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The Togo team bus was attacked by Angolan gunmen who sprayed their team bus with bullets for 20 minutes killing the driver and wounding four others. Manchester City striker Emanuel Adebayor was on the bus during the attack. Togo player Thomas Doss, who plays for French club Nantes said: ‘We had just crossed the border five minutes before, we were surrounded by police buses, one in front of us another behind. Everything was fine and then there was a powerful burst of gunfire. Everyone threw themselves under the seats and tried to protect themselves but some couldn’t escape the bullets.’ The bus was attacked as it travelled into the oil-rich Cabinda region of Angola from its training camp in Congo-Brazzaville. It is a huge blow to Angola after spending $1bn on stadiums, hotels and other infrastructure for the tournament. The hosting of the African nations tournament was seen as part of the rebuilding process after 27 years of war which saw 1million people killed and 4million displaced.
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Artistic expression has reached another social, cultural and extreme level of intensity with young radicalised youth believing in the extreme and prepared to express it in a more than violent way. Danish artist Kurt Westergaard had depicted the prophet Muhammad as a suicide bomber in a cartoon. However a Somali extremist demonstrated his feelings when he went to attack the artist in his home with an axe. However the 75-year-old artist set off his house alarm and ran for cover in a ‘panic room’ leaving his grandchild in the living room. Westergaard has received a number of death threats since his artistic expression was published in 2006. WFTS comments – if sport and the arts are meant to engage, motivate and inspire the hearts and minds of the youth of the world, we cannot allow it to radicalise them and demonise their thoughts.
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The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change came to an end adopting the Kyoto Protocol. This protocol sets binding targets for 37 industrialised countries and the European community for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 5% to the year 2012. Chief Executive of the UNFCCC, Yvo de Boer stated that an accord had been reached that was politically important. He commented that there was a willingness to move forward with a diversity of countries that have put a letter of intent together for climate change. The main point was the agreement to keep the maximum temperature rise to below 2 degrees Celsius and committed funding to see through the process. He finished by saying that the challenge was now to turn what is agreed into something that is legally binding in Mexico one year from now.
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European nations have pledged €1.8 billion in green aid to developing countries, a move criticised as too little when compared to trillions pumped into the banking system, and for being old funding repackaged. Over 900 protesters have been arrested at the climate summit in Copenhagen where world leaders are negotiating the future of the planet’s health.
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The build up to the first World Cup on the continent of Africa is now gaining momentum following the draw in Cape Town. And this week the United Nations has launched an appeal to Fifa and soccer’s five main European Leagues to invest in the schools of poor countries. Unesco (United Nation’s culture, science and education) has called for a ‘Better Future’ levy of 0.4% on all broadcast and sponsorship revenues from next years World Cup and the five main European leagues between 2010 and 2015; raising US$48m (£29m) a year between now and the 2014 World Cup. This would put 500,000 children from poor countries in education. WFTS comments – A small percentage levy from all premiership soccer matches could be mandated to put back on the streets to keep our youth off the streets?
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The world’s top expert and Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has warned that our lifestyles are unsustainable unless we take drastic action now. He said that people should have their electricity monitored and that heavy aviation taxes should be implemented to put people off flying. He also stated that restaurants should not serve iced water unless it is requested, as this was a complete waste. Amongst other recommendations were less use of cars and an increase on the congestion charge. Rajendra Pachauri believes that young people will make the changes rather than today’s adults who have been corrupted by the way that we currently live.
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Australia is shifting emphasis from funding Olympic medal winners to funding national health. Government spending will be redirected from Olympic sports such as Tae kwon do, wrestling, water polo and archery to non-Olympic mass participation sports such as Australian Rules football, cricket and surfing. WFTS comment- Any funding needs to follow a strategic development plan from local to national level with clearly measurable quantitative and qualitative monitoring and evaluation procedures.
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National and International – Two reporters, one from London and the other from Baltimore, USA changed places for a few days to see what they could learn from each other with regards to crime and policing. It became apparent that they both learnt much from each other. Justin Fenton from the Baltimore Sun was impressed that there are not so many armed police officers in the UK, however their response time in informing local communities of serious crimes was slow. Where Mark Hughes from the Independent learnt that Baltimore has a higher crime rate than London and is ten times smaller. He was however impressed that the ratio of black police officers was representative of the local community with 45% black officers where in London there are only 8%. Also, Britain is way ahead in the use of DNA testing. This has plusses and minuses. On the plus side, many crimes are solved using DNA on the negative, Britain holds a database of 12 % of the population including many who were found to be innocent whereas the state of Maryland has a data base of only 1% with only those charged with sexual or violent crimes are held. Mark Hughe’s final conclusion is that compared with Baltimore, the UK’s problems are miniscule!
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Professor Henry Lewis Gates who runs Harvard’s African American research centre and is a well-known television presenter in the states was handcuffed and arrested in his own home this week. The professor had locked himself out of his house and was trying to get in when a neighbour called the police, reporting a potential burglar.
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The German Grand Prix, Nurburging has again found itself with the Formula 1 boss and Labour supporter, Bernie Eccleston caught in controversy when he commented that he was a supporter of Hitler who ‘got the job done’. This, no doubt has caused uproar in German circles from government to the BMW boss Mario Theissen who described Mr Eccleston as disgusting. Eccleston certainly courts controversy and this ill timed comment will be seen as provocative, but again, reflective of sport’s inability to understand and appreciate its power to influence society. At the moment, it simply reflects a society and a world ill considered and insensitive to the offence it might cause.
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The ongoing and continued global impact following Michael Jackson’s death continues as debate, controversy and rumours surround his state of health as well as state of well being. The millions of fans around the world paying homage to the king of pop with funeral arrangements now well advanced and media speculation increasingly high, the quarter million expected fans that will attend the funeral next week would be unprecedented in modern times. With a memorial service also planned at the 17,000 Staple Centre where Jackson last rehearsed in preparation for his London concerts, the million or so fans who will enter a web based lottery for the 17,000 tickets again shows that the king will be worth more in his death than he was in life. With $600 million in assets and $400,000 in liquid assets, many are beginning to understand the pressure on the 50 year old to produce 50 one-night performances.
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