The goalscoring keeper may not be a new concept, but the São Paulo stopper stands alone among hot shots between the sticks Rogério Ceni scored his 100th goal for São Paulo at the weekend , the winner in a 2-1 league victory against Corinthians. Ceni is 37 years old and has played more than 950 matches in his 21-year career, which adds up to a strike-rate of a goal every nine games or so – roughly equivalent to Emile Heskey’s record with England. Heskey, of course, did a lot of good work in his own half. But then, so does Ceni, who is by trade a goalkeeper in Brazil’s top division, performing his main role well enough to have loitered for some time on the international fringes. It is a stunning achievement: 100 career goals in a one-club career that has seen him also win two World Club Championships and pick up 17 caps for Brazil. The goalscoring keeper may not be an entirely new concept: Jorge Campos and René Higuita achieved novelty-oddity status through similar, albeit reduced feats. Campos scored 38 career goals, a portion of those while playing as a striker. Higuita, another set-piece specialist, scored eight times in 68 matches for Colombia. Ceni’s closest rival José Luis Chilavert scored 67 career goals, and was also the first goalkeeper to shoot at goal from a direct free-kick at a World Cup finals, almost scoring against Bulgaria in 1998. Ceni, however, stands alone among goalkeeping hot shots. Firstly for the sheer weight and quality of his of goals . He is, naturally, the first goalie ever to get to three figures. Plus he seems to score his share of screamers. Just look at that 100th goal : no goalkeeper’s punt this, but a sublimely flighted caress of the ball. Finally his goalscoring has gone hand in hand with general solidity elsewhere. Ceni was third choice in the 2002 World Cup-winning squad and in 2005 he was man of the match in the defeat of Liverpool FC in the Club World Cup final. This is an outstandingly versatile set of skills. It would be nice to think we might even see a little more of this kind of thing in the future. Lured by the rule-makers, coaxed by the tactical fluidity of the modern game, the goalkeeper has emerged from his cave in recent times. Distribution has long been a key component of the job description. Counterattacking thrusts, goal-bound free-kicks from the halfway line: these are now goalie territory. Maybe we will see more Cenis emerging in the years to come as tactical fluidity and a general coalescing between rigidly defined roles becomes more the norm. Although, let’s face it, perhaps rather more over there than over here. There are many things South Americans do both differently and better in football. Looking on from the outside, the sheer impossibility of a British Ceni ever emerging – bound by obstacles both technical and cultural – is perhaps just another reason to celebrate the brilliance of his achievement. Barney Ronay guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …12,000 pupils will receive annual bursary of £1,200 if they stay on in education, says education secretary
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During Monday's “Morning Joe,” Time's Mark Halperin and co-host Mika Brzezinski helpfully provided some spin for the White House to borrow as President Obama finishes his prepared remarks for Monday evening's address to the nation on the events in Libya. President Obama has received sharp criticism for his foreign policy concerning Egypt and Libya, but Halperin threw cold water on that, calling Obama's strategy “extremely deft in a very tough situation.” Brzezinski agreed with his premise, adding that his “deft” handling is also in accord with promises he previously made. “He's pro-democracy, right? He's anti-violence. He's anti-unilateral U.S. intervention,” Halperin noted of Obama, trying to connect his current policy with the peacemaker he claimed to be as a presidential candidate. (Video below the jump. Comments begin at the 12:30 mark.)
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British Airways staff back industrial action but Unite leadership stops short of calling Easter strikes British Airways cabin crew have voted for strike action for the fourth time in less than 18 months as the long-running dispute between the carrier and Britain’s largest trade union rumbles on. The Unite union declined to name strike dates after another strong vote in favour of industrial action, which has punctuated peace talks between both sides. Unite said 5,811 crew voted for walkouts, with eight out of 10 employees who took part in the poll backing strikes. The result is marginally better than the third strike poll, which was scrapped this year following legal objections from BA. However, a softening of the rhetoric between both sides since the start of the year was reflected in statements by both sides. Len McCluskey, general secretary of Unite, declined to set dates for further walkouts, although the vote gives Unite a mandate to hold strikes over Easter and as soon as next week. BA has, in turn, pledged to operate all long-haul services during any walkouts. “This vote shows that cabin crew remain determined to win justice,” said McCluskey. “We urge BA’s boardroom to see this as a clear message that they must think again about how to regain the trust and confidence of a significant part of their cabin crew operation. We continue to be in discussions with the company to find a solution to this long-running dispute.” The dispute, which originated in unilateral staffing cuts by BA in 2009, has become an increasingly embittered standoff over sanctions against the thousands of crew who joined 22 days of walkouts. BA also softened its tone, declining to repeat its claim that less than half of the cabin crew workforce of 13,500 employees is in favour of walkouts. “This is a time for co-operation, not confrontation,” said BA. “We began talks with Unite earlier this month, and those talks are continuing. We hope they will bring an end to this dispute, which is what the overwhelming majority of our cabin crew want.” British Airways Airline industry Travel & leisure Unite Trade unions Dan Milmo guardian.co.uk
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Muammar Gaddafi’s troops sent to save his home city as David Cameron praises British pilots carrying out air strikes Rebel Libyan forces were halted about 50 miles from Sirte on Monday as reinforcements loyal to Muammar Gaddafi were seen moving towards the strategically vital city. Revolutionary forces had advanced more than 150 miles in two days, helped by coalition air strikes, breaking the stalemate at Ajdabiya and paving the way for hundreds of men to stream forward along Libya’s coastal road. But despite a Libyan rebel claim that Sirte had been captured, there was no sign on Monday that the opposition was in control of the city, which marks the boundary between the east and west of Libya and has great symbolic importance as Gaddafi’s home city. Instead, pro-Gaddafi troops in Sirte were being rallied by forces travelling east from Tripoli and other strongholds in 4×4 vehicles with light weaponry mounted on the rear, a break from the heavier artillery used so far by Gaddafi’s forces, which has been picked off with relative ease by coalition air strikes. After another wave of air strikes targeted Sirte on Sunday night and Monday morning, David Cameron revealed RAF pilots had flown more than 120 sorties and completed more than 250 hours of flight as part of the action in the country. However, the US military warned that the rebels’ advance could be quickly reversed without continued coalition bombing. “The regime still vastly overmatches opposition forces militarily,” General Carter F Ham, the highest-ranking American in the coalition operation, told the New York Times via email. “The regime possesses the capability to roll them back very quickly. Coalition air power is the major reason that has not happened.” His warning came as coalition forces appeared to ratchet up the number of air strikes against Gaddafi forces. Defence officials say the higher tempo is the result of more intelligence surveillance and assessments from reconnaissance aircraft but they warn aerial bombardment is getting more problematic because priority targets are increasingly in urban areas. “Obviously it is more difficult in an urban environment,” officials said. British defence officials said they believed the rules of engagement may be made much more restrictive when Nato takes responsibility for the coalition’s military operations, probably by Thursday. The attacks have been criticised by Russia as “intervention in a civil war” on the side of the rebels. On the ground, the area around Sirte was quiet after heavy bombardment from before dawn and there was no sign it had been taken by the Benghazi-based rebels advancing from the east. It is rumoured that the outskirts have been planted with landmines. Rebels retook the important oil towns of Brega, Ras Lanuf and Ben Jawad, and continued on the open desert road towards Sirte, about 95 miles away. A doctor treating wounded government soldiers described hundreds of deaths, terrible injuries and collapsing morale. The Guardian advanced to the outskirts of Sirte with the rebels from Benghazi who were able to move with no opposition, simply driving along Libya’s coastal road as Gaddafi’s forces pulled back. In a statement to the House of Commons, Cameron paid tribute to the “skilful and dangerous work” performed by pilots, who he said had destroyed 22 of Gaddafi’s tanks, armoured vehicles and heavy guns over the weekend and flown into the desert on Monday morning to target ammunition bunkers. The prime minister said the allied operations to protect civilians in Libya had had a “significant and beneficial effect” over the last 10 days, stopping the assault on Benghazi and helping “to create conditions in which a number of towns have been liberated from Gaddafi’s onslaught”. In Sabha, in south Libya, one Libyan witness said there was a first air strike at about 2.30am followed, about two hours later, by a bigger attack on an ammunitions bunker about seven miles away from the centre. “It hit the ammunitions storage and it kept exploding because it activated all the other bombs. I’ve never seen anything like that except in the movies. There was no fighting here – it was a very quiet city,” he said. “I looked out of my window and it looked like a mushroom with fire. It was a shock. There was a strike before but it was just noise and vibration. This one was worse and it kept going for more than three hours. People were running out of their houses because the windows were shattered and doors cleared out.” On Monday morning, Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, criticised the attacks on loyalist forces by coalition aircraft. “We consider that intervention by the coalition in what is essentially an internal civil war is not sanctioned by the UN security council resolution,” Lavrov said. In Tripoli, the parents of a Libyan woman who claimed she was detained and raped by Gaddafi’s forces said their daughter was being held at the Libyan leader’s compound. Iman al-Obeidi entered a hotel where many foreign journalists were staying in the Libyan capital on Saturday, saying she had been raped by 15 men over two days. She was bundled into a car by Libyan officials and driven off. The Libyan government later said she had been released, but her parents told al-Jazeera TV that their daughter was still being detained. Libya Middle East Arab and Middle East unrest Muammar Gaddafi Ian Black Chris McGreal Adam Gabbatt Richard Norton-Taylor guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Back when I was in sales, I did lead development. That meant I had to locate a company that needed our consulting services, had the money in the budget to pay for it and actually wanted to meet with a salesperson. I got paid for setting up the appointments, and got a bonus if the salesperson closed the deal. One of the first questions before taking a business development job always was, are my incentives based on things outside my control? I learned early on not to even consider working in a place where my commission was contingent on whether or not the salesperson closed the deal. “If you developed a good lead, the deal should close,” one sales manager argued with me. Uh uh. Sales people screw up the close all the time, thus blowing up my commission. So that was a major issue. And that’s also why paying teachers on the basis of how the students perform is one of the stupidest, most insidious ideas the policy morons have ever concocted. Rather than address the very real issues of poverty and learning disabilities , they’d rather play with gimmicks like this “Student Success Act”: Reporting from Jacksonville, Fla.— Florida Gov. Rick Scott has signed a far-reaching teacher merit-pay bill that will overhaul how teachers across the state will be evaluated and paid. The law creates an evaluation system that relies heavily on student test score data to judge teacher quality. For new teachers, it also creates a performance-based pay system and ends tenure-like job protections. Florida’s merit-pay push is part of a national effort to improve education by tying teachers’ pay to their overall effectiveness. “We are absolutely changing this country,” Scott said during the signing ceremony Thursday at a charter school in Jacksonville that aims to boost academic performance among low-income students. He was flanked by students as he put his name on the controversial measure. Advocates say the law will help Florida schools identify top teachers, reward them financially and assign them to work with their neediest students. But many teachers along with their statewide union, the Florida Education Assn., are opposed. They say the law will be expensive, will rely on an unproven system and won’t fairly evaluate teacher performance. The union has threatened to sue, arguing the plan tramples on teachers’ rights to collective bargaining on salaries and work conditions, among other issues. It was quickly praised as “breakthrough legislation” and a “model of bold reform” by the foundations run by education reformer Michelle Rhee and former Gov. Jeb Bush , respectively. But the American Federation of Teachers, a national teachers union, said it “took a wrecking ball to the dreams” of Florida’s public school students.
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The Press Complaints Commission’s anti-harassment hotline often allows people in the news to regain their privacy Media scrums – the crowds of reporters, photographers and hangers-on that assemble around a celebrity or people in the news – are a feature of British journalism. They may congregate because of a legitimate news story where an unfortunate family is the centre of attention, or they may be made up of freelance paparazzi in pursuit of a celebrity shot. We saw them after the Cumbria shootings, where the media descended on the Whitehaven area, seeking to explain what had happened. Or they can crop up following stories of marital infidelity by public figures, or whenever scandal looms. The Press Complaints Commission has developed a system to deal with the issue, and we hope more people will become aware of it. A 24-hour anti-harassment hotline allows people facing unwelcome press attention to get in touch with a senior member of the PCC team at any time to ask for help. We can then disseminate their request for privacy across the whole newspaper and magazine industry, to some news and picture agencies, and to broadcasters. It is an interesting (perhaps) regulatory wrinkle that the broadcasting regulator, Ofcom , has no powers prior to transmission, and so cannot deal formally with concerns about the presence of broadcast crews. The PCC fills the void by communicating directly with broadcasters. A PCC “desist request” is an example of collaborative work across the industry, rather than any form of legalistic restraining order. Because it is voluntary, it can be more effective than a confrontational legal approach, at least as an initial response to a problem. The PCC circulates about 100 requests every year. So about twice a week we are using a system of voluntary collaboration to protect the privacy of people who ask for our help. This has increased year-on-year for the last three years, as more people become aware of the service and it becomes more established in newsrooms. The request goes to relevant senior figures within each news organisation: editors, managing editors, legal departments. The idea is simple: we are providing journalists with information to prevent them intruding on people’s lives by contacting or photographing them. It is worth emphasising that this is no more than a request, but the code enforced by the PCC requires that editors heed such a request (either by instructing members of staff, or not taking freelance copy), unless they feel that the public interest will be served by persistent approaches. In the case of a family coming to terms with the death of a loved one, no such public interest is likely to be present. The system does not assume that no one involved in a news event will wish to speak to the press. Even in the saddest stories there are those who wish to communicate their thoughts about what has happened. However, we feel the PCC can perform a legitimate service in representing those who have decided not to speak. The response is generally immediate and effective. Indeed, that is why we proactively contact those at the centre of news stories to offer our services either directly to them or via representatives, such as police family liaison officers or MPs. During the recent inquest we did a lot of work with families in west Cumbria connected to the Derrick Bird shootings, and will visit the region soon to meet them face-to-face. An example of someone who approached us directly was a mother whose son had taken his own life. She was aware there would be legitimate attention from the media in the inquest but asked the PCC to make clear that she did not wish to offer any comment. This wish was respected, and we were told a few days later that we had helped during the particularly difficult days. At the heart of all of this is the intent to protect the vulnerable. The strict rules on photographing or approaching children, for example, are widely followed. But a large number of those contacting the PCC are concerned about how the presence of journalists might adversely affect their children, and we seek to ensure those concerns are allayed. One key constituency is mothers connected to those in the public eye, who wish to pursue their normal lives with their children without harassment. Once editors are aware of a potential problem, the market for such images is reduced, and the pressure on the individual is relieved. In the end, the system has applications across all types of journalism. It is now regularly used by public figures (often via PRs and lawyers) who are the victims of paparazzi harassment. The idea is that we are able to inform editors of concerns about general paparazzi behaviour, or specific incidents. If an individual is being subject to persistent pursuit and harassment (being followed in cars, say, or staked out at home), we want to warn editors so they do not become complicit in behaviour that is in breach of their own code. One benefit of this all of this that editorial decisions are left in the hands of editors. This is not a watered-down injunctive system. However, it means that editors are given the relevant information to make responsible decisions, and are expected to do so. It is striking – as complainants will testify – how often such decisions are taken. This is not to say there is no place for legal action, or that problems do not arise, but rather that the PCC offers a service that is free, confidential and collaborative, which should be viewed as a legitimate and effective option. It will never be a perfect solution to a potentially messy problem, but it is a practical response that can bring real relief to those who use it. Stephen Abell is the director of the Press Complaints Commission Media law Privacy & the media Press Complaints Commission Newspapers & magazines National newspapers Newspapers TV news Television industry guardian.co.uk
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Shooting expected to begin later this year on film version of cult 70s detective show that starred Martin Shaw and Lewis Collins The nostalgic trend for cult classic television shows resurfacing on the big screen looks set to continue with a big screen remake of late 70s favourite The Professionals . Studio Lionsgate has acquired the rights to produce a film version of the adventures of Bodie and Doyle, the style-conscious, crime-fighting vanguard of the fictional CI5 agency. The original series starred Martin Shaw as Doyle, a hot-headed police detective, and Lewis Collins as ruthless former SAS sergeant and mercenary Bodie. Running for 57 episodes on ITV between 1977 and 1983, it offered a six-year showcase for bubble perms and polar neck jumpers. Lionsgate said the film would take up the story of Bodie and Doyle’s first CI5 mission together. Zygi Kamasa, the studio’s UK chief executive, said: “This production will combine the wit and fast-paced action of the original TV series but also completely reinvent it for a new, modern audience.” The company will team up with producers Callum McDougall, who was an executive producer on the last two James Bond films, and Richard Whelan, who worked on Marvel’s Captain America. Shooting is expected to begin in the UK later this year. Action and adventure The news on TV Television Ian J Griffiths guardian.co.uk
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UK loses mantle as third-largest music market after ‘physical’ sales of CDs collapse by almost a fifth Global recorded music sales fell by almost $1.5bn (£930m) last year as digital piracy continued to take its toll on the industry, with the UK losing its mantle as the third-largest music market after “physical” sales of CDs collapsed by almost a fifth. Global recorded music revenues fell 8.4% last year, about $1.45bn, to $15.9bn according to the annual Recording Industry in Numbers report by international music industry body the IFPI. Overall physical sales, the term used in the industry for sales of products such as CDs, fell by 14.2% year on year to $10.4bn. Digital revenues grew by 5.3% year on year to $4.6bn to account for 29% of all recorded music revenues. However, the rate of digital revenue growth has halved year on year as the industry continues to struggle with piracy and winning consumers over to legal download models. The world’s two largest markets, the US and Japan, took a hammering last year accounting for 57% of the total global decline in trade revenues. In 2009 the two countries accounted for 80% of the global decline. In the US overall sales fell by 10% with physical sales down 20% to just over $2bn and digital sales stagnating with 1.2% growth to $2bn. Japan saw an overall market decline of 8.3% with the report noting that “rapidly rising online is threatening the development of the digital market”. The UK, which had managed growth in 2009 leading some to believe a “tipping point” had been reached where digital sales take up the slack of declining physical revenues, was overtaken last year by Germany as the third-largest music market. Overall UK sales were $1.38bn, down some $170m or 11% year on year, thanks to a 19.2% fall in physical sales to $920m. Sales through digital channels boomed by 19.6% to $347m. In Europe digital revenue growth increased by an impressive 21.6% with most major markets – including Germany, France, Italy and the Netherlands – seeing double digit increases. “The demand for new music seems as insatiable and diverse as ever, and record companies continue to meet it,” said Frances Moore, chief executive of the IFPI. “But they are operating at only a fraction of their potential because of a difficult environment dominated by piracy.” Of the major markets ranking in the top 20 by size, just three saw year-on-year sales increases with Korea up 11.7%, India up 16.5% and Mexico up 0.9%. • To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly “for publication”. • To get the latest media news to your desktop or mobile, follow MediaGuardian on Twitter and Facebook Music industry Digital media Internet Filesharing Mark Sweney guardian.co.uk
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Flood of refugees fleeing violence at home poses threat to Liberia and other neighbouring countries The British government has announced an emergency aid package for refugees fleeing violence in Ivory Coast amid concerns that the fighting could spread and destabilise west Africa. The Department for International Development said it would provide £16m to humanitarian agencies to provide emergency aid to Ivory Coast and Liberia. On Friday, the UNHCR, the UN’s refugee agency, estimated that between 700,000 and 1 million people could now be displaced following Ivory Coast’s disputed presidential election last November. More than 100,000 people are estimated to have crossed the border into Liberia, around 62,000 of them arriving between 24 February and the middle of last week. “Most refugees are seeking safety in Nimba County [in Liberia]. However, since this week, we have been seeing many more cross into Grand Gedeh County, further south. On Tuesday alone, more than 6,000 Ivorians entered the region and settled in remote areas in and around Janzon, Tuzon and Sweaken, including in villages that are inaccessible by car. The new arrivals fled from Blolequin,” said spokeswoman Melissa Fleming. The news comes as Alassane Ouattara, the internationally recognised winner of last year’s election, rejected the representative chosen by the African Union to negotiate a settlement to the presidential crisis with incumbent Laurent Gbagbo, further raising the prospect of civil war in the country. Fleming said that as well as avoiding being caught in the crossfire, some people told the UN they were leaving their homes because they “can no longer cope financially due to closures of banks and businesses, and resulting unemployment. Costs of food have risen, and there is little available in the markets.” Last week the UN high commissioner for refugees, António Guterres, visited Liberia and warned that the influx of refugees threatened the country’s eight years of peace, following a civil war that left up to 300,000 people dead and thousands more displaced. “The amount of human suffering is horrendous. All neighbouring countries can be dramatically impacted,” he said. The Liberian president, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, has already expressed her concerns, telling Reuters : “We’re already at war. We hope there will not be an escalation of war. It’s a serious threat to the stability of Liberia, and I might say to the stability of all neighbouring countries.” IRIN news agency reported that some Ivorians have begun to head to Ghana. As of Saturday, 3,000 Ivorian refugees were understood to have been registered by immigration officers. Aid agencies and NGOs are warning of a humanitarian disaster caused by the displacement. Giuliano Vascotto, Save the Children ‘s director of operations in Ivory Coast, said: “Violence is increasing in Abidjan and the west of the country, with more and more people fleeing their homes every day.” Oxfam warned that the situation could become Africa’s forgotten crisis. Chals Wontewe, Oxfam’s country director in Liberia, said: “Fighting is spreading across cities in Ivory Coast, and the risk of large-scale refugee flows is high. But despite the gravity of the situation, it is not getting the attention or funding it deserves. “The border areas are dangerous, and living conditions there are desperately poor. There is an urgent need for transportation to help refugees move to camps further inside Liberia, where food and shelter can be safely provided. This needs to happen before both the rainy season and further refugee flows make the challenge even harder.” Meanwhile, a coalition of 32 international and African civil society groups , including Human Rights Watch, called for an increase in humanitarian aid, more peacekeepers and an inquiry to investigate post-election human rights violations. The UN Central Emergency Response Fund (Cerf) has allocated $10.4m to seven agencies working in Ivory Coast to help meet the urgent humanitarian needs. In January, the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs appealed for $32m to tackle the crisis, but has only received $7m. The UK government said the £16m will provide food, shelter and basic services for 20,000 Ivorian refugees in camps and border villages in Liberia and for 25,000 men, women and children displaced in Ivory Coast. The aid will be channelled through the UN and NGOs. Ivory Coast Liberia Refugees Aid Liz Ford guardian.co.uk
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