At first glance the violence in Jabaliya in Palestine and in the Iraqi town of Samarra appear to be unconnected. The Israeli army’s incursion into northern Gaza looks like just another deadeningly familiar episode in the unending conflict between Palestinians and Jews. The United States-led weekend assault on insurgents in mainly Sunni Samarra seems to be broadly typical of the continuing turmoil in Iraq.
The Iraq Survey Group, after 17 months of hunting through Iraq and interviewing hundreds of members of Saddam Hussein’s regime, last week delivered a verdict unhelpful to George W Bush or Tony Blair: that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction when they went to war and that there was no imminent threat. The two leaders will have to justify the war in Iraq in terms of Hussein’s intentions rather than the reality.
A billionaire is hardly ever mistaken for an innocent abroad but you have to wonder if Malcolm Glazer understands just what he is getting into. The septuagenarian seems set to attempt a takeover of Manchester United. He must be one of the few men left who believe there are riches to be had in British football. It might look as if a fortune awaits, but others who mounted a raid discovered that the vault was booby-trapped.
Like the traffic fumes slowly rising above the potholed streets of Lagos, tensions are running high throughout Nigeria over recent petrol price increases. The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), supported by up to 30 civil-society groups, including students and lawyers, have threatened to go on strike on October 11 if the pump price of fuel is not reduced to pre-September levels.
The time has come for the Bafana Bafana players to show the nation what they’re made of. The team needs to produce some winning performances to ensure qualification for the 2006 World Cup and African Cup of Nations. This must start on Sunday with the crucial qualifier against Uganda in Kampala.
Sir Alex Ferguson will be offered a beefed-up role at Old Trafford by Malcolm Glazer as part of the American tycoon’s attempt to reverse fans’ hostile reaction to his takeover plans. Glazer and his advisers are understood to have been shocked by the level of opposition from groups such as Shareholders United to their ambition to buy Manchester United.
Zimbabwe captain Tatenda Taibu was hoping his makeshift side would draw inspiration from a strong recent showing against Sri Lanka when they take on the Asian champions here on Saturday. Zimbabwe, looking to bounce back after two defeats to Pakistan in the ongoing tri-series, would take heart from their performance against Sri Lanka at the ICC Champions trophy in England last month, he said.
On the face of it, this week’s score-line reads Arsenal 1 Chelsea 0. And this result will echo through the corridors of football for the next 15 years. Yup, Arsenal have nipped in and grabbed Chelsea’s outgoing sponsor, Emirates Airlines, and secured a deal worth £100-million starting from 2006/07.
It’s all a bit convenient isn’t it? England play Wales in the international game of the weekend and – poof! – Michael Owen has “a muscle strain”. Suddenly the whole pick-him-or-axe-him debate about the struggling striker can be filed under the enormous category of “fitness problems”. Truth is, the Real Madrid striker is simply not performing at the moment.
This week the financially troubled South African Football Association (Safa) got a vote of confidence when LG Electronics decided to become the official supplier to Bafana Bafana and Safa. The sponsorship will see Safa get R10-million a year for the next three years and South Africa host next year’s four-nations LG Cup.