• Mail scott.murray@guardian.co.uk in the electronic fashion • Follow the rest of the day’s goals as they go in • Press F5 for the latest, or switch on the auto-refresh HALF TIME: Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-2 Swansea City. The teams depart to a chorus of boos. Wolves, more accurately, depart to a chorus of boos. They’ve been as dreadful as Swansea have been scintillating. Molineux is miffed. Here’s Roy Allen with “It’s Oversimplification Time! So here goes. Swansea are a well-coached team of players picked for their ability on the ball. Wolves are a disorganised shower of players picked for brawn and getting stuck in. It’s past v future, and the future is 2-0 up.” 45 min: Dyer is down getting some treatment on his right leg. He’s been outstanding in this first half; Swansea certainly won’t want to lose him. 43 min: Sinclair cuts inside from the left and hammers a shot goalwards. Hennessey parries. On the edge of his own area, Johnson looks to clear, but only succeeds in hammering the ball straight into Berra. The clearance could clank anywhere, but ricochets out of play down the left, well away from danger. Wolves are now officially a shambles. 42 min: Dyer diddles down the right, cuts inside, and is afforded an age to take a shot at goal. Luckily for Wolves, his effort is low and lame; for a second, that looked like a third. Swansea are nothing short of superb in attack, especially down this right-hand side. Wolves, on the other hand, well, let’s not riff on their pain. 38 min: “You’re getting sacked in the morning,” sing the Swansea fans. Black Dog is scampering up and down the vomitories. 35 min: GOAL!!! Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-2 Swansea City. So simple. Graham tears down the right after a clever looped pass. He’s in acres, and sends a low cross into the centre for Allen, who sidefoots brilliantly into the net, Hennessey having no chance whatsoever. Brilliant play from Swansea, though the closing down by Wolves in the middle, as the move developed, was questionable to say the least. Molineux erupts in booing, a mix of pique at the (correct) non-penalty decision, and the inadequacies of their own team. 33 min: Jarvis looks to spin Monk on the left-hand edge of the Swansea area. He’s upended by Monk’s lunge as he turns, and it looks like a penalty kick, but that’s an excellent decision by the referee, who only awards a free kick: on second viewing, the challenge was millimetres outside the area. The referee, of course, only had one chance to see it, and the poor buggers get pelters just about every week, so hats off for that. The Wolves fans don’t see it that way, of course, and boo accordingly as O’Hara steps up to send a free kick straight at Vorm. 31 min: Wolves can’t get anything going. “Up early here in the USA watching the match,” reports Herman Hooker from Atlanta. “I just wanted to let you know that my TV’s program guide calls this English Championship Soccer. They usually call it English Premier League Soccer. Perhaps an omen?” If Wolves fans didn’t already feel the chill winds of 1984 against their necks, they will now. 28 min: Graham, Dyer, Gower and Sinclair are coming at Wolves from all angles. The home defence looks very nervous whenever anybody runs with the ball at them. A couple of corners for Swansea, the first nervously cleared behind by Henry, the second a free kick to relieve the pressure after Graham puts himself about a wee bit too much. 25 min: A free kick for Wolves, 30 yards out, just to the left of goal. Hammill hits a beauty, the ball heading for the top left corner, Vorm fingertipping over spectacularly. A very decent response by Wolves, but one made in a very quiet stadium. Outside, you can hear Black Dog creaking through the turnstiles. 23 min: GOAL!!! Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-1 Swansea City. Dyer, cutting in from the right, shoots just over. No matter. A minute later, Gower, 30 yards out, lifts the ball straight down the middle, over Johnson and to the feet of Graham, who has broken clear into the area down the inside-left channel. He’s clear on the edge of the six-yard box, and pokes the ball past the advancing Hennessey and into the bottom-right corner. 20 min: Wolves so nearly take the lead. Good work from Doyle down the right, whose low cross finds Jarvis level with the far post. Jarvis spins and shoots, but his effort is blocked. The ball’s quickly swung back in, and there’s a wee melee, O’Hara finally hitting a shot in the crowded area from six yards straight at Vorm. The resulting corner’s wasted, but that’s raised the crowd. 18 min: Dyer, Rangel and Gower are causing Wolves all manner of bother down this right wing. Ward is spinning around like a teenager after two warm cans of Special Brew. He’s helped out this time by Jarvis and O’Hara, albeit not particularly convincingly, Dyer nearly threading a clever pass past two old-gold shirts for Graham in the box, but the ball’s eventually hacked clear. A concern for Wolves, this wing. 15 min: O’Hara busies himself down the left, giving Jarvis a bit of space to cross. The ball’s flung into the area, but easily cleared. Henry has half a second to unleash another long-distance effort towards goal, and he’s encouraged by the crowd to do so via the medium of holler, but he can’t get the shot away and the crowd go back to quietly seething. Don’t judge, a five-match losing run does this to people. 13 min: Swansea aren’t all pretty passes; they snap into the tackle, and harry all over the pitch. Like Barcelona, sort of, only admittedly not quite as good, but very much less self-righteous. 10 min: From the corner, the ball’s worked out to Rangel on the right. A cross to the near post, where Graham guides the ball well right of the target. He was free of the all-gold back line there, and should have done better. Swansea took a while to warm up, but they’re the better team now. Molineux is a wee bit quiet all of a sudden, anxiety having just arrived, Black Dog still queuing up outside the stadium for admission. 9 min: Swansea are pinging it around nicely, all of a sudden. Allen hits a rising shot from 20 yards that’s fingertipped over by Hennessey. 8 min: Swansea have settled a bit now, with Dyer their main outlet. Again he gives Ward a torrid time down the right, and sends a daisycutter into the area. Berra gets across to intercept, sidefooting the ball wide right of goal for a corner. The corner kick… yeah. 7 min: It’s sunny in Wolverhampton, by the way. Crisp and cold, I’ll be bound, coat and sunglasses weather. A good atmosphere, too, both sets of fans giving it plenty. 5 min: Dyer twists Ward this way and that down the right, some good old fashioned Garrinchaisms, but the Wolves man holds firm and Dyer has to lay the ball off. It’ll never make much of an anecdote, but it’s all that Swansea have managed in the Wolves half so far. 4 min: Nothing comes of the corner, but then this is Premier League football. 3 min: A strong start by Wolves, this. Ebans-Blake sends Jarvis free wide down the left, and the resulting cross to the far post is dangerous, but Henry miscontrols. Wolves come straight back at Swansea, though, the promising Hammill twisting and turning down the right to win a corner. And we’re off! Wolves set the ball rolling. Nobody manages to control the ball during the first 30 seconds, but then nobody managed that for nearly 70 minutes during the Liverpool-Manchester United game last week, and few complained about that. Then, after 39 seconds, Henry latches onto a loose ball 35 yards out, and unleashes a super-screamer towards goal. The ball’s low, rising slowly, and swerving all over the place, but by the time it reaches the six-yard box it’s straight at Vorm, who can parry clear. What a shot, though! And what a start. More, teams, please! The teams are out! They’re running about. They’ll soon be playing football. Referee: Michael Oliver (Northumberland) Swansea City: Vorm, Rangel, Monk, Williams, Taylor, Dyer, Allen, Gower, Britton, Sinclair, Graham. Subs: Tremmel, Orlandi, Routledge, Lita, Moore, Richards, Moras. Wolverhampton Wanderers: Hennessey, Stearman, Berra, Johnson, Ward, Jarvis, Henry, O’Hara, Hammill, Doyle, Ebanks-Blake. Subs: De Vries, Craddock, Hunt, Vokes, Milijas, Doherty, Guedioura. Kick off at the grand old Molineux: 12.45pm. Perhaps more pertinent, is the fact that Swansea are the only side yet to pick up a point away from home this season. And that Wolves have lost their last five league matches, their worst run in the top division since 1984, which was another relegation season for them I’ll be bound. No pointers worthy of note, then. I don’t know why I mentioned it. These two clubs have only ever met in the English top division twice. That was in 1981/82, when John Toshack’s Swansea were on their way to finishing sixth, and a place in Europe, while Wolves were on their way down. In October at the Vetch Field, the teams played out a goalless draw. Come March at Molineux, Swansea scuttled off with a dour 1-0 victory, Ian Walsh heading the winner. The result “salvaged Welsh pride”, it says here, as it sent Swansea top of the division on a day Wales got spanked in the rugby, 34-18 against Scotland, their first home defeat in 28 championship matches. Premier League Wolverhampton Wanderers Swansea City Scott Murray guardian.co.uk
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• Mail scott.murray@guardian.co.uk in the electronic fashion • Follow the rest of the day’s goals as they go in • Press F5 for the latest, or switch on the auto-refresh HALF TIME: Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-2 Swansea City. The teams depart to a chorus of boos. Wolves, more accurately, depart to a chorus of boos. They’ve been as dreadful as Swansea have been scintillating. Molineux is miffed. Here’s Roy Allen with “It’s Oversimplification Time! So here goes. Swansea are a well-coached team of players picked for their ability on the ball. Wolves are a disorganised shower of players picked for brawn and getting stuck in. It’s past v future, and the future is 2-0 up.” 45 min: Dyer is down getting some treatment on his right leg. He’s been outstanding in this first half; Swansea certainly won’t want to lose him. 43 min: Sinclair cuts inside from the left and hammers a shot goalwards. Hennessey parries. On the edge of his own area, Johnson looks to clear, but only succeeds in hammering the ball straight into Berra. The clearance could clank anywhere, but ricochets out of play down the left, well away from danger. Wolves are now officially a shambles. 42 min: Dyer diddles down the right, cuts inside, and is afforded an age to take a shot at goal. Luckily for Wolves, his effort is low and lame; for a second, that looked like a third. Swansea are nothing short of superb in attack, especially down this right-hand side. Wolves, on the other hand, well, let’s not riff on their pain. 38 min: “You’re getting sacked in the morning,” sing the Swansea fans. Black Dog is scampering up and down the vomitories. 35 min: GOAL!!! Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-2 Swansea City. So simple. Graham tears down the right after a clever looped pass. He’s in acres, and sends a low cross into the centre for Allen, who sidefoots brilliantly into the net, Hennessey having no chance whatsoever. Brilliant play from Swansea, though the closing down by Wolves in the middle, as the move developed, was questionable to say the least. Molineux erupts in booing, a mix of pique at the (correct) non-penalty decision, and the inadequacies of their own team. 33 min: Jarvis looks to spin Monk on the left-hand edge of the Swansea area. He’s upended by Monk’s lunge as he turns, and it looks like a penalty kick, but that’s an excellent decision by the referee, who only awards a free kick: on second viewing, the challenge was millimetres outside the area. The referee, of course, only had one chance to see it, and the poor buggers get pelters just about every week, so hats off for that. The Wolves fans don’t see it that way, of course, and boo accordingly as O’Hara steps up to send a free kick straight at Vorm. 31 min: Wolves can’t get anything going. “Up early here in the USA watching the match,” reports Herman Hooker from Atlanta. “I just wanted to let you know that my TV’s program guide calls this English Championship Soccer. They usually call it English Premier League Soccer. Perhaps an omen?” If Wolves fans didn’t already feel the chill winds of 1984 against their necks, they will now. 28 min: Graham, Dyer, Gower and Sinclair are coming at Wolves from all angles. The home defence looks very nervous whenever anybody runs with the ball at them. A couple of corners for Swansea, the first nervously cleared behind by Henry, the second a free kick to relieve the pressure after Graham puts himself about a wee bit too much. 25 min: A free kick for Wolves, 30 yards out, just to the left of goal. Hammill hits a beauty, the ball heading for the top left corner, Vorm fingertipping over spectacularly. A very decent response by Wolves, but one made in a very quiet stadium. Outside, you can hear Black Dog creaking through the turnstiles. 23 min: GOAL!!! Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-1 Swansea City. Dyer, cutting in from the right, shoots just over. No matter. A minute later, Gower, 30 yards out, lifts the ball straight down the middle, over Johnson and to the feet of Graham, who has broken clear into the area down the inside-left channel. He’s clear on the edge of the six-yard box, and pokes the ball past the advancing Hennessey and into the bottom-right corner. 20 min: Wolves so nearly take the lead. Good work from Doyle down the right, whose low cross finds Jarvis level with the far post. Jarvis spins and shoots, but his effort is blocked. The ball’s quickly swung back in, and there’s a wee melee, O’Hara finally hitting a shot in the crowded area from six yards straight at Vorm. The resulting corner’s wasted, but that’s raised the crowd. 18 min: Dyer, Rangel and Gower are causing Wolves all manner of bother down this right wing. Ward is spinning around like a teenager after two warm cans of Special Brew. He’s helped out this time by Jarvis and O’Hara, albeit not particularly convincingly, Dyer nearly threading a clever pass past two old-gold shirts for Graham in the box, but the ball’s eventually hacked clear. A concern for Wolves, this wing. 15 min: O’Hara busies himself down the left, giving Jarvis a bit of space to cross. The ball’s flung into the area, but easily cleared. Henry has half a second to unleash another long-distance effort towards goal, and he’s encouraged by the crowd to do so via the medium of holler, but he can’t get the shot away and the crowd go back to quietly seething. Don’t judge, a five-match losing run does this to people. 13 min: Swansea aren’t all pretty passes; they snap into the tackle, and harry all over the pitch. Like Barcelona, sort of, only admittedly not quite as good, but very much less self-righteous. 10 min: From the corner, the ball’s worked out to Rangel on the right. A cross to the near post, where Graham guides the ball well right of the target. He was free of the all-gold back line there, and should have done better. Swansea took a while to warm up, but they’re the better team now. Molineux is a wee bit quiet all of a sudden, anxiety having just arrived, Black Dog still queuing up outside the stadium for admission. 9 min: Swansea are pinging it around nicely, all of a sudden. Allen hits a rising shot from 20 yards that’s fingertipped over by Hennessey. 8 min: Swansea have settled a bit now, with Dyer their main outlet. Again he gives Ward a torrid time down the right, and sends a daisycutter into the area. Berra gets across to intercept, sidefooting the ball wide right of goal for a corner. The corner kick… yeah. 7 min: It’s sunny in Wolverhampton, by the way. Crisp and cold, I’ll be bound, coat and sunglasses weather. A good atmosphere, too, both sets of fans giving it plenty. 5 min: Dyer twists Ward this way and that down the right, some good old fashioned Garrinchaisms, but the Wolves man holds firm and Dyer has to lay the ball off. It’ll never make much of an anecdote, but it’s all that Swansea have managed in the Wolves half so far. 4 min: Nothing comes of the corner, but then this is Premier League football. 3 min: A strong start by Wolves, this. Ebans-Blake sends Jarvis free wide down the left, and the resulting cross to the far post is dangerous, but Henry miscontrols. Wolves come straight back at Swansea, though, the promising Hammill twisting and turning down the right to win a corner. And we’re off! Wolves set the ball rolling. Nobody manages to control the ball during the first 30 seconds, but then nobody managed that for nearly 70 minutes during the Liverpool-Manchester United game last week, and few complained about that. Then, after 39 seconds, Henry latches onto a loose ball 35 yards out, and unleashes a super-screamer towards goal. The ball’s low, rising slowly, and swerving all over the place, but by the time it reaches the six-yard box it’s straight at Vorm, who can parry clear. What a shot, though! And what a start. More, teams, please! The teams are out! They’re running about. They’ll soon be playing football. Referee: Michael Oliver (Northumberland) Swansea City: Vorm, Rangel, Monk, Williams, Taylor, Dyer, Allen, Gower, Britton, Sinclair, Graham. Subs: Tremmel, Orlandi, Routledge, Lita, Moore, Richards, Moras. Wolverhampton Wanderers: Hennessey, Stearman, Berra, Johnson, Ward, Jarvis, Henry, O’Hara, Hammill, Doyle, Ebanks-Blake. Subs: De Vries, Craddock, Hunt, Vokes, Milijas, Doherty, Guedioura. Kick off at the grand old Molineux: 12.45pm. Perhaps more pertinent, is the fact that Swansea are the only side yet to pick up a point away from home this season. And that Wolves have lost their last five league matches, their worst run in the top division since 1984, which was another relegation season for them I’ll be bound. No pointers worthy of note, then. I don’t know why I mentioned it. These two clubs have only ever met in the English top division twice. That was in 1981/82, when John Toshack’s Swansea were on their way to finishing sixth, and a place in Europe, while Wolves were on their way down. In October at the Vetch Field, the teams played out a goalless draw. Come March at Molineux, Swansea scuttled off with a dour 1-0 victory, Ian Walsh heading the winner. The result “salvaged Welsh pride”, it says here, as it sent Swansea top of the division on a day Wales got spanked in the rugby, 34-18 against Scotland, their first home defeat in 28 championship matches. Premier League Wolverhampton Wanderers Swansea City Scott Murray guardian.co.uk
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Trinidadian-born musician who introduced rumba sound to Britain’s dance halls died at home in Spain Edmundo Ros, the man who kept British feet tapping through the war years and during the period of austerity that followed, has died at his home in Spain at the age of 100. Ros was the leading Latin American musician and vocalist of his era and his charisma and infectious rythmns introduced the rumba sound to Britain’s dance halls. His death was confirmed on Saturday by the secretary of the Grand Order of Water Rats, the charitable showbusiness fraternity. “He died last night peacefully at his home in Spain, two months short of his 101st birthday,” said John Adrian. Ros became a household name when Princess Elizabeth, the future Queen, arrived at a party at London’s Bagatelle restaurant and made her first public foray on to the dance floor accompanied by the music of Ros’s band. The South American beat, or at least an anglicised version of the authentic time signatures, quickly became popular all over Britain and Ros’s tunes such as The Wedding Samba, Zing, Zing Boom and The Cheeky Parakeet became favourites. Ros was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad on 7 December 1910. His father was Scottish and his mother a Venezuelan. As a teenager, the musician lived in Caracas, Venezuela, and he began to play with the country’s military academy band as well as learning to play the drums in the national symphony orchestra. He received a government scholarship to study music and, between 1937 and 1942, he learned harmony, composition and orchestration at the Royal Academy of Music in London. In 1941 he recorded his first tracks with Parlophone and then played regularly with his own rumba band at the Coconut Grove in Regent Street, London, a club he later bought and renamed Edmundo Ros’s Dinner and Supper Club. At the age of 64 Ros broke up his band and destroyed his musical arrangement sheets before retiring to Spain. Vanessa Thorpe guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Trinidadian-born musician who introduced rumba sound to Britain’s dance halls died at home in Spain Edmundo Ros, the man who kept British feet tapping through the war years and during the period of austerity that followed, has died at his home in Spain at the age of 100. Ros was the leading Latin American musician and vocalist of his era and his charisma and infectious rythmns introduced the rumba sound to Britain’s dance halls. His death was confirmed on Saturday by the secretary of the Grand Order of Water Rats, the charitable showbusiness fraternity. “He died last night peacefully at his home in Spain, two months short of his 101st birthday,” said John Adrian. Ros became a household name when Princess Elizabeth, the future Queen, arrived at a party at London’s Bagatelle restaurant and made her first public foray on to the dance floor accompanied by the music of Ros’s band. The South American beat, or at least an anglicised version of the authentic time signatures, quickly became popular all over Britain and Ros’s tunes such as The Wedding Samba, Zing, Zing Boom and The Cheeky Parakeet became favourites. Ros was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad on 7 December 1910. His father was Scottish and his mother a Venezuelan. As a teenager, the musician lived in Caracas, Venezuela, and he began to play with the country’s military academy band as well as learning to play the drums in the national symphony orchestra. He received a government scholarship to study music and, between 1937 and 1942, he learned harmony, composition and orchestration at the Royal Academy of Music in London. In 1941 he recorded his first tracks with Parlophone and then played regularly with his own rumba band at the Coconut Grove in Regent Street, London, a club he later bought and renamed Edmundo Ros’s Dinner and Supper Club. At the age of 64 Ros broke up his band and destroyed his musical arrangement sheets before retiring to Spain. Vanessa Thorpe guardian.co.uk
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First in line to succeed King Abdullah had colon cancer and spent almost a year recuperating in the US and Morocco The heir to the Saudi throne, Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, has died, raising questions about the succession in the oil-rich kingdom and key US ally in the Middle East. The death of the crown prince – the half-brother of the ailing Saudi King Abdullah – was announced by Saudi state TV. Sultan, who was 85 and had been suffering from colon cancer, was the kingdom’s deputy prime minister and the minister of defence and aviation. He underwent surgery in New York in February 2009 for an undisclosed illness and spent nearly a year abroad recuperating in the United States and at a palace in Agadir, Morocco. The most likely candidate for the throne after Sultan is Prince Nayef, the powerful interior minister in charge of internal security forces. After Sultan fell ill the king gave Nayef an implicit nod in 2009 by naming him second deputy prime minister, traditionally the post of the third in line. Anyone who rises to the throne is likely to maintain the kingdom’s close alliance with the United States. But there could be internal differences. Abdullah has been seen as a reformer, making incremental changes to improve the position of women and to modernise the kingdom despite some backlash from the ultra-conservative Wahhabi clerics who give the royal family the religious legitimacy needed to rule. Nayef is often seen as closer to the clerics. Sultan was a central figure in the world’s top oil exporter who dominated defence policy and was long seen as a future king. British foreign secretary William Hague paid tribute on Saturday to the Crown Prince: “He served the kingdom of Saudi Arabia for many years with great dignity and dedication. His contribution to the prosperity and development of the kingdom will long be remembered. I would like to offer my sincere condolences to the kingdom and its people at this sad time.” US secretary of state Hillary Clinton expressed condolences on the crown prince’s death. “The Crown Prince was a strong leader and a good friend to the United States over many years, as well as a tireless champion for his country,” she said during a visit to Tajikistan. “He will be missed.” Sultan’s death may put in motion for the first time an “allegiance council” consisting of sons and grandsons of the kingdom’s founder. The council was set up by his half-brother, Abdullah, to vote on future kings and their heirs. Saudi Arabia Middle East David Batty guardian.co.uk
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Chancellor warns debt crisis is a ‘real danger’ to all of Europe as he arrives in Brussels ahead of EU leaders’ summit The eurozone debt crisis is a “real danger” to all of Europe, including the UK, the chancellor, George Osborne, has warned. Arriving for talks in Brussels ahead of a summit of all 27 EU leaders on Sunday, Osborne said it was “critical” and “in Britain’s national interest” that the crisis was resolved. Joining EU finance ministers for talks ahead of the summit, the chancellor said a comprehensive solution to the economic crisis would be the biggest boost for the British economy this autumn. He said: “What we’re going to be arguing for at this meeting is a comprehensive solution to this crisis. We’ve had enough of short-term measures, sticking plaster that just gets us through the next few weeks. “The crisis of the eurozone is a real danger to all of Europe’s economies, including Britain’s. “We need to address the root causes of the problem with a lasting solution that will help all of Europe’s economies.” The finance ministers are assessing the risk of “contagion” from Greece to other bigger European economies, including Italy. They are also finalising plans for a further recapitalisation of banks to protect them against future economic shocks. David Cameron is to attend part of Sunday’s European council summit, but with France and Germany at loggerheads, key decisions have been postponed until Wednesday’s gathering. The prime minister is due to fly to a Commonwealth summit in Perth next Wednesday when the 17 eurozone leaders meet to agree a deal to save Greece from default, strengthen European banks and construct a multibillion-euro fund to protect the euro from future debt crises. Ed Miliband has attacked Cameron for not seeking a place at Wednesday’s meeting , accusing him of an abdication of responsibility. The Labour leader said the prime minister should be “banging on the door to maintain British influence” over the future shape of Europe and said Cameron should ignore his “barking” Tory eurosceptics, who have been urging the prime minister to keep his distance. The foreign secretary, William Hague, advised Conservative MPs on Saturday against voting for a referendum on Britain’s future in the EU, warning it could damage the UK’s economic recovery and undermine attempts to tackle the eurozone crisis. Cameron faces potentially the most serious rebellion of his premiership on Monday in a vote on a backbench debate about Britain’s membership of the EU. At least 61 Conservative MPs have signed a motion calling for a referendum on whether the UK should remain in the EU, leave or renegotiate its membership, and some predict the total number of rebels could top 85. In an article for the Daily Telegraph on Saturday, Hague writes: “As a Conservative, I want to bring powers back from Europe, as we set out in our election manifesto. But he said a referendum, especially at this time of profound economic uncertainty, is not the answer. “Nothing would do more to help our economic recovery than a resolution of the eurozone’s difficulties, while its disorderly break-up would have a very serious impact on our economy.” The key to a successful deal on the eurozone debt crisis could be a private meeting between the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, and the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, in Brussels on Saturday. They have clashed recently over the details of shoring up the euro and persuading jittery financial markets that the single currency is solid. Some ministers, including Osborne, have set a G20 summit in Cannes in less than a fortnight as the ultimate deadline for resolving the eurozone’s sovereign debt crisis. America and China have urged EU leaders to resolve the debt crisis and prevent the world sliding into another slump. European debt crisis Economic policy George Osborne European banks Euro Currencies Euro European Union Economics David Batty guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Networks hungry for viewers know the cheapest way to nab eyeballs is to produce a “reality show” with no stars, and supposedly-unscripted-but-in-reality-very-scripted and often uber-sleazy content. But in the rush for the prized adult 18-49 viewers, what about the millions of youngsters, the audience aged 11 to 17, also lured into the soup? The Girl Scout Research Institute recently surveyed 1,000 girls in that age bracket and found these children aren't clueless. Everyone surveyed thought reality shows promote bad behavior: 86 percent felt the shows often set people against one another to increase the dramatic value; 73 percent thought reality shows depict fighting as a normal part of a romantic relationship; and 70 percent believed that reality TV leads people to believe it acceptable to mistreat each other. So the youngsters see through the mud? Not exactly. Here's the rub: 75 percent said that competition shows (like “American Idol”) and 50 percent of “real life” shows like MTV's “Jersey Shore” are “mainly real and unscripted.” They may not find the antics admirable, but they see them as real, for them a mirror of what awaits them in the “real world” when they grow up. What kind of “unscripted” sludge are teenagers watching on “Jersey Shore”? A new episode finds the cast taking their alcohol-drenched misbehavior to Italy (so much for “unscripted”). Deena desperately wants Pauly D to “do sex” with her, which causes Pauly to go trolling through nightclubs looking for a one-night-stand alternative. Does this sound like a show for eleven-year-olds? Of course not, presumably would argue the producers. Our show is aimed at an adult audience. But millions of middle-schoolers watch, too. Pauly can’t find an adequate partner, so back at the MTV-rented villa, Deena is drunk and telling Pauly “I'm a good f—! And I have no shame!” With all the tenderness you’d expect from “Jersey Shore,” Pauly replies, “”Deena, I would knock the dust off your [blank] if we weren't friends.” The New York Daily News recap explained: “The next morning, Deena and Snooki decide to drown their sorrows — or at least the memory of their sorrows — with a day (and night!) of binge drinking, meatball grinding, and showing strangers how to do the ‘Jersey turnpike’ dance move. If you don't know it, look it up. Not at work.” You shouldn’t look it up at work for that would be inappropriate. But your sixth-grader can watch it — on basic cable. Not only that, but with Halloween coming, your kids can buy the trick-or-treat costumes to imitate them. Last year, MTV proudly displayed a photo of what looked like second-graders dressed like their channel’s promiscuous drunks. Their headline read, “These Jersey Shore Halloween Costumes Make Us Proud.” The “reality” shows featuring young people with no discernible talents whatsoever has also led to a distorted and unhealthy view of fame. The GSRI study asked girls 11 to 17 if they expect to be famous. One in four think so. So how does one achieve this fame? Here's where the damage from the “reality show” is documented. Two very different world views emerged when the sample was divided into regular viewers of “reality” and non-viewers. On the statement: “You have to lie to get what you want,” 37 percent of regular viewers of reality TV shows agreed versus 24 percent of non-viewers. On “Being mean earns you more respect than being nice,” 37 percent of viewers agreed versus a fourth of non-viewers. On the notion, “You have to be mean to others to get what you want,” 28 percent of “reality” viewers agreed, compared to 18 percent of non-viewers. This is what networks like MTV are achieving. Regular viewers of reality TV accept and expect a higher level of drama, aggression, and bullying in their own lives. The study found that 78 percent of regular viewers agreed that “gossiping is a normal part of a relationship between girls,” compared with 54 percent of non-viewers. Sixty-eight percent agreed that “it's in girls' nature to be catty and competitive with one another,” while only 50 percent of non-viewers thought so. Obviously, not all “reality” shows promote societal disfunctionality (though I'm hard-pressed to find an exception on MTV). Some are positive and truly inspirational by design, like “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition'” And before the cynics pipe in to say that “the market” demands the raunchy, let us underscore that shows like “Extreme Makeover” can be wildly successful commercial ventures as well. So it follows that the reverse of the present “reality show” poisoning is also possible. What would happen if these reality shows were to promote decency, and chivalry, and honesty, and respect, and manners, and modesty, and beauty, and innocence, and goodness, and fortitude? It would all sell.
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The foreign secretary has said that supporting the motion in Monday’s debate risks damaging the UK’s economic recovery A referendum on Britain’s future in the European Union could damage the UK’s economic recovery and undermine attempts to tackle the eurozone crisis, the foreign secretary, William Hague, has warned Conservative MPs. The intervention, by one of the cabinet’s most prominent eurosceptics, comes as David Cameron faces potentially the most serious rebellion of his premiership next week. Hague warned fellow eurosceptic Conservative MPs against voting for a referendum in a backbench debate taking place on Monday at a time of “profound economic uncertainty”. His comments echoed a warning by the chancellor, George Osborne, that the eurozone crisis posed a “real danger” to all European economies, including Britain’s. Arriving for talks in Brussels ahead of a summit of all 27 EU leaders on Sunday, Osborne said it was “in Britain’s national interest” that the crisis is resolved. At least 61 Conservative MPs have signed a motion calling for a referendum on whether the UK should remain in the EU, leave or renegotiate its membership, and some predict the total number of rebels could top 85. Hague said the Conservatives remain committed to repatriating powers from Brussels, but added that a referendum was not the means to achieve this. In an article for the Daily Telegraph on Saturday, he writes: “As a Conservative, I want to bring powers back from Europe, as we set out in our election manifesto. But a referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU, especially at this time of profound economic uncertainty, is not the answer. “Nothing would do more to help our economic recovery than a resolution of the eurozone’s difficulties, while its disorderly break-up would have a very serious impact on our economy.” He received support from Tory former cabinet minister, Peter Lilley – regarded as a hardline eurosceptic – who also cautioned against a referendum. “If we are in the business of getting back powers from Europe … then we have to go about negotiating that return of powers and you cannot do that through a referendum,” he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme. “The opportunity will present itself when Europe comes to us and the eurozone countries want to change the treaty to shore up the euro with further integrationist measures,” he said. “We will say then: ‘Well you need our support because you need the unanimous support of all the countries to change the treaty. So even though that doesn’t affect us we will only give you our support if in return you return some powers to us.’” Mark Pritchard, secretary of the powerful Tory backbench 1922 committee, called on Cameron to impose only a non-binding single-line whip in Monday’s vote, which would allow MPs to back the motion without facing disciplinary action. But Downing Street has made clear that Cameron expects all Conservative MPs to oppose not only the referendum motion – triggered by a petition of more than 100,000 public signatures – but also two amendments tabled in the hope of finding compromise. William Hague David Cameron Conservatives Foreign policy European Union David Batty guardian.co.uk
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Governing National Transitional Council plans declaration as Nato announces it will end military operation on 31 October Libya’s transitional government will finally declare the country liberated on Sunday following the capture and killing of the ousted dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Military official Abdel-Rahman Busin said the governing National Transitional Council (NTC) had begun preparations for a liberation ceremony on Sunday in the eastern city of Benghazi, birthplace of the Libyan revolution. The declaration of liberation comes after Nato announced it would officially end its seven-month operation in Libya on 31 October. In another step towards transforming the former dictatorship into a democracy, the interim prime minister Mahmoud Jibril said on Saturday that Libyans should be allowed to vote within eight months to elect a national council that would draft a new constitution and form an interim government. In the meantime, the priority was to remove weapons from the country’s streets and restore stability and order, Jibril said at the World Economic Forum in Jordan. “The first election should take place within a period of eight months, maximum, to constitute a national congress of Libya, some sort of parliament,” he said. “This national congress would have two tasks: draft a constitution, on which we would have a referendum, and the second to form an interim government to last until the first presidential elections are held.” The Nato secretary general, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, said late on Friday that the 31 October end to the alliance’s operation would be confirmed formally next week. Diplomats said Nato air patrols would continue over Libya for the next nine days as a precautionary measure to ensure the stability of the new regime and would be gradually reduced, assuming there were no further outbreaks of violence. Meanwhile, Libyan authorities face questions from international human rights organisations about Gaddafi’s death in Sirte on Thursday. Wounds on Gaddafi’s body appeared to confirm he was killed in cold blood in the chaotic minutes following his capture on Thursday. There was a close-range bullet wound on the left side of his head. Blood stains showed another bullet wound to his thorax. His body, subsequently driven to Misrata and publicly paraded, was barefoot and stripped to the waist. Amnesty International has called call on the NTC to investigate. It said that if Gaddafi were deliberately killed, this would be a war crime. The NTC’s position is that it will support an investigation because the new Libya is a law-abiding country, but officials seemed sceptical that it was necessary. Gaddafi’s bloodied corpse, now on public display in a refrigerated meat store in Misrata, has become a gruesome tourist attraction and a macabre symbol of the new Libya’s problems. Hundreds of ordinary Libyans have queued to see the dead dictator. Libya Muammar Gaddafi Arab and Middle East unrest Middle East Africa David Batty guardian.co.uk
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First in line to succeed King Abdullah had colon cancer and was being treated abroad when he died The heir to the Saudi throne, Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdel Aziz, has died abroad after illness, state TV said. He was 85 years old. The death of the crown prince – who was the half brother of the ailing Saudi King Abdullah and had colon cancer – opens questions about the succession in the oil-rich kingdom. Sultan was the kingdom’s deputy prime minister and the minister of defence and aviation. He underwent surgery in New York in February 2009 for an undisclosed illness and spent nearly a year abroad recuperating in the United States and at a palace in Agadir, Morocco. The report did not say where outside the kingdom he died or elaborate on Sultan’s illness. The most likely candidate for the throne after Sultan is Prince Nayef, the powerful interior minister in charge of internal security forces. After Sultan fell ill the king gave Nayef an implicit nod in 2009 by naming him second deputy prime minister, traditionally the post of the third in line. Anyone who rises to the throne is likely to maintain the kingdom’s close alliance with the United States. But there could be internal differences. Abdullah has been seen as a reformer, making incremental changes to improve the position of women, for example, and to modernise the kingdom despite some backlash from the ultra-conservative Wahhabi clerics who give the royal family the religious legitimacy needed to rule. Nayef is often seen as closer to the clerics. Sultan was a central figure in the world’s top oil exporter who dominated defence policy and was long seen as a future king. A defence minister for almost half a century before becoming crown prince to Abdullah in 2005, Sultan built a powerbase in his control of the regular armed forces and his status as one of seven full brothers born to the kingdom’s founder, King Abdulaziz Ibn Saud, by his favourite wife. He oversaw a defence spending spree that made the kingdom one of the world’s biggest arms buyers. Sultan’s death may put in motion for the first time an “allegiance council” consisting of sons and grandsons of the kingdom’s founder. The council was set up by his half-brother, Abdullah, to vote on future kings and their heirs. Sultan, who was born in the mid-1920s, had an intestinal cyst removed in 2005 and spent months abroad for treatment and recreation. While Saudi Arabia insisted he was fully cured, diplomats in Riyadh said he gradually retreated from participating in decision-making and often worked only for one or two hours a day. Many of his duties had been informally shifted to other princes, most notably to his son Khaled who led Saudi and Arab forces during the 1991 war to remove Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi army from Kuwait. Prince Khaled, who is assistant defence minister, is the owner of influential pan-Arab daily newspaper al-Hayat. Saudi Arabia Middle East guardian.co.uk
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