iblog

Steve Robinson: Fabio Capello was made England manager yesterday, a move that should give England fans a renewed sense of hope following the disappointing failure to qualify for Euro 2008. The former Real Madrid manager has signed a four-and-a-half year deal, with an option to terminate after the 2010 World Cup.

"I am delighted that Fabio Capello has agreed to become England Manager. When we set out to recruit the new manager, we said we were committed to appointing a world-class candidate. In Fabio Capello we have that man.

Brian Barwick, FA Chief Executive

Capello had been touted as firm favourite since Mourino ruled himself out last week. The FA were keen to stress however that Capello was their number one choice, and the appointment was unanimously agreed by the FA Board on Thursday. The appointment comes only three weeks after Steve McClaren’s reign came to an end with the defeat at Wembley to Croatia. The new manager begins work on Monday 7 January with his first game scheduled for 6 February, a home friendly against Euro 2008 hosts Switzerland. Capello has an impressive CV. The Italian started his playing career with SPAL before moving to Roma, Juventus and AC Milan. He was part of the Italian national side for four years, gaining 32 caps and scoring 8 goals. In 1991 he became coach at AC Milan, with whom he won Serie A four years out of five, culminating in the UEFA Champions League victory over Barcelona in 1994. He later coached Roma and Juventus, winning the league with both, before returning to Real Madrid where he again won the Spanish league title. Although he has never coached at international level, Capello has worked with the top players in Europe, as well as being a former international player himself, and so is well qualified to lead England forward. The FA announced they would scour the world for contenders, and take as long as they deemed necessary to find the right man, given the next competitive game is not until September 2008. Yet, England were without a manager for just three weeks, a move that has been rightly called into question. However, the FA singled out their man and went for him, a decisive trait they lacked when searching for Sven-Goran Eriksson’s replacement. In Capello, the FA have found an extremely capable manager. Put simply, the FA deserves praise, despite their previous failings, and England fans should look forward to the future. To read more about this and other Footballing stories - go to TalkFootball.co.uk

Image: Flixya.com

Rushda: Despite most Britons still celebrating Christmas with the same kind of vigour as before, a new study has found that fewer and fewer people know the details of the birth of Christ. Indeed the survey has suggested that "more than a quarter of adults in Britain do not know where Jesus was born." The survey was conducted for public theology think tank Theos, which found that only 27% were able to identify Bethlehem as Jesus' birthplace. The same percentage also accounts for those who did not know who told Mary that she was about to have a son. Young people were affected the most as around one-third of them could not say much about the birth of Christ. According to Paul Woolley, director of Theos:

"The fact that younger people are the least knowledgeable about the Christmas story may reflect a decline in the telling of Bible stories in schools and the popularity of nativity plays. No one seriously thinks that being a Christian or a member of the established church is the same thing as being British today. But, at the same time, if we are serious about social cohesion we can't afford to ignore the stories that have bound us together as a culture for 1,000 years."

Personally, what I find particularly dismaying is that traditional Christmas does seem to be vanishing from schools as well, with only 1 in 5 schools putting on a nativity play this year. For me, the yearly nativity play was an indispensable aspect of school life as a child and I always waited for it impatiently, regardless of whether I believed the story was true. It seems a shame, therefore, that so many children will miss out on all the features of it which made it so great - the festivities, the community spirit, and the general excitement which accompanies it. Though I am not a Christian myself, I empathise with those who think that there would be something lost if people started forgetting about the traditional story of the birth of Christ. A little bit of thought behind the festivities would certainly not go amiss for anyone.

Steve Robinson: In the latest efforts to bring stability to Iraq, Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced yesterday that British troops would begin withdrawing from the Basra region within the next two weeks. The move is the first step to reducing the UK presence in the area to just 2,500 troops by spring 2008, and will be the first time that Iraq’s second city will be without foreign soldiers since the conflict began in 2003. Brown also praised soldiers for their efforts during his unannounced visit to Basra, saying the British people were proud of them, according to BBC News.

“I have just talked to Prime Minister [of Iraq] Maliki and he asked me to pass on his thanks to you for what you have done to help rebuild the democracy of Iraq.

“I know many of you will not be home for Christmas, but I do appreciate the spirit of service that means you are serving here the national interest at Christmas time.”

Gordon Brown speaking at a Basra airbase yesterday Source: BBC News

The decision comes amid concerns that, despite the PM’s reassurances that the 30,000 Iraqi armed forces and police can provide effective provincial control, the situation in Iraq could easily worsen following the withdrawal of troops. Only in August, following the initial stages of handing Basra back to the Iraqi authorities, violence broke out over political control and oil resources in the region amongst Shiite militias. Furthermore, last week the Commons Defence Committee – the body of MPs that monitors the Ministry of Defence – warned that removing troops could lead to insecurity in the area. They questioned the allegiances of police officers, saying that the British troops may have made “significant progress” in the region but that it still relied on British soldiers to function (Source: Sky News). Though this staggered withdrawal from the region is a positive move for Iraq, culminating presumably in the complete removal of British troops over the next year or so, the apparent successes of the British in Basra could be undermined by instability caused by infighting or criminal activity, which could well rise after the withdrawal. However, if the Iraqi forces are able to maintain order in the region, then the New Year will be a cause for celebration in Basra, as the whole country looks forward to an important year ahead. Image: The White House

Rushda: Many girls across the world will be disappointed to hear that one of the world's richest and most eligible bachelors, Google's co-founder Larry Page, is marrying his girlfriend Lucy Southworth on a private island in the Caribbean. Larry Page, who is the joint fifth-richest man in the United States, has an estimated fortune of $18.5bn (£9bn). It is rumoured that he has invited over 600 guests to the wedding. The private 74-acre paradise is called Necker Island, and is owned by Sir Richard Branson who is also Page's best man for the wedding. The couple are said to have been dating for around a year, and it is not known whether or not they are signing a prenuptial agreement. Though Lucy and Larry themselves have not confirmed the event to the media, it is certain that the wedding will be taking place. The 600 guests were told that they only required a valid passport for the weekend as private planes would be provided to take them to the island. Over the past 6 months wedding planners have booked up all the hotels on the neighbouring island of Virgin Gorda in order to ensure there will be enough room for all the guests. As one source has said:

"They rented all of Virgin Gorda. They took over the island.”

Though much of the guest-list is kept a secret, it does contain such high-profile figures as Bill and Hillary Clinton, and other celebrities such as U2 singer Bono.

Jeanne: Elephants appear to be better at keeping tabs on family members than some humans, it seems. In a recent study, scientists found that elephants were able to use their absent relatives’ scent to keep track of their location despite the fact that these relatives were not present in the group at the time. The research was carried out by examining the behaviour of wild elephants in Kenya and provides further evidence to suggest that certain members of the animal kingdom may be more developed than previously believed. Wild elephants often move in herds. However, they frequently leave the companionship of their pack and break off into smaller groups to compete with other elephants for good and grazing land. Elephants were shown samples of pack members’ urine and, in general, reacted with surprise when presented with the scent of a family member that they believed not to be in the area. Dr. Lucy Bates, one of the researchers involved in this study, elaborated on the phenomenon when speaking to the media:

"We reckoned that only if each elephant was continually updating its memory of where everyone was, and was able to identify specific individuals from their urine, would they show any different reaction to such cases."

The elephants’ need to keep track of their fellow pack members has interesting parallels with human behaviour. Anybody with young children, for example, will know how difficult it can be to keep track of youngsters in a crowded area. As Dr. Richard Byrne of St. Andrews University comments:

"You think of a comparable human situation - perhaps a mum in the supermarket with three kids and a husband who'd rather be looking in the DIY section - keeping track of four or five people is really quite a strain. But our elephants are doing it in parties of 20 to 30 family members. It may be that where elephants really excel in memory is not remembering things for very long periods but in everyday working memory - where it is important to update and delete things rather than remember things forever."

If only human parents could adopt a similar technique!

Jeanne: To many of us, a long lie-in is a luxury. As a university student, I regularly get by on four or five hours of sleep a night (and sadly that has nothing to do with partying the night away.) However, I’ve decided to rethink my sleep habits having come across recent research which points to the healing powers of sleep. Getting a good night’s rest is more important than I ever imagined. Here’s why sleep is so important. A good night’s sleep helps you to live longer. Sleep duration has declined from an average of eight hours during the early 1990s to about seven hours today. At the same time scientists have found that blood pressure has become a growing problem in the western world. Sure, people are now consuming fatty foods as never before, but the relationship between poor sleep patterns and the increasing incidence of high blood pressure holds true even after accounting for other causal factors. Sleep helps you look better. Well, we all know that, so why the need to elaborate? In any case, there are hundreds of creams and lotions which will help get rid of those nasty dark circles and bags under your eyes. However, researchers have found that dark circles are probably the least of your worries. People who receive insufficient sleep undergo the same changes in metabolism that humans experience as they age. So effectively, you’re making yourself look older by not getting that much-needed shut-eye. Sleep helps build a better brain. It goes without saying that we all feel a lot more alert after a good night’s sleep. However, sleep also improves your memory and problem-solving skills. Furthermore, lack of sleep can have similar effects on the brain as an evening of light boozing. If you’ve been up for seventeen hours straight, you’re likely to be as alert as someone who has a blood alcohol level of 0.05 percent. Sleep can help you lose a few pounds. For one thing, you won’t be tempted to scoff down ice cream at 1 am. However, inadequate sleep also lowers leptin levels. This is the hormone which instructs your body to ‘feel full.’ I doubt I’ll be compromising as much on sleep next term!

Rushda: Over the last few days many have been in shock over what has happened to British teacher Gillian Gibbons who has been sentenced to fifteen days in prison in Sudan for allowing her primary school class to name a teddy bear "Muhammad". The act has been held to be an insult to Islam even though Gibbons had no idea she was causing any offence. The sentence comes after many thought that Gibbons may even receive 40 lashes for this apparent crime. The conviction has given rise to much controversy on either side. Whilst those in Britain and other western countries are absolutely appalled, especially considering it wasn't even her own suggestion that the teddy be called Muhammad but that of her pupils, many in Sudan are protesting violently because they believe her sentence had been too lenient. After all, why should anyone get away with making a mockery of their religion or worse, as some believe, being part of a western "conspiracy" to undermine the religion? The prison conditions are supposed to be "very harsh" in Sudan so it is a matter of urgency that Gibbons is freed. Many people have been in touch with Sudanese authorities, including Prime Minister Gordon Brown. As a spokesman from Downing Street says:

"We are doing all we can to ensure her release. Various intense activity is ongoing but I'm afraid it's not helpful for me to get into the detail of what that is at the moment."

The sentencing brings up many puzzling questions about how offence can be taken at the smallest of things and whether it was really justified. Indeed Western mentalities cannot understand how it can be perfectly acceptable to name boys "Muhammad" but not pets or toys. Will we be caught out again and again by trivial distinctions that make it impossible for anyone to live comfortably in the presence of those who interpret almost anything as insulting? And will we insist with dogmatic conviction at every opportunity that no one should take offence at the things we do? A little bit of compromise from both sides would certainly not go amiss.