Mr Mugabe said that "everything we were asked to do under GPA we have done".

The EU team, led by Development Commissioner Karel De Gucht, expressed satisfaction with the talks, saying there had been "progress" in a "very open atmosphere".

But the BBC's Andrew Harding, in Harare, says the EU team also pointed out the problems it had with the current situation.

The team, which has described the visit as an attempt to reopen political dialogue with Zimbabwe, said it was not appropriate to lift sanctions at the moment or for major aid to start.

Mr de Gucht said he hoped the president realised the need for "more understanding between the three principals - himself, the prime minister and the vice-prime minister".

Our correspondent says that one year on from the announcement of power-sharing, there remain serious doubts about human rights, the stalling of political reform and the good faith of President Mugabe and his supporters.

In a speech a day before meeting the delegation, Mr Mugabe had lashed out at the Western sanctions, accusing whites of wanting to "poke their nose into own our own affairs".

"We have stood firm and we have refused to let go. Zimbabwe - sanctions or no sanctions, Zimbabwe remains ours," he told a meeting of his Zanu-PF youth wing in Harare.

Conditional removal

Last week, African leaders had called for sanctions against the country to be lifted but Mr de Gucht said the measures had "no impact on the common population".

 

Sweden's Development Minister Gunilla Carlsson and Mr de Gucht will be in the country until Sunday.

Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, whose country currently holds the EU presidency, said last week that the EU was not considering lifting sanctions.

Long-time opposition leader Mr Tsvangirai wants a removal of sanctions to be conditional on how well the power-sharing deal signed a year ago has been implemented.

But last week the leaders of the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) rejected that proposal.

South African President Jacob Zuma, who has criticised Mr Mugabe in the past and was expected to side with Mr Tsvangirai, said there should be no conditions placed on the removal of sanctions.

source: bbc

Posted on Saturday 12th September 2009

SAS training Libya, paper claims

An SAS team has been training Libyan special forces in counter-terrorism techniques, a newspaper claims.

The Daily Telegraph reports that a team of up to 14 men have been providing training in areas including covert surveillance for six months.

An SAS source quoted by the paper suggests a possible link between the training and the release of Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi.

A Foreign Office spokesman said the suggestion of such a link was untrue.

The Ministry of Defence does not comment on special forces activities, and neither confirmed nor denied the Telegraph's report.

But defence sources said that if they were to undertake such training it would be for regular forces only, says BBC defence correspondent Caroline Wyatt.

'Rolling of eyes'

The Foreign Office says there is ongoing defence co-operation with Libya.

The Telegraph quoted an SAS soldier as saying: "The IRA was our greatest adversary now we are training their backers.

"There was a weary rolling of the eyes when we were told about this."

Tripoli supplied the IRA with weaponry during the Northern Ireland Troubles.

Megrahi, who has terminal prostate cancer, was freed on compassionate grounds by the Scottish Government last month.

He had been serving a minimum of 27 years in jail for carrying out the 1988 passenger plane bombing that claimed 270 lives.

The bomber was given a hero's welcome on his return to Libya.

source: bbc

Posted on Saturday 12th September 2009

Facebook strips down to Lite site

The world's biggest social networking site has launched a slimmed-down version for people with slow or poor internet connections.

Facebook has said the Lite site will be faster and simpler because it offers fewer services than the main site.

Initially it is meant to support users in developing countries and where bandwidth constraints make the current version too slow to use.

At the moment it is only available in India and the US.

The company said around 70% of its more than 250 million users were from outside America. Countries in Southeast Asia and Europe are seeing a massive increase in growth where fast internet connections are more common.

News that Facebook was testing the Lite site was first leaked in August.

'Twitter-like'

The options on Facebook Lite are limited to letting users write on their wall, post photos and videos, view events and browse other people's profiles. There are no apps or special boxes.

"It appears, at a quick glance, to be a better site for Facebook newbies or for anyone who finds the current site overwhelming and noisy," said Rafe Needleman at technology website Cnet.

"The new layout feels almost Twitter-like."

Terence O'Brien at Switched.com gave the slimmed-down version of what he called "ol' blue" the thumbs-up because it "strips away distractions".

"The simple site loads noticeably faster, is easier to navigate, and is much easier on the eyes thanks to the lack of people sending you 'virtual booze' or asking you to join their 'vampire fraternity'.

"The new layout seems like a direct challenge to Twitter, which can attribute much of its success to is simplicity and portability," said Mr O'Brien.

'Worldwide rollout'

Many industry watchers said they believed that even users with good internet connections might well flock to Facebook Lite because of its new look and ease of use.

"That is what some US users are planning to do," said Eric Eldon of InsideFacebook.com

"Indeed the reaction from US users has prompted Facebook to release it intentionally for US users, something it hadn't previously planned on doing."

Mr Eldon said he believed a "worldwide rollout doesn't seem too far away".

Facebook has acknowledged this is a possibility in a statement on the site which said the firm was "working on translating Lite into other languages".

So far those who have posted comments on Facebook seem to like the company's new Lite approach.

"It's good to see Facebook listening to their users," wrote one user.

Another said: "Facebook Lite should be great for college campuses like mine that are hung up on bandwidth."

Having no third-party apps on the site also garnered a fair amount of support.

"The no-apps thing is killer. There's nothing about them I'll miss," noted one user, while another said: "Whatever you do, please, PLEASE do not allow the quizzes, games, or apps to ruin this pristine version of Facebook."

Anyone who switches to Facebook Lite and does not like it can switch back to the fuller version of the site.

source: bbc

Posted on Saturday 12th September 2009

Man City 4 - 2 Arsenal

Emmanuel Adebayor silenced the taunts of Arsenal fans as he inspired Manchester City to a fourth successive Premier League victory - but sparked fury among his former supporters inside Eastlands with a provocative solo goal celebration.

Adebayor caused chaotic scenes in the Arsenal section of support when he raced the length of the pitch to slide on his knees in front of the visiting fans after heading City's crucial third goal to wrap up the win.

The former Arsenal striker, who completed an acrimonious £25.5m move from the Emirates before the start of the season, was booked by referee Mark Clattenburg and may not have heard the last of an ill-judged reaction after the situation in the crowd briefly threatened to boil over.

Adebayor also appeared to kick out at Robin van Persie during an eventful second-half and his antics took some of the gloss off a City performance that demonstrated there is genuine substance to the expensive refit of their squad under manager Mark Hughes.

City took the lead after 20 minutes when Micah Richards' header was unluckily deflected in by Arsenal keeper Manuel Almunia off an upright.

Van Persie put Arsenal back in contention with a low finish just after the hour - but City then struck three times in 10 minutes to add to the growing belief inside Eastlands that they can mount a serious challenge to the top four this season.

Craig Bellamy turned Richards' cross past Almunia before Adebayor showed the more acceptable face of his character with a towering header from Shaun Wright-Phillips' cross.

Eastlands was in pandemonium when Wright-Phillips turned home City's fourth, and Tomas Rosicky's late goal mattered little as Arsenal collapsed in alarming fashion.

If City and boss Hughes were looking for an accurate measure of their prospects this season, then this deserved win will send optimism coursing through Eastlands.

City showed attacking verve, especially in the shape of Adebayor and Bellamy - even with Carlos Tevez injured and Robinho sidelined for up to a month with a stress fracture just above his ankle - but perhaps more importantly showed the character to dig their way out of adversity when Arsenal threatened to take control.

And with a Manchester derby looming at Old Trafford next Sunday, City will travel to face their arch-rivals in great heart.

Adebayor received a predictably hostile reception from Arsenal's travelling support - and his former team-mates looked in the mood to make him regret what he had left behind in the opening exchanges.

Manchester City, with £24m new boy Joleon Lescott taking time to settle on his home debut and earning a yellow card for a foul on Van Persie, struggled to establish any control and should have fallen behind when the unmarked William Gallas headed over from Cesc Fabregas' corner.

The complexion of the game altered when City took the lead in fortuitous circumstances after 20 minutes. Richards did well to rise and head powerfully towards goal, but the final touch came off unfortunate Arsenal keeper Alumnia, who turned his effort on to an upright but then saw it bounce back in off his head.

Arsenal's early superiority evaporated in the face of that setback and City were able to exert a measure of superiority without putting the Gunners' defence under serious pressure.

Boss Arsene Wenger wasted no time in making a change after the interval, waiting only seven minutes before replacing Denilson with Rosicky after the injury-plagued star played his first competitive match for 20 months in the Czech Republic's 7-0 win against San Marino in midweek.

The effect was almost instant - even though Rosicky was not involved. Gallas again met a corner, this time from Van Persie, but City keeper Shay Given made a vital block and Nicklas Bendtner shot the rebound wildly across the face of goal.

Arsenal were turning up the tempo and playing on City's inability to keep possession, with Given forced to excel again from Thomas Vermaelen's shot.

The pressure looked certain to pay, and so it proved after 62 minutes when Van Persie's low shot flew just beyond the reach of Given and into the bottom corner.

City showed great strength of character to regain their composure, and the lead, with 16 minutes left as Bellamy swept a finish high past Almunia.

The moment Adebayor craved arrived after 80 minutes - but it was a moment of joy the striker marred with a celebration that was both foolish and highly-provocative.

He rose magnificently to head his fourth goal in successive league games past Almunia, but then sprinted the length of the field, unaccompanied by his team mates, to slide on his knees in front of enraged Arsenal fans.

It was an act that caused chaos in the Arsenal section of Eastlands as order was eventually restored - but Adebayor was rightly shown the yellow card by referee Mark Clattenburg.

Arsenal's misery deepened four minutes later when Wright-Phillips rounded off more good work from the tireless Bellamy, and Rosicky's late goal was of no consolation.

City's fans celebrated wildly and deservedly at the final whistle, but it will be the celebration of Adebayor that will also claim unwanted headlines.

Posted on Saturday 12th September 2009

Tottenham 1 - 3 Man Utd

Manchester United produced a superb display to fight back from a goal behind and win away at Tottenham, despite Paul Scholes' sending off.

Spurs went ahead when Jermain Defoe fired in an acrobatic overhead kick only 38 seconds in, but Ryan Giggs' majestic free-kick levelled matters.

Anderson fired home his first United goal from the edge of the box, before Scholes saw red for two bookings.

Peter Crouch hit the crossbar, but Wayne Rooney's solo goal wrapped it up.

Rooney's goal was an exhibition of counter-attacking play from the 10 men and a brutal response to those wondering whether United would carry the same threat without Cristiano Ronaldo this season.

It was a thoroughly deserved victory, especially as United were forced to play for over half an hour without Scholes against a team that had won all four of their Premier League games this season.

And until Scholes' unfortunate dismissal, it was the two old stagers of the side in the former England midfielder and Giggs who brilliantly led United's renaissance, after they succumbed to the quickest goal of the campaign thus far.

With only 38 seconds on the clock and White Hart Lane still a veritable cauldron of anticipatory noise, Defoe produced a moment of sheer class to stun the champions.

Under pressure from Crouch as he tried to deal with a long ball into the United box, Nemanja Vidic could only head into the air and Defoe pounced to dispatch a magnificent overhead kick into the bottom corner from eight yards.

The occasionally unplayable Crouch went close with two long-range volleys, but as the game wore on the influence of Scholes and Giggs gradually increased and with 25 minutes on the clock, the Welsh wizard conjured up yet another memorable moment in his stellar career.

After Dimitar Berbatov had been brought down by Wilson Palacios, the 35-year-old bent a quite wonderful free-kick into Carlo Cuducini's top corner to keep up his record of scoring in every Premier League season since its inception in 1992.

United were suddenly flying and - prompted by Scholes - some of their football was an absolute joy to behold. In the space of 10 seconds, Cudicini saved from Rooney, Berbatov's shot was blocked on the line by Sebastien Bassong and the Bulgarian then fired over.

The visitors deserved to go in front, but when they did their goal came from a most unlikely source.

A corner from the United right was half-cleared to Scholes and after his shot hit Ledley King, Anderson rifled in his first competitive United goal in his 76th appearance from the edge of the box.

Spurs needed half-time to reassess and the introduction of Jermaine Jenas almost paid immediate dividends, but after he teed up Robbie Keane to shoot the striker's effort was expertly deflected over by Vidic.

Jenas himself went close when Foster tipped away his curling 25-yarder, before Crouch rose highest to power a header against the United crossbar as Spurs piled the pressure on.

United's task appeared to get harder when Scholes was dismissed by referee Andre Marriner for two fouls, the second a very harsh decision after a collision with Tom Huddlestone.

But United and Rooney in particular were proving a real menace on the break and after he saw one shot tipped against the bar by Cudicini, he settled it with their next attack.

Fletcher's long-range pass found Rooney outside the Spurs box and he easily foxed Alan Hutton before keeping his cool to slot between the legs of the advancing Cudicini.

Ominously for the rest of the league, United - so often slow starters - moved up to second in the Premier League.

source: bbc

Posted on Saturday 12th September 2009

Adebayor 'sorry' for celebration

Emmanuel Adebayor has apologised for baiting Arsenal fans after scoring in Manchester City's 4-2 win at Eastlands.

The former Gunners striker, who joined City in the summer, ran the length of the pitch to celebrate in front of visiting fans, who reacted furiously.

But after Saturday's game, the Togo international said: "The emotion took over me. Now I just have to say sorry."

He also clashed with Robin Van Persie during the game, his right boot catching the Dutchman in the face.

Adebayor, who was booked for his inflammatory celebration after making it 3-1 to the home side with 10 minutes to go, escaped punishment following the incident, which left Van Persie with a cut to the left side of his face.

Arsenal lacked sharpness - Wenger

But the Football Association may decide to act once it has reviewed television footage.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger said he wanted to see a replay before deciding whether there was any intent on Adebayor's behalf.

"I didn't really see what happened," said the Frenchman.

"I have to see it again to see if it was on purpose or not. I can't say anything at the moment."

City boss Mark Hughes also said he had not seen the incident but admitted he would be disappointed if it was allowed to overshadow a thrilling victory, in which five goals were scored in an amazing half-hour blitz in the second half.

"We are hopeful that the game itself will be the shining light rather than any one incident," said Hughes.

"We do not want it to cast a shadow on an outstanding game, but we will have to see what happens."

City were leading through Manuel Almunia's bizarre own-goal when Van Persie equalised.

Craig Bellamy then put the home side in front before Adebayor got his name on the scoresheet and embarked on his ill-judged celebrations.

"When I score a goal, for two or three seconds I can't control myself," he said. "To be honest, I'm very sorry for all this.

Important win for Man City - Hughes

"Before the game, people have been saying and writing things. The emotions took over. People who love me and know me know how I behave."

Hughes preferred to concentrate on the positives rather than castigate Adebayor, who cost City £25m.

"Emmanuel was outstanding today," said the City boss.

"Amid some high quality goals, perhaps the best piece of skill was his run down the byline to set up Shaun Wright-Phillips for the chance he missed.

"If that had gone in, it would have been goal of the season. He is an outstanding talent and the best in the world at what he does."

source: bbc

Posted on Saturday 12th September 2009

Liverpool 4 - 0 Burnley

A Yossi Benayoun hat-trick inspired a dominant Liverpool to a comfortable victory over Burnley at Anfield.

The midfielder cut inside Graham Alexander and slid in a shot across keeper Brian Jensen for the opener.

Jensen could only parry Benayoun's shot at the end of a swift counter-attack and Dirk Kuyt slotted in the loose ball to extend the Reds' lead.

Benayoun then twice tapped in Steven Gerrard and Andriy Voronin passes to round off an impressive display.

The creativity produced by Israeli international Benayoun showed he can help ease the pressure on Gerrard and Fernando Torres and provided a contrast to keeper Pepe Reina's forthright words ahead of the match.Benitez praises clever Benayoun

Reina claimed winning the Premier League was "not a realistic option" for the Reds as he revealed there was an air of "resignation" at the lack of funds spent on the squad.

He also cited an absence of enough players of "vision" at Liverpool compared to the Anfield side's rivals.

The lack of players to open up defences against teams like Burnley cost the Reds dearly last season as they twice drew with newly-promoted sides at home and dropped four points, which would have won them the title.

Benayoun - whether riled by Reina's words or not - appeared determined to prove his team-mate wrong.

He latched on to an angled Glen Johnson ball and cut inside Alexander before side footing in a shot across Jensen for his first.

Reds boss Rafael Benitez has always emphasised the importance of his side getting the opening goal to bring teams out of their shell and so it proved.

Burnley pushed forward more after going a goal down and were caught out as Liverpool sucked them in before going up the other end and scoring - Kuyt side footing in after Benayoun's shot was only parried by Jensen.

There were chants of 'where is Traore' from Burnley fans in reference to former Reds defender Djimi Traore's own goal for them when they knocked Liverpool out of the 2005 FA Cup.

But there was little threat of them instigating any such humiliation this time around.

Two Martin Paterson long-range strikes were Burnley's only threat but they were comfortably gathered by Reina as Liverpool rarely looked in trouble.

Burnley will stick to good football - Coyle

Gerrard, playing in a deeper midfield role with Javier Mascherano missing, still made an impact in attack as he forced his way into the Burnley box before squaring a ball for Benayoun to tap in.

An unmarked Benayoun again eased in from close range after Voronin's pass to emphasise the emphatic nature of the victory, while a clean sheet will also please Benitez after the side's recent struggles in defence.

source: bbc

Posted on Saturday 12th September 2009

Hamilton storms to Italian pole

Lewis Hamilton produced a stunning late lap to snatch pole position for the Italian Grand Prix in his McLaren.

The world champion stormed to a time of one minute 24.066 seconds to wrestle the position from Force India's Adrian Sutil, who was 0.195secs behind.

Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen followed in third ahead of Hamilton's team-mate Heikki Kovalainen and the Brawn cars of Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button.

Red Bull pair Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber managed only ninth and 10th.

And the title hopefuls, who trail Button by 16 points in the drivers' championship, will not be comforted by the fact their fuel weights - which show the true pace of the cars with the amount of fuel on board taken into account - reveal they were 8th and 10th fastest on the day.

However, with the top 10 appearing to be split between one and two-stop strategies and a mere 0.7seconds separating the fuel-corrected pace of the top four cars, a fascinating encounter looks to be in store on Sunday.

Interview - top three drivers on grid (UK only)

Hamilton, who is to make two fuel stops compared to the Brawns' one, made the most of his lighter fuel load as he ran a late flying lap to pip Sutil - who himself had only just posted a lap of 1:24.261 - into second spot.

"That was a very close qualifying session, but the team did a great job this weekend. The car was feeling very good this weekend and I was able to put the lap together," said Hamilton.

"It's such a great feeling when you can put one lap together. We have to wait and see what the strategies are for everyone tomorrow, but we needed to be where we are.

"We're in the best position to start the race, and it's great to have Kers (power-boost) so I can boost off the line, be clear of any incident, and try to control it from there."

As expected, the McLarens and Ferrari's leading driver Raikkonen were boosted by their Kers system, with Monza boasting a full-throttle percentage of up to 70%, and the Finn gave the home fans something to cheer in securing a second-row spot ahead of compatriot Kovalainen.

But the happiest team on the grid could well be Brawn - with Button looking to have found his form again having watched his drivers' championship lead cut from a peak of 26 points in June after five races without a podium finish.

Team boss Ross Brawn said: "We are very happy with our positions, especially because of our strategy. It's a pretty perfect position to be honest."

And Button could barely hide his delight as he revealed: "We are pretty heavy. I don't know how much fuel they can get into the Red Bulls but we will see.

"The car felt good and I am happy. The tyre temperature will not be an issue - we are not having any problems getting heat into them - and all the Kers cars are in front of us as well, so all in all it's been a good session for us."

Barrichello, though, faces an anxious wait to see if his team recommend a gearbox change that would cost him a five-grid penalty.

The Brazilian first encountered the problem in Spa, when he crossed the line with his car emitting smoke, and there are doubts it can last the race on Sunday.

"It felt alright," he said, "but sometimes you are a single person fighting with 50 of them in the factory. If they tell me I cannot race with it then I cannot say no."

Webber, meanwhile, conceded the qualifying result was the best he and Vettel could have hoped for.

"It was probably pretty close to what we expected," said the Australian.

"We can't pass the Kers cars on the grid, we know that, so we will have to try something with the pit stops. That was as good as it could have got."

Elsewhere, Ferrari debutant Giancarlo Fisichella, having crashed out of final practice after locking his front-right tyre round Parabolica, was a high-profile casualty in Q2 as he had to settle for 14th on the grid.

And the contrast with his old team Force India could hardly have been more marked, with India billionaire Vijay Mallya's team getting both drivers into Q3 for the first time in Formula 1.

With Sutil second on the grid, Vitantonio Liuzzi produced an excellent qualifying performance on his Force India debut, beating Renault's Fernando Alonso into eighth with an impressive lap of 1:25.043.

The most surprising casualties of the second qualifying session, though, were the two BMWs, who had been tipped to surprise the front-runners by Red Bull boss Christian Horner on Friday morning.

Brawn and team happy with qualifying

Nick Heidfeld suffered engine trouble at the start of Q2, his seventh of the season, and shortly after the same problem struck team-mate Robert Kubica.

That leaves both with just one new engine to last them for the rest of the season given the eight-engine limit imposed upon teams in this campaign.

Williams, aware this weekend was most likely all about damage limitation from the outset given their struggles on the low downforce Monza circuit, lost both Kazuki Nakajima and Nico Rosberg in Q1 - their worst qualifying result of the season - joining Toyota's Timo Glock and the two Toro Rossos at the back of the grid.

source: bbc and link

Posted on Saturday 12th September 2009

Stoke 1 - 2 Chelsea

Florent Malouda struck deep in stoppage time as Chelsea claimed a last-gasp victory over Stoke and maintained their 100% start to the season.

The hosts took a surprise lead when Abdoulaye Faye capitalised on Petr Cech's indecision by heading Glenn Whelan's cross into an empty net.

Chelsea replied in first-half injury time, Didier Drogba spinning Faye and smashing home Frank Lampard's pass.

They bombarded Stoke late on and Malouda drove in a 94th minute winner.

It was a dramatic end to a pulsating encounter and the result, which Chelsea deserved, keeps the Blues top of the league with five wins from as many games.

Given the number of chances they created in the second half, boss Carlo Ancelotti will wonder how his side failed to confirm the three points earlier.

But, considering the recent bad press the club have received in relation to their recruitment policy, the win provides them with a timely boost.

Stoke manager Tony Pulis might though take consolation from the way his side defended throughout and, although they drop out of the top six, their performance suggested a promising season ahead.

Attempting to guide his club to a first league win against Chelsea since 1975, Pulis opted to dispense with his trusted 4-4-2 formation in favour of a 5-3-2, which was designed to combat marauding full-backs Jose Bosingwa and Ashley Cole.

And, although Chelsea dominated possession in the opening stages, Stoke rarely looked in danger of conceding.

Perhaps considering Tuesday's Champions League opener against Porto, Ancelotti made four changes to the team that beat Burnley last time out and Chelsea struggled to establish any sort of rhythm early on.

Pulis desperately disappointed

They might have gone behind inside 10 minutes when Branislav Ivanovic inexplicably diverted a long ball into the path of James Beattie.

Beattie, returning from three weeks out with a knee injury, raced through on goal but dragged his shot horribly wide and, to make matters worse, fell awkwardly in the process and had to be substituted.

Chelsea had been warned and, despite enjoying a period of sustained pressure, they were soon punished.

Whelan collected possession on the right and sent in a hopeful left-footed cross which Cech came for but then withdrew, allowing Faye to head home.

Chelsea responded positively to the set-back and continued to take the game to a Stoke side who were defending ominously deep.

Cole shot straight at Thomas Sorensen from an acute angle and Jon Mikel Obi had a thumping drive bravely blocked by former Blues centre-half Robert Huth.

Injuries to Beattie, Cole and Sorensen saw eight minutes of stoppage time added at the end of the first half, and Chelsea used it as an opportunity to strike.

Ancelotti praises Chelsea strength

Lampard was able to get away from Whelan and slide a delicious ball through to Drogba, who rolled Faye and unleashed a thunderous first-time left-footed drive across substitute goalkeeper Steve Simonsen and into the top corner.

Chelsea started the second half as they finished the first and, were it not for Stoke's resilience, the Blues might have seen their dominance reflected on the scoresheet.

Salomon Kalou came within inches of connecting with a Malouda centre and Drogba blasted over the bar after Faye hesitated with his clearance.

A temporary lull ensued but Stoke almost regained the lead when Huth rose above Michael Ballack and headed just over from Whelan's corner.

But it was all Chelsea from that moment on, Lampard and Michael Essien squandered a couple of chances each before Drogba had a goal-bound effort blocked by Faye.

The visitors were flooding forward but found themselves repelled time and again until Simonsen failed to keep out a fizzing Malouda effort at the death.

Stoke manager Tony Pulis:"The result is disappointing for us because we battled really hard and defended well.

"They had a lot of possession second half and got a lot of bodies forward. We have given them a game and made them work hard.

"We haven't got the quality Chelsea have. I hold my hands up to that. They are a very good side.

"But our attitude and commitment and everyone's willingness to work will take us a long way."

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti:"We got what we deserved because we tried to attack all the time. I am very happy because it was a difficult game.

"We maintained good control throughout the match and that was important. We applied a lot of pressure and were rewarded for our play.

"We know all about Stoke and were not surprised by the way they play. We were ready for a physical match and knew how to deal with the long ball.

"To be top of the league is very important. We have good confidence in our play and a very good atmosphere in the dressing room."

source: bbc

Posted on Saturday 12th September 2009

Capello can plot World Cup glory

Fabio Capello makes managing England look easy - and he stepped just as comfortably into the hazardous minefield of managing England's World Cup expectations.

Capello swept swiftly into Wembley's media theatre only minutes after England booked a place in South Africa next summer with a performance he ranked as the best of his reign by beating Croatia 5-1.

There was no bad news for Capello after an England display that bore all the hallmarks of a team that could make a serious impact in South Africa - except that it was of such high quality that hopes, dreams and hype could now grow out of all proportion. Again.

The question inevitably, and correctly, came and Capello's handling of it was as sure as all the moves he has made in rebuilding a broken England and piecing together a squad that can take genuine optimism with it on the plane to South Africa.

Are England contenders to win the World Cup?

The trademark Italian shrug, the response deadpan but delivered with conviction: "Yes, why not?"

And you believed him. In the same way as England's players believe in the methods of Capello, a coach who commands nothing except total respect from every member of his squad, with just a little fear thrown in for good measure.

He is comfortable with what is coming, the demand that England end the flatlining years of falling in the last eight at major tournaments, saying: "The expectation is really hard. We have to play to win because we are England. We are one of the best teams in the world. We can play against all the best teams."

So there you have it. Not building a nation's hopes up but not exactly knocking them down either. Not getting carried away but not underplaying the hand he has in front of him.

Playing it to perfection in fact.

Croatia coach Slaven Bilic, wearing the sort of stunned, glassy-eyed expression worn by old cartoon characters seconds after their head has made meaningful contact with a frying pan, was unequivocal when I asked him if England could win the World Cup based on the mauling his side had just received.

"Based on this match, definitely. It is not easy to play against every team like they did here, but I was on the touchline and they didn't miss a ball in the first half hour. The balls were always dangerous - just perfect."

Of course England can win the World Cup - whether they will is another matter entirely because they have been here before at recent major tournaments. False dawns a speciality.

But they have not been here before under Capello and the coach's reputation alone will make England's rivals wary in South Africa.

Capello accepts that qualification is only the first staging post on the journey the Football Association asked him to embark upon as he navigated his way through the wreckage of the Steve McClaren era.

The image of McClaren covering his embarrassment with an umbrella as England's Euro 2008 hopes, and indeed his job, slipped away against these same opponents in November 2007 seemed an age away as Wembley basked in a glorious night.

The bonus of early qualification allows Capello valuable extra time to pore over his blueprint for success in South Africa - and he had plenty to go at after England took Croatia to the cleaners in the most comprehensive fashion.

Capello was given food for thought, with Aaron Lennon providing the most palatable after a performance that suggested he has now made the leap from infuriating under-achiever to finished article.

He was Capello's only change from the England side that laboured to victory against Slovenia. And what a change it was.

If Arsenal's Theo Walcott was the catalyst for England's 4-1 win in Zagreb with a hat-trick that suggested Capello might be on to a good thing, then the Tottenham winger took top billing here and in doing so opened up some intriguing selection possibilities.

Lennon was electrifying in the game's crucial opening phases, winning a penalty for Frank Lampard to score and showing genuine end product, a major criticism in the past, to set up Steven Gerrard's first header.

It appeared his instructions from Capello were simple - run straight at Croatia with pace and terrify them - and he carried them out to the letter. And Capello likes it when players follow his instructions.

Lennon's display was not great news for the discarded Shaun Wright-Phillips, and with Walcott on course to return for Arsenal, where does this leave David Beckham?

Beckham was afforded his usual rapturous reception at Wembley, but if the wily combination of Capello and Harry Redknapp at Spurs have pressed the right buttons with Lennon and Walcott hits form at Arsenal, the old timer may have a fight on his hands to make the plane.

Capello has also got England's midfield in good working order, a trick that escaped Sven-Goran Eriksson and McClaren. Two goals each for Lampard and Gerrard provided

Gerrard still has to win over some England supporters, but the very notion of a Capello side without the Liverpool captain is laughable.

He is now flourishing in a role which is seen as left-sided, but which in reality gives him free rein to push up alongside or just behind Wayne Rooney when England are in possession. Gerrard will be feared by England's World Cup opponents - no mistake.

It throws extra responsibility on Ashley Cole, but as the Chelsea defender is back at his best the format worked like a charm against Croatia. It may be tested by more accomplished opposition, but Capello now has time to experiment further, with Joe Cole ready to press his claims later in the season.

Capello, as expected, retained faith with Emile Heskey and the big man provided ammunition for both his admirers and detractors, working hard and keeping Croatia occupied but bungling two easy opportunities that came his way. All Heskey life was there.

The enthusiastic greeting Capello gave Heskey when he came off renders all arguments about his place in England's plans redundant. He will be in them.

Heskey is a striker, however, and it is only right that he should actually be expected to strike just occasionally, something he shows little sign of doing.

What if the one chance of a tightly contested quarter-final falls to the less-than-clinical Heskey? This is the major risk Capello is taking with his continued selection, but he is not for turning and, barring injury or catastrophic loss of form, Heskey will be in South Africa.

Capello can now go into overdrive on getting England's goalkeeping position straight - and for all the questions about Glen Johnson, he will be the right-back. He improved defensively against an admittedly poor Croatia, and showed his progressive nature by setting up a goal for Lampard.

And he will be aware of the threats from outside England. Spain currently look the most complete side in world football and gave Capello's side a lesson in their last meeting, while the hugely-gifted and powerful Ghana have been touted to lead a serious African challenge.

But if England fans are attempting to detect the greatest hope that they might actually be in at the sharp end in South Africa, it comes in the shape of their coach.

This is no Eriksson, who was horribly inert when it mattered in quarter-finals in Shizuoka, Japan, Lisbon and appeared to conduct the 2006 World Cup campaign in Germany on a wing and a prayer.

England's adversaries know they are being overseen by a coach to be reckoned with, someone with the expertise, experience and confidence to plan a campaign meticulously.

Capello will keep a lid on the hype and hope for luck with injuries - especially to the mercurial Wayne Rooney.

But a flawless qualifying campaign containing eight straight wins suggests just a little hope is justified that England might be ready to give the football world a run for its money in South Africa.

source: bbc

Posted on Thursday 10th September 2009

England 5-1 Croatia

England secured qualification for next summer's World Cup in South Africa in the most emphatic style as they thrashed Croatia at Wembley.

The goalless stalemate between Belarus and Ukraine left England needing only a draw to confirm their place in South Africa - but they emphasised their progress under Capello with an outstanding display to record an eighth successive win of a flawless qualifying campaign.

Croatia ended England's hopes of reaching Euro 2008 under Capello's predecessor Steve McClaren by winning at Wembley, but there was never any chance of a repeat in an encounter that was totally one-sided from the opening exchanges.

England have taken huge strides forward under Capello since that rain-soaked night in November 2007 and the end of the McClaren reign, while Croatia are a pale shadow of the side Slaven Bilic brought to Wembley for their previous visit.

And the gulf in class between the two teams was immediately obvious - even accounting for the absence of Croatia's gifted playmaker Luka Modric.

Spurs winger Aaron Lennon made an early claim for a place on England's right flank in next summer's South African showpiece with an electrifying first 45 minutes that set the platform for victory.

Lennon, jostling for position with David Beckham, Theo Walcott and Shaun-Wright Phillips, was hauled down by Josip Simunic for Frank Lampard to put England ahead from the penalty spot after seven minutes.

He then delivered the perfect cross for Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard to double England's lead with a firm header at the far post 11 minutes later.

England continued to create chances and only Croatia keeper Vedran Runje's defiance stopped them adding further goals before the interval.

Lampard got his second just before the hour when he headed in Glen Johnson's excellent cross and Gerrard grabbed a double of his own in similar fashion from Wayne Rooney's lofted cross seven minutes later.

Arsenal striker Eduardo - jeered constantly by the Wembley crowd as the fall-out from his alleged dive against Celtic continues - grabbed a goal back for Croatia from close range with 18 minutes left, but to even label it a form of consolation would be generous in the extreme.

Rooney deservedly got on the scoresheet himself when he took advantage of a wild sliced clearance from the unfortunate Runje to score.

After the early goals from Lampard and Gerrard, Emile Heskey - preferred to Jermain Defoe - could have boosted his own confidence with a goal, but he was twice denied by Runje when clean through.

These were minor blots on England's landscape and Heskey was given a thumping greeting of thanks from Capello when he was eventually replaced by Defoe after Lampard scored his second.

The swift double strike from Lampard and Gerrard snuffed out any hopes of a Croatia recovery, and even the muted celebrations of their colourful travelling support after Eduardo's strike were swiftly snuffed out when Rooney scored England's fifth.

Even hard-to-please Capello cracked smiles in his technical area, while Bilic cut a miserable figure yards away as the scene of one of his greatest triumphs turned into a nightmare.

And if England needed any further boost to the optimism that will travel with them to South Africa, the manner and scale of this victory will provide it.

England have scored 31 goals and conceded only five in a qualifying campaign that has done much to erase the bitter memories of the failure to reach Euro 2008.

A group that was initially regarded as potentially dangerous has been expertly and convincingly negotiated, with barely any hazards to block England's smooth progress.

Capello has rebuilt the confidence and morale of a squad shattered after that experience, and while qualification for South Africa is only the first phase of the Italian's mission, England will go to the World Cup with serious aspirations of making a major impact.

source: bbc

Posted on Wednesday 9th September 2009

Cameroon ease into top spot

Cameroon have taken another big step towards qualifying for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

They secured a 2-1 win over Gabon in Yaounde with another impressive display, although they had to resist a late revival from the visitors.

Cameroon have been refreshed since the appointment of French coach Paul Le Guen.

They now lead Group A by a point from Gabon with two matches of the qualifying campaign remaining.

Cameroon's Lyon star Jean Makoun broke the deadlock when he fired home from a free-kick in the 24th minute.

The lead was well deserved by the Indomitable Lions and they continued to put pressure on, without further success before half-time.

After the break, captain Samuel Eto'o extended the Cameroon lead when he pounced on a parried shot from Achille Webo.

It was Eto'o's eighth goal of the qualifying campaign.

A frantic finish was set-up when Gabonese substitute Daniel Cousin fired home in stoppage time to make it 2-1.

The Hull City striker then put a late free-kick just over the bar, but Cameroon held on despite the late onslaught and go top in their group.

Cameroon coach Paul Le Guen restored ousted former captain Rigobert Song to the starting line-up.

He had been dropped to the bench for the game between the two teams at the weekend.

His nephew Alex Song was also back in the side, returning after suspension.

But striker Samuel Eto'o kept the captain's armband.

source: bbc

Posted on Wednesday 9th September 2009

Semenya to keep World gold medal

Caster Semenya will not be stripped of her World Championships 800m gold medal whatever the outcome of her gender test results, BBC Sport understands.

The testing process is unlikely to be concluded for two weeks but the IAAF - the governing body of world athletics - says Semenya can keep her medal.

The 18-year-old South African was asked to take the test following her rapid rise to prominence in 2009.

News of it was made public hours before she took gold in Berlin in August.

Despite the leak, the teenager left her rivals trailing to win in a time of one minute, 55.45 seconds.

Defending champion Janeth Jepkosgei of Kenya was second, a massive 2.45 seconds adrift, with Britain's Jenny Meadows taking bronze.

The International Association of Athletics Federations says it demanded Semenya take a gender test before the World Championships amid fears she should not be able to run as a woman.

Following the findings of initial tests, the IAAF then asked the South Africans to withdraw her from their team for Germany.

Caster Semenya wins 800m gold in Berlin

However, the South African athletics federation insisted she should run and says it is certain she is female, a claim backed up by her family.

Now, given that she was ultimately allowed to compete, IAAF spokesman Nick Davies said it would be "legally very difficult" to ask Semenya to hand back her medal.

Semenya burst on to the world stage when she ran 1.56.72 in Bambous, Mauritius, in July, smashing her previous personal best by more than seven seconds.

She also broke Zola Budd's long-standing South African record and arrived in Berlin as the newly crowned African junior champion.

source: bbc

Posted on Tuesday 8th September 2009

Fifa issues warning over SA vote

Fifa has warned that elections for South Africa's Football Association (Safa) must not be allowed to disrupt preparations for the World Cup.

The two most senior members of the World Cup 2010 Local Organising Committee (LOC) are locked in a tussle to take over as Safa president.

The Chairman of the LOC, Irvin Khoza, is up against its CEO, Danny Jordaan.

Whoever wins will have to delay taking up the role or relinquish his responsibilities for the World Cup.

Fifa's General Secretary, Jerome Valcke, said the Safa president could not serve in an executive position on the LOC.

"We will be there, we will monitor very carefully these elections," he said.

Molefi Olifant, the current Safa President, is stepping down.

Preparations for the World Cup were on the agenda at an LOC Board meeting on Tuesday.

Danny Jordaan said stadiums were "85 to 95 percent" completed and would meet their October deadline.

Thousands of people have volunteered to help at the tournament, from 170 countries.

"That gives us the feeling that the world is beginning to feel the excitement, the momentum of the World Cup," Jordaan said.

source: bbc

Posted on Tuesday 8th September 2009

Man Utd threaten to sue Le Havre

Manchester United say they will take legal action against Le Havre unless they stop making allegations about the transfer of 16-year-old Paul Pogba.

The French club have this week repeated claims that United offered financial inducements to Pogba's family in order to lure the teenager to Old Trafford.

But United are satisfied the transfer was completed within Fifa guidelines.

"Manchester United is ready to defend any claim brought against it by Le Havre at Fifa," said a club statement.

Fifa, world football's governing body, says it has received no complaint about United's signing of the 16-year-old French midfielder.

And the Old Trafford club wrote to Le Havre on Monday warning the French side against making further accusations.

"In response to the wholly unfounded comments widely reported in the media of Le Havre AC President, Jean-Pierre Louvel, Manchester United wish to categorically confirm that as a matter of club policy and in accordance with the applicable football regulations, we do not offer inducements to the parents of players who sign for the club such as monetary payments or the purchase of houses," added a United statement.

"Manchester United have written to Le Havre AC to put it on notice that action will be taken if such allegations are repeated in relation to the transfer of Paul Pogba.

"Manchester United is entirely satisfied that the transfer of Paul Pogba has been conducted in accordance with the regulations set down by the world governing body, Fifa.

"It is to be noted that all contractual documentation relating to the player's registration with the club has already been fully ratified by the Football Association and the Premier League."

Le Havre, though, have revealed that their legal team is preparing a case to take to Fifa.

"The matter is with our lawyers right now and it is up to them what we do in regard to Fifa. But I can assure you we fully intend to defend our club's interests," Le Havre's managing director Alain Belsoeur told BBC Sport.

Belsoeur also claims that the French Football Federation (FFF) has yet to sanction to transfer.

"All I will say now is that when things are done properly in football, transfers between clubs in different countries are cleared by both the local association and the new association," he said.

"That has not happened in this case. The French Football Federation has not granted an international clearance certificate for Paul Pogba's move to Manchester United."

One of the most highly rated teenagers in France, Pogba has captained the national team at Under-16 level.

Le Havre have an outstanding reputation in developing young players, nurturing players like Real Madrid's Lassana Diarra and Wigan's Charles N'Zogbia as well as Atletico Madrid's Florent Sinama-Pongolle, who moved from the French club to Liverpool, before going to Spain.

Players from European Union countries are able to move to Britain on academy or scholarship contracts at 16, and to sign full professional contracts at 17.

By signing a player under the age of 18, the buying club minimises the level of compensation the selling club will get.

Le Havre, who were relegated to the French second division last season, claim an agreement between the club, Pogba and his parents was in place for the player to stay until the end of the 2009/2010 season.

In August the French club released a statement on their website - under the heading 'Manchester United steal Paul Pogba from HAC (Le Havre)' - which said: "Le Havre wishes to express its indignation regarding the dealings of Manchester United's directors in relation to the young Paul Pogba.

"The player and his parents refused to keep the arrangement because Manchester United offered very high sums of money to the parents of the (player) with the aim of obtaining the transfer of their son.

"At a time when numerous parties - including at European Union level, governmental (level), or within Fifa or Uefa - are speaking out against the 'trading of minors,' Manchester United does not hesitate to uproot a 16-year-old kid."

But United officials suggested that there was no contract for the 16-year-old to break, therefore the Red Devils could not be offering inducements to do so.

Le Havre repeated those allegations in the wake of a transfer ban imposed on Chelsea last week for a similar infringement of the rules.

Chelsea have been banned from signing any new players until January 2011 after the club was found guilty of inducing Gael Kakuta to break his contract with Lens in 2007.

source: bbc

Posted on Monday 7th September 2009

Ghana celebrates 2010 success

There is no escaping Black Stars fever at the moment in Ghana.

For days to come Ghana's qualification for the 2010 world cup on home soil in Accra will dominate discussions in this football mad-nation.

But the players and coach are already saying it's time to move on and plan how they can improve on their showing at the World Cup in Germany in 2006.

The scenes in Accra were nothing compared to those across the country when the Black Stars reached Germany.

But the crucial 2-0 victory over Sudan was achieved before a passionate and enthusiastic crowd accompanied by constant drumming, dancing and the sounds of the now famous vuvuzelas.

That party atmosphere had begun with the news that Benin grabbed a last gasp goal to ensure a draw against Mali a few minutes before kick-off in Accra.

So after years of frustration at their inability to reach the biggest football showpiece event in the world, Ghana is heading there for a second consecutive time and the country is basking in the glory.

And they have achieved qualification in some style with two games to spare, winning all four games in the final stage of qualifying without conceding a single goal.

 The Black Stars have managed to be efficient without being spectacular under coach Milovan Rajevac.

"I am very proud because after four games we scored seven goals and didn't concede any goal," he told BBC Sport, after he had been soaked in champagne by his players.

"This is my greatest success as a coach and I hope there are going to be many more."

Ghana's qualification for the 2010 world cup was achieved on the back of a solid team effort but there is no denying that once again Michael Essien was the star of the show.

He drove the team forward with his energy in previous games and struck the second goal against Sudan that raised the noise level at the Ohene Djan to deafening levels.

The Chelsea star was carried off the pitch on the shoulders of his team-mates, but was quick to insist the real work starts now.

"We must take it easy because we have a game to play on Wednesday [against Japan in Holland]," he told BBC Sport.

"But I really feel good because we did a lot of work for this.

"We have been there before so we will go to South Africa with a lot more experience and not in fear of anyone."

Captain Stephen Appiah was singing a similar tune declaring after the frenzied celebrations that there is 'no way' the Black Stars will fear any team in South Africa.

They seem to know that the hard work is yet to come.

source: bbc

Posted on Monday 7th September 2009

Russia's Obama defies racists

Some might call him brave, others naive, or even reckless, but the one thing Joachim Crima is not is ordinary. He is black, and he is Russian.

And now this watermelon seller, and former student from Guinea Bissau, is attempting to become the first black man ever to be elected to public office in Russia.

Mr Crima has become an overnight media sensation here. On the day I visited him in his home town Srednyaya Akhtuba in southern Russia, two other TV crews were with him. The next day two more were due in town.

The country's newspapers have dubbed him Russia's Barack Obama. The implication is that Russians could be ready to elect a black man, even if it is only for a local county council.

Mr Crima's optimism and exuberance are infectious. As I followed him around the local market you could see people warming to him.

Even the dour country folk found it hard to resist his warm smile and open hand as, in lilting Russian, he joked and bantered with the stall holders.

"Good for you," said one tall man leaning against his Lada car "we need new leaders in this place".

Battle ahead

"At first people thought I was joking," Mr Crima told me. "They asked me if I was doing this to promote my business. But now I am a registered candidate they take me more seriously."

 

And he is optimistic that he can win: "There is a chance of winning because I see the way people react to me," he told me.

But to do so Mr Crima has a massive mountain to climb.

In his election slogan "I will work like a negro for Russia" Mr Crima adopts a word commonly used a racial slur.

It is an acknowledgement of what everyone here knows, that racial prejudice in Russia is as common as Ladas are. Some have even joked that his election slogan should be changed to "No we can't".

It was all supposed to be very different. The Soviet Union touted itself as a friend of Africa - hundreds of thousands of African students were encouraged to come here to study, and thousands still do every year.

But since the collapse of the Soviet Union, attitudes to immigrants have soured, and a vicious neo-Nazi movement has grown among Russia's disillusioned youth.

Now Africans living in Russia's big cities, which include refugees fleeing war and economic migrants looking for a better life, live in constant fear of being attacked.

Bodyguard

In Moscow I met a Nigerian man who had fallen victim to such an attack.

As he was being examined by an American doctor I could see a series of huge grey scars running down his side and across his back, the result of a brutal knife and gun assault two months ago.

"I was on the phone to my girlfriend when they jumped on me and stabbed me in the back," he told me. "I was stabbed through the side, and then I heard a gunshot and that prompted me to run."

 

He was lucky to be found and taken to hospital, but the attack has left him in deep despair.

"We Africans in Moscow live in fear and pain," he told me. "Coming to Russia was the worst decision of my life... the worst mistake of my life."

Sadly he is not alone. Recent research by the Moscow Protestant Chaplaincy suggests nearly 60% of Africans living in Moscow have been physically assaulted.

It is hard to believe, but this is actually an improvement on 10 years ago. Back then the idea of a black man standing for election in Russia would have been unthinkable.

"Sooner or later things will improve in Russia," Mr Crima told me. "I am now a pioneer on this evolutionary path. There will come a time when the racists may even stand before me and say thank you for what I have done."

In the meantime Mr Crima is not taking any chances - as he walks the streets of his home town touting for votes his bodyguard, a huge kick-boxer with vicious looking tattoos on his arms, is never far from his side.

source: bbc

Posted on Sunday 6th September 2009

Angola: Final frontier for fossils

In the past, most people who went to Angola were searching for oil, diamonds or landmines.

Now, the country is also proving a big draw for fossil hunters - known in the scientific community as palaeontologists - who have described Angola as a "museum in the ground".

Angola was closed off for many years because of its three-decade long civil war, which only ended in 2002, so few scientists have had the chance to visit.

Those getting the chance now are not leaving disappointed. Louis Jacobs, of the Southern Methodist University in Dallas, says:

"Angola is the final frontier for palaeontology. Due to the war, there has been little research carried out... but now we are getting in finally and there is so much to find.

"In some areas there are literally fossils sticking out of the rocks, it is like a museum in the ground."

Fossil-hunter heaven

Louis Jacobs is part of the "PaleoAngola" project whose biggest find to date was in 2005, when five bones from the front-left leg of a sauropod dinosaur were discovered on a cliff at Iembe, around 65 km (40 miles) north of the capital, Luanda.

 

Since then, the majority of the skulls and skeletons uncovered by the team have been from turtles, sharks, plesiosaurs and mosasaurs, of which there is even an angolasauras species.

Plesiosaurs and mosasaurs are not technically terrestrial dinosaurs at all but marine reptiles related to lizards and snakes.

Yet according to Octavio Mateus, from the Lisbon's New University, the bones of the sauropod are just the beginning.

"We believe there are more dinosaurs to be found, we just need the facilities and means to dig for them," he says.

"Angola is amazing for fossils. Some of the places here are the best in the world in terms of fossil [remains], we keep finding new animals so it is always exciting to be here."

As well as unearthing interesting fossils, the study of palaeontology is also about understanding how the Earth was transformed tens of millions of years ago.

For example, when South America split from Africa and the southern Atlantic was formed.

"Fossils can date how animals migrated from one place to another and how continents moved through time," Mr Mateus says.

"From [studying] fossils we can work out when terrestrial animals were no longer able to cross from Africa to South America and when marine animals were present," he says.

Asteroid impact

The rocks are also a reference point for the time when creatures like dinosaurs were thought to have been made extinct.

 

The scientific community largely accepts the theory that a massive asteroid hit the Earth 68 million years ago, slamming into the sea somewhere near Mexico.

"You can see where lava has flown into wet sand and then to where it has flown over dry land. That gives us an indication of when different things were happening millions of years ago," Mr Mateus explains.

The PaleoAngola project, with funding from the National Geographical Society and the Petroleum Research Foundation of America, is also working in collaboration with universities in Luanda, Lubango and in Maastricht in the Netherlands.

The Angola digs have focussed on Iembe and also at the coast of Bentiaba, in the southern desert province of Namibe, on the border with Namibia.

"As well as doing this research, the idea is to train Angolan scientists so in the long-term they can run the show," Louis Jacobs, a former head of Kenya's National Palentology Museum, says.

"Angola should be able to use its own unique resources in museums to teach future generations about their country and the world.

"And who knows, in the much longer term, it could prove to be a tourist attraction."

source: bbc

Posted on Sunday 6th September 2009

Togo move to the top of Group A

Togo go top of Group A with a 1-0 victory over Morocco in Lome.

Ghana's hopes of becoming the first African country to qualify for the 2010 World Cup remain alive after Mali held Benin to a 1-1 draw in Cotonou.

Egypt and Cameroon both won away from home to keep alive their chances of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup.

Cameroon scored two quick goals to beat Gabon 2-0, in what was their first home defeat of the 2010 qualifiers.

African champions, Egypt scored in the second half to edge past Rwanda 1-0 in Kigali.

Ivory Coast moved to within one point of reaching their second successive World Cup with a crushing 5-0 win over visitors Burkina Faso.

The victory does make the Elephants the first side to qualify for next year's Africa Cup of Nations in Angola.

Malawi earned their first points of the final stage of 2010 qualifying with a 2-1 win over visitors Guinea, but both sides hopes of reaching the World Cup are over.

Nigeria and Tunisia go head-to-head for the lead in Group B.

The five group winners will qualify for the World Cup in South Africa while the top three in each group advance to the Africa Cup of Nations in Angola.

Below is a full round-up of Saturday's results and a look ahead to Sunday's matches.

 

GROUP A

 

Cameroon scored two goals in two minutes to secure a 2-0 win over Gabon in Libreville.

Achille Emana, who plays for Spanish second division side Real Betis, scored the opening goal after 66 minutes.

Samuel Eto'o, who is the new Indomitable Lions captain, made sure of the win moments later.

The goals were Cameroon's first in the final stage of qualifying and takes them to four points from three games, two behind Gabon.

The two sides meet again on 9 September in Yaounde.

The game went ahead in Libreville despite a backdrop of post-election violence in some parts of Gabon.

Ali Bongo, winner of the presidential election that triggered the civil unrest, was among the 20,000 crowd in a national stadium named after his late father and former ruler Omar Bongo.

The match was due to have been played in June but was postponed because of the funeral of Omar Bongo.

Moustapha Salifou struck early in the first half to give Togo a 1-0 lead over Morocco in Lome.

There were no other goals in that game, so Togo go top of Group A with seven points.

Morocco's Nations Cup hopes are looking very precarious as they remain stranded at the bottom of the group with only two points

 

GROUP B

There is a top of the table clash in Abuja as Nigeria play host to Tunisia on Sunday.

 

Nigeria are currently two points behind the Carthage Eagles, but striker John Utaka told the BBC's African sports programme Fast Track that they can overhaul their rivals.

"Playing on our home soil, gives us an opportunity," he said.

"I strongly believe we will beat them; we are not underestimating anybody, but when you are playing at home you know what the fans of Nigeria are like - they expect you to win."

Mozambique edged out Kenya 1-0 in Maputo on Sunday to keep alive the Mambas slim hopes of qualifying for the World Cup.

Tico-Tico scored the only goal of the game in the 67th minute and that win sees Mozambique leapfrog over Kenya into third place in the group.

But Mozambique have a tough game next up in October when they travel to play Nigeria.

 

GROUP C

Reigning African champions Egypt got their qualifying campaign back on track with a 1-0 win in Rwanda.

Al Ahly midfielder Ahmed Hassan, who had come on as a substitute, hammered an Ahmed Fathi pass into the net on 68 minutes before a near-capacity crowd at the 35,000-seat Amahoro Stadium in the Rwandan capital.

The win gives Egypt seven points from four matches and takes them level with Algeria for the time being.

Algeria can move three points clear of Egypt if they can beat Zambia in Blida in the final game of the weekend on Sunday evening.

 

GROUP D

Ghana's Black Stars will secure a place at their second successive World Cup if they can beat visitors Sudan this weekend, after Mali and Benin drew 1-1 in Cotonou.

Ghana reached the 2006 tournament in Germany under Ratomir Dujkovic and another Serb coach, Milovan Rajevac, looks set to repeat the feat.

After labouring to a 1-0 home win over Benin, a Michael Essien-inspired Ghana travelled to Mali and Sudan and returned with impressive 2-0 triumphs.

Another win over Sudan would lift Ghana to a maximum 12 points from four games.

Expectation is high in Ghana and some of the players are less comfortable playing in Accra, rather than their traditional home of Kumasi.

 

Striker Asamoah Gyan came under particular criticism during the Nations Cup in 2008, but he told BBC Fast Track that pressure is something all players have to live with.

"It's our dream to go to the World Cup - but what matters is the three points on Sunday," he said.

"Some times you hear criticism from the crowd because they are expecting more from you and maybe they don't see it.

"People can criticise you but you have to be calm about it."

Mali looked to have spoilt Ghana's World Cup celebration party when Mamadou Samassa scored on his debut in the 72nd minute.

Samassa is a former French youth international who was only cleared to play for Mali three days ago.

Benin's Mohammed Aoudou destroyed Mali's hopes of an away victory when he fired home an equaliser just three minutes from time to earn the hosts a 1-1 draw.

So Mali remains in second place in Group D with five points, while Benin is third with four.

 

GROUP E

The Ivory Coast's 5-0 win over Burkina Faso in Abidjan means the Elephants are just one point away from qualifying for their second successive World Cup.

 

The comprehensive win does mean that the Ivory Coast have qualified for the Nations Cup in Angola next year.

The first goal was an own goal from the Portugal-based Saidou Panandetiguiri after just 12 minutes.

Captain Didier Drogba scored twice in the second half with Barcelona's Yaya Toure and Turkey-based Abdel Kader Keita also finding the target to secure the emphatic win.

Malawi came from behind to beat visitors Guinea 2-1 to grab their first points of the final qualifying stage.

Oumar Kalabane scored for the Syli Nationale in the 37th minute after Malawi failed to deal with a corner.

Malawi coach Kinnah Phirri then made what proved to be an inspired substitution at half time bringing on Chiukepo Msowoya to replace David Banda.

With virtually his first touch of the ball Msowoya equalised for the Flames just two minutes into the second half as his low, hard shot beat Kemoko Camara in the Guinea goal.

Msowoya, who plays his club football in Mozambique, then headed home the winner from an in-swinging corner from Joseph Kamwendo in the 58th minute.

Malawi captain Peter Mponda was happy with the win.

"This is an exciting win as it shows we are still in contention for Angola," he said.

The results mean that neither Malawi nor Guinea can qualify for the World Cup but both are still battling for a place at the Nations Cup.

The Ivory Coast need just a single point from their last two games to earn a spot at the World Cup.

Burkina Faso's only hope is for them to win their last two qualifiers and for the Ivory Coast to lose their last two, even then the Stallions need big wins in order to overhaul the Elephants huge goal difference of plus 12.

source: bbc

Posted on Sunday 6th September 2009

Fisichella makes Ferrari switch

Giancarlo Fisichella will drive for Ferrari for the rest of the 2009 Formula 1 season before taking a new role as their reserve driver in 2010.

The Italian, 36, will replace Luca Badoer as stand-in for the injured Felipe Massa for the final five races.

"It has always been an ambition," said Fisichella, who has been released from his contract with Force India.

Force India are yet to name a replacement for Fisichella with reserve driver Vitantonio Liuzzi the favourite.

Fisichella, who formerly raced for Minardi, Jordan, Benetton, Renault and Sauber, will begin his Ferrari career on home soil at the Italian Grand Prix on 13 September.

Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali confirmed the appointment saying: "We considered what could be his role inside the team in the near future, also taking this year's experiences into account. He will be the reserve driver in 2010.

"We have chosen Fisichella because we can expect him to make a valuable contribution in this final part of the season.

"He has shown, throughout his long career, that he is fast and competitive and we are therefore proud to be able to run an Italian driver in our home race."

Force India team principal Mallya had insisted on Tuesday that he would turn out his regular team for Monza.

But after extensive discussions with Ferrari, Mallya has agreed to release Fisichella from his contract, which was due to expire at the end of the season.

"For any Italian driver, a Ferrari race seat is a long-held dream and for Giancarlo it was no exception," Mallya said. "No-one should stand in the way of this.

"The agreement will secure Fisichella's long-term future with Ferrari and it would be incorrect to jeopardise this.

"We would like to stress that we have not agreed any financial settlement with Ferrari and would like to thank Giancarlo for all his help over the past one-and-a-half seasons and for our first world championship points."

Fisichella's parting gift to Force India was second place at the Belgium Grand Prix, handing the team their first podium and points in their second season in F1.

Even before his impressive performance at Spa-Francorchamps, the 36-year-old had been tipped to replace Badoer, who has struggled since his promotion from Ferrari reserve driver.

Badoer was drafted in to replace Massa, who suffered serious head injuries at the Hungarian Grand Prix, after legendary seven-time F1 champion Michael Schumacher was forced to shelve his comeback plans.

While Massa is targeting a return in 2010, the Italian team ran out of patience with Badoer, who qualified last at both the European and Belgian GPs.

While Kimi Raikkonen claimed Ferrari's first win of 2009 in Spa, his team-mate trailed in last, nearly 48 seconds slower than the driver in front.

"We wish to thank Luca Badoer for the team spirit he demonstrated in these circumstances," added Domenicali.

"It is a shame he was unable to show his true worth in these last two races, tackled under conditions which anyone would have found difficult."

Fisichella, a veteran of more than 200 grands prix, will be expected to be much more competitive as Ferrari prepare to race in front of their enthusiastic home fans in Monza.

"I am grateful to Vijay Mallya for allowing me this opportunity," said Fisichella, a three-time race winner.

"For Vijay to have allowed it to become a reality is very generous and I hope in my turn I have helped Force India grow up and be on the right path to achieve their own ambitions."

source: bbc

Posted on Thursday 3rd September 2009

Hamilton targets late-season push

Lewis Hamilton insists he can enjoy a strong end to the 2009 Formula 1 season despite a desperate first half.

The Briton's defence of his world title was effectively ended by McLaren's early-season car, which was labelled by BBC pundit Eddie Jordan as a "dog".

However, mid-season upgrades saw the 24-year-old record a first win of the season in Hungary, and he is optimistic of a late-season push for points.

"We'll be among the frontrunners in the last five races, I think," he said.

"We've got a low-downforce package for Monza and some more upgrades ahead of Singapore, so I think we'll be in the hunt."

Hamilton's victory in Hungary in July was his first since the 2008 China Grand Prix and marked a remarkable turnaround in McLaren's fortunes after an early season that had been beset by car problems.

Martin Whitmarsh's team had not managed a podium before that win, but a series of improvements to the MP4-24, including the front wing, diffuser and engine cover, has seen McLaren back among the quickest cars on the grid.

Hamilton followed victory in Hungary with second spot at the European Grand Prix, although their Belgian Grand Prix was ruined last time out when a collision saw him crash out on the first lap.

But despite that blip, the Briton, who is 45 points off drivers' leader Jenson Button with five races remaining, is confident he can challenge the likes of constructor championship leaders Brawn GP and Red Bull in the home stretch of the title race.

"I know I've been very lucky: for the past two seasons, I've been in with a shot at the championship right until the end of the last race of the season, so, obviously, this year feels a bit different," he said.

"But it's been fun to just push like crazy and try and get the maximum result from the car at each race, rather than looking at stringing together a more consistent title bid.

"It means we can keep attacking everywhere, and I think that the last five races should be good for us for a lot of different reasons.

"I might have missed out at Spa, but I really want to win Monza and see how competitive we'll be in the flyaways. The five remaining races are a great mix of circuits and I'm looking forward to all of them."

And Hamilton is refusing to give up on retaining his title, even though he needs to win all the remaining races and hope his rivals do not get enough points.

"I'll still be going for it, trying to get every single point I can.

"I know it sounds crazy, but I'm not going to put the title out of my mind until I know that it's mathematically impossible.

"(However), the most important thing is that we keep learning from this year's car so we can make next year's into a winner."

source: bbc

Posted on Thursday 3rd September 2009

Arsenal set to fight Eduardo ban

Arsenal have confirmed they will appeal against the two-match ban given to striker Eduardo by Uefa for diving to win a penalty against Celtic.

The Croatia forward was found guilty of deceiving the referee as he fell under the challenge of goalkeeper Artur Boruc in the Champions League encounter.

In a statement, Arsenal called the decision by European football's governing body "deeply flawed".

Boss Arsene Wenger had already accused Uefa of conducting a "witch-hunt".

"The club is in receipt of Uefa's reasoned decision in relation to the charge against Eduardo," the statement said.

 

"We strongly believe that the decision taken is deeply flawed and not based on any forensic review of the video evidence available.

"There are obvious errors and inconsistencies in Uefa's judgment and we intend to appeal."

Arsenal are understood to have made a 19-page submission to Uefa ahead of the original hearing, which clearly made little impact on the panel.

Following the announcement of Eduardo's ban, Arsenal criticised the "arbitrary process" followed by Uefa.

In charging Eduardo, Wenger claimed Uefa had set off on a dangerous path, whereby any decision made by an official can now be contested after the match.

Should the ban be upheld, Eduardo would miss his side's opening two Champions League group matches, at Standard Liege on 16 September and at home against Olympiacos on 29 September.

source: bbc

Posted on Thursday 3rd September 2009

Football helps grieving Defoe'

England footballer Jermain Defoe uses the sport to help deal with his grief at the death of his half-brother, he has said.

Jade Defoe, 26, suffered head injuries during an attack in Leytonstone in April. He died in hospital days later.

Tottenham Hotspur striker Mr Defoe, 26, said the death had hit his family "really, really hard".

He said: "You can focus on football when you're on the pitch. Off it, you just think about things."

Mr Defoe said he was "close" to his half-brother, who had hoped for a career in music.

Talking about the moment he realised Jade was dying, Mr Defoe said: "I was at the training ground, the day before Manchester United away.

"Obviously I knew he was in intensive care but then my mum turned up. As soon as I saw her face, I knew."

 Mr Defoe had two hours to say goodbye to his half-brother.

"I just had to get myself to the hospital and be there for him," he said.

"It was crazy. All the family were there and his close friends. It was so strange. I looked at my brother. He was 26 years old."

He added: "You just don't expect it. The year before I lost my nan. In that situation, or someone dies when they are ill, you prepare yourself."

Mr Defoe said playing football gave him a chance to take his mind off what had happened.

"When you are playing, it is the only place you get away from everything," he said.

"The reason why you play, get on with it and do so well is because that's where you get your peace."

Christopher Farley, 33, from Leytonstone, east London, has been charged with Jade Defoe's murder.

source: bbc

Posted on Thursday 3rd September 2009

I'm an honest player, says Rooney

Wayne Rooney says he is an "honest player" despite analysis of the crucial penalty he won against Arsenal last weekend revealing he may have dived.

The north Londoners were denied a penalty of their own, and were leading 1-0 when Rooney converted his spot-kick, and the hosts went on to win 2-1.

Rooney said: "Everyone who watches me play knows I am an honest player.

"I play the game as honestly as I can. If the referee gives a penalty there is nothing you can do."

Amid the furore that accompanied the two-match ban Eduardo has received for "deceiving the referee" during Arsenal's victory over Celtic, Rooney's conduct at Old Trafford was questioned at the weekend.

On initial inspection, it seemed clear Manuel Almunia had put his arms in front of the Manchester United striker before he went tumbling inside the area.

However, TV replays from a certain angle showed Rooney appeared to be heading for the turf before the Arsenal keeper made contact and that the spot-kick perhaps should not have been given.

Arsenal intend to appeal against Eduardo's punishment, with Arsene Wenger particularly aggrieved because he believes the Croatian was touched by Celtic's Artur Boruc.

Rooney, 23, said it was up to the authorities to take further action if they felt it was necessary.

Rooney aims to avenge 2008 defeat

"If they want to take punishment further it is down to UEFA and the people who run the game. As players you just want to play."

And the England star says diving, technically described as "simulation", is not a rising trend.

"Diving has been in the game for years. Probably the coverage the game gets now, with all the cameras around, it gets highlighted a bit more. But it hasn't got any worse."

He feels the referee is the best person to deal with such issues, even if there are instances when he might get it wrong.

source: bbc

Posted on Thursday 3rd September 2009

Samassa gets Mali swap go-ahead

Former French junior international Mamadou Samassa has been given permission to play first-team football for Mali.

The 23-year-old striker was called into the Eagles squad for their 2010 World Cup qualifier against Benin before Fifa had ruled on the case.

Now football's world governing body has given its approval to the move.

It clears the way for him to take his place in the line-up in Cotonou on Sunday.

Fifa recently changed its rules - removing the age limit of 21 for players to swap nationalities.

Samassa, who plays for Valenciennes in the French league, was a French under-21 international but because his parents are from Mali he is entitled to dual nationality.

Mali must win the Group D qualifier in Cotonou to keep alive their remote hopes of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup finals.

source: bbc

Posted on Thursday 3rd September 2009

Defender Cole signs Chelsea deal

Chelsea defender Ashley Cole has signed a new four-year contract which will tie him to Stamford Bridge until 2013.

The left-back, who has won 74 England caps, has made 135 appearances for Chelsea since joining from Arsenal in August 2006.

He has started the new season in impressive form, scoring in Chelsea's 3-0 win over Burnley on Saturday.

The move comes after Blues captain John Terry signed a new five-year contract at Stamford Bridge on Monday.

As well as Cole and Terry, Didier Drogba, John Mikel Obi and Florent Malouda have also signed extensions at Stamford Bridge recently.

A statement on the Chelsea website said the club were "delighted" Cole had signed the new deal.

Cole, who is in the England squad for Saturday's friendly against Slovenia and next week's World Cup qualifier against Croatia, has started every Chelsea game this season under new boss Carlo Ancelotti.

Since leaving Arsenal three years ago Cole has won the FA Cup twice and the League Cup once with Chelsea, as well as reaching the 2008 Champions League final where his side were beaten by Manchester United.

source: bbc

Posted on Wednesday 2nd September 2009

Ivory Coast stay top in Africa

Ivory Coast continue to lead the way in Africa in the latest Fifa rankings after a month of light international action.

However, the Elephants have dropped two places in the global rankings and are the only African side in the world's top 20.

Gabon have dropped three places in the African rankings from third to sixth.

They've been replaced at number three by six-times African champions Egypt.

Democratic Republic of Congo are the biggest fallers, they dropped 22 places in the global rankings.

Hosts of the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, Angola have jumped 10 places.

Another side to make a significant leap is Congo-Brazzaville.

They moved up ten places to 79th in the world after a 1-1 draw with Morocco in August.

source: bbc

Posted on Wednesday 2nd September 2009

eBay reaches deal to sell Skype

Online auction site eBay has agreed to sell the majority of internet phone company Skype for about $2bn (£1.2bn).

Skype is to be majority-owned by a group of private investors, including Netscape co-founder Marc Andreessen and private equity firms.

EBay will keep a 35% stake in the firm, which it has been trying to sell for some time. It has said that Skype had "limited synergies" with it.

The deal values Skype at $2.75bn. EBay bought Skype for $2.6bn in 2005.

The new owners are Andreessen Horowitz, Index Ventures - which originally invested in Skype - as well as private equity firm Silver Lake and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.

They will pay $1.9bn in cash, and give a $125m note to eBay, meaning that it promises to pay that amount on demand or at an agreed time.

For sale

Earlier this year, eBay had said that it planned to spin off Skype and list its shares in the first half of 2010, an announcement many took as a signal that the firm was for sale.

Ebay wrote down the value of the firm to $1.2bn a year after it was taken over.

Including payouts to Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis, who founded Skype in 2003, eBay paid over $3bn for the company.

Skype's software lets computer and mobile phone users talk to each other for free and make cut-price calls to mobiles and landlines.

Unlike traditional mobile calls, which are transmitted over a cellular network, Skype turns your voice into data and sends it over the internet.

Since being acquired, the number of registered Skype users has risen to 405 million from 53 million, though free user-to-user calls still dominate the service.

The deal should be finalised by the last three months of the year.

source: bbc

Posted on Tuesday 1st September 2009

Major win for Japan opposition

The opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) is set for a massive election victory, exit polls suggest.

Polls indicate the DPJ has won 300 seats in the 480-seat lower house, ending 50 years of almost unbroken rule by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

The DPJ says it will shift the focus of government from supporting corporations to helping consumers and workers.

Japan is suffering record unemployment and its economy is struggling to emerge from a bruising recession.

The DPJ leader, Yukio Hatoyama, has promised to boost welfare, reform the bureaucracy, and seek a more balanced relationship with the United States.

Japanese broadcaster NHK announced its exit polls moments after voting ended at 2000 (1200 GMT), saying they showed a major power shift in Japan.

"Our exit polls show the main opposition Democratic Party will seize more than 300 seats, way more than a majority in the lower house," said the newsreader.

"That signals a defeat for the governing coalition."

The conservative LDP, led by Prime Minister Taro Aso, has governed Japan for all but 11 months since 1955.

source: bbc

Posted on Sunday 30th August 2009

Life in the old dogs yet

Sir Alex Ferguson claims he may ride off into the sunset with Arsene Wenger when the curtain comes down on the Premier League's most enduring managerial rivalry.

It might be stretching reality to breaking point to describe the old stagers as the game's version of Noel and Liam Gallagher - but their turbulence, talent and creative tension may be even more sorely missed than anything Oasis had to offer when the credits finally roll.

Unlike Oasis however, Ferguson and Wenger are not going anywhere yet and on the evidence of the latest eventful instalment in this drama, football should be thankful.

Manchester United took the honours in fortuitous fashion at Old Trafford - and mixed emotions were the order of the day for Wenger as loser and even Ferguson as winner.

Wenger's mood, almost buoyant and certainly good-humoured, in the Old Trafford media theatre was easily explained after an Arsenal performance that suggests his optimism about their title hopes this season is built on increasingly solid foundations.

Arsenal were in untroubled control courtesy of Andrey Arshavin's wonderful goal until Manuel Almunia gifted Wayne Rooney a penalty - described as "Old Trafford-ish" by Wenger but undisputed in reality - and Abou Diaby decided to defy all laws of football logic and dispatch the most clinical of headers beyond his own goalkeeper.

Galling stuff for Wenger and exacerbated when he was pointlessly sent from his technical area by referee Mike Dean on the say-so of the fourth official after he kicked a plastic bottle in frustration when Robin van Persie's injury-time strike was chalked off for offside.

Wenger's reaction was human nature and his needless dismissal only created a chaotic scene that could have been avoided with only 30 seconds to go - especially as he actually had nowhere to go when he was ordered away from the touchline.

He looked as bemused by the conclusion to his evening, arms outstretched amid baying United supporters, as he was by the result of a game that should have gleaned Arsenal at least a point.

Arsenal looked a more cohesive, unified team than last season. Thomas Vermaelen is a sound defensive addition and Arshavin adds fantasy.

The tiny Russian is a wonderful footballer - and a source of much inspiration for Arsenal fans when it comes to less-than-flattering songs dedicated to Emmanuel Adebayor.

Arshavin's slight frame lurks with intent throughout, that rolling and sometimes disinterested gait disguising his lethal talent, and a world-class ability to surprise with strikes delivered with little or no backlift. It was a tribute to his ability that Old Trafford suffered collective anxiety attacks when he was anywhere near the danger zone.

Whether this is enough to sustain a serious title challenge is still open to debate - the fact remains they lost this game and Arsenal still have a habit of losing composure when all seems under control.

The return of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri will add to the air of goodwill around the Emirates, but Wenger must ensure losing games they should have won does not become a damaging habit.

For all Arsenal's good work, Manchester United achieved a feat that was beyond them in the Premier League last season by overcoming the Gunners. And they showed one of the tried and trusted trademark of champions by beating a top four rival without coming within a country mile of their best.

But even in victory, and in case we forget a very important one, United have just as many questions to answer as Arsenal.

Ferguson's initial team selection was a source of much debate and not something that could be described as an unqualified success, even with three points as the reward.

Wayne Rooney shouldered huge responsibility through the middle as he was flanked on either side by Nani and Antonio Valencia. Michael Owen and Dimitar Berbatov were restricted to the bench.

Berbatov made an erratic appearance as substitute, and it is worth posing this question: what does it say about your £30m striker if you wave off £100m-plus worth of attacking talent in the shape of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez and he is not an automatic pick for a game against a team regarded as one of your closes title rivals?

There is no mistaking the fact that United have had a major dimension of their game removed with the sale of Cristiano Ronaldo, and this means Rooney is an even more pivotal figure.

Ferguson can relax safe in the knowledge that Rooney is up to the pressure of the task and it was his sheer force of will that kept United above water. He is a reassuring presence for United's manager and their supporters - how they must keep everything crossed that no misfortune befalls him.

Rooney is now Old Trafford's talisman, but the help he receives from others is likely to shape United's hopes of success this season. The season is in its infancy, but the jury remains out.

A word too for goalkeeper Ben Foster. He was at fault for Arsenal's goal, despite the velocity of Arshavin's strike, but he effectively saved the game for United with a priceless block from Robin van Persie just after the interval that prevented his side going two behind.

Ferguson used his programme notes to insist once more that he will not be buying again in this transfer window, light-heartedly suggesting the £80m raked in for Ronaldo "seems to be burning a hole in the pockets of lots of fans."

He added that it was "an insult" to suggest he could lose faith in his current crop of players overnight.

This is a man who knows, who has been over course and distance many times, so it is not a safe occupation to contradict him. The silver-lined career gives him the right to spring selection surprises - but you sense retaining the title for a fourth successive season will be tough work.

Lest this be seen as a wide-ranging questioning of United's credentials, and even their most ardent fans might just accept they may need to take step back to move forward with Ronaldo gone, the simple statistic of victory still marks them out as the team to finish above this season.

The "Pizzagate" days may be a thing of the past and the once icy relationship has thawed - but the competitive edge remains and Old Trafford witnessed compelling evidence of why Ferguson and Wenger will never go quietly while titles are up for grabs.

source: bbc

Posted on Sunday 30th August 2009

2018 bid unharmed by violence

The Football Association says last week's crowd trouble at West Ham will not harm England's bid to host the 2018 World Cup - as long as it is a one-off.

Violence and pitch invasions marred the the Carling Cup match against Millwall on Tuesday, with 13 arrests made.

But FA chief executive Ian Watmore told BBC Radio 5 Live: "We have to make sure what happened is a one-off. I think if we do, it won't hurt the bid at all.

"We've done a huge amount over the last decade to put our house in order."

The fighting outside of Upton Park, images of fans repeatedly entering the field of play and reports of racist chanting in the stadium and were damaging at a time when most thought football violence was a thing of the past.

But Watmore added: "We have to get the perspective right.

"It doesn't help anybody to see those scenes being beamed around the world but, at the same time, it is a one-off and we have to keep it that way.

"Fifa and Uefa and many of the associations around the world do come to us for a lead on combating violence and hooliganism, racism and other forms of chanting, and we have to remain the best in the world at combating that and remain at the top of our game."

Watmore insisted the most important thing would be to make sure it remained an isolated incident.

"We mustn't be complacent, we have to clamp down when it happens in this country, but I think we also have to have perspective.

"This isn't now endemic in all of our games. It was, at the moment, a one-off and we need to make sure it remains so."

Both clubs have vowed to ban any individuals found to be involved, but Watmore said there could be further punishments.

He said: "We've got to do the investigation and ascertain the facts. In our rules the clubs have the ability to ban their fans and both clubs have come out and said they will do so.

"From out point of view, we have to look at whether the clubs acted with all due care and attention and, if they did, then we have to work with the clubs and with the leagues to make sure that we clamp down.

"If they didn't then they can come into our disciplinary system."

source: bbc

Posted on Sunday 30th August 2009

TP Mazembe win Etoile held

TP Mazembe secured a crucial 2-0 away win over Monomotapa of Zimbabwe in Group B of the Champions League.

The DR Congo side quickly served notice of their intent with captain Dioko Kaluyituka forcing the goalkeeper into two fine saves in the opening five minutes in Harare on Saturday.

But he was not to be denied in the 10th minute when he fired from the edge of the box to put Mazembe in the lead.

They wrapped up the win late in injury time when playmaker Mbutu Mabi struck.

The victory keeps Mazembe at the top of the group with nine points after four matches.

Meanwhile, Nigeria's Heartland kept alive their hopes of reaching the semi final after holding Etoile du Sahel to a 0-0 draw in Tunisia on Saturday.

The home side had numerous scoring chances but they were unable to convert them.

The Nigerian defence needed to be resolute late in the second half to keep Etoile at bay.

This means Heartland are second on the table with seven points while Etoile stay third on four points.

Monomotapa are bottom of the group with three points with two matches to go in the group.

source: bbc

Posted on Sunday 30th August 2009

Raikkonen wins exciting Spa duel

Kimi Raikkonen managed to keep Force India's Giancarlo Fisichella at bay to clinch Ferrari's first win of 2009 at an incident-packed Belgian Grand Prix.

World champion Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button crashed out early on, although the Brawn man's championship lead was cut by only two points to 16.

The incident saw the safety car come out, after which Raikkonen used his power-boost button to take the lead.

Red Bull's title-chasing Sebastian Vettel finished in third at Spa.

The German started in eighth but posted the fastest lap of the race and leapfrogged team-mate Mark Webber in the drivers' championship into third place behind Button's team-mate Rubens Barrichello, who limped over the line in seventh place with a Mercedes engine that was close to blowing up.

BMW Sauber drivers Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld finished fourth and fifth respectively ahead of McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen.

Force India secured their historic first points in Formula 1 with Fisichella's second in dry, warm conditions in the Ardennes forest.

But the concertina-effect crash at the back of the chasing pack on lap one - in which Renault's Romain Grosjean appeared to clip Button causing Hamilton and Toro Rosso's Jaime Alguersuari to also hit the tyre barriers at Les Combes - handicapped the Italian.

After the safety car went back in on lap five following the incident which is being investigated by race stewards, Raikkonen easily accelerated past Fisichella out of Eau Rouge using a quick push of his Kers (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) button.

From that point on Fisichella pushed the Finn all the way and although he was the quicker driver he could not get ahead of Raikkonen over the remaining 39 laps.

"We were probably not the fastest in lap times but we managed to keep everybody behind," said 2007 world champion Raikkonen. "And that's enough."

Fisichella said it was a "great result" for a Force India team which caused an enormous shock on Saturday by qualifying on pole, but that he felt a tinge of regret at how the race panned out.

"Actually, I was quicker than Kimi," he added. "He only took me because of Kers at the beginning and I'm a little bit sad for that because I was keeping pace and exactly same strategy race.

"It's great for second. But actually we could have won the race."

Highlights - Raikkonen wins in Belgium (UK users only)

Raikkonen started sixth but made an immediate charge, swinging past the virtually-still Barrichello off the grid before going very wide into the run-off area at La Source to give himself room to use his Kers to speed past the BMW Sauber cars and move into second behind pole-sitter Fisichella.

But then came the crash, which changed the course of the race and also caused Button's first retirement of the season.

While the stumbling championship leader - who has now not finished on the podium in the past five races - stopped short of blaming Grosjean, he did question why the rookie French driver braked so late through the corner and insisted the incident was not his fault.

"It was an avoidable accident," he said. "It's really frustrating."

"I suppose it is [relatively] good that it happened here. Hopefully we can get back on track in the next race."

Kubica was close to landing a podium place for BMW Sauber, who have announced their intention to pull out of the sport, but Germany's Vettel slipped ahead of the Pole as he came out of the pits following the second stop in his Red Bull on lap 35.

source: bbc

Posted on Sunday 30th August 2009

Portsmouth 0 - 1 Man City

Emmanuel Adebayor kept up his record of scoring in every league game this season to help Manchester City maintain their 100% start to the season.

The Togo striker rose above the Pompey defence to thump in a header from Gareth Barry's excellent corner.

Micah Richards had a goal ruled out for offside as City turned the screw.

After the break, John Utaka fizzed a shot narrowly wide, while fellow substitute David Nugent hit his volley straight at City goalkeeper Shay Given.

With wealthy owners at the helm of each club - Pompey's takeover by Sulaiman Al Fahim going through only on Thursday - it was a fascinating meeting between two sides who represent the new wave of the Premier League.

City, though, are 12 months into their new ownership and further down the road of realising their potential.

As a result, the big name stars they have attracted - and the team's greater cohesion - proved too strong for a much-changed Portsmouth side.

While it will take a while for Pompey to stabilise after a period of uncertainty - and to bed in new players - City are showing signs that their revolution is gaining momentum.

Adebayor was once again in excellent form, providing the fulcrum for his side's attacks, and Joleon Lescott - finally making his league debut for City after a protracted move from Everton - gave an assured performance.

Initially, however, Pompey more than held their own, despite fielding a team with five changes from their last league game.

Tommy Smith and Michael Brown had completed their moves to Fratton Park in time to make their debuts and were immediately drafted into the starting line-up.

And for a time, the hosts were the better side, passing the ball around neatly and went close through a rasping shot from Frederic Piquionne.

Yet there was always the feeling that once City settled, they would pose more of a threat.

That possibility became a reality when Barry swung in a corner from the right and Adebayor nodded home powerfully.

City thought they had doubled their lead when Richards converted a low cross from Craig Bellamy, who started ahead of Robinho, but the goal was ruled out for offside.

After the break, the imposing Adebayor continued to cause Pompey problems and one moment of magic saw him drag the ball between two defenders before forcing a fine save from Asmir Begovic.

And Stephen Ireland lashed a shot over the bar as a Portsmouth struggled to keep their opponents out.

All seemed to be going City's way but they suffered a blow when Richards limped off injured and watching England boss Fabio Capello will share City's concern, with the defender likely to be selected for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Slovenia and Croatia.

It signalled a change in fortunes for Pompey and they began to create a few chances - a Hayden Mullins shot was deflected wide and Younes Kaboul headed over.

Utaka went agonisingly close with a fierce drive that flew just past the post and Richard Hughes wasted a great chance when he volleyed wide from 12 yards.

Parity really should have been restored soon after but Nugent hit his shot into the ground and an upright Given saved the ball with his shoulder.

In the end, City did just enough but at times were still a little unconvincing at the back, while Pompey will hope results will pick up when their new signings are eligible and the team starts to gel.

source: bbc

Posted on Sunday 30th August 2009

Italy PM to meet Gaddafi in Libya

Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi is to go to Libya to celebrate the anniversary of a friendship pact signed last year.

But he will not attend events marking the 40th anniversary of the military coup d'etat that brought Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to power in 1969.

Italy occupied the North African country between 1911 and World War II.

Mr Berlsuconi's government has agreed to pay $5bn in the next 20 years to compensate Libya for wrongs committed during its colonial occupation.

The two countries have agreed to put behind them the memories of injustices suffered by Libya in the early part of the 20th Century, and the subsequent painful expulsion of tens of thousands of Italian settlers.

Grave visits

During his one-day stay in Tripoli, Mr Berlusconi was to lay the foundation stone of a new super highway linking Tunisia to Egypt and running along the entire 2,000km (1,240 miles) of Libya's Mediterranean coastline.

Italian firms are to get valuable contracts for this and other industrial projects.

Italy's crack air-force aerobatic team will be giving two flypasts in Tripoli on Monday and Tuesday.

They will leave green vapour trails in the sky - green being Libya's national colour - instead of the normal red white and green of the Italian flag.

The Libyan government has invited some 300 Italian former settlers and their family members back to Tripoli for the celebrations, during which they will be allowed to visit family graves.

Some left-wing Italian politicians have criticised Mr Berlusconi's decision to seek ever closer relations with Libya.

The two countries already operate joint sea patrols to combat the flow of illegal migrants from Libya towards the EU, and military manoeuvres are to take place soon involving the two countries' armed forces.

Italy is Libya's biggest trading partner and gets more than a third of its energy from Libyan oil and natural gas.

source: bbc

Posted on Sunday 30th August 2009

Germany holds pre-election polls

Three German states are holding elections that will kick off the final month of campaigning ahead of a general election on 27 September.

Party leaders in Berlin will be closely watching poll results in the states of Saarland, Thuringia and Saxony.

All three are ruled by Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative CDU party.

Opinion polls suggest Saxony's governor Stanislaw Tillich looks set to be re-elected, but the CDU could see its vote crumble in Saarland and Thuringia.

The centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) and the Left Party are hoping to topple the CDU in both states.

In a radical move, the Social Democrats' leader in Saarland, Heiko Maas, has been considering forming a coalition with the post-communist Left party as a junior partner.

But at a national level, the SPD has ruled out a coalition with the Left Party - and the Social Democrats would prefer a coalition with the green party.

Chancellor Merkel's conservatives still have a comfortable lead in the polls ahead of next month's federal election.

So far, the campaign has been very dull but the regional elections may liven up the political debate and provide some indication as to whether the Social Democrats will be able to claw back any votes from Mrs Merkel's CDU.

source: bbc

Posted on Sunday 30th August 2009

Gabonese vote to elect new leader

Voters in Gabon have gone to the polls to elect a successor to President Omar Bongo, who died in June after leading his country for 41 years.

Favourite to succeed him is his son, Ali Ben Bongo, 50, candidate of the ruling Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG).

He has promised to boost what he says is the prosperity that Gabon enjoyed during his father's years in power.

Mr Bongo's rivals include former government ministers Andre Mba Obame and Casimir Oye Mba.

They have denounced what they say is endemic corruption and favouritism in Gabon.

On Friday at least five out of 23 opposition candidates announced they were pulling out of the race and pledged their support for Mr Obame.

Wealthy leader

Omar Bongo was one of the world's richest men, with a string of properties in France.

He was an unflinching ally of France and a key element in French influence in Central Africa.

 

BBC Africa analyst Martin Plaut says that Ali Ben Bongo is seen as less closely linked to the French elite than his father, despite being educated at the Sorbonne.

He is also somewhat detached from ordinary Gabonese, struggling to speak local languages with real fluency, our correspondent says.

Gabon is sub-Saharan Africa's fourth biggest oil producer and Africa's second biggest wood exporter, although most of its 1.4 million people live in poverty.

Voting, which began at 0700 (0600 GMT), will be monitored by observers from organisations including the African Union. Polls will close at 1800 (1700 GMT).

source: bbc

Posted on Sunday 30th August 2009

Hollywood to tackle Uganda rebels

A Hollywood film director says his next film is about Uganda's notorious rebels and how they kidnapped more than 100 convent schoolgirls.

Will Raee told the BBC that Girl Soldier will star Uma Thurman as the heroine nun who pursues the rebels into the bush and helps some girls escape.

It is based on a book of the same name by Grace Akallo, one of those captured from the school in Akobe in 1996.

"It's mind blowing; it's such an amazing story," said Mr Raee.

 The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels have been fighting the Ugandan government for more than two decades.

Their long and brutal rebellion has driven some two million people from their homes and destabilised a swathe of central and east Africa.

Tens of thousands of children have been abducted to be fighters and sex slaves.

'Authentic'

"The film is incredibly fictionalised in certain areas," Mr Raee told the BBC's Network Africa programme.

 

"But we're basically telling the story of girls who were abducted and forced into slavery and forced into fighting a rebel war they didn't want to be a part of.

"I want people to watch this and feel that they're watching a documentary in a sense, so we're really trying to keep this as authentic as possible," he said.

Ms Akallo, who was 15 years old when she was abducted, was not one of those rescued by the nun and only managed to escape months later during a battle.

Mr Raee said the movie is in pre-production in South Africa at the moment and he hopes to shoot some scenes in Uganda.

"The child soldiers will be Ugandan actors," he said.

Earlier this week, a comic book about the LRA, featuring the WWII character Unknown Soldier, was launched by DC Comics.

"I do feel there are just an amazing amount of stories coming out of Africa that are both beautiful and tragic," said Mr Raee.

He said that Ms Thurman was keen to do the role because of her interest in Africa and her concern about violence against women.

source: bbc

Posted on Sunday 30th August 2009

British clubs avoid Euro giants

The five British clubs in the Champions League were handed favourable draws for the group stage of the competition.

Last season's finalists Manchester United take on CSKA Moscow, Besiktas and Wolfsburg in Group B.

Liverpool face Lyon, Fiorentina and Debrecen while Chelsea play Porto, Atletico Madrid and APOEL Nicosia.

Arsenal have been drawn against AZ Alkmaar, Olympiakos and Standard Liege, while Rangers will play Sevilla, Stuttgart and Unirea Urziceni.

The four English clubs were all in pot one - and avoided Real Madrid and Inter Milan in pot two.

Big-spending Real Madrid have been drawn in Group C, along with AC Milan, Marseille and Zurich.

Chelsea were defeated last season by an injury-time Andres Iniesta goal in their semi-final against eventual champions Barcelona.

"We start again and are always looking to get one step further," said Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon after Thursday's draw in Monaco.

"There are no easy games or groups but overall not too much travel and we have managed to avoid one of the big ones."

Manchester United will return to CSKA's Luzhniki Stadium, where they beat Chelsea in the 2008 final, and chief executive David Gill said: "Overall we have got to be happy with our draw.

"We are looking forward to going back to Moscow after those great scenes in 2008."

However, boss Sir Alex Ferguson played down his side's chances, telling the club's website: "These are difficult ties, especially the trips to Russia and Turkey.

"CSKA have developed strongly in the last few years, and games in Turkey are always difficult.

"We also know the quality that we're up against with Wolfsburg, with what they achieved in the Bundesliga last season."

By contrast, Liverpool managing director Christian Purslow said his club were "pretty happy" with their group.

"We have two very well-known European opponents, who will not bring us any surprises," he said.

Reds legend and club ambassador Kenny Dalglish added: "It could have been worse but it could have been easier as well.

"You never dismiss Italians - they will be well-organised and very effective, and Lyon have had great success in this competition."

Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis was also wary about the opposition his side face in Group H.

"Some might look at it and see it as an automatic pass but we don't see it like that," Gazidis said.

"We think it will be very tough. But we won't lose our focus. We have a very determined group."

Rangers, in pot two, could have faced any of the English clubs but appear to have been handed a relatively favourable draw that includes the unknown quantity of Unirea Urziceni.

The Romanian side, along with Wolfsburg, Rubin Kazan, AZ Alkmaar, Standard Liege, Debrecen, APOEL Nicosia and FC Zurich, make their Champions League debut in this year's tournament.

Gers chief executive Martin Bain said: "It's a good group. Sevilla are Uefa Cup winners twice in the last five years.

"Stuttgart have now qualified for the Champions League three times and each time have been drawn to face Rangers.

"We beat them at Ibrox and lost in Germany on both occasions, so hopefully we can go one better this time."

There are 32 teams left in the competition, split into eight groups of four, with the first matches to be played on 15/16 September.

United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Rangers all reached the first round automatically, while Arsenal eased to a 5-1 aggregate victory over Celtic in qualifying to clinch their place in the lucrative stages of Europe's premier competition.

The eight group winners plus the runners-up go through to the knockout stages of the competition, while the teams finishing third go into the Europa League.

Real Madrid's Bernabeu Stadium will stage the Champions League final on Saturday, 22 May 2010.

 

Champions League group stage draw:

Group A

Bayern MunichJuventusBordeauxMaccabi Haifa

Group B

MANCHESTER UNITEDCSKA MoscowBesiktasWolfsburg

Group C

AC MilanReal MadridMarseille FC Zurich

Group D

CHELSEAPortoAtletico MadridAPOEL Nicosia

Group E

LIVERPOOLLyon FiorentinaDebrecen

Group F

BarcelonaInter MilanDinamo KievRubin Kazan

Group G

SevillaRANGERSStuttgartUnirea Urziceni

Group H

ARSENALAZ AlkmaarOlympiakos Standard Liege

Fixture dates:

15/16 September

29/30 September

20/21 October

3/4 November

24/25 November

8/9 December

source: bbc

Posted on Thursday 27th August 2009

Am not feeling pressure - Button

Jenson Button insists his championship challenge is not under threat ahead of this weekend's Belgium Grand Prix.

Brawn GP's British driver has finished outside the podium places for four successive races and has seen his championship lead cut to 18 points.

But the 29-year-old, who was seventh in last week's European Grand Prix, said: "I'm not feeling any pressure.

"Valencia was frustrating but it's the first bad weekend we've had. I'm still in the best shape of the frontrunners."

Button has been outscored by his closest challengers in the last four races, picking up 11 points to his Brawn team-mate Rubens Barrichello's 19 and Red Bull rivals Mark Webber's 24 and Sebastian Vettel's 18.

And the Frome-born driver also failed to take advantage of a revitalised Brawn car in Valencia after losing ground on his opening lap.

"I've just lost so many points because I've been in the wrong position and I've not been able to overtake," Button added.

"If you look at the last race, I didn't qualify very well and then, on Sunday, if I had stayed inside Vettel [off the start] I would have broken my front wing and wrecked his race as well.

"It's not a case of having a conservative approach but I think we need to do something different with strategy that doesn't put me in a position around cars that are fighting me for the championship."

Barrichello emerged as Button's closest championship challenger after he claimed his first win in five years at Valencia's marina circuit.

The Brazilian insists he will continue to fight his team-mate for the title, but Button dismissed suggestions that any internal rivalry would disrupt his focus in the final six races.

"Rubens winning the race doesn't hurt me in any way," said Button. "He did an amazing job all weekend and he deserved it.

"We've both been through some difficult times and I'm happy that he won the race. I just wish I had finished a lot closer to him.

"This is my fourth season with him and I know he is a tough competitor. He is going to be fighting for the wins but I have to make sure I finish in front of him."

The undulating Spa-Francorchamps circuit, with its famously fickle climate, is expected to suit the Red Bulls, which have stolen the march on the Brawns in cooler conditions.

But Brawn say they have largely resolved their issues with getting their tyres running at optimum temperature, and Button is confident they can match their chief rivals this weekend.

"Hopefully, we can challenge the Red Bulls on a circuit like this," he added. "If we can challenge them here then I think they will be in a difficult position (for the rest of the championship).

"I'm sure they come here a bit more positive than the last race but it's not going to be a walk in the park."

Red Bull are confident they can bounce back after failing to win any points in Valencia, where Webber finished ninth and Vettel retired with a blown engine.

The German is now running with his seventh Renault engine, with each driver only allotted eight per season.

Should Vettel use more than eight, he will drop 10 places on the starting grid at the first event during which each additional engine is used - prompting the 22-year-old to consider restricting his running during Friday practice to help conserve his remaining engines.

But despite his unreliability problems, Vettel insists he is still fighting for the title even though he is 25 points adrift of Button in fourth.

"I'm not giving up," said Vettel, who claimed victories in China and Britain earlier this season.

"Jenson hasn't been consistent and scored points in the last races, which helps us. We are still in a hunting position and we have to score big points and win races now.

"This track should suit our car because of its lay-out and the high-speed corners, but we still need to find out how fast we are.

"Our target here is to win. I don't care if it's wet, dry, or both, that's our target."

Practice for the Belgium Grand Prix starts at 0855 BST on Friday with second practice following at 1255.

source: bbc

Posted on Thursday 27th August 2009

Kennedy ceremonies get under way

Mourners have held a family Mass to commemorate Edward Kennedy, at the start of three days of ceremonies following the death of the US senator.

Mr Kennedy's body was then being driven to Boston, where his coffin will be placed for public viewing ahead of a memorial service and a funeral Mass.

Mr Kennedy's death from cancer on Tuesday prompted a flood of tributes from the US and around the world.

He will be buried on Saturday evening at the Arlington National Cemetery.

A large group of family members attended Thursday's private Mass at the family compound in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts.

Later, people lined the route as a hearse carrying Mr Kennedy's coffin left in a motorcade on the 70-mile (113km) trip to Boston.

'Extraordinary good'

The motorcade was due to drive past some of the Boston sites linked to the senator's life, before delivering his coffin to the John F Kennedy presidential library and museum.

After the public have paid their respects, there will be an invitation-only memorial service at the library on Friday evening.

On Saturday, President Barack Obama is expected to address a funeral Mass for Mr Kennedy at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Basilica in Boston.

Mr Kennedy will be buried on Saturday next to his brothers, John F Kennedy and Robert F Kennedy, at the Arlington national cemetery in northern Virginia.

In the US, Mr Kennedy's death has been seen as the end of an era.

The charismatic senator had long been the leader of one of America's great political dynasties, following the assassinations of his brothers in 1963 and 1968.

In a televised tribute on Wednesday, Mr Obama said Mr Kennedy had achieved "extraordinary good" and was "one of the most accomplished Americans ever to serve our democracy".

Succession talks

Just outside the family compound in Hyannis Port, David Nylan said people had been leaving flowers by his holiday home since Mr Kennedy's death.

"The Kennedys and Hyannis and the Cape, they just kind of go hand in hand," he said.

"They're just a great family from around here, and people respect what they've done in office, and the good things they've done.

"Of course, they've had some black marks against them, but who hasn't?"

Meanwhile, discussions have begun over how to replace Mr Kennedy in the Senate.

Under current Massachusetts law, his seat could remain vacant for several months until a special election to choose his successor.

Senate Democrats fear that if the seat remains empty for too long, the party will struggle to pass a crucial healthcare reform that President Obama is hoping to push through.

There have been calls for a change in the law that would allow the Massachusetts governor to install an interim senator to fill the seat until the special election takes place.

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has said he supports the plan.

source: bbc

Posted on Thursday 27th August 2009

US envoy 'in angry Karzai talks'

US special envoy to Afghanistan has had what has been described as "an explosive meeting" with President Hamid Karzai over the country's election.

Sources have revealed that Richard Holbrooke raised concerns about ballot-stuffing and fraud and said that a second-round run off could make the process more credible.

The final results in the election won't be known until next month.

A number of senior sources have confirmed the details of a meeting between Richard Holbrooke and President Karzai the day after the election.

It was described as "explosive" and "a dramatic bust-up".

Richard Holbrooke is said to have twice raised the idea of a second round run-off because of concerns about the voting process.

He is believed to have complained about the use of fraud and ballot-stuffing by some members of the president's campaign team as well as other candidates.

The sources say that President Karzai reacted very angrily and that the meeting ended shortly afterwards.

A spokeswoman for the US Embassy in Kabul denied there had been any shouting or that Richard Holbrooke had stormed out.

She refused to discuss the details of the meeting. A spokesman for the presidential palace denied the account of the conversation.

There have been many doubts raised about the Afghan presidential election; about the turnout and irregularities.

But this is the first time that a leading Western official has apparently expressed it quite so openly.

It will raise more questions about the credibility of the whole process and could well make the plan to establish a meaningful government in a stable country all the harder to achieve.

source: bbc

Posted on Thursday 27th August 2009

Mixed news in Xbox price changes

Microsoft is to cut the UK price of its Xbox 360 Elite gaming console by £30 to £199.99 and by $100 to $299 in the US.

It comes in the wake of Sony's decision to drop the price of its PlayStation 3 to £249 in the UK and $299 in the US.

The price of Xbox's entry-level model the Arcade will rise to £159.99 from £129.99 - although its US cost remains the same at $199.

The Xbox Pro mid-range model will be discontinued altogether. A new version of PlayStation 3 is out next week.

Recent figures suggest that overall sales of both games and consoles have slumped this year - with a drop of some 29% in the US.

However, Xbox sales are the only console in positive growth in the US this year, rising by 17%.

The new prices will come into effect on Friday, ahead of the release of the recently announced slimmed-down PlayStation 3. Its hard drive size has been increased to 120GB hard drive - the same as the Xbox 360 Elite.

"Price cuts are always a good thing," said Nik Williams, a gamer from Haselmere in Surrey.

"Obviously, Sony are worried by lowering its prices in the first place but for me Xbox has got the bigger games library, the better games and I just think it's a better console."

Others were less impressed, citing PlayStation's free online gaming and ability to play Blu-Ray discs.

"The Xbox price cut would never persuade me to get one," said Anthony Charles from east London.

"The reason I'm a PS3 man all the way is because you get all the brilliant games - and then the little extras."

source: bbc

Posted on Thursday 27th August 2009

Spotify app approved for iPhone

Apple has approved the Spotify iPhone application, allowing users to stream music to their handsets.

The company submitted the application to Apple's iTunes App Store for its approval in July.

The application will be free, but will require the user to have a premium Spotify subscription, which costs £10.

The Swedish music streaming service is looked on as a rival to Apple's iTunes store because of its comprehensive, free library of millions of songs.

Apple currently dominates the digital music market, which led many to speculate that the app may not be approved.

However, many in the music also industry regard Spotfiy as an alternative, and a credible business model for an industry which has had difficulty adapting to the online world.

"We're not surprised but we're thrilled," founder Daniel Ek told BBC News. "We had a great dialogue with Apple from day one."

'Scaling up'

The application is designed to search for new music and will allow users to temporarily store playlists on their phone for use when there is no connection. It will also allow users to stream playlists.

The premium service, which currently costs £9.99 a month, allows users to run Spotify on their computers without adverts.

Mr Ek told BBC News that he was confident the app would bring a big surge in premium subscribers.

"We're scaling up the systems because response has been tremendous even before the app is available," he said.

The service, which launched last year, now has more than two million users in the UK, and more than six million across Europe.

It has not yet launched in the United States but says it intends to do so by the end of the year.

The company has already demonstrated an application for mobile phones running Google's Android software, though that has not been made available to the public.

Posted on Thursday 27th August 2009

Apple to set Snow Leopard OS free

The latest update of the Apple Mac operating system OS X, known as Snow Leopard, goes on sale on Friday.

The software - available only as a DVD, not a download - was originally due to hit shops in September but Apple brought it forward at the last minute.

The system will go head-to-head with Microsoft's latest operating system, Windows 7, due for release in October.

Both will also compete with a system from Google, called Chrome OS, set for release in the second half of 2010.

Whilst both Google and Microsoft will offer entirely new operating systems, Snow Leopard is a refinement to its predecessor Leopard.

Graham Barlow, editor of MacFormat Magazine, said the update "streamlines performance"

"[It] doesn't add that many more features to the previous incarnation of OS X," he said.

The update will retail at £25 in the UK ($29 in US) for Mac users who run Leopard.

Apple recommends that owners of older Intel-based Macs that are running the older Tiger OS, should purchase an upgrade which costs £129 ($169 in the US).

The package comes bundled with various other pieces of software, such as iWork, Apple's Microsoft Office competitor.

However, initial reports suggest that Tiger users can upgrade using the cheaper package.

Apple says that its engineers have "refined 90% of the more than 1,000 projects" that make up the operating system.

Many of these changes are hidden deep inside the software's code and are aimed at making the system smaller, faster and more responsive.

The firm claim that users who install the update will free around 7GB of hard drive space on average because of the stripped-down code.

Applications should load faster and the machine should also boot up more quickly.

Tweaks will also make it easier for third-party developers to take advantage of the Mac hardware.

However, the system does have some new features.

For example, it is the first operating system to come with inbuilt support for Microsoft Exchange Server, popular email and calendar services used by many companies.

The system will also ships with a new version of the Quicktime player, which will allow users to record and trim their own movies.

Reports also suggest that the ships with anti-virus software for the first time.

"It's a sign of the times that anti-malware features are appearing in OS X," said Mr Barlow.

"The protection built into Snow Leopard appears to be very basic, but since Macs aren't under the same threat from the thousands of viruses that affect PCs, it doesn't need to be particularly advanced.

"It remains to be seen how often Apple will update the malware definitions, and it's not yet clear whether this is a technology Apple has developed itself or whether it's using information from a third party."

Apple's operating system is currently installed in around 3% of personal computers, according to analyst firm Gartner.

Microsoft still commands the market with 95% of machines running a version of Windows.

The open source software Linux trails both, with around 2% of the market.

A review of Snow Leopard will be published on the BBC News website on Monday.

source: bbc

Posted on Thursday 27th August 2009

Doncaster 1 - 5 Tottenham

Tottenham continued their superb start to the season as they cruised into the third round of the Carling Cup.

Tom Huddlestone slotted the opener for Spurs against the run of play before David Bentley found Jamie O'Hara who smashed in the second minutes later.

Peter Couch flicked Bentley's corner in for three and Bentley cracked a fourth.

Doncaster's Martin Woods struck a consolation penalty after Vedran Corluka's handball but Roman Pavlyuchenko struck back for Spurs

source: bbc

Posted on Wednesday 26th August 2009

More signs of US economic growth

US durable goods orders and new home sales both soared last month, the latest positive indications of the state of the world's largest economy.

Orders for goods expected to last more than three years increased 4.9% in July, beating analyst expectations of a 3% gain, said the Commerce Department.

Durable goods orders were lifted by the popularity of the government's "cash for clunkers" car scrappage scheme.

This helped US car orders rise 0.9%, recovering from June and May falls.

At the same time, the annual rate of sales of new US homes rose 9.6% last month, also ahead of market targets.

This was the biggest rise in sales of new houses since September last year.

Boeing boost

The increase in durable goods orders was led by the commercial aviation sector, which pushed total transportation equipment orders up 18%.

 

July's 107% increase in demand for civilian aircraft was thanks primarily to Boeing, which saw its largest increase in monthly orders since August last year.

The 0.9% increase in car orders compared with June's 0.2% fall, and the sharp 8.4% decline in May.

July's rise in auto orders was lifted by the success of the "cash for clunkers" or Car Allowance Rebate Scheme, whereby owners of old cars were given up to $4,500 when they traded in their vehicle for a new model.

The US Transportation Department said on Wednesday that the scheme, which ran from 1 July to 25 August, created 700,000 new car sales.

It added that the total amount of rebates paid out was $2.88bn (£1.8bn).

The White House in turn estimates that the scheme will create or save 42,000 US jobs in the second half of 2009, and boost economic growth between July and September by 0.3% to 0.4%.

Upbeat figures

Durable goods orders excluding transportation items rose 0.8%, which was the third rise in the past four months, and followed a revised 1.3% fall in June.

 

Sales of new US homes rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 433,000 in July, up from 395,000 in June, said the Commerce Department.

Although this was a 9.6% rise from the month before, sales were still 13% lower than July 2008.

Analysts broadly welcomed the latest durable goods orders and new home sales figures, but cautioned that the US economy still faced a difficult recovery.

"Big ticket items are displaying very normal recovery patterns, signalling that the early phase of this recovery may be stronger than people are anticipating, it doesn't mean it will be sustained," said Stephen Gallagher, chief US economist at Societe Generale in New York.

The latest upbeat official figures come a day after the closely-watched Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index rose by more than expected this month, while a separate study said the rate of decline in US house prices slowed in July.

source: bbc

Posted on Wednesday 26th August 2009

Sony launches Amazon challenger

Sony has launched a wireless e-reader which allows users to download electronic books on the go.

Analysts said Sony's Reader Daily Edition is a direct challenge to Amazon's best-selling Kindle device.

The $399 (£250) touch-screen device is able to store up to 1,000 novels and can download books over a high-speed mobile network.

It also has an application that can be used to "borrow" books from local libraries for 21 days.

"By going open, Sony helps compensate for its biggest weakness: its lacklustre eBookstore, which pales in comparison with Amazon.com," said Sarah Rotman Epps, an analyst with Forrester Research in her blog.

Lending service

Amazon has so far dominated the e-reader market with its wireless Kindle devices.

In May of this year, the firm unveiled a new version of the gadget aimed at reading newspapers, magazines and documents.

The Kindle DX packed a screen that was double the size of previous models.

It offer 46 newspapers, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and USA Today.

However, it was criticised for its high price of $489 (£340).

Ms Rotman Epps said that Sony's new device - it's third so far - "makes the Kindle look like an oversized calculator."

Unlike, the Kindle, the Sony device features a 7-inch (17.8cm)touchscreen interface which can be used to read books in portrait or landscape form.

The Japanese firm has also signed a deal with US network operator AT&T to allow users to download books wirelessly.

Sony also unveiled an application which allows users to download e-books from their local libraries.

"At the end of the library's lending period, e-books simply expire, so there are never any late fees," Sony said.

Earlier this month the electronics giant also announced that it would stop using a proprietary standard for e-books in favour of the ePub open format.

"Enabling consumers to access free eBooks via the public library network and Google's public domain collection (which now tops 1 million volumes) - and letting consumers buy ePub books from other sources and read them on Sony's devices -greatly expands the value proposition of its devices," said Ms Rotman Epps.

Sony said it would announce deals with newspapers later in the year.

The device will be available in the US from December.

source: bbc

Posted on Wednesday 26th August 2009

Free trade zones in Africa

Across Africa, free trade zones are being set up between countries and even at individual locations.

They claim to offer a cheaper and easier way to buy and sell goods, boosting economies. But what are "free trade" or "tariff-free" zones and how do they work?

What is a free trade zone?

Free trade zones, describe an arrangement where different trading entities, usually member countries, agree to cut or scrap taxes in order to lower business costs and remove bureaucracy. They are also known as "special economic zones" and are mostly found in developing economies. The aim is to give a massive artificial boost to trade, especially between raw material producers and manufacturing based economies. These zones are also attractive to foreign investors as it's cheaper for them to do business there.

Why have they become so popular in Africa?

Economists argue that free trade zones are particularly suited to African countries which were created under colonial occupation when land was divided up, often with little regard for the economic sustainability of the newly created plot.

Plus, post-independence conflict in Africa has left much of the continent with a legacy of poor governance and a lack of political integration which free trade zones aim to address.

For example, landlocked Uganda was almost ruined by the Ugandan-Tanzanian War (1978-79). Today it remains dependent for the supply of finished goods on its wealthier neighbour Kenya, with its international seaports.

The two countries entered into the East Africa Community Customs Union, EAC, in March 2004, along with Tanzania.

However, these trading blocs are not always tariff-free. Kenya continued to pay export duties to Tanzania and Uganda for five years after the EAC union began, to compensate for the fact that it was a more prosperous, diversified economy.

Other large free trade zones in Africa include SADC, the Southern African Development Community (South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe) and Comesa (Zimbabwe, Zambia, Uganda and Sudan), illustrating the point that these "zones" often overlap.

Free trade zones can also cover individual areas within a country. The Lekki free trade zone in Nigeria's former capital, Lagos, aims to create a new commercial hub by removing tariffs for international investors. Eritrea plans a similar arrangement at its port at Massawa on the Red Sea coast.

Last October, plans were agreed to create a "super" free trade zone encompassing 26 African countries, stretching from Libya in the north to South Africa. The GDP of this group of nations is put at $624bn (£382.9bn).

What do free trade zones claim to offer?

The hope is that free trade zones will boost both trade and Africa's economic independence.

Babatunde Raji Fashola, governor of Lagos state, told Africa Business Report: "At airports, Nigerians are the people you see with excess luggage and it comprises mainly of household goods, clothing.

"Every time we import goods, we invariably, without knowing it, export jobs because we keep those industries offshore."

World trade experts also believe in the future, more of the world's big multi national deals will be "South-to-South", ie between Southern Hemisphere nations.

A recent example is a plan by India's mobile phone giant, Bharti Airtel, to take a controlling stake in South Africa's MTN. Free trade zones can greatly boost the attraction of such deals.

Is there any evidence they work?

Some critics claim that free trade zones give an unfair advantage to multinational corporations, who are able to manufacture in a low-cost base and export around the world, rather than indigenous firms.

These companies are often given other incentives to locate in developing economies, such as grants to help with set-up costs and lax employment legislation, which trade unions and some charities claim are open to abuse.

Free trade zones can also take a long time to set up while member countries agree terms. The East African EAC bloc took six years to come into being, even though it was replacing a previous similar arrangement which collapsed in the 1980s.

The fear is that the dominant economy will set the agenda for the bloc as a whole - a criticism levelled at the SADC, which contains South Africa, the continent's only G20 member country.

But supporters say free trade zones are ultimately one of the fairest ways for developing world economies so that they can begin to compete on a global scale. They could even be extended to encompass other financial unions, such as pan-regional banks and a common currency.

source: bbc

Posted on Wednesday 26th August 2009

Arsenal 3 - 1 Celtic

Arsenal eased past Celtic to reach the Champions League group stage.

Eduardo's 25th-minute penalty, a contentious award after he clashed with Celtic keeper Artur Boruc, extended the Gunners' two-goal first leg lead.

Emmanuel Eboue finished a sweeping move for Arsenal's second after 53 minutes and Andriy Arshavin added another two minutes after coming on as substitute.

Massimo Donati's spectacular angled volley pulled one back for Celtic, but they now go into the Europa League.

Celtic's players accused Eduardo of diving to win the crucial penalty, but the Gunners were ultimately superior to the Scottish Premier League giants and merited the victory.

Arsenal were not at their flowing best, but demonstrated enough touches of their trademark invention to build on an impressive start to the season.

Arsene Wenger's side were without injured captain Cesc Fabregas, and Wenger also chose to leave Robin van Persie and Arshavin on the bench as they held a healthy lead from the first leg.

And they could have extended the lead inside seven minutes when the normally lethal Eduardo steered wide of an open goal from close range after Boruc had saved brilliantly from Nicklas Bendtner.

Eduardo was the central figure when Arsenal did score after 28 minutes - and he was very much the villain in the eyes of Celtic's travelling fans when he tumbled theatrically as he went around Boruc in the area.

Spanish official Mejuto Gonzalez infuriated Celtic by pointing to the spot, and Eduardo stayed cool despite the protests to send Boruc the wrong way to effectively put the tie out of the reach of Tony Mowbray's side.

Celtic thought they had given themselves a lifeline six minutes before the interval when Scott McDonald turned in Marc Antoine Fortune's cross from close range, but he was correctly ruled offside.

Arsenal ended the half in charge, with Boruc turning Eduardo's left-foot shot to safety and Bendtner heading the resulting corner from Denilson inches wide.

Aiden McGeady's ambitious effort from 25 yards flew just wide as Celtic attempted to revive the tie early in the second half - but all their hopes were snuffed out when the Gunners doubled their lead on the night after 53 minutes.

It was a goal that was typical Arsenal in creation, with Bendtner's clever flick releasing Abou Diaby. He fed Eboue, who took his time to find space and fire a low finish beyond Boruc.

With a trip to Manchester United looming on Saturday, Wenger made a double change with 19 minutes left, sending on Arshavin and Jack Wilshere for Eduardo and Eboue.

It was rewarded within two minutes when the Russian turned inside the area and slotted a composed effort past Boruc.

Donati pulled one back for Celtic with the last kick of the game, but it had no bearing on a contest that ended as a one-sided affair.

source: bbc

Posted on Wednesday 26th August 2009

Fifa give Adefemi the ok, for now

Nigeria international defender Olubayo Adefemi has been given permission to play for Boulogne, in France.

But the decision from football's world governing body Fifa is only provisional.

The player has been at the centre of a complicated dispute involving a club in Austria - and before that was in a row with a team in Romania.

He made his debut for Boulogne last weekend, having signed a four-year contract with them in June.

But Austrian side SC Rheindorf Altach claim Adefemi was under contract to them until 2011.

Adefemi insisted that he was free to move to France because he had agreed a deal to move with the relegated Austrian club.

Altach deny any knowledge of such a deal, forcing the authorities to make a ruling.

Now Fifa has provisionally transferred the 24-year-old's registration to Boulogne.

Adefemi's agent and representative, Ibi Ajayi said that the decision was a vindication of the player's stand.

"Adefemi is relieved that this ordeal is over and he can now concentrate on his career both for club and country," Ajayi said.

But the Fifa judgement has yet to be ratified.

Adefemi is in Nigeria's squad for next month's crunch World Cup qualifier against Tunisia in Abuja.

He is to be joined at Boulogne by Bakary Soumare of Mali, who is set to sign for Boulogne from Chicago Fire in the United States MLS.

source: bbc

Posted on Tuesday 25th August 2009

Eurogoals roundup

The BBC's African sports programme Fast Track brings you a weekly rundown of all the African goal scorers across the top leagues in Europe.

GERMANY

Striker Obafemi Martins may have been left out of the Nigeria line-up for their World Cup qualifier against Tunisia, but he continued his fine form in the Bundesliga. He came on as a second-half substitute to score for champions Wolfsburg, but their visitors Hamburg went on to win the game 4-2.

Elsewhere, Burkinabe Aristide Bance scored for the second consecutive weekend as he helped his side Mainz beat Bayern Munich 2-1 and Algeria's Anthar Yahia who now captains Bochum scored the only goal of the game as his side snatched all three points from Hertha Berlin.

ITALY

Samuel Eto'o announced his arrival in Serie A with the opening goal of the season for Inter Milan, who drew 1-1 with Bari. The Cameroon striker scored from the penalty spot in the 56th minute. But his Ghanaian colleague Sulley Muntari lasted only half an hour before being substituted by his coach Jose Mourinho, who was concerned about his fitness.

BELGIUM

Senegalese striker Ibrahim Sidibe scored his second goal of the season as he got the winner for St Truiden, who came from behind to beat Roulers 2-1.

Mbark Boussoufa scored his fourth of the season as Anderlecht beat Zulte-Waregem 2-0. The Moroccan was on target two minutes before half-time.

Ghana defender Abdul-Yakini Iddi opened his account in the last minute of the game to help his side beat Malines 3-1. In the same game Cameroon striker Aloys Nong scored his second of the season for Malines just before half-time.

Ibrahim Ibou Savaneh scored twice in the first 39 minutes to give Kortrijk the lead away at Bruges, but Nigerian striker Joseph Akpala responded for the host before half-time. The final result was 2-2.

FRANCE

Cameroonian Jean Makoun made it 2-0 for Lyon on the half-time whistle as his side dislodged Auxerre 3-0.

Ivorian midfielder Siaka Tiene scored for Valenciennes in the 58th minute but they lost 3-2 at home to Paris Saint-Germain.

Senegal's Mamadou Niang got his second of the season after equalising for Marseille in their draw at Rennes.

THE NETHERLANDS

Mounir El-Hamdaoui was on target again for titleholders AZ Alkmaar who beat Heerenveen 2-0. The Moroccan has scored four so far this season.

And Ivorian Sekou Cisse found the back of the net as he helped Feyenoord to a 4-0 thumping of visiting Roda JC.

PORTUGAL

Albert Ze Meyong scored the winning goal for Sporting Braga who achieved a remarkable exploit in Lisbon as they beat Sporting 2-. The Cameroon striker scored the winner with nine minutes remaining.

Burkinabe Mamadou Tall was sent--off in the last minute but his side Uniao Leiria shared the points with Olhanense after a 0-0 draw.

TURKEY

Nigeria's Isaac Promise scored the only African goal of the weekend in Turkey. His lone strike gave Manisaspor all three points against Trabzonspor.

source: bbc

Posted on Tuesday 25th August 2009

Free tickets for SA World Cup

Fifa has launched a fund to give away 120,000 free tickets to poor South Africans for the 2010 World Cup.

The tickets will given to people involved in social development in the country as a reward for their efforts.

"The tickets will enable people who would never have had a chance to attend the World Cup games to see the event," said Danny Jordaan, chief of the LOC.

Fifa already set low prices for South Africans, starting at US$17 compared to US$80 for international tickets.

But with more than a quarter of the work force unemployed, and many of those who do have jobs earning US$10 a day or less, even cheap seats are out of reach.

Some 40 000 tickets have been allocated to construction workers who are building stadiums to be used for the tournament but other citizens must pay to watch the matches.

"I urge those who can afford to buy tickets to go and buy them now, the free tickets are targeted at very specific people," said Jordaan.

The second phase of ticket application is closing on 16 November.

It will be the first time the Fifa World Cup is played on African soil.

source: bbc

Posted on Tuesday 25th August 2009

New twist in Semenya gender saga

Tests have revealed Caster Semenya's testosterone level to be three times higher than those normally expected in a female sample, BBC Sport understands.

Analysis prior to the World Athletics Championships and the 18-year-old's big improvement prompted calls for a gender test from the sport's governing body.

It was made public only hours before the South African, who has been backed by her nation, won the 800m in Berlin.

A high level of the hormone does not always equate to a failed drugs test.

But the news will only increase speculation surrounding Semenya, who arrived back in South Africa to a rapturous welcome on Tuesday.

Semenya was welcomed by hundreds of well-wishers on her return to South Africa

Hundreds turned out in Johannesburg to greet the teenager, who has stunned the athletics world with her performances this season.

She ran a time of one minute, 56.72 seconds in Bambous in July to smash her previous personal best by more than seven seconds.

She also broke Zola Budd's long-standing South African record and arrived at the World Championships as the newly crowned African junior champion.

Then in Berlin she left her rivals trailing to win gold in a time of 1:55.45.

Defending champion Janeth Jepkosgei was second, a massive 2.45 seconds adrift, with Britain's Jenny Meadows taking the bronze medal.

Only hours before the race, it leaked out that the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) had demanded Semenya take a gender test amid fears she should not be allowed to run as a woman.

It has since emerged that news of the test only became public knowledge because a fax was sent to the wrong person.

Caster is like my child. I know where she comes from. For myself, I know Caster is a girl Semenya's uncle

It has also been revealed that following the findings of initial tests, the South Africans were asked by the IAAF to withdraw her from the team at the World Championships.

Since then, both her family and South African athletics chiefs have leapt to her defence, insisting she is 100% female.

"Caster is a girl. I am not worried about that too much," said her uncle on her arrival back in South Africa.

"Caster is like my child. I know where she comes from. For myself, I know Caster is a girl."

Leonard Chuene, president of Athletics South Africa (ASA), has resigned from his seat on the IAAF board in protest against the organisation's treatment of Semenya.

"It will not be fair for me to attack the IAAF as a council member and representative of South Africa. It is a conflict of interest," Chuene told BBC's Newshour programme.

Chuene also asked that the issue be laid to rest.

"We have not once, as ASA, doubted her," he said. "It's very simple - she's a girl.

"We took this child to Poland to the junior championship under the IAAF. Why was there no story about it? She was accepted there.

"No-one said anything there because she did not do anything special. She is the same girl."

Semenya has been humiliated - Holmes

Testosterone levels can vary widely, which makes it hard to detect possible infractions.

When analysis shows an athlete to have a raised level, they are monitored at regular intervals over a set period to establish what their underlying levels would be.

That is then used as a marker for the future, so any sharp differences immediately stand out as suspicious.

An analysis of Semenya's testosterone levels was carried out in South Africa and it is understood that this information contributed to the IAAF's decision to request the ASA carry out a detailed "gender verification" test on the athlete.

Those medical tests are said to be ongoing, with the results not expected for several weeks.

On Sunday, IAAF president Lamine Diack admitted the affair could have been treated with more sensitivity.

"It should not even have become an issue if the confidentiality had been respected," he said. "There was a leak of confidentiality at some point and this led to some insensitive reactions."

source: bbc

Posted on Tuesday 25th August 2009

Wikipedia to launch page controls

The online encyclopaedia Wikipedia is on the cusp of launching a major revamp to how people contribute to some pages.

The site will require that revisions to pages about living people and some organisations be approved by an editor.

This would be a radical shift for the site, which ostensibly allows anyone to make changes to almost any entry.

The two-month trial, which has proved controversial with some contributors, will start in the next "couple of weeks", according to a spokesperson.

"I'm sure it will spark some controversy," Mike Peel of Wikimedia UK, a chapter of the organisation that operates Wikipedia, told BBC News.

However, he said, the trial had been approved in an an online poll, with 80% of 259 users in favour of the trial.

"The decision to run this trial was made by the users of the English Wikipedia, rather than being imposed."

The proposal was first outlined by Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales in January this year. It was met by a storm of protests from Wikipedia users who claimed the system had been poorly thought out or would create extra work.

'Lock down'

The two-month trial will test a system of "flagged revisions" on the English-language Wikipedia site.

This would mean any changes made by a new or unknown user would have to be approved by one of the site's editors before the changes were published.

Whilst the changes are being mulled over, readers will be directed to earlier versions of the article.

Wikimedia said the system was "essentially a buffer, to reduce the visibility and impact of vandalism on these articles".

There have been several high-profile edits to pages that have given false or misleading information about a person.

For example, in January this year the page of US Senator Robert Byrd falsely reported that he had died.

If a page has a number of controversial edits or is repeatedly vandalised, editors can lock a page, so that it cannot be edited by everyone.

For example, following initial reports of the death of Michael Jackson, editors had to lock down two pages to stop speculation about what had caused his death.

"For these articles, flagged protection will actually make them more open," said Mr Peel.

The decision had been made to focus on the pages of living people, he said, because they were the "most high-profile pages with the highest probability of causing harm".

"[The trial] may also be extended to organisations which are currently operating," he added.

The system has already been in operation on the German version of Wikipedia for more than a year.

The changes to the English language site - which now has more than 3m pages - will be rolled out in the coming weeks, said Mr Peel.

The changes will be discussed in Buenos Aires this week at the annual Wikimania conference.

source: bbc

Posted on Tuesday 25th August 2009

French banks back bonus reforms

French banks have agreed to bring in a new system of performance-related pay, following controversy over the high levels of bonuses paid to traders.

France's banking federation said there would be penalties for those who lost money as well as rewards for success.

The statement came after bank officials held talks in Paris with President Nicolas Sarkozy.

President Sarkozy asked the banks to report to him on their bonus policies amid pressure to curb excesses.

In April, G20 leaders pledged to apply tough new policies on compensation.

Mr Sarkozy said after the meeting that he would continue to press for tougher controls on bankers' bonuses at the next G20 summit in the US city of Pittsburgh in September.

Public disquiet

Bonuses have been a source of contention, not just in France, but also in other European nations and the US.

There has been public disquiet that leading banks, which have been seen as a major cause of the financial crisis, have been receiving taxpayer funds, but are not prepared to change their traditional culture of awarding big bonuses to key staff.

The US House of Representatives recently voted in favour of laws to stop banks paying bonuses that promote excessive risk-taking.

The vote came after a report suggested that Wall Street banks that were bailed out by the government gave executives bonuses regardless of performance.

source: bbc

Posted on Tuesday 25th August 2009

Strictly reveals dancing line up

The star contestants for the new series of Strictly Come Dancing include boxer Joe Calzaghe, the BBC has revealed.

Actress Lynda Bellingham, Crimewatch host Rav Wilding, ex-cricketer Phil Tufnell and tennis champion Martina Hingis will also take part.

Hollyoaks' Ricky Whittle and The Bill's Ali Bastian, EastEnder Ricky Groves and Natalie Cassidy will compete with BBC Breakfast's Chris Hollins.

Ex-Footballers Wives star Zoe Lucker is also among the competitors.

Lucker will take to the dancefloor against her co-star from the ITV melodrama, actress Laila Rouass.

Contest changes

Athlete Jade Johnson and jockey Richard Dunwoody will also represent the world of sport in the series, which begins on BBC One on Friday 18 September.

Jo Wood, the estranged wife of Rolling Stone Ronnie and actor Craig Kelly - who plays factory manager Luke Strong in Coronation Street - complete the line-up.

Kelly is also well-known for playing Vince in 1990s drama Queer As Folk.

Actress Bellingham, who is a regular on ITV1's Loose Women, is the oldest celebrity dancer in the competition at 61.

Bastian previously played Becca in teen soap opera Hollyoaks.

The makers of the Saturday night show have also revealed some changes to the way the competition is run for the seventh series.

The first two weeks will see the 16 competitors split into two groups, but not into men and women as in previous outings.

There will be shows on Friday and Saturday for the opening two weeks, but the Sunday results show has been shelved in favour of an extended edition on Saturday night.

The rules have been changed so that in the event of the judges' scores resulting in a tie, any couple can be saved from the dance-off, while no pair is safe.

It was previously announced that former winner Alesha Dixon is to replace Arlene Phillips on the judging panel in the new series.

Head judge Len Goodman, Craig Revel Horwood and Bruno Tonioli will return as judges.

Former Royal Ballet star Darcey Bussell will appear as a guest judge in the last three shows of the run.

Bruce Forsyth and Tess Daly will return to present the programme.

source: bbc

Posted on Tuesday 25th August 2009

Obama's dilemma over CIA tactics

Barack Obama has begun his summer holiday at Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts, one of those elegantly appointed seaside resorts where wealthy American liberals seek spiritual refreshment.

Facilities at the 30-acre farm rented by the first family have been exhaustively catalogued (it includes a basketball hoop and a golf hole) and ground rules have been set for the huge press corps which has migrated to the beach with the Obamas.

Essentially they boil down to a request to allow the president's daughters Sasha and Malia to enjoy themselves in peace.

We have also been furnished with Mr Obama's reading list which seems to have been put together to impress us, rather than to entertain him - it includes a biography of John Adams, America's second president and a book about the promise of the green revolution.

It does not include any of those airport thrillers about the exploits of the CIA and its agents.

The implication is that Mr Obama will be hearing more than enough of those before, during and after his holiday as the story of how the Bush administration handled terror suspects at the height of its war on terror continues to unfold.

A report by the CIA's own inspector general compiled in 2004, which had previously been published only in a heavily redacted form (so much of the text was blanked out that it was rendered incomprehensible), has now been placed in the public domain on the orders of a federal judge.

Graphic reading

It makes extraordinary reading with its descriptions of how CIA interrogators pressured 9/11 suspects - threatening that their children would be killed, or their mothers sexually assaulted in front of them.

 

It is graphic stuff - but the issue of what to do about it is presenting the Obama administration with one of its most difficult dilemmas.

The US is in recession, in the middle of an escalating war in Afghanistan and is also locked in a divisive debate about healthcare reform.

But the past - the legacy of the Bush administration's war on terror - simply will not go away.

The question is now that these startling depictions of the handling of those suspects are in the public domain is - what should happen next?

Mr Obama's own instincts on the matter are interesting.

He talks of wanting to look to the future, not the past, which is a clear enough signal that if it were up to him he might well decide on balance that it would be better not to re-open old wounds.

And there is some evidence to back that up. In May the president moved to block the release of 2,000 or so photographs which show the mistreatment of prisoners in American hands in Iraq and Afghanistan.

He does not want to inflame anti-American feelings around the world of course, but he does not want to alienate the professionals within America's own intelligence agencies on which his government depends.

The problem is that below the cautious pragmatism of the White House rages a partisan political battle over how these issues should be handled.

Bush on trial

For one thing, America's human-rights lobby wants full disclosure - the impetus for the release of the full text of that CIA report came from legal action taken by the American Civil Liberties Union.

But on the left of the Democratic Party there is a real appetite for proceeding with further investigations into these interrogations and for prosecutions.

In the eyes of many, this is an opportunity to put the Bush administration itself on trial.

For years, while George W Bush was in the White House, Democrats railed impotently against what they regarded as illegal wars, immoral detention and interrogation techniques, and a dark and secretive political atmosphere in which they sense American values were betrayed.

They have the upper hand now and they want to take advantage of this.

Conservatives, though, will argue that the harsh interrogations came at a desperate moment in American history, in the aftermath of 9/11 when the CIA was under huge pressure to establish how great the dangers were of further attacks on American soil.

The interrogators could be cast as dedicated intelligence officers, ruthless only in the cause of protecting their fellow citizens.

For the moment, the human-rights lobby appears to have the upper hand in the debate.

A report from an ethics committee within the Department of Justice called for a dozen cases to be re-opened, and Attorney General Eric Holder has now appointed one of his department's prosecutors to look into allegations of abuse.

The attorney general's announcement fell short of saying that the department lawyer charged with the task would be able to subpoena witnesses - as an independent counsel can.

Could that be a clue as to how likely it is that CIA operatives will end up in the dock?

Mr Obama's new man at the CIA, the veteran Washington insider Leon Panetta, wrote to his staff saying "in many ways [this is] an old story", and making the point that the CIA did manage to gather useful intelligence about al-Qaeda when it was in short supply.

So there are signs at least of differences of emphasis within the administration.

Mr Obama's advisers will be horrified at the idea of going into the mid-term elections at the end of next year with the impression in the air that Republicans are tough on national security issues, while they are merely tough on Republicans.

Mr Holder's new investigation will provide a measure of breathing space on the issue for the White House.

The search will now once again be on for some way to defuse the landmines left by the old administration in the path of the new.

source: bbc

Posted on Monday 24th August 2009

Bolt storms through to 200m semis

Jamaica's Usain Bolt remains on track for a World Championships sprint double after easing into the 200m semi-finals in Berlin's Olympic Stadium.

Bolt, fresh from winning the 100m, won his second-round heat in 20.42 seconds.

Britain's Marlon Devonish and Ireland's Paul Hession also qualified after Tyson Gay pulled out with a groin injury.

In the 400m, defending champion Jeremy Wariner and Olympic champion Lashawn Merritt sauntered into the semi-finals by comfortably winning their heats.

Gay's withdrawal from the 200m before the first round had already increased Bolt's chance of repeating his Beijing double, with the semi-finals scheduled for Wednesday at 1825 BST and the final on Thursday.

Bolt looked tired in his morning heat and, despite cruising through the first 100m, the 22-year-old was forced to up his pace to ensure he qualified first in a time of in 20.70.

But he seemed far more relaxed in the second round and cruised to victory after a few hours' sleep in between races.

"I think the 100m took a lot more out of me than it did in Beijing," said Bolt. "I wasn't in the best of shape, like I was in Beijing, but a good night's sleep should make sure I'm OK.

"I got three hours sleep after my morning heat and that was enough for me."

Devonish, Britain's only representative after the withdrawals of Dwain Chambers and trials winner Toby Sandeman, won his morning heat before finishing third in his second-round run in a time of 20.66.

"I didn't execute the turn as well as I would have liked to so put more pressure on myself," the Coventry Godiva athlete told BBC Sport.

"I have to make sure I execute in the semi-finals and I should be fine. I want to get into the final and then let loose and see what happens."

Hession finished second in his morning heat and third in his round-two run with a time of 20.48.

Shawn Crawford, the 2004 Olympic gold medallist and 2008 Olympic silver medallist, looked in top form as he clocked 20.37.

Jamaica's Steve Mullings was the fastest qualifier in 20.23, while 19-year-old Alonso Edward from Panama impressed in winning his heat in 20.33.

Olympic champion Ezekiel Kemboi of Kenya broke clear in a frantic last lap to clinch the men's 3,000 metres steeplechase gold medal.

Richard Kipkemboi Mateelong took silver with Frenchman Bouabdellah Tahri preventing a Kenyan clean sweep by finishing strongly and pipping Paul Koech on the line for bronze.

Morocco's Jamel Chatbi withdrew from the final after testing positive in a doping test after the heats.

Olympic bronze medallist Sanya Richards ran the fastest women's 400m of the year to win gold in 49 seconds.

Fellow American Kerron Clement retained his men's 400m hurdles crown with a world best for the year of 47.91 seconds.

The Olympic silver medallist beat Puerto Rico's Javier Culson who clocked 48.09, while 2005 world champion Bershawn Jackson was third in 48.23.

Defending 400m champion Wariner, who was shocked by Merritt in Beijing last summer, progressed in 45.54 and Merritt impressed with a run of 45.23.

"It was a great race, I'm feeling good," Merritt told BBC Sport. "It's the semis tomorrow so I'll come out and step it up a notch.

"Last year was a good year and I plan on coming out on top again.

"Training's been going well and I had some good races. My times weren't amazing but they didn't need to be. I'm here, I'm ready and now I'll step it up."

The three British entrants - Robert Tobin, Michael Bingham and Martyn Rooney - also made it through, as did Ireland's David Gillick.

"I felt really relaxed down the back straight," Tobin told BBC Sport after winning heat one in 45.50.

"I have been working very hard on my technique and could see I was in the lead so I was able to relax. It was nice and comfy.

"I've had year after year of injury and this winter was the first time I've been injury free. I'm fit and healthy and ready to run."

Rooney false started in lane one before finishing third in a quick heat with a time of 45.45 to progress to the semi-finals from 1715 BST on Wednesday.

"You've got to learn how to run from every lane," said the 22-year-old Croydon Harrier. "I'm just glad I got through.

"It's my fourth race this season so it's another one under my belt. It wasn't a great run, it was quite terrible actually. I'll take each race at a time."

Lisa Dobriskey was the only Briton to qualify for Friday's women's 1500m semi-finals as Charlene Thomas and Stephanie Twell crashed out.

Highlights - Brit runs with one shoe

"It did feel quite relaxed but in the same sense really tense," said Dobriskey. "There's not much to gain by going through to the semi-finals but there's lots to lose. I'm so, so pleased to go through."

There were high hopes for Thomas and Twell but both made tearful exits, Thomas after losing a shoe which was loosened when Shannon Rowbury fell.

"I couldn't believe it," said Thomas. "She went down and I thought I had cleared it. My shoe was half way off my foot and I had to flick it off. It stings so much running without a shoe.

"I was excited, relaxed and ready to go. I wasn't nervous - I was enjoying the experience and know I could have got in the top six."

Twell, the world junior 1500m champion, said: "I'm not 100% sure what happened. I tried to stay on the inside and lost a lot of energy trying to move forward.

"I thought it (qualification) was on but they just seemed to have another gear.

"I felt good, everything has been great leading into the championships and I can't believe it's over. I'll have to analyse the race and get it right for next time."

source: bbc

Posted on Tuesday 18th August 2009

Japan economy leaves recession

Japan has come out of recession after its economy grew by 0.9% in the April-to-June quarter.

The growth comes after four consecutive quarters of contraction.

Correspondents say the rise is due to a huge government stimulus package and it is unclear whether the momentum will be sustained when this is concluded.

Recent figures show other economies coming out of recession, including Germany, France and Hong Kong, a sign the global slowdown is easing.

Despite Japan exiting recession, the country's main share index, the Nikkei, fell back as the rate of growth was not as large as analysts had hoped.

If Japan's latest quarterly rate were maintained for a full year, the economy would grow 3.7%, but this was less than market expectations of 3.9%.

The Nikkei ended down 329 points or 3.1% to 10,269.

'Positive contribution'

Japan officially fell into recession last year and there was a dramatic fall in growth in the January-March period as the world economic slowdown hit Japanese exports hard.

Government stimulus measures totalling $260bn (£159bn) helped to boost the economy, including cash handouts and subsidies to buy energy-efficient cars and home appliances, the BBC's Roland Buerk in Tokyo says.

Manufacturers also benefited from recovering demand in China and other markets, with overall exports up 6.3% during the quarter.

But Japan could still face a long road to sustainable recovery, our correspondent says, with domestic private consumption rising only 0.8% despite the stimulus measures.

Seijiro Takeshita, director of Mizuho Financial, Japan's second largest banking group, told the BBC that the Japanese economy was now staging a "true comeback".

"We are definitely getting out of the excessive pessimism that we have been seeing... however, a lot of big questions remain, namely private consumption," he said.

"We know this time it was good, but that was due to a lot of government stimulus spending."

European recovery

Japan is heavily reliant on its exports.

The slowdown in the US has hit it hard as American consumers have limited their spending.

In a recent Bank of Japan report, the central bank underlined its cautious view of the economy.

While it said conditions in the Japanese economy had stopped worsening, it warned that unemployment would stay high and consumer spending low.

Last month, the bank forecast that Japan's economy would shrink by 3.4% in the 12 months to 31 March 2010.

The French and German economies both grew by 0.3% between April and June, bringing to an end recessions in Europe's largest economies that have lasted a year.

Analysts had not expected the data, suggesting recovery could be faster than previously expected.

And Hong Kong recorded growth of 3.3% in the three months from April to June.

That data was also better than had been expected, with the government subsequently increasing its forecast for growth in the whole year

source: bbc

Posted on Monday 17th August 2009

Bolt sets record to win 100m gold

Triple Olympic champion Usain Bolt set a new world record as he stormed to a stunning victory in the 100m at the World Championships in Berlin.

The 22-year-old Jamaican recorded a time of 9.58 seconds to shave 0.11 off the mark he set last year when winning gold at the Beijing Olympics.

American Tyson Gay was second in a time of 9.71, with Jamaica's Asafa Powell claiming bronze in 9.84.

Britain's Dwain Chambers came sixth in a season's best time of 10.00.

Bolt, who set three world records when winning his Olympic golds in Beijing last summer, served up another superlative display to enhance his reputation as the best sprinter of all time.

In the final, he powered out of the blocks at the first time of asking and took control of the race within the first 30m, the crowd going wild as he streaked across the line.

Bolt's time represents the biggest increase in the record since electronic timing was introduced in 1968.

"I was ready, I was feeling good after the semi-finals," Bolt told BBC Sport.

"I knew it was going to be a great race and I came out and executed it. It's a great time. I did well and I feel good in myself."

Former world record holder Powell paid tribute to his compatriot, saying: "When I saw the time I had to try and catch him, but I couldn't."

Gay, who went into the final as the reigning world champion, has been troubled by a nagging groin pain and had to cut practice on his start.

I expected a great race - Bolt

"I ran the best I could but it was not enough," he said. "I believe I put in a championship performance and I am very pleased with the national record.

"I'm happy he ran 9.5 because I knew he could do it. I'm happy for him."

Chambers, back competing at the top level after serving a two-year ban for taking the designer steroid THG in 2003, said the final was a "great experience".

"It is hard to explain what it is like to go out there and stand on the line to compete with the best in the world," said the 31-year-old. "It does not get easier as you get older but it is worth it."

Earlier, there was controversy as Britain's Tyrone Edgar was disqualified from the semi-finals.

After Bolt made the opening false start, Edgar was ruled to have transgressed the second time, although initial reaction times seemed to suggest that decision was harsh.

"I don't think it was a false start," said the 27-year-old Edgar, who was also disqualified at the London Grand Prix last month.

"To me it looked pretty good but there is nothing I can do. I am not going to argue the point. I am disappointed right now because I reckon I would have made the final."

source: bbc

Posted on Sunday 16th August 2009

Blackburn 0 - 2 Man City

Emmanuel Adebayor struck after only three minutes of his debut to help Manchester City make a winning start to the new Premier League season.

The £25m summer signing lashed in an 18-yard drive to open his City account.

Chris Samba's header was superbly saved by Shay Given, who also denied Benni McCarthy as Rovers responded well.

After the break Given kept out Jason Roberts's header and Robinho's shot was saved by Paul Robinson, before Stephen Ireland slotted in to seal the points.

After City's summer spending spree that brought in five players at a cost of almost £100m, the pressure was on for them to deliver on the pitch from the first whistle.

And that was virtually what they did as Adebayor wasted no time in continuing his great run of form against Rovers that had seen him score eight times against them for his former team Arsenal.

Allardyce laments 'harsh result'

The Togo striker played the ball out wide to Shaun Wright-Phillips and when the winger cut back inside and rolled the ball square invitingly, Adebayor was there to drill home his shot that Robinson could only help into the net.

With Rovers clearly stunned, and their pre-match promise to kick lumps out of their opponents now needing a readjustment, City enjoyed a dominant 10-minute spell.

But once the dust had settled, Rovers hit back and began to run the midfield as Gareth Barry - another City debutant - struggled to cope as the only holding midfielder.

And soon it became clear that for all City's potential in attack - such apparent strength in depth that Carlos Tevez was only on the bench - their problems at the back had not been solved.

Kolo Toure, City's third new boy in their starting line-up, and his central defensive partner Richard Dunne looked less than comfortable under a number of diagonal high balls.

Rovers debutant Steven N'Zonzi had a shot hacked away and Roberts lifted a volley over the bar from 12 yards after Blackburn worked a chance via a bout of head tennis.

Frailties in City's backline were again in evidence when Given and Dunne, and then Given and Toure, just about got away with mix-ups.

Rovers, though, could not take their chances. McCarthy struck a free-kick straight at Given and Samba's header was also kept out by the keeper.

'Fighting spirit' pleases Hughes

Another well-worked move ended in McCarthy firing straight at Given as big-spending City found themselves firmly on the back foot.

The previously anonymous Robinho then announced his presence on the pitch when his drive from 18 yards was tipped over by Robinson.

Back came Rovers and when Keith Andrews' volley hit Dunne's arm there were loud shouts for a penalty but the referee waved them away.

A spell of driving rain after the break made conditions difficult and neither side could establish any rhythm or keep possession.

In fairness to City, they had also tightened up at the back and were no longer affording Rovers as much space to work in.

Oops - Hughes' early season slip-up

But one lapse of concentration almost cost the visitors when an unmarked Roberts headed through a crowd of players and it took another fine stop from Given to keep his side in front.

Shortly after, the enigmatic Robinho almost sealed it for City but his shot was brilliantly diverted by Robinson, who dived low to his right.

It was the last contribution by the Brazilian forward as he made way for Tevez to make his debut.

The Argentine, who joined for £25m in the summer, almost copied his strike partner Adebayor by notching on his debut but once again Robinson was equal to a testing shot.

Before that, Ireland ballooned over after great work by Bellamy who had launched a rapid counter attack.

And McCarthy fizzed over a 20-yard free-kick as Rovers desperately tried to salvage something from the game.

But late on, Ireland broke clear and bided his time before coolly converting at the far post to ensure City started the season - and their new era - with three points and an away victory that is already half the total they managed last season.

 

Blackburn manager Sam Allardyce: "I think it was very harsh," he said. "Our failing today was in the poor quality of our finishing.

"But their goalkeeper Shay Given also made one brilliant save after another and that kept them in the game.

"We should have gone in at half-time in front. In the second half we couldn't quite manage to achieve the same tempo. It is very disappointing."

Manchester City boss Mark Hughes: "Many people might have been looking to see if we were going to fall flat on our face today and I thought we gave a great response.

"You saw great character from City today. If we continue to play with the character we showed today then we will keep progressing.

"We stood up to the challenge and we showed the qualities we will need."

source: bbc

Posted on Saturday 15th August 2009

Chelsea 2 - 1 Hull

Didier Drogba's speculative injury-time strike gave new Chelsea coach Carlo Ancelotti a winning introduction to the Premier League - and left Hull City heartbroken after a spirited display of defensive defiance.

Ancelotti's new charges, heavily touted to end Manchester United's domestic supremacy, looked like they would have to settle for a point as time ran out in an entertaining encounter at Stamford Bridge.

New Tigers signing Stephen Hunt's close-range finish after 28 minutes even threw up the prospect of a shock, although Drogba swiftly levelled for Chelsea with a contentious free-kick from 25 yards.

But Phil Brown's side looked to have survived a Chelsea onslaught as the fourth official Phil Dowd signalled six added minutes, to Hull's obvious disbelief.

And disbelief turned to despair seconds later as Drogba's lofted finish drifted over Hull keeper Boaz Myhill and in at the far post to give Ancelotti his first three points since his summer switch from AC Milan.

Chelsea deserved the victory on pressure alone, which saw the excellent Myhill defy Drogba, Nicolas Anelka and Jose Bosingwa after the break.

Hull's disappointment was obvious at the final whistle, although boss Brown and his players will take great heart from pushing one of the Premier League title favourites to the wire.

Brown gave the combative Hunt his debut after a £2.5m move from Reading - and he was a central figure in an eventful first 45 minutes of the Premier League campaign.

Hunt received a hostile reception from Chelsea fans, who recall his clash with Petr Cech at Reading that resulted in the keeper suffering a fractured skull.

Ancelotti praises players' belief

He was unmoved by the jeers and had already clashed with Frank Lampard before Drogba wasted an opportunity to give Chelsea the lead inside the first minute, flashing a right-foot volley wide from Michael Essien's cross.

The Tigers, predictably, were forced to mount a rearguard action in the opening exchanges but were soon showing attacking ambition to threaten Chelsea.

George Boateng volleyed just off target and Dean Marney headed over the top from an inviting Hunt cross as the visitors ventured out of their own territory to challenge Chelsea's early supremacy.

John Terry headed inches over the bar and Boateng was denied by Cech's legs before Hull took a surprise lead after 28 minutes.

Boateng's shot from the edge of the area took a crucial deflection before falling into the path of Hunt, who made himself even more of a villain in the eyes of Stamford Bridge by applying a simple finish with Cech stranded.

Hull's lead lasted only nine minutes before Chelsea drew level, courtesy of Drogba's wonderfully struck free-kick from 25 yards. Hull questioned the award when referee Alan Wiley penalised Seyi Olofinjana for a foul on John Mikel Obi - but there was no arguing with the delivery from Drogba as it dipped low past Myhill.

Drogba admits to lucky winner

Hull suffered another blow shortly before half-time when Marney limped off to be replaced by Nick Barmby, while Chelsea made a change of their own during the interval as Michael Ballack came on for Mikel.

Chelsea resumed in the ascendancy and Anelka should have given them the lead within seconds of the restart, hitting Myhill's legs from point-blank range after he was played in by Drogba.

Hull then somehow survived a frantic goalmouth scramble before Drogba was denied by the defiant Myhill from eight yards when he looked certain to give Chelsea the lead.

Brown's side broke the shackles after 65 minutes when Hunt's cross found Caleb Folan perfectly positioned eight yards out, but the striker chose to try and find a team-mate instead of head for goal and the chance was lost.

Brown proud of Hull performance

It was Hunt's final contribution, with Brown introducing another summer signing in former Celta Vigo striker Kamel Ghilas. Ancelotti's response was to replace the subdued Florent Malouda with Deco.

Myhill was Hull's hero in the second half, and he was in action again with 15 minutes remaining as he dropped low to his left to deny Bosingwa.

Ancelotti made his final change when Salomon Kalou replaced Anelka, and he should have been an instant hero, only to wastefully head Deco's cross over the top.

The tension around Stamford Bridge increased as the fourth official signalled that lengthy period of added time - and Hull's worst fears were confirmed when Drogba floated an angled finish over Myhill into the far corner.

Ancelotti led the Chelsea celebrations on the touchline as his first win was heavily tinged with relief.

source: bbc

Posted on Saturday 15th August 2009

Everton 1 - 6 Arsenal

Arsenal produced a scintillating opening-day display to hammer a woefully out-of-sorts Everton.

Denilson fired Arsenal ahead with a curling 25-yard strike before new signing Thomas Vermaelen doubled their lead with a header from a free-kick.

William Gallas headed the third before two Cesc Fabregas goals made it 5-0.

Gunners substitute Eduardo was on hand to tap in a late sixth before Louis Saha rolled in the most inconsequential of goals for Everton in injury time.

In the aftermath of this defeat for Everton, questions will inevitably be asked about the mindset of Toffees centre-back Joleon Lescott, who has made it clear he would like to join Manchester City and here formed one-quarter of a very poor home backline.

There will be no need for such soul-searching at Arsenal though as they produced a stunning display of incisive, fluent counter-attacking football to register the biggest opening-day victory in Premier League history.

For the first 25 minutes the hosts matched their visitors as the presence of 10 midfield players on the pitch, led to shared possession in a congested central third.

In pre-season, Nicklas Bendtner doubled his shirt number but in being asked to play an unfamiliar role as one-fifth of Arsenal's midfield quintet his usual work-rate was similarly increased, and it was he who fashioned the chance from which his team opened the scoring.

The tall Dane brought the ball down and fed Fabregas, who in turn found Denilson 25 yards out and his first-time shot curled away from Tim Howard's despairing dive and found the top left-hand corner.

Wenger delighted after Arsenal rout

Denilson proved equally useful at the other end minutes later when Marouane Fellaini muscled himself some room in a crowded penalty area to allow him to head Leighton Baines's right-wing corner goalwards but the Brazilian was well-placed on the line to punt clear.

It was to be a costly miss for the home side for in Arsenal's next attack Robin van Persie swung a right-wing free-kick to the far post where Vermaelen had found space round the back to double the visitors' lead with a header into the far corner.

It was a harsh lesson, but one Everton failed to heed for barely five minutes later another Van Persie free-kick, this time from the left, found Gallas unmarked in front of goal and with the simplest task to glance his header in.

Any fight David Moyes may have drummed up in his side at half-time was knocked out of them two minutes into the second half as Van Persie fed Fabregas through on goal and his shot found its way under the onrushing Howard and into the net.

No positives for Moyes after 6-1 defeat

The Spanish midfielder - the creative force at Arsenal's heart - showed just why he is so coveted by European champions Barcelona when he scampered through and struck a low drive into the bottom left corner for his second and the Gunners' fifth.

Eduardo, making his Premier League return after his lengthy absence through injury as a late substitute, got himself in on the act when he found himself in the right place to tap in a simple sixth for the Gunners.

Andrey Arshavin's toe-poke had struck a post and fallen at the Croatian's feet leaving the easiest of finishes.

Everton introduced Saha in an attempt to register a presence on the scoreline, and while the French forward did indeed side-foot in a goal after Arsenal keeper Manuel Almunia had parried a shot from Steven Pienaar, it was far too late to garner any respectability for the home side.

source: bbc

Posted on Saturday 15th August 2009

Man City must be patient - Hamann

Dietmar Hamann has urged Manchester City to be patient with manager Mark Hughes as the Welshman gels together the star names at the club.

Hughes has drafted in Gareth Barry, Carlos Tevez, Emmanuel Adebayor, Kolo Toure and Roque Santa Cruz this summer.

"The pressure will be bigger than last year and you have to wait and see," ex-City midfielder Hamann told BBC Sport.

"It's important to keep faith with the manager now as they can't change him every year if they want to go forward."

Expectations are high at Eastlands after Hughes was given the funds by the club's billionaire owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan to bring some of the Premier League's biggest names to the club.

City have strengthened their attack with the signings of former Manchester United striker Tevez, Togo international Adebayor and Santa Cruz from Blackburn.

England regular Barry has also signed from Aston Villa to bolster the midfield, while Toure's arrival from Arsenal provides Hughes with some much-needed cover in defence.

The new arrivals have seen City eclipse their Premier League rivals in terms of spending in the close season, but whether the new-look side can come together as an effective unit remains to be seen.

Their first real test comes on Saturday when Hughes's 'galacticos' travel to face his former club Blackburn in their first game of the season.

"It's exciting times," added Hamann. "But they have to make sure they gradually improve and don't go from one extreme to another. If they do that then they have a great future."

Since replacing Sven-Goran Eriksson as City manager at the beginning of last season Hughes's spending is close to the £200m mark.

And, despite sounding a cautious warning over expectations, Hamann does believe his old side are in a position to push on and challenge the Premier League's elite.

"If you look at it, they probably have a squad as good as anyone now," said the 35-year-old, who played 71 games for City in three seasons before being released in the summer.

"If they do improve, and get a good team and good team spirit going, then they can challenge for a top-four position very soon."

source: bbc

Posted on Friday 14th August 2009

France and Germany exit recession

The French and German economies both grew by 0.3% between April and June, bringing to an end year-long recessions in Europe's largest economies.

Stronger exports and consumer spending, as well as government stimulus packages, contributed to the growth.

The data came as a surprise, with few analysts expecting Germany and France to start to recover so soon.

But economic activity in the eurozone fell by 0.1%, showing the region as a whole is still in recession.

It was the fifth consecutive quarter of economic contraction in the eurozone, but was a marked improvement on the 2.5% drop recorded in the first three months of the year.

UK reaction

 

Markets reacted positively to the news, with the main German and French markets up more than 1% at midday.

In London, the FTSE 100 index rose 1.3%, with traders anticipating a positive effect on the UK economy, which by contrast shrank by 0.8% in the second quarter.

Asked about why the UK seemed to be lagging behind, Business Secretary Lord Mandelson said: "Different economies will show different patterns of behaviour."

"But the key point is all these economies rely on each other; 55 to 56% of our trade is with the rest of Europe. So when [they are] recovering that is good news for our manufacturers and our exports here."

France and Germany may have been less hard hit than the UK by the global economic slowdown because their financial sectors, which were at the heart of the crisis, account for a smaller proportion of their economies.

Export recovery

Germany was thrown into recession earlier in the year because its exports collapsed.

The latest figures showed German exports had grown at their fastest pace for nearly three years at 7%, with particularly strong growth in demand from rapidly-growing economies such as China.

The country's Federal Statistics Office said that household and government expenditure had also boosted growth.

It added that imports had declined "far more sharply than exports, which had a positive effect on GDP growth".

"These [GDP] figures should encourage us," said Germany's Economy Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg. "They show that the strongest decline in economic performance likely lies behind us."

Reaction among analysts to the signs of Germany's recovery, however, was mixed.

"The recession has ended, and it has ended sooner than we all thought. We expect to see growth of 1% in the third quarter, which is very strong for Germany, and I wouldn't rule out the chance of even better growth," said Andreas Rees at Unicredit.

But there are concerns that the banking system across Europe is still fragile and that the growth is reliant on government stimulus spending that will eventually have to come to an end.

BBC Europe business reporter Mark Sanders said that although the surprise news was highly welcome for those that have been suffering, there were questions about how strong and credible the economic recovery is.

"To draw a medical analogy, we've got the patient waking from a coma and talking to medical staff," he said. "They're not necessarily going to be running any marathons soon."

 

Consumer spending

In France, economy minister Christine Lagarde said: "The data is very surprising. After four negative quarters France is coming out of the red."

Ms Lagarde said that consumer spending and strong exports had helped to pull France out of recession.

 

"What we see is that consumption is holding up," she said.

Official figures showed that household consumption rose by 0.4% in the second quarter.

She said government incentive schemes for trading in old cars, together with falling prices, were helping consumers.

Foreign trade contributed 0.9% to the GDP figure - a "very strong impact", said Ms Lagarde.

"[The figures are] a positive surprise, as many people were expecting slightly negative numbers," said Marie Diron at Oxford Economics.

source: bbc

Posted on Thursday 13th August 2009

Schumacher calls off F1 comeback

Seven-time Formula 1 champion Michael Schumacher has abandoned his comeback with Ferrari because of a neck injury.

The 40-year-old, who retired at the end of 2006, was set to deputise for the injured Felipe Massa at the European Grand Prix in Valencia on 23 August.

"Unfortunately we did not manage to get a grip on the pain in the neck which occurred after the private F1-day in Mugello," Schumacher told his website.

Schumacher suffered the neck injury in a bike accident in February.

"The consequences of the injuries caused by the bike accident in February, fractures in the area of head and neck, unfortunately have turned out to be still too severe," he added.

"That is why my neck cannot stand the extreme stresses caused by F1 yet. These are the clear results of the examinations we did on the course of the past two weeks and the final examination on Monday afternoon.

"As there were no improvements after the day in Mugello, I decided at short notice on Sunday to do that thorough examination on Monday."

Schumacher won five championships with Ferrari and had been working as a consultant for the Italian team before his decision to come out of retirement to stand in for Massa.

The German, who claimed his other two drivers' crowns with Benetton, has entered 250 grands prix, winning a record 91 of them.

His return was eagerly anticipated but, despite trying everything 'medically or therapeutically' possible, he has had to admit defeat.

"I am disappointed to the core," he said. "I am awfully sorry for the guys of Ferrari and for all the fans which crossed fingers for me.

"I can only repeat that I tried everything that was within my power. All I can do now is to keep my fingers crossed for the whole team for the coming races."

Brazilian Massa is recovering from the serious head injuries suffered during qualifying for the Hungarian GP.

And, while the rest of the F1 drivers were enjoying their mid-season break, Schumacher had embarked on a rigorous training regime, resulting in him losing more than six pounds in weight before calling off his return.

"It's hugely disappointing," said David Croft, Radio 5 live's F1 commentator. "The F1 world was very much looking forward to seeing Michael Schumacher locking horns with Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button, Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso.

"But it's hardly surprising. The g-forces that your neck muscles particularly are exposed to in a modern-day F1 car can take their toll and give you severe punishment during the course of a race.

"If you are not 100% fit, there's no way you can think about driving one of these cars."

source: bbc

Posted on Tuesday 11th August 2009

Gerrard pulls out of England game

Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard has pulled out of the England squad for Wednesday's friendly against the Netherlands because of a groin injury.

Gerrard's withdrawal follows that of Manchester United goalkeeper Ben Foster on Monday.

"Steven Gerrard will not travel to Amsterdam this morning for England's friendly with Holland on Wednesday," a Football Association statement read.

"Gerrard has returned to Liverpool as a precaution due to a tight groin."

No replacement for Gerrard has been named.

Foster, 26, picked up a knock during his side's FA Community Shield defeat by Chelsea on Sunday.

Manchester City's Joe Hart - currently on loan at Birmingham City - has been called up as a replacement.

Lampard looking forward to Holland test

First-choice goalkeeper David James was left out of the England squad by coach Fabio Capello because of a knee injury.

West Ham's Robert Green and Blackburn's Paul Robinson are the other two keepers in the squad, one of whom is now likely to start at the Amsterdam Arena.

Green, who has four caps, started England's last two matches, the World Cup qualifying wins against Kazakhstan (4-0) and Andorra (6-0) in June.

Robinson won the last of his 41 caps in a 2-1 European Championship qualifying defeat by Russia in Moscow in October 2007.

Foster has played twice for England, the first in the 1-0 defeat against Spain in February 2007 and the second as a second-half substitute in the 4-0 win over Slovakia in March this year.

He is expected to be first-choice for Manchester United in the absence of regular number one Edwin Van der Sar, who will be sidelined for up to eight weeks after undergoing surgery on a broken finger and bone in his left hand.

Foster started the Community Shield match against Chelsea on Sunday, but was unable to prevent United losing 4-1 on penalties.

Following seven successive qualifying wins, England are on the cusp of qualifying for the World Cup next summer in South Africa, while the Dutch, who have also notched up seven victories, are assured of a place in the 2010 finals.

After playing the Netherlands, Capello's England face Slovenia in a friendly on 5 September, before facing Croatia in a World Cup qualifier at Wembley on 9 September.

 

England squad for 12 August friendly against the Netherlands:

Goalkeepers: Robert Green (West Ham United), Joe Hart (Manchester City), Paul Robinson (Blackburn Rovers)

Defenders: Wayne Bridge (Manchester City), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), Glen Johnson (Liverpool), Joleon Lescott (Everton), John Terry (Chelsea), Matthew Upson (West Ham United)

Midfielders: Gareth Barry (Manchester City), David Beckham (LA Galaxy), Michael Carrick (Manchester United), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), James Milner (Aston Villa), Theo Walcott (Arsenal), Shaun Wright-Phillips (Manchester City), Ashley Young (Aston Villa)

Forwards: Carlton Cole (West Ham United), Jermain Defoe (Tottenham Hotspur), Emile Heskey (Aston Villa), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)

source: bbc

Posted on Tuesday 11th August 2009

Angola praised on Asian oil deals

One of Africa's largest oil producers, Angola, is much tougher in negotiating deals with Asian firms than critics might suggest, a new report claims.

UK-based think-tank Chatham House says the country does not fit the stereotype of weak African states being exploited by resource-hungry Asian tigers.

Their report contrasts Angola with Nigeria, which it says has mismanaged its relations with Asian firms.

It says Nigeria has put $20bn (£12bn) of infrastructure at risk.

'Playing politics'

In Angola, President Jose Eduardo Dos Santos has been in power for almost 30 years, boosting stability and helping to create a functioning state-owned oil company, Sonangol, the report says.

 

Angola emerged as the second-largest supplier of oil to China last year, helping the African country secure at least $13bn in oil-backed loans from Beijing.

"While Nigeria was playing politics with its Asian partners, Angola was driven by economic necessity to quickly access funds to finance its reconstruction," the report said.

The BBC's Africa analyst Martin Plaut says the co-operation between Angola and China reflects the fact that Beijing, unlike the West, has played a major part in rebuilding Angola after its long civil war.

Legal moves

Nigeria's dealings, on the other hand, have been bogged down by corruption and mismanagement.

Nigeria's former President Olusegun Obasanjo sought partners in China, India, South Korea and elsewhere to buy oil blocks in return for billions of dollars of infrastructure.

But not a single barrel of oil was ever produced by Asian national oil companies in Nigeria, leaving the Nigerian economy with no tangible benefit, the report said.

"The scale of the corruption, mismanagement and non-execution of projects in the Obasanjo years has sent shockwaves through Nigeria," the report said.

"His intentions were good but officials failed to spell out the full implications of the scheme. And many used the scheme for private profit."

When President Umaru Yar'Adua took power in May 2007 many deals were revoked - and a Korean firm has taken the Nigerian government to court over the issue.

source: bbc

Posted on Tuesday 11th August 2009

Facebook in challenge to Google

Facebook has turned up the heat on Google by purchasing content-sharing service FriendFeed, say industry watchers.

Many expected Google or even Twitter to buy the company, which has been praised for its "real-time" search engine.

This type of search is valuable because it lets you know what is happening right now on any given subject.

"Google look out, Facebook knows the real money is in real-time search," said respected blogger Robert Scoble.

"Google is the king of regular search. FriendFeed is the king of real-time search. This makes the coming battle over this issue much more interesting," Mr Scoble told the BBC.

Back in May, Google founder Larry Page admitted that the search giant had fallen behind other services like that of Twitter, which boasts nearly 45 million users worldwide.

"People really want to do stuff real time and I think they (Twitter) have done a great job.

"We've done a relatively poor job of doing things that work on a per second basis," Mr Page said at the time.

'Warning shot'

Many in Silicon Valley agree that this deal has changed the game.

"Facebook was unable to acquire Twitter so this is the next best option," said Ben Parr, associate editor of Mashable, a news blog covering social media.

"FriendFeed is well known for having some powerful and intelligent technology that allows users to aggregate everything they do online and do it all in real time.

"With this acquisition, Facebook is gunning directly not only at Twitter, but at Google. This is a warning shot to those two companies," Mr Parr told BBC News.

Mr Scoble noted that FriendFeed's real-time search could stretch back 18 months compared to a few days for Twitter.

Silicon Valley commentators have long regarded FriendFeed as an inspiration for many of Facebook's features.

These include the ability for users to import activities from third parties services like YouTube and Flickr to letting users comment or say they "like" something in another user's feed.

"FriendFeed has in effect been the R&D (research & development) department for Facebook for some time now," said Mr Scoble, who is one of the service's most popular users with nearly 46,000 subscribers.

"They have the best community technology out there and Facebook should continue to use them to try out new features and test them out before transferring them over to Facebook."

The deal

The purchase caught many in Silicon Valley by surprise, even though the two companies had been talking on and off for the past two years.

"This is an 11th hour deal," admitted FriendFeed co-founder Bret Taylor.

Industry commentators had expected Google to make a bid for the company, especially given the fact that its founders all used to work there.

"FriendFeed accepts Facebook friend request" is how Mr Taylor described the buyout, in a tongue-in-cheek reference to how Facebook users ask one another to become part of their friend network.

He continued in a similar vein in his blog post.

"As my mom explained to me, when two companies love each other very much, they form a structured investment vehicle.

"Our companies share a common vision. Now we have the opportunity to bring many of the innovations we've developed at FriendFeed to Facebook's 250 million users around the world."

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg was equally praiseworthy.

"Since I first tried FriendFeed, I've admired their team for creating such a simple and elegant service for people to share information.

"As this shows, our culture continues to make Facebook a place where the best engineers come to build things quickly that lots of people will use."

As part of the agreement, all FriendFeed employees will join Facebook and the company's four founders will be given senior roles on the social networking site's engineering and product teams.

FriendFeed will continue as it is for the moment independently.

"Eventually, one way or another, it's hard to see FriendFeed as it stands now, continuing on," said MG Siegler of Silicon Valley news site Tech Crunch.

"Facebook will begin to take up too much of the FriendFeeders' time, and it will languish. It's sad, but that's the web. Not every service can flourish. There simply aren't enough users with enough time to use all of them."

source: bbc

Posted on Tuesday 11th August 2009

How to Get Along With Your Boss

At one point or another in your career, you will report to a manager, the person you fondly - or not - call boss. The relationships that you create and manage, with both your immediate boss, and other company employees, are critical for your work success and career progress.

And, face it, whether you like it or not, you're in charge of your relationship with your boss. No one will ever share as much concern as you do that the quality of the relationship helps you achieve your goals. At the same time, your boss has information that you need to succeed. He can't do his job or accomplish his goals without your help.

So, your manager shares a critical interdependence with you. If you don't accomplish your work, your manager will never shine for his or her overall responsibilities. You won't progress without the information, perspective, experience, and support of your manager.

Despite knowing this, managers do come in every size and with all possible levels of skill and effectiveness. Some managers are just plain bad bosses; others are unaware of what you need from them. Managing up is challenging, but ultimately, worth your time.

How to Develop an Effective Relationship With Your Boss

These steps will help you develop a positive, ongoing, supportive relationship with your boss - a relationship that serves you well, your manager well, and, as a consequence, your organization well.

• The first step in managing up is to develop a positive relationship with your boss. Relationships are based on trust. Do what you say you'll do. Keep timeline commitments. Never blind side your manager with surprises that you could have predicted or prevented. Keep her informed about your projects and interactions with the rest of the organization.Tell the boss when you've made an error or one of your reporting staff has made a mistake. Cover-ups don't contribute to an effective relationship. Lies or efforts to mislead always result in further stress for you as you worry about getting "caught" or somehow slipping up in the consistency of your story. Communicate daily or weekly to build the relationship.Get to know your manager as a person - she is one, after all. She shares the human experience, just as you do, with all of its joys and sorrows.

   

• Recognize that success at work is not all about you; put your boss's needs at the center of your universe. Identify your boss's areas of weakness or greatest challenges and ask what you can do to help. What are your boss's biggest worries; how can your contribution mitigate these concerns? Understand your boss's goals and priorities. Place emphasis in your work to match her priorities. Think in terms of the overall success of your department and company, not just about your more narrow world at work.

   

• Look for and focus on the "best" parts of your boss; just about every boss has both good points and bad. When you're negative about your boss, the tendency is to focus on his worst traits and failings. This is neither positive for your work happiness nor your prospects for success in your organization. Instead, compliment your boss on something he does well. Provide positive recognition for contributions to your success. Make your boss feel valued. Isn't this what you want from him for you?

   

• Your boss is unlikely to change; she can choose to change, but the person who shows up to work every day has taken years and years of effort on her part to create. And, who your boss is has worked for her in the past and reinforced her actions and beliefs. Instead of trying to change your boss, focus instead, on trying to understand your boss's work style.Identify what she values in an employee. Does she like frequent communication, autonomous employees, requests in writing in advance of meeting, or informal conversation as you pass in the hallway. Your boss's preferences are important and the better you understand them, the better you will work with her.

   

• Learning how to read your boss's moods and reactions is also a helpful approach to communicate more effectively with him. There are times when you don't want to introduce new ideas; if he is preoccupied with making this month's numbers, your idea for a six month improvement may not be timely. Problems at home or a relative in failing health affect each of your workplace behaviors and openness to an improvement discussion. Additionally, if your boss regularly reacts in the same way to similar ideas, explore what he fundamentally likes or dislikes about your proposals.

   

• Learn from your boss. Although some days it may not feel like it, your boss has much to teach you. Appreciate that she was promoted because your organization found aspects of her work, actions, and/or management style worthwhile. Promotions are usually the result of effective work and successful contributions. So, ask questions to learn and listen more than you speak to develop an effective relationship with your boss.

   

• Ask your boss for feedback. Let the boss play the role of coach and mentor. Remember that your boss can't read your mind. Enable him to offer you recognition for your excellent performance. Make sure he knows what you have accomplished. Create a space in your conversation for him to praise and thank you.

   

• Value your boss's time. Try to schedule, at least, a weekly meeting during which you are prepared with a list of what you need and your questions. This allows him to accomplish work without regular interruption.

   

• Tie your work, your requests, and your project direction to your boss's and the company's overarching goals. When making proposals to your boss, try to see the larger picture. There are many reasons why your suggestion may not be adopted: resources, time, goals, and vision. Maintain strict confidentiality.

   

• In your relationship with your boss you will sometimes disagree and occasionally experience an emotional reaction. Don't hold grudges. Don't make threats about leaving. Disagreement is fine; discord is not. Get over it. You need to come to terms with the fact that your boss has more authority and power than you do. You are unlikely to always get your way.

Use these tips to build a powerfully effective relationship with your boss

source: HR

Posted on Tuesday 11th August 2009

Chamakh pushes for Arsenal move

Bordeaux striker Marouane Chamakh has made a new appeal to the French club to sanction his proposed move to Arsenal.

The Gunners' reportedly had an offer of £7.5m rejected by Bordeaux, who want £15m despite Chamakh, 25, having only one year left on his current contract.

"My priority is Arsenal, but there are other clubs," the Moroccan, who has also been linked with Sunderland, Fulham and Tottenham, told Canal Plus.

"If it's Arsenal, so much the better. I hope it'll be sorted out very quickly."

Chamakh was speaking ahead of his side's opening Ligue 1 match of the season in which he scored as Bordeaux beat Lens 4-1 at home.

He added: "I am not sleeping as well as I normally do.

"I made my wishes known to the directors at the end of last season. I expressed a wish to join another league.

"As much for Bordeaux's sake as for mine, my situation has to be clarified. I thought they (Bordeaux) would have made things easier for me."

Bordeaux president Jean-Louis Triaud said on Wednesday that he would grant Chamakh his dream move to Arsenal if Gunners manager Arsene Wenger returned with a improved offer.

Wenger was quoted in L'Equipe on Tuesday as saying: "In five months, if he doesn't prolong his contract, Chamakh will be free to talk to any club and Bordeaux won't get anything.

"In the current context, to me, it is over. Let's say that at the moment it is terminated.

"I like Chamakh, he is a forward that attracts me, but I already have (Theo) Walcott, (Nicklas) Bendtner, (Robin) Van Persie, (Andrey) Arshavin and Eduardo. I am in no rush.

"My offer seems fair to me, taking the market into account. Chamakh would be good, but there are other options should we wish to pursue them."

Triaud accepted he would lower his initial asking price, but did not say by how much.

Bordeaux coach Laurent Blanc does not want to lose Chamakh, a player the former France captain considers crucial to his side's chances of retaining the Ligue 1 title they won in May.

He scored 13 goals in 34 Ligue 1 games last season and has scored 15 times in 50 games for his country.

source: bbc

Posted on Monday 10th August 2009

Your Image Is You

Successful people believe their success is attributable to a pattern of mutually beneficial interpersonal relationships, as much as it is due to technical skills or business knowledge. Your communication and the image you present create the first impression - often the lasting impression - on the people you meet. Want a more professional image? How you present yourself is the first step in building that mutually beneficial network of contacts.

Studies about people meeting reveal that most people make decisions about a new acquaintance within the first thirty seconds to two minutes of interaction. This does not give you much time to make a good impression.

Studies by Dr. Albert Mehrabian at UCLA revealed that when we try to convey meaning through our communication with others, the majority of our message is communicated nonverbally and through voice and facial expression. Approximately seven percent of the message is communicated by words.

His studies revealed that up to 37% of a first impression is based upon the speaker's tone of voice. On the telephone, that number rises to 80% or higher, according to many communication consultants.

Let's look at four areas that have a huge impact on your image and how you present yourself professionally:

• appearance
• interpersonal interaction,
• written interaction, and
• networking.

Professional Appearance Counts

The standard advice given by mentors and managers to people who want to advance their career has always been to dress for the job you want, not the job you have currently. Even in this day of more casual dressing for work, your professional image will serve you well when promotions, lateral moves, choice assignments and departmental visibility are available.

A professional appearance sets you apart from coworkers who are less concerned about projecting a successful, professional image. Here are Guidelines for Business Casual Dress and for Business Casual Dress in a Manufacturing Work Environment. These dress code guidelines will serve you well in any workplace that espouses today's casual environment.

Posted on Monday 10th August 2009

Clinton tour reaches South Africa

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in South Africa where she is urging the government to do more to bring about change in neighbouring Zimbabwe.

Mrs Clinton, on the second leg of an 11-day Africa tour, has been in talks with her South African counterpart.

Later, she will meet former South African President Nelson Mandela.

In the coming days Mrs Clinton will meet President Jacob Zuma and is likely to return to the Zimbabwe situation as well as discussing business and health.

Speaking before leaving Nairobi, the first stop on her Africa tour, Mrs Clinton said she intended to ask Mr Zuma "about what more South Africa believes can be done to strengthen the reform movement inside Zimbabwe".

Correspondents say she will ask Mr Zuma in their meeting on Saturday to use his influence to combat what she has called "negative effects of the continuing presidency of President [Robert] Mugabe" in Zimbabwe.

The US is concerned that although its economy has improved, many of the political and social reforms promised by Mr Mugabe following the power-sharing agreement with Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai have not yet been implemented.

Mrs Clinton raised the issue of Zimbabwe during a meeting in the capital Pretoria with South African Foreign Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane.

 

Ms Nkoana-Mashabane told the BBC earlier she believed the Obama administration would work alongside the African Union in helping to bring peace to parts of Africa.

"We see this administration and the government of the USA as a strategic partner on the political front, as we work with them to look at the mechanisms to resolve areas of conflict working together with the African Union," she said.

Mrs Clinton is also scheduled to meet Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe.

Later, she will meet Mr Mandela, South Africa's first black president, and attend a conference with Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi before attending National Women's Day events in the capital, Pretoria.

Relations between the US and South Africa were warm during the 1990s under Presidents Mandela and Bill Clinton, says the BBC's Jonah Fisher in Johannesburg.

A commission was established to prioritise areas of co-operation but when Mr Clinton left the White House this was quietly forgotten.

South African officials hope that the visit by Mrs Clinton, the former US president's wife, will signal a new period of co-operation to support the already strong business links, says our correspondent.

African potential

Hillary Clinton spoke about Somalia at the University of Nairobi

Mrs Clinton began her seven-nation African tour in Kenya on Wednesday where she held talks in Nairobi with Kenya's president and prime minister.

Addressing African leaders at an economic summit, Mrs Clinton said the continent had "enormous potential for progress".

But she stressed that harnessing that potential would require democracy and good governance.

Before Mrs Clinton arrived in Kenya, the US embassy in Nairobi had issued a statement scolding Kenya for its decision not to set up a local court to seek justice for the victims of the deadly clashes which followed the 2007 election.

On Thursday, Mrs Clinton met the Somali President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed in the Kenyan capital.

She offered to increase US support for his unity government and to "take action" against neighbouring Eritrea if it does not stop supporting militants in Somalia.

Eritrea denies supporting Somalia's al-Shabab militants, who are trying to overthrow Somalia's government.

The Eritrean Information Minister Ali Abdu told the BBC Mrs Clinton's comments were "very disappointing" and that the White House had "failed to learn mistakes of the previous US administration".

Mrs Clinton's 11-day trip will take her to Angola on Sunday before she heads to Nigeria, Liberia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Cape Verde.

source: bbc

Posted on Friday 7th August 2009

Liverpool agree fee for Aquilani

Liverpool have confirmed they have agreed a fee with Roma for Italian midfielder Alberto Aquilani.

The transfer is reported to be worth £20m and is subject to a medical being completed later in the week.

"Alberto has a winning mentality and great experience in both Serie A and the Champions League," said Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez.

The move comes just hours after the Reds sold Spanish midfielder Xabi Alonso to Real Madrid for £30m.

Aquilani, 25, has played 11 times for Italy and has been with Roma, the club he supported as a child, since he was 16, making his debut as an 18-year-old under now England boss Fabio Capello.

"Aquilani has long been recognised as a top class talent in Italy, captaining his country at both Under 19 and Under 21 levels before establishing himself in the senior national side," said Benitez.

A statement on the Liverpool website added: "Liverpool concluded their discussions with Roma once the sale of Xabi Alonso to Real Madrid was finally agreed."

The midfielder has not played since March due to an injury to his right ankle, which he had surgery on in May.

This restricted him to just 14 appearances for Roma last season.

Aquilani is set to be Liverpool's second major signing of the close season after England right back Glen Johnson joined from Portsmouth for an undisclosed fee in June.

Earlier on Wednesday, Benitez had stated that Liverpool would seek "the best replacement" for Spanish international Alonso after he completed his move to the Bernabeu.

"As soon as he told us that he wanted to leave we started working, looking for players," said Benitez.

The Reds had also been linked with Wigan's Lee Catermole and Valencia's David Silva.

Last summer a move for then Aston Villa midfielder Gareth Barry - now at Manchester City following a £12m summer transfer - fell through after Benitez was unable to sell Alonso to raise the sufficient funds for the deal.

 source: bbc

Posted on Thursday 6th August 2009

Thinking Strategically First Makes Strategic Planning Work

Strategic planning for organizations is not considered fun. Strategic planning is often done under duress because it is required. Strategic planning is important yet many such plans are found on bookcases, not on the desktops being used.

Done well, a strategic plan provides a useful focus that energizes and moves the organization toward its mission goals, plus it provides a document to recruit others to the mission. In short, a strategic plan is a valuable guide to focus time, talent, and resources in running a successful enterprise.

A Better Way to Accomplish Strategic Planning

How do we plan vacations? We read travel brochures and magazines to imagine fun places to visit. We invest energy in the process in planning a vacation. Where's the energy in strategic planning? The creative step that envisions possibilities and generates energy is generally missing. To think before planning is a logical one, yet most strategic planning processes devote insufficient think time prior to planning. The desire to get a strategic plan completed quickly relegates thinking to filling in blanks on work sheets.

Instead, when key stakeholders are invited to a creative thinking step, it engages and energizes all participants. This is where new ideas are generated, where innovative possibilities are visualized, and where the stage is set for implementation success. The more stakeholders are involved in the thinking and exploration, the more emotional and intellectual energy they have invested, and the higher the probability that implementation will occur successfully.

Strategic Thinking and Exploration

A strategic plan should not be solely an incremental list of current activities, but have at least a 20% 'ah ha' factor of new ideas. Otherwise, a linear, incremental plan will do little more than maintain the status quo, like treading water. With this premise, the pre-strategic planning stages need to include creative and innovative thinking. This stage should be one of exploring possibilities without constraint, a stimulating and enjoyable part of planning. Thus, think new ideas, explore them, and align them with the purpose of the organization.

Think: Questions at this first stage of strategic thinking should be expansive, akin to brainstorming ideas, yet focused around the following: Where is the industry or business heading? What do customers want or need next year and beyond? Using creative thinking methods, the team should consider all manner of ideas, including crazy ones.

Here is one sequence of questions to ask:

1. What are the trends in the industry or business sector?
2. Given the trends, what are three new ideas you can add to your best product/services?
3. Given the trends, what products or services should you change or eliminate?
4. Given the trends, what new products or services should you consider?

Explore: For each set of ideas, expand them and explore their potential to position your organization at a new plateau of success. During this stage, it is important to avoid discussing the feasibility or cost of an idea. Continue the brainstorming mode. Constraints will be considered in the planning stage.

Here are some questions for exploring ideas:

1. What criteria should you use to decide a good from a great idea?
2. If implemented, which ideas will distinguish yours from other businesses?
3. If you take action on any specific idea, what will be the impact (both positive and negative) for taking action? What if no action is taken? Any impact? What could add at least 20% more value to one's current products and services? The 20% is somewhat arbitrary. Pick a number. How much change is expected in the business environment the next 12 months? The goal is to continue to grow to at least keep up with the shifting competitive environment.

Strategic Planning: The Tactical Segment

Thinking and exploration might be considered the strategic segment while the planning stage is the tactical segment. During the planning stage the realities of funding and resource constraints are brought to bear in selecting the best ideas for the plan. It is here that decision making tools, based on desired criteria, are used to select options for the final strategic plan.

For example, criteria can be:

• cost to set up,
• time required to complete the new service offering,
• fit with current products and services, and
• potential for growth and profitability.

In planning, the traditional steps come into play, to include analyzing strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT), competition, and available resources. These latter aspects further guide the decision making, providing a different set of constraints. Note that many of the opportunities in the SWOT will have been considered in the think and explore stage. Here are some questions for this stage:

1. Which of the ideas fit your mission immediately, short term, and long term?
2. What are the time, talent, and resource requirements for the ideas?
3. Which of the ideas have the highest return-on-investment once implemented?
4. What does one have to do to implement the plan, as it pertains to people, skills, technology, and funds?

Final Useful Thoughts About Strategic Planning and Strategic Plans

Consider three interlocking rings of who you are (strengths and weaknesses), what the customer wants (opportunities and threats), and what you stand for (purpose and mission). The central intersection created by these three rings will reveal the unique opportunities that only your circumstance can offer. This distinctive intersection might be called your fit, where no other organization has the same conditions.

Don't lose this potential to differentiate from the competition. In reality, strategic planning is a means to find your unique fit. If you consider a strategic plan merely a working guide, and not a formal document for presentation requiring perfected details, then there is a higher probability for successful implementation.

Thanks to Human Resources

Posted on Thursday 6th August 2009

ECB sees global growth next year

The European Central Bank (ECB) has said it expects to see growth returning to the global economy next year as it kept interest rates on hold at 1%.

The bank said that economic activity is likely to remain weak this year.

But while the outlook was uncertain, it said that there were signs the recession was "bottoming out" and that "positive growth" would return in 2010.

Eurozone interest rates are among the highest for developed economies. The Bank of England kept rates at 0.5%.

'Uncertainty'

"Economic activity over the remainder of this year is likely to remain weak, although the pace of contraction is clearly slowing down," said ECB president Jean Claude Trichet.

"While uncertainty is still high... and we have to be prepared for ongoing volatility in incoming data, there are increasing signs the global recession is bottoming out.

"Looking ahead into next year, after a phase of stabilisation, a gradual recovery with positive growth rates is expected," he added.

The ECB last cut rates in May, when they were reduced to 1% from 1.25%. It has reduced rates seven times since last October, when rates stood at 4.25%.

As part of efforts to boost business lending and spur economic growth, the central bank has also supplied cash to the banking system and previously pledged to buy 60bn euros (£50bn) of low-risk corporate bonds.

The ECB's vice president Lucas Papademos described the programme to buy bonds as "very successful".

Unemployment in the countries which share the euro is at a record high. Consumer demand is also weak, with retail sales falling in June.

source: bbc

Posted on Thursday 6th August 2009

Man Utd suffer Van der Sar blow

Manchester United keeper Edwin van der Sar will miss the start of the season after undergoing surgery on a broken finger and bone in his left hand.

The Dutchman, 38, is expected to be sidelined for up to eight weeks.

Van der Sar was hurt saving a penalty in the pre-season 7-6 penalty shoot-out defeat by Bayern Munich last week.

Ben Foster and Tomasz Kuszczak will bid to start Sunday's Community Shield game with Chelsea and the Premier League opener against Birmingham on 16 August.

Van der Sar's misfortune could pave the way for Foster to stake his claim for a regular starting spot for United and England, who are on the verge of rubber-stamping qualification for the 2010 World Cup finals.

Foster, 26, signed a new contract in July and United boss Sir Alex Ferguson said at the time: "He is seen as one of the best young goalkeepers in England and we genuinely see him as a successor to Edwin."

Foster only played nine games for United last season, the majority of which were in cup competitions.

However, he was given the second of his England caps by coach Fabio Capello in the 4-0 friendly win over Slovakia in March, two years after making his debut in a 1-0 defeat by Spain.

source: bbc

Posted on Wednesday 5th August 2009

The Darker Side of Goal Setting: Why Goal Setting Fails

Why don't most people set and achieve personal goals, career goals and business goals? Goal setting is a positive, powerful practice when it ignites enthusiasm and provides clear direction.

When practiced poorly, however, goal setting also has a serious downside which can undermine your success. Poor goal setting makes people cynical, wastes their time and fosters confusion about where to concentrate actions and energy. How does such a potentially successful practice as goal setting, go wrong, so often?

If you've read my work for any length of time, you know that I am a proponent of setting goals and measuring your progress in achieving them. A recent exchange with William Hamilton, President of TechSmith Corporation, and several other executive managers (who wish to remain anonymous) reminded me that goal setting, executed poorly, thoughtlessly, or for the wrong reasons, can have a significant negative impact on both people and your organization business plan.

Avoid these five misuses of a potentially positive, powerful practice: goal setting for personal goals, career goals and business goals.

Just Do It: The Art of Intimidation

Organizations often fail to achieve goals and strategic planning targets that are set top down, by executives who lack crucial information and are out of touch with staff challenges. The goals are unrealistic and they fail to consider organization resources and capabilities. Staff members don't believe that the rewards they will receive for goal accomplishment will equal the energy they invest to achieve them. Frequently, managers are intimidated when they fear job loss for failure.

A former Siebel Systems executive says, "My favorite goal setting story of all time was how Siebel set sales goals for its District Managers: everyone's quota was $3.5 million. There, no more thought needed to go into it, no discussion - just do it or you're fired! So the District Manager calling on Citibank had the same quota as the District Manager calling on the States of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Guess which guy got fired?

"I also remember how I used to spend the last day of every sales quarter at Siebel performing unnatural acts to close business and save my job. At the end of the year, I had to work until 10:00 p.m. on the last day of the sales quarter (while we had company over at home) to get one last deal closed. This deal saved my job. I was one of two state and local district managers that avoided the axe two weeks later."

Goals Intended to Impress, Not Guide Efforts

William Hamilton says, "During the roaring, crazy days of the dot.com nineties, using goals to impress was common place, although organizations also utilized this technique long before the Internet arrived. In this process, management creates goals based on the desire to impress or mislead outside groups."

According to Hamilton, this process is, "also used to avoid serious analysis of the company and the marketplace. At the end of the time period, these goals can then be used by senior management to pass the buck and the blame for the failure to meet the goals.

"To internal staff members, who were often unconvinced and unmoved by the unrealistic, 'show goals,' senior management's actions produced serious morale and competency-questioning issues. To staff members who bought into the euphoria, failure to achieve the goals was a deadly downward spiral."

The first part of this article (see below) emphasized several problems with how organizations set goals. Additional potential problems with setting personal goals, career goals and business goals include the following.

We Had to Destroy the Village

In an effort to meet the current period's goals, the long-term viability of the organization is put at risk. Hamilton gives these examples of negative actions people take to meet unrealistic goals. "They:

• Focus development efforts on the next sale.
• Offer deep discounts on products to move future sales into the current period.
• Push expenses into the future, rather than accounting for them when incurred.
• Use expensive promotions that actually generate less in sales than they cost.
• Fail to carefully develop long term strategic efforts, when 'strategic' means the payoff is not within the next goal time period."

A former IBM manager illustrates this point with this story. "One ridiculous process was the way IBM used to set sales quotas. In the later years there, when the company was showing very slow growth, you could count on a 25-30 percent increase in quota. It didn't matter that most IT (Information Technology) budgets were stagnant, so the quota process was demoralizing in a big way. The way to make dollars there, was to find a job where they weren't sure how to set the quota - some kind of new area - and clean up and move on. Some people specialized in this sort of behavior."

Goal Setting Becomes About the Plan, Not the Execution

Hamilton says a potential serious downside occurs when "the ratio of energy, time and creativity that goes into creating the goal outstrips (and comes out of the hide) of actually managing the product."

In one small manufacturing company, a management group decided to use gantt charts to track goal accomplishment. After starting with a huge investment of time in making the charts for all of their goals, the management group soon abandoned the charting. When questioned later, they affirmed that the charting was taking too much of the time they needed to accomplish the goals. But, they had awesome charts while they were keeping them up.

Another example of this is when an organization spends time and energy to develop a comprehensive business plan, and then the plan sits in a drawer. While the act of making the plan was important, the follow-up is the critical piece. Regular review and follow-up make a plan live - and serve.

Too Many Goals Make Nothing a Priority

In my work with small and mid-sized manufacturing companies, I often find that people wear so many hats, they are overwhelmed with the sheer number of goals they are expected to meet. I once facilitated a strategic planning session during which people analyzed and established priorities. They moved non-priority items to a "B" list and believed they had successfully created an "A" list of the most important, achievable goals.

You can imagine my consternation when, at the end of the session, the senior manager looked at the list of goals on the "B" list and said, "These are all givens. We have to accomplish these anyway."

People with too many goals experience these issues.

• They never feel as if they accomplish a complete task.
• It is difficult to tie their goal accomplishment to a reward and recognition system that recognizes their accomplishments.
• They don't know what is most important to accomplish next.
• They fall prey to the "check it off the list" syndrome in which they check tasks off their list before the actions have been integrated by the organization.

Goal setting is a positive, powerful, business practice when it tells your staff where you are going. Effective goal setting also demonstrates what success will look like during the journey and upon arrival. When practiced poorly, however, goal setting can negatively impact your organization in all the ways described, and more.

Thanks to HR

Posted on Wednesday 5th August 2009

Pattison reveals World Cup dream

Matty Pattison has revealed that it was the dream of representing South Africa at next year's World Cup that led him to leave Norwich City and return home.

The 24-year-old midfielder this week signed for PSL side Mamelodi Sundowns after finding himself out of favour at Norwich City.

The former Newcastle United player is now hoping his decision to return home will help to attract the attention of Bafana Bafana coach Joel Santana.

"I'm looking forward to the challenge and hopefully it'll mean I can get a place in the World Cup squad," Pattison told BBC Sport.

"I don't look at it as a step down because it means that I'll be seen by the people who pick the Bafana squad, which wasn't happening when I was playing in England.

"I'm very proud to be South African so it would mean everything to play for them."

Born in Johannesburg, Pattison moved to England at the age of 11 and rose through the youth team ranks at Newcastle, eventually making 10 appearances for the club.

He signed for Norwich last January but the combative midfielder failed to hold down a regular starting spot as the club were relegated to League One - the third tier of English football - last season.

"I'll miss playing in England but I'm not going to rule out going back one day," said Pattison.

"I just wanted to give myself the best chance possible of playing in the World Cup and I think coming to South Africa is the way to achieve that."

He will join an experienced squad under new manager Hristo Stoichkov, with the Bulgarian legend appointed by the Sundowns' billionaire owner Patrice Motsepe to replace Henri Michel back in June.

They could only finish ninth in the PSL last season despite the presence of several international stars but Pattison is confident they can improve on that showing as the new season kicks off this weekend.

"They've got the potential to be one of the top teams in the league and it didn't take long for me to decide this was where I wanted to come," he said.

"I've watched some of the football in South Africa and it's a very good standard - I didn't expect it to be so quick but that should suit my game having played in England.

"Sundowns have seven or eight players in the national squad so I'm hoping that I can add to that very soon."

source: bbc

Posted on Wednesday 5th August 2009

Everton in talks to sign Senderos

Everton have confirmed they are in talks with Arsenal over the signing of Swiss defender Philippe Senderos.

Senderos, 24, joined the Gunners in 2003 and made over 100 appearances before spending the 2008-09 campaign on loan at AC Milan.

"We have been negotiating with Arsenal for the transfer of Philippe," Everton chairman Bill Kenwright told his club's official website.

"Nothing has been concluded yet but talks are ongoing."

A fee of about £6m is thought to have been discussed for the Switzerland international but an Everton club source claimed the centre-back was not being signed as a direct replacement for Joleon Lescott.

Everton have rejected two bids, of £15m and £18m, for England defender Lescott, who reportedly held talks with Toffees manager David Moyes on Monday but did not submit a formal transfer request.

Lescott, who is ruled out of Tuesday's friendly at Blackpool with a hip injury, has been told by Moyes he will not be sold and City have yet to put in a third bid.

Senderos would at the very least provide Everton with cover at the back, where Phil Jagielka is not due to return from a knee injury until November at the earliest.

The former Servette player trained with his Arsenal team-mates during a Members Day at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday.

source: bbc

Posted on Tuesday 4th August 2009

Mido completes move back to Egypt

Middlesbrough striker Mido has returned to his native Egypt after signing a year-long loan deal with Zamalek.

The 26-year-old began his career with Zamalek before moving to Dutch giants Ajax, one of seven clubs he has played for in Europe.

Boro manager Gareth Southgate had admitted it was likely Mido would leave Teesside following the club's relegation to the Championship.

Mido signed for Boro from Tottenham in a £6m transfer in August 2007.

Southgate has already moved to replace the Egyptian by signing Leroy Lita, who was available on a free transfer after leaving Reading.

Earlier this week, Southgate told Middlesbrough's official website a deal for Mido to leave the club was close.

"We've agreed a one-year loan deal with Zamalek for Mido.

"We hope that will go through soon. We need another striker in the squad," he said.

Following Boro's relegation from the Premier League in May, the former Roma and Tottenham striker failed to turn up for the first two weeks of pre-season training and was disciplined by the club.

Mido, who has scored seven goals in 32 games for Boro, spent the end of last season on loan at Wigan, where he scored two goals in 12 games.

source: bbc

Posted on Tuesday 4th August 2009

Hillary Clinton heads to Africa

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is on her way Kenya, to begin an 11-day tour of the African continent.

Her trip will include South Africa, Nigeria, Liberia and Angola and she will meet Somali leaders in Kenya.

The visit, her longest overseas journey in her post to date, is part of an attempt by the US to show that Africa remains a key foreign policy priority.

Development issues - including food security, health and gender concerns - are expected to be high on the agenda.

Mrs Clinton's trip comes less than a month after US President Barack Obama travelled to Ghana.

Somali hopes

Ahead of her arrival on Tuesday, the US embassy in Nairobi issued a statement scolding Kenya for its decision not to set up a local court to seek justice for the victims of the country's post-election violence.

At least 1,300 people died during clashes following the disputed December 2007 poll.

Meanwhile Somali President Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed said the meeting with Mrs Clinton in Kenya would be "a golden chance for the Somali people and government".

"It signals how the American government, the Obama administration and the international community are willing to support Somalia this time," he said, referring to earlier failed peacekeeping missions to the country.

source: bbc

Posted on Tuesday 4th August 2009

Liverpool agree to sale of Alonso

Liverpool have reached an agreement to sell midfielder Xabi Alonso to Real Madrid, subject to a medical.

The fee for the Spanish international is reported to be in the region of £30m but Liverpool said the terms of the deal would remain confidential.

The 27-year-old joined Liverpool from Real Sociedad in August 2004.

A statement on Real's website confirmed the news and added that Alonso will arrive in Madrid on Wednesday "to undergo the required medical".

If the deal goes through Alonso will become the second Liverpool player to join the Spanish giants after full-back Alvaro Arbeloa's switch to the Bernabeu last week.

Real, under the guidance of returning president Florentino Perez, have embarked on an ambitious rebuilding programme this summer and Alonso's arrival will push their spending beyond the £200m mark.

Cristiano Ronaldo arrived from Manchester United in a world record £80m deal, Brazilian playmaker Kaka was bought from AC Milan for £56m and they have also spent £30m to sign France striker Karim Benzema from Lyon.

In addition defender Raul Albiol was signed from Valencia as Real looked to build a squad capable of challenging for honours at both home and abroad.

Rivals Barcelona completed a clean-sweep of domestic trophies in Spain last season, while Real have failed to progress beyond the last 16 of the Champions League for the past five seasons.

When the deal for Alonso is completed it will bring to an end Real's long pursuit of the Spanish international.

In July Real sporting director Miguel Pardeza was quoted as saying "Madrid don't discard an option until it is truly impossible", after reports suggested Liverpool wanted £50m for the midfielder.

It is believed Real returned with an offer of £30m that could rise to £34m depending on Alonso's success in Spain.

He will join former Liverpool goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek at the Bernabeu, leaving only Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher from Liverpool's 18-man squad that won the Champions League in 2005.

Alonso and Dudek were both part of the side that dramatically fought back from 3-0 down against AC Milan to win the trophy in a penalty shoot-out, Alonso scoring Liverpool's third and equalising goal on 59 minutes.

Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez had tried to sell the Spanish international last summer as he looked to fund a move for midfielder Gareth Barry from Aston Villa.

However, Alonso did not want to move and a deal for Barry eventually fell through, with Alonso going on to play a key role as Liverpool finished second in the Premier League.

source: bbc

Posted on Tuesday 4th August 2009

'First' swine-flu death in Africa

South Africa has confirmed its first death from swine flu, believed to be the first documented fatality from the virus in sub-Saharan Africa.

Health officials said a 22-year-old student had died on 28 July, and tests had confirmed the cause of death as the H1N1 influenza virus.

The country has had at least 150 confirmed swine flu cases - easily the highest rate in sub-Saharan Africa.

The illness has caused hundreds of deaths in North and South America.

Dozens more have died in Asia and Europe.

Africa was the last continent to be hit by the virus and has so far escaped relatively lightly.

South Africa confirmed its first case of the disease on 18 June and according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has had 151 cases in total.

The health ministry called the student's death "unfortunate and deeply regretted".

A statement from the ministry said he had been ill for about a week before going to a Western Cape hospital, where he was treated with antibiotics for pneumonia.

He died two days later.

The ministry's statement added: "We are encouraged by the fact that the majority of cases in South Africa have so far been mild and we hope that this will remain so despite this unfortunate death."

source: bbc

Posted on Monday 3rd August 2009

Google chief leaves Apple board

Google chief executive Eric Schmidt has quit Apple's board of directors because the search giant's business is increasingly competing with Apple's.

Apple boss Steve Jobs said that had Mr Schmidt stayed on, crossovers between the two firms' projects mean he would have to leave chunks of meetings.

Google's Android operating system is used in mobile devices that compete with Apple's iPhone.

Google is also developing an operating system based on its Chrome web browser.

The Federal Trade Commission has been examining whether Google's common ties with Apple might discourage competition.

In May, Mr Schmidt said that he had not contemplated stepping down as an Apple director because he did not see the company as a "primary competitor".

The decision for him to depart was a mutual one, Mr Jobs said.

"Unfortunately...Eric's effectiveness as an Apple board member will be significantly diminished, since he will have to recuse himself from even larger portions of our meetings due to potential conflicts of interest."

Google is beginning to promote its Google Voice service - which assigns a phone number to users, who can let the user divert calls to that number to other phone lines.

Last week the Federal Communications Commission wrote to Apple and Google seeking more information about Apple's rejection of a Google Voice application for the iPhone.

source: bbc

Posted on Monday 3rd August 2009

Pound and FTSE hit 10-month highs

The pound and the FTSE 100 index of top UK-listed shares have hit their highest levels since October on growing hopes for an economic recovery.

Markets took heart after brighter UK economic data and a rally in financial stocks following profits from banking giants HSBC and Barclays.

Sterling rose as high as $1.6925 against the dollar and also hit a one-month high against the euro.

The FTSE 100 index rose as high as 4,710.23 points.

Shares in Barclays climbed 7.3% after reporting an 8% rise in half-year profits, while HSBC rose 5.7% after it made better-than-expected profits of $5bn.

 

In afternoon trade, the FTSE 100 was up 1.8%, or 85.02 points, at 4,693.38 points.

Oil prices also rose to a one-month high above $71 a barrel, as an economic recovery should lead to greater demand for crude.

Lift for pound

The pound got a lift after data showed the UK manufacturing sector expanded for the first time in more than a year.

Manufacturing activity rose last month for the first time since March 2008, as new orders came in, according to a survey by the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) and Markit.

"The manufacturing sector has clearly pulled out of the nosedive it was in earlier this year and is no longer plummeting," said David Noble, chief executive of CIPS.

While still a long way below the $2 levels seen in July last year, the pound has rebounded 25% from the 23-year low of $1.35 it hit in January this year.

"Over the medium-term we are forecasting for sterling to continue to gain against the greenback, particularly if banks and blue-chip stocks show renewed strength, as Barclays did today," said David Clements, senior analyst at Caxton FX.

The UK economy is viewed as being particularly reliant on the banking sector so evidence of any upturn benefits sterling.

The pound has also benefited from recent weakness in the dollar.

The US currency has suffered as signs of a global economic recovery have encouraged investors to move their money out of dollars and into riskier assets.

The dollar is trading near its lowest levels this year when measured against a group of major currencies.

source: bbc

Posted on Monday 3rd August 2009

Barclays profit up to almost £3bn

Barclays has announced an 8% rise in first-half profits, boosted by its investment banking division.

Pre-tax profits for the first six months came in at £2.98bn ($5bn), although this was slightly below analysts' forecasts.

Profits at its investment bank Barclays Capital doubled, but those at its UK retail banking arm more than halved.

HSBC reported half-year profits of $5bn, although this was about half what it made in the same period a year ago.

By midday, shares in Barclays were up 9%, while HSBC had climbed 6.7%.

The BBC's business editor Robert Peston says the most resonant measure of how Barclays has performed can be seen in the average pay of staff at its investment bank, which was almost exactly £100,000 for just the first six months of the year.

Decisions about the sensitive issue of bonuses would not be made until the end of the year, however.

Rising bad debts

Total bad debts, across all parts of Barclays' international businesses, rose from £2.45bn to £4.56bn.

HSBC was also hit by rising bad debts in the US, Europe and Asia, forcing it to write-off $13.9bn - 39% more than the same period in 2008.

HSBC is currently in the process of closing its US consumer lending business, which suffered heavy losses from mortgages which went unpaid.

Barclays and HSBC are the first major UK banks to report half-year figures, with Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland reporting later in the week.

Investment banking 'back'

Profits at its UK retail banking division fell 61% to £268m, from £690m a year ago.

But profits at Barclays Capital rose to £1.05bn, from £524m a year ago.

Ralph Silva, banking analyst at Tower Group, said that not accepting government money would have contributed to Barclays Capital doing so well.

"Investment banking is back. If you are a big company you are going to gravitate towards the banks that have not received government funds," he said.

But, although Barclays has not received a direct injection of capital by taxpayers, it has received significant guarantees from the public sector.

It benefits from a promise that taxpayers will never let it fail, because it would be too damaging to the economy.

Liberal Democrat spokesperson Vince Cable said: "The worry from the British taxpayers' point of view is that ultimately these [investment banking] operations are underwritten by the taxpayer."

"Its fine when they make money. But when they lose money they lose big-time and the taxpayer picks up the bill as we did last year."

'Strong performance'

Barclays said it had gained more investment banking clients thanks to the acquisition of some Lehman Brothers businesses in 2008.

The addition of some of the Lehman businesses also "increased significantly" Barclays' presence in the US, the bank said.

The US now accounts for about 40% of its income.

Conservative MP Michael Fallon, who is also on the Treasury Select Committee, told the BBC: "It is disappointing to see that so much of Barclays' effort now is overseas".

He said banks delivered well in good times, boosting tax revenues for the government and providing jobs adding, "there is nothing wrong with paying the right money to attract the right talent."

"But the difficulty is when these banks get into trouble ...they are bailed out effectively and don't suffer the pain other businesses suffer in the bad times," he said.

Barclays chief executive John Varley was upbeat on the bank's prospects for the rest of the year.

"The investments we have made, particularly in our international businesses, are driving very strong income performance and allowing us to absorb the consequences of the economic downturn," he said.

"Our goal for 2009 is very clear: we seek to deliver another year of solid profitability. Our first half performance is a good start to this."

Richard Hunter, head of UK equities at Hargreaves Lansdown, said the figures represent "a profitable performance against a difficult economic backdrop".

"Investors are beginning to appreciate the progress Barclays has made and the consensus is that the shares are a cautious buy," he said.

source: bbc

Posted on Monday 3rd August 2009

SA policeman moves into station

A senior South African police officer has set up home in his police station after payments were stopped for his accommodation at a local guest house.

The Beeld newspaper reports that he washes in the station's kitchen and holds meetings in his pyjamas.

Superintendent David Matlahola has been living at Ratanga police station, east of Johannesburg for the past two weeks.

A local official told the BBC the situation had led to tensions between staff members.

Johan Bester, chairman of the local police liaison forum, said the police had agreed to pay his accommodation of 2,000 rand ($258; £152) a month boarding as a perk for relocating the station commander from Limpopo Province to Gauteng.

"The arrangement came to an end last month. He demanded to be moved into a state home but the police refused."

He said the matter had been brought to his attention by officers at the Ratanga police station.

"Mr Matlahola was told that he doesn't qualify for a state home because he is a high-ranking officer. I find this difficult to believe because I personally know of officers where I work, who have a similar ranking who live in state homes," he said.

Mattress

Police at the Ratanga station refused to comment on the record when contacted for comment by the BBC but they did confirm the story was true.

South Africa's Beeld newspaper, which says its journalists visited the police station, reports that Mr Matlahola has moved some of his furniture, including a lounge suite and a mattress, into his office.

Mr Bester told BBC that he has received a number of calls from community members concerned about the situation at the police station.

The Sapa news agency reports that the police have refused to comment on matter.

"It is an internal matter and will be handled internally," said Gauteng police spokesman Superintendent Eugene Opperman, Sapa reports.

The BBC's efforts to reach Mr Opperman were unsuccessful.

source: bbc

Posted on Monday 3rd August 2009

Aston Villa agree fee for Delph

Aston Villa have agreed a fee with Leeds United for Fabian Delph.

Villa released a statement confirming they have been given permission by Leeds to talk to the midfielder.

The highly rated 19-year-old has risen through the ranks at Elland Road and was a regular for United in League One last season.

Manchester City and Everton have also been linked with the player and United confirmed they have rejected bids from Premier League clubs.

A Leeds statement added: "Leeds United wish to place on record our appreciation for the honourable manner in which Aston Villa have conducted their interest in the player.

"The club has resisted approaches from other FA Premier League clubs since agreeing terms with Aston Villa.

"Having given Villa our commitment to transfer the player (subject to a medical), we had no intention of going back."

Delph, who was the Football League's Young Player of the Year last season, signed a new four-year deal with Leeds in September but he has continued to attract interest from Premier League clubs.

He was withdrawn from United's pre-season friendly with Burnley on Saturday.

Last week, Manchester City manager Mark Hughes confirmed his side's interest in the England Under-21 international, saying he was "a young player who has been brought to our attention".

In June, Leeds denied Everton had made an approach for the youngster.

source: bbc

Posted on Monday 3rd August 2009

Man City move for Leeds teenager

Manchester City have entered the race to sign Leeds United's highly rated midfielder Fabian Delph.

Aston Villa and Everton have also been linked with the 19-year-old left-sided player, who was withdrawn from Leeds' friendly with Burnley on Saturday.

"We have an interest in the situation," said City boss Mark Hughes after their 1-1 friendly away draw with Barnsley.

City's interest in Delph is a surprise given their summer spending spree has targeted experienced internationals.

During the summer transfer window City have spent close to £100m in signing the likes of Kolo Toure, Carlos Tevez, Roque Santa Cruz, Gareth Barry and Emmanuel Adebayor.

"He is a young player who has been brought to our attention," said Hughes of City's interest in Delph, who is likely to command a transfer fee of in excess of £6m.

"I'm not sure where we are up to with that because obviously I have been busy with the game."

Delph won the Football League's Young Player of the Year award last season.

His form, which secured an England Under-21s debut in November, established him as one of the stars of a League One campaign that ended in play-off semi-final defeat to Millwall.

Although he signed a four-year deal at Elland Road in September, speculation linking him with a move to the top flight has continued with Leeds denying in June that Everton had made a bid.

news source: bbc

Posted on Saturday 1st August 2009

New deal ends F1 breakaway fears

The future of Formula 1 has been secured after the sport's governing body and 12 teams put pen to paper on a new Concorde Agreement.

The agreement, which runs until the end of 2012, brings to a close months of wrangling between the FIA and the Formula 1 Teams' Association (Fota).

The FIA said the signing heralds "a renewed period of stability" for F1.

It added that the document features a "slightly revised set of stable sporting and technical regulations."

The lack of a new Concorde deal - the document that sets out how F1 is run and its revenues distributed - had been a key sticking point during disagreements between the FIA and Fota earlier this season.

However, the signing of the new agreement heralds a final resolution to the political rows that have destabilised the sport throughout 2009.

An FIA statement on Saturday read: "Following approval by the World Motor Sport Council (WMSC), late last night FIA President Max Mosley signed the 2009 Concorde Agreement, heralding a renewed period of stability for the FIA Formula One World Championship.

"The WMSC has also approved a slightly revised set of stable Sporting and Technical Regulations (to apply from the 2010 Championship onwards), which have been agreed by the FIA and the Teams and which will be published on the FIA's website.

"The new Concorde Agreement, which runs until 31 December 2012, provides for a continuation of the procedures in the 1998 Concorde Agreement, with decisions taken by working groups and commissions, upon which all teams have voting rights, before going to the WMSC for ratification.

The FIA statement also confirmed that a final agreement had been reached over the issue of cost-cutting along lines previously agreed.

"In addition, as agreed in Paris on 24 June 2009, the Teams have entered into a resource restriction agreement, which aims to return expenditure to the levels that prevailed in the early 1990s," read the statement.

BMW Sauber, who this week confirmed they would pull out of F1 at the end of the season, are the only current team to have not signed the document, with new grand prix teams USF1, Campos Meta and Manor GP all doing so.

It is understood BMW's bosses have until Wednesday 5 August to sign the document should they elect to stay in F1 in 2010 and beyond.

F1 was thrown into confusion in July when the eight teams in the rebel umbrella group Fota were told they were not entered in the 2010 championship.

This contradicted an announcement by the FIA's world council on 24 June which listed McLaren, Ferrari, Renault, BMW, Toyota, Brawn, Red Bull and Toro Rosso as confirmed entries after Max Mosley, president of F1's governing body the FIA, had reached a compromise deal with Fota chairman and Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo and F1 commercial boss Bernie Ecclestone.

As part of that agreement, the outline of next year's rules was set, the teams agreed to commit to F1 until 2012, Mosley's plan for a £40m budget cap was replaced with an agreement to reduce costs to "mid-1990s levels" by Fota's methods and the FIA president agreed not to stand again for the governing body's presidence in October's elections.

news source: bbc

Posted on Saturday 1st August 2009

Hilal Pillars win in Group A

Nigeria's Kano Pillars moved to the top of Group A in the African Champions League on goal difference with a 3-1 win over Al Merreikh of Sudan.

Victor Namo scored twice in the first half for Kano Pillars.

The Sudanese side were reduced to ten men after 53 minutes when Moussa El Tayeb was red carded for elbowing Namo.

Merriekh's caretaker coach Mohamed Abdullah was also sent off for protesting against El Tayeb's dimissal.

Nigerian striker Endurance Idahor gave the Sudanese side some hope when he pulled a goal back for Merreikh after 59 minutes.

Mosese Ogada made certain of the three points for Pillars with a strike in the 89th minute.

Sudan's Al Hilal are level on points with Kano at the top of Group A after a 1-0 victory over Zesco United of Zambia in Khartoum.

Al Hilal's Osama Altaewon scored the lone goal of Friday's game after nine minutes.

Despite the victory Hilal's Brazilian coach Paulo Campos was unhappy with his team's performance.

"I'm very satisfied with the victory, the three points were very important," he told BBC Sport.

"What I am not satisfied about is the performance I was expecting more and I'm sure the spectators were expecting more too.

"A lot of work has to be done, I've only been here two months and only time helps the players co-ordinate."

Zesco's technical director, Andre Mtine, felt his side improved as the game improved.

"In the first half we were a little nervous and we could have played a lot better," he said.

"We played much better in the second half but I also thought the officiating played a part.

"The goal they scored was a goal-kick but they were awarded a corner instead and from that we conceded the goal."

source: bbc

Posted on Saturday 1st August 2009

Firefox passes billion milestone

The open-source browser Firefox passed its billionth download on Friday, ahead of the release of its fourth iteration.

The milestone includes downloads of all versions of the web software since its first release in 2004.

Figures suggest that Firefox now has nearly one third of the browser market worldwide, at 31%.

Microsoft's Internet Explorer still dominates the field with around 60%, whilst Google's Chrome, Apple's Safari and Opera are all less than 5%.

Microsoft is currently in talks with the European competition regulators, which ruled in January that pre-bundling Internet Explorer with the company's Windows operating system hurt competition.

The firm recently made a proposal that would offer European buyers of its new Windows 7 operating system a list of potential browsers when they first install the software.

Regulators in Brussels said they "welcomed" the proposal but have yet to make a decision.

Firefox would be among the browsers on offer.

Record run

The browser, developed by the Mozilla Foundation, has quickly become a favourite with web surfers since its launch in 2004.

Last year, the foundation set a new Guinness world record for the most software downloaded in 24 hours when the third version of Firefox was downloaded more than eight million times.

The billionth download figure includes all versions of Firefox released since 2004 and includes single users downloading multiple copies for different computers.

In addition, the figure includes anyone manually updating their software to the latest version, rather than waiting for the automatic download.

Automatic updates are not included in the total.

The total number of downloads can be tracked on the Mozilla website. The foundation plans to launch a new website, OneBillionPlusYou.com, to celebrate the milestone.

Mozilla developers are currently working on the fourth iteration of the software.

Earlier this week, it showed off screenshots of the next version of the browser, Firefox 4.0.

The images showed a browser with a similar look to Google's Chrome software.

news source: bbc

Posted on Friday 31st July 2009

Hamilton joy at Schumacher return

Reigning F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton says it will be "an honour and a privilege" to race against seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher.

The German is coming out of retirement to drive for Ferrari while Felipe Massa recovers from a crash and will return to racing at the European Grand Prix.

"He is one of the sport's greatest competitors, a legend - it'd be great to compete against him," said Hamilton.

"The whole world will be watching his return to the cockpit in Valencia."

Schumacher, 40, retired at the end of 2006 but has remained closely involved with Ferrari.

The German will now cover for his former team-mate Massa while the Brazilian recovers from the serious injuries he suffered when he crashed in qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix, which was won by Hamilton.

The English driver has previously spoken of his regret at never having had an opportunity to go head to head with Schumacher, but at the next grand prix, on the street circuit in Valencia, he will finally get his chance.

"It will not only be fascinating to see how he readies himself for his grand prix comeback, but also an honour and a privilege to race against him for the very first time. I wish him well," added Hamilton.

This season's championship leader Jenson Button also said he was pleased at Schumacher's return.

"Everyone is saying he can only lose because if he wins it will be expected, and if he doesn't, they'll say he's lost it," said Button.

"It's a tough position for him to be in but I'm happy he's taken up the challenge and it's very brave of him.

"He's still young - 40 is not old and he'll still be competitive.

Button's mixed feelings over Schumacher return

Brawn driver Button leads the championship by 18.5 points after a sensational start to the season, winning six of the first seven races.

But he has gone off the boil recently, without a podium place in the last three races, and at the next race he will also have Schumacher to contend with.

And Button does not expect the man who has already won 91 grands prix to just to make up the numbers.

"His reactions will still be there and I'm sure he's fit enough," he said.

"He tested in winter and was quick, he jumped in and on the first run he was competitive."

Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen said he is looking forward to working alongside Schumacher.

"If it really happens I will be happy to partner him, even though it may not have much effect on my own performance," said the 30-year-old Finn, who was the 2007 Formula One world champion.

Since retiring from racing, Schumacher has remained in touch with the sport as well as taking part in motorcycle racing.

However, he suffered neck and back injuries in a bike accident in February and must now go through a rigorous training regime to prove his fitness.

"I hope he's up to it physically and he can pass the tests that must be administered for the neck muscles, which he hasn't used in a while," said Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo.

"But already, the entire team is working to prepare him. On Friday, he'll have his first tests on the track."

The Valencia circuit has been modified since Schumacher retired, while the ban on in-season testing could also count against the F1 legend, who must rely on Ferrari's simulators to prepare him for his first drive in a 2009 specification Ferrari.

"This will be a big problem, at least for the first race, because he's going to find himself on a circuit he's never driven on, with a car he's never driven, and with technology he doesn't know," Montezemolo said.

"But, unfortunately, this is the price we have to pay."

news source: bbc

Posted on Thursday 30th July 2009

Reds and Real agree Arbeloa fee

Liverpool have agreed a fee with Real Madrid to sell right-back Alvaro Arbeloa to the Spanish club.

The move is subject to a medical and worth about £3.5m to the Reds, who signed the 26-year-old for £2.6m from Deportivo La Coruna in January 2007.

Spain international Arbeloa had one year left on his Anfield deal so could have left for free next summer.

Defender Glen Johnson's June arrival from Portsmouth paved the way for Reds manager Rafael Benitez to sell Arbeloa.

Switzerland international Philipp Degen is fit again after rib and lung injuries so is another option for Benitez at right-back, while Jamie Carragher can also play in that position.

Arbeloa, who began his career at the Bernabeu, scored two goals in 98 games for Liverpool and speculation had suggested he could join Real in a joint deal that would result in Xabi Alonso also leaving the Merseysiders.

However, a question mark over midfielder Alonso's future still remains as the club's players enjoy a three-day break before returning on Thursday.

Benitez has spoken to Alonso and urged him to stay at Anfield.

"I talked to Xabi and told him, as he can see here, that the fans love him and said to him 'Maybe you have to stay," said Benitez recently.

"You can see he is a really good player and I'll be really pleased if he stays. All the players and his team-mates want him to stay. If we keep Xabi I will be very pleased."

Liverpool striker Fernando Torres is also keen for his Spanish international team-mate to stay at Anfield.

"It would be a bad piece of work if Xabi left - he plays his cards close to his chest so I don't know what is going to happen," Torres told The Sun.

"I'd put Xabi's own wishes ahead of everything else, of course, but he's got three years left on his contract with us and I'd love it if he stays.

"It would be a serious loss for Liverpool if he left this summer."

news source: bbc

Posted on Wednesday 29th July 2009

Clinton to go on tour of Africa

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is to tour seven African countries, starting on 5 August.

The visit is to highlight President Barack Obama's commitment to making Africa a US foreign policy priority.

While in Africa, Mrs Clinton is set to speak at the Africa Trade and Economic Cooperation Forum (AGOA) in Kenya.

Her office in Washington says this is the earliest in any US administration that both the US president and secretary of state have visited Africa.

Global hunger and agricultural issues will also feature highly in her discussions with African leaders.

Kenya is her first stop, where she is set to address the AGOA forum on new approaches to development, investment and broad-based economic growth.

Kenya is also the birthplace of the US president's father.

Mr Obama visited Ghana earlier this month - his first visit to sub-Saharan Africa since being elected president.

Mrs Clinton will also visit South Africa, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Liberia, and Cape Verde.

She will also meet Somalia's President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, president of Somalia, whose forces are battling Islamist insurgents.

news source: bbc

Posted on Wednesday 29th July 2009

Ghana line up Zambia friendly

Ghana have lined up a friendly against Zambia next month as part of their build-up for the World Cup qualifiers.

The Black Stars will clash with the Chipolopolo in London at Brisbane Road on 12 August.

The West Africans quickly arranged the game after Morocco pulled out of a proposed friendly scheduled for the same day in France.

"We have now agreed to play Zambia in London," Ghana Football Association president Kwesi Nyantakyi said.

"Only some few days ago we had Morocco in the picture but they had to withdraw because they were afraid they will lose.

"Teams are afraid to play the Black Stars because of the fear of losing their positions on the Fifa ranking."

The game forms part of the Black Stars warm-up for September's World Cup qualifier against Sudan in Accra.

Ghana are in pole position in Group Five and they will strengthen their grip on top of the table if they secure a win over the Nile Crocodiles.

Zambia are also in contention for a World Cup ticket in Group Three are they are only three points adrift of leaders Algeria.

news source: bbc

Posted on Wednesday 29th July 2009

Schumacher makes shock F1 return

Michael Schumacher will make a shock return to Formula 1 to replace injured Ferrari driver Felipe Massa.

The seven-time world champion retired at the end of 2006 but will drive at the European Grand Prix on 23 August.

Ferrari said the 40-year-old will stand in for as long as Massa is sidelined by the serious head injuries he sustained in the Hungarian Grand Prix last week.

"For team loyalty reasons I can't ignore this unfortunate situation," said the former Ferrari driver.

His spokesman Sabine Kehm had told the BBC on Tuesday that although Schumacher - who was working as an advisor for Ferrari - was not willing to make a full-time return to F1, he would not rule out standing in for Massa.

And the German racing legend has now decided to come out of retirement and make a sensational return to the sport.

"It is true that the Formula 1 chapter has long been closed for me," said Schumacher, who won five world titles for Ferrari.

"The most important thing first: thank God, all news concerning Felipe is positive, and I wish him all the best again.

"This afternoon I met with team principal Stefano Domenicali and Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo and together we decided that I will prepare myself to take the place of Felipe.

"As the competitor I am, I also very much look forward to facing this challenge."

Schumacher has not driven an F1 car since April 2008 and competed in the last of his 249 grands prix in October 2006.

And the most successful F1 driver of all time now has slightly more than three weeks to prepare himself for the European Grand Prix in Valencia.

The ban on in-season testing means Schumacher will not be able to turn a wheel of the 2009 specification Ferrari before first practice on Friday 21 August.

Nevertheless, the team have chosen Schumacher - who won 91 grands prix in a glittering career - ahead of reserve drivers Marc Gene and Luca Badoer.

"Ferrari intends to entrust Michael Schumacher with Felipe Massa's car for as long as the Brazilian driver is not able to race," read a team statement.

"Michael Schumacher has shown his willingness and in the next few days he will undergo a specific programme of preparation at the end of which it will be possible to confirm his participation in the championship starting with the European Grand Prix."

There are six more races to go after Valencia, including trips to Belgium, Italy, Singapore and Japan.

Schumacher will undergo an intensive training programme to determine whether he is fit enough to return to the rigours of F1 racing.

Since retiring from the sport, Schumacher has occasionally taken part in motorcycle events but in February he suffered neck and back injuries in a bike accident.

Those injuries could affect his ability to drive an F1 car which places huge pressures on the neck because of the varying G-forces.

Massa could be out for the rest of the season after undergoing surgery on a fractured skull sustained when a spring from Rubens Barrichello's Brawn hit him on the helmet when he was travelling at more than 160mph during qualifying in Hungary on Saturday.

The Brazilian is set to leave intensive care and is making progress, though there is also concern about damage to his left eye.

Schumacher is close to Massa, who was his team-mate in his final season, and has taken a close interest in the Brazilian's career.

BBC Radio 5 Live F1 commentator David Croft believes Schumacher is coming back partly because of that close relationship.

"I think he's coming back because it is to replace Felipe Massa, temporarily. He is very close to Felipe, they've had a great relationship over the years," said Croft.

"I think it's his way of doing something to help Felipe, and doing something to help Ferrari at the same time, because if you look at the alternatives Ferrari had, they weren't really alternatives.

"Who else is there who could come into Ferrari and hit the ground running, who knows the car, who knows the team, who could give them a podium?

"The European Grand Prix, which was not one we were looking forward to at the start of this year, has now got a real spice to it.

"Lewis Hamilton against Michael Schumacher for the first time ever? Jenson Button up against Michael Schumacher? How will Kimi Raikkonen respond? It's going to be fascinating."

news source: bbc

Posted on Wednesday 29th July 2009

Toure completes Man City switch

Manchester City have signed central defender Kolo Toure from Arsenal for a reported £16m on a four-year contract.

Toure, who had seven years at Arsenal, passed a medical on Wednesday and is City's sixth signing of the summer.

Boss Mark Hughes said: "It is no secret that we have been looking to strengthen our defence and in Kolo I feel we have recruited a world class player."

Toure told City's website: "I am still at an age, 28, where I feel I am at my peak and will play my best football."

Hughes, who recently failed to lure Chelsea centre-back John Terry to Eastlands, added: "Kolo has been a central figure in a strong Arsenal team for many years, and I have been an admirer of him for a long time.

"He is strong, quick, reads the game well and will be an influential figure in the dressing room."

Toure was linked to City in January and although Arsenal said then he was not for sale, the London club have now decided it is time to let him leave.

"For me it was time to move but only for the right club and I feel that Manchester City is that club," added Toure.

"The ambition here is clear to see and is big. Everyone knows this club is moving and that is really, really important.

"I still want to achieve things and I feel as though I can bring something to City and that is what I will be striving to do. It is not just about quality on the pitch it is about blending as a team and with my experience I think I can help City do just that."

Toure had been with Arsenal since 2002 but failed to hold down a regular starting place last season. He handed in a transfer request in January, which was rejected by the Arsenal board.

The Ivory Coast defender played for Arsenal on Monday night in a pre-season friendly in Hungary and in all he played 326 games for the Gunners, scoring 14 goals, and had two years left on his contract at the Emirates Stadium.

As well as missing out on Terry, Hughes had a £15m bid for Everton defender Joleon Lescott rejected earlier this month.

But the Gunners, who have already sold striker Emmanuel Adebayor to City for £25m this summer, have been more receptive to offers from the oil-rich Eastlands club.

On top of capturing Adebayor, City have already brought in former Manchester United forward Carlos Tevez, midfielder Gareth Barry from Aston Villa and striker Roque Santa Cruz from Blackburn for a total of about £55m this summer.

Meanwhile, defender Nedum Onuoha has ended speculation over his future by signing a new five-year contract at Eastlands.

The 22-year-old, who came through City's academy, had been rumoured to be on his way out of the club due to the number of high-profile additions to the squad, but he has pledged to fight for his place in the team.

"Unless you are continuously improving you shouldn't expect to be in the team," said Onuoha. "I want to improve on last season and I am raring to go."

Onuoha broke into City's back four midway through last season and never relinquished his place with a series of composed performances.

news source: bbc

Posted on Wednesday 29th July 2009

Fans still hope to buy Liverpool

ShareLiverpoolFC founder Rogan Taylor has not given up hope of buying Liverpool in a joint venture with fans' group the Spirit of Shankly.

Liverpool's American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett received a 12-month extension on £350m worth of bank loans secured against the club last week.

But Taylor told BBC Radio Merseyside: "It's another season and it will have to be restructured again.

"It costs you a lot of money when banks do this for you."

Taylor, a football academic at the University of Liverpool, is not convinced the renegotiation of debt between the American owners, the Royal Bank of Scotland and Wachovia is a good thing.

"Debt is being added to debt and that's a deeply depressing situation for Liverpool fans," said Taylor.

Taylor believes the concept of ShareLiverpoolFC, where fans would pay £500 for one share and run the club along the lines of FC Barcelona, is a viable alternative.

"The ShareLiverpoolFC - Spirit of Shankly proposal offers an opportunity to get the club on a firm basis.

"If the club was considerably less in debt and had a firm, long-term basis for paying back what debt there was in it, borrowing the money to build the stadium wouldn't be a particularly difficult issue."

Taylor's initial proposal sought Liverpool fans willing to pay £5,000 for a single share, which has since been reduced to 10% of that figure.

Questions have been raised about the viability of a fans' takeover on such a large scale but despite the doubters, Taylor is adamant it can be done.

"It's a one-off piece of Liverpool FC through ShareLiverpoolFC," he said.

"Nobody will ever own more of it than you do, now that's got intrinsic value hasn't it?

"Because these are not simple issues it's sometimes difficult for people to grasp," said Taylor.

news source: bbc

Posted on Wednesday 29th July 2009

Schumacher would consider return

Michael Schumacher is not ruling out the possibility of standing in for injured Ferrari driver Felipe Massa.

The Brazilian fractured his skull in Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying and may be out for the rest of the year, while Schumacher, 40, is a Ferrari adviser.

"The whole thing will be considered by Ferrari. If they approach Michael, then he will consider it," the seven-time champion's spokeswoman told BBC Sport.

"But there is no reason for him to step into their discussion."

Schumacher, who retired from Formula 1 at the end of the 2006 season, told the BBC in an interview at the German Grand Prix two weeks ago that he was not interested in returning to F1.

However, his spokeswoman Sabine Kehm said that was a reference to a permanent return.

"Usually, I would say he's not interested because he's fine with his life and he doesn't miss anything but now the situation is so different - it's very hypothetical - and Michael doesn't want to step into that [discussion]," she stated.

In-depth interview - Michael Schumacher (UK users only)

She added that Schumacher still trained every day but that she did not know whether he was fit enough to race an F1 car again.

"Michael had a motorcycle accident in February when he had a neck problem - and I really can't tell you if his neck would be fine to drive an F1 race," she said.

"If Ferrari asked him whether he would consider driving, he would have it checked - and remember he is a 40-year-old man, too."

Schumacher's manager Willi Weber insists the German will not drive for Ferrari in the next race - the European Grand Prix in Valencia in Spain on 23 August.

"Michael will not sit in a car in Valencia, this is out of the question," Weber told Germany's SID news agency.

"What would we expect from Schumacher if he stepped into a Formula One car? To win. The expectations from both sides would be too high."

Massa has had surgery on a fractured skull sustained when a spring from Rubens Barrichello's Brawn hit him on the helmet at more than 160mph during qualifying in Hungary on Saturday.

He is in a "severe but not critical" condition, according to the hospital that is treating him in Budapest and there is also concern about damage to his left eye.

The surgeon treating him, Robert Veres, revealed it was "too early to say" whether Massa would be able to compete again.

But he will almost certainly not be able to drive at the next race in Valencia and probably not for the rest of the year either.

That means Ferrari need to find a team-mate for Kimi Raikkonen for the Valencia race.

Schumacher, who won a record 91 grands prix in his career, is under contract to the team after taking on a consultancy role following his retirement.

The German is close to Massa, who was his team-mate in his final season, and has taken a close interest in the Brazilian's career.

But he has not driven an F1 car since April 2008 and may consider that he has nothing to gain from a temporary return.

A number of other drivers have been mentioned as possible replacements for Massa.

Among them is Renault's Fernando Alonso, who is expected to move to Ferrari in 2010 anyway - although the team have not confirmed that report and the Spaniard has denied it.

Renault have been banned from the Valencia race after allowing Alonso to return to the track with a loose wheel following a pit stop.

The wheel and its fairing both became detached from the car as he toured slowly back to the pits - an alarming sight only 24 hours after Massa's accident.

Renault have appealed against the decision to suspend them and a hearing of the court of appeal of governing body the FIA is expected in