ABU DHABI, UAE – The England cricket team again snatched defeat from the brink of victory when the batting collapsed to 72 all out in the second test against Pakistan, 28 January. It looked like England had a good chance of leveling the series when Monty Panesar celebrated his return to the team by taking six for 66. However, the English batsmen failed to cope with the Pakistani spinners Abdur Rehman (six for 25) and Saeed Ajmal (three for 22.) The England position at the top of the test rankings is looking increasingly suspect.
Links to other sites: Yahoo Cricket, Guardian, Hindustani Times
Two die as high winds sweep the region
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Winds of up to 100mph in Scotland and other parts of Britain 3 January are causing considerable damage, with some areas suffering power cuts and transport disrupted, including the London-Edinburgh trains. A man died in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, in southern England when a tree fell on his van and a sailor, one of three injured on a boat in the Channel, died after they were rescued.
Weather alerts remain in place, with strong winds expected throughout the night.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – British royals will be able to marry Catholics and older sisters of boys will take precedence for stepping up to the throne under new rules that will affect any children born to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, who married in April.
The 16 nations that are members of the British Commonwealth with Queen Elizabeth as their monarch will seal an agreement, the royal equality act, that will change some aspects of current law affecting the monarchy. The 54 Commonwealth nations are meeting in Perth 28-30 October, with the queen opening the meeting of heads of government, held every two years, reports the Telegraph.
The Guardian writes, ”
Commonwealth leaders will pledge to amend legislation dating back to the 17th century to allow daughters of the monarch to take precedence over younger sons in the line of succession.
David Cameron will hail the agreement of the 16 Queen’s realms, the Commonwealth countries where the Queen serves as head of state, to amend ‘outdated’ rules that also prevent a potential monarch from marrying a Catholic.”
Catholics will still be barred from the throne, with the ruling monarch remaining the head of the Church of England.
AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND – The preliminary stage of the Rugby World Cup ended on 2 October and it is already certain that the semi-finals and the final, to be held 23 October at 10:00 Swiss time, will be contests between the Northern and Southern hemispheres. England secured top place in Pool B and sent Scotland home early with a narrow and stodgy 16-12 win over their northern neighbours. France looked out of form as they were beaten 14-19 by Tonga but still qualified as second behind New Zealand in Pool A. England will now face France for the third sussessive World Cup: the English won the last two. Argentina came second in the group and will face the mighty All Blacks next. South Africa won all their games to win Pool D and will now meet Australia. Wales came second in the Pool after losing by a single point to South Africa but were in awesome form as they swept past Fiji 60-0. They next play Ireland, which beat Australia on the way to the top of Pool C.
Links to other sites: Rugby World Cup, Telegraph,
BASEL, SWITZERLAND – Xherdan Shaqiri, not yet 20 years old, played the kind of football Tuesday night 6 September that the Swiss team will be happy to see more of, as he leads Switzerland towards the next round of European 2012 qualifying matches. Switzerland defeated Bulgaria 3-1 in front of close to 17,000 spectators in a match that saw Shaqiri scoring a hat trick, with left- and right-footed goals that showed the FC Basel forward at his best.
Switzerland now plays Wales in an away game 7 October. England defeated Wales Tuesday 1-0. Montenegro, ahead of Switzerland by three points in Group G, now plays England 7 October, then comes to Switzerland. The Swiss now have 8 points, compared to Montenegro’s 11 and powerhouse England’s 17.
Detailed reports: Houston Chronicle/AP, 24 Heures (Fre), Uefa standings
LONDON – The two-day, Caribbean-flavoured extravaganza known as the Notting Hill’s Carnival is off to a great start.
The carnival which draws up to a million revellers out onto the west London streets are “so-far, so-good.”
Yesterday 28 August dancers in exotic costumes performed on floats as powerful sound systems pumped out music; more than 50 people were arrested in the first day of the festival.
The festival hails itself as “London’s most vibrant celebration of diversity, colour and sound.”
Links to: Notting Hill Carnival website, Time Out London
LONDON, ENGLAND – Graeme Swann wrapped up the final day of the fourth test by taking six wickets at the Oval Monday 22 August. England won by an innings and eight runs to take one of the most one-sided series of recent years. England moved into top place in the test rankings while India slipped back from first to third, behind South Africa.
Sachin Tendulkar just missed out on making his when hundredth century when he fell lbw to Tim Bresnan for 91. The morning session went India’s way with Tendulkar and Amit Mishra holding out for their first session of the series in which no wickets were lost. After that the wickets tumbled, with the final six wickets falling for 23 runs.
Links to other sites: Times of India, Guardian
Vaud sailor Bernard Stamm's Cheminee Poujoulet was in 5th place Sunday in what the organizers call the "fearsome" Fastnet race (photo, ©2011 Gwendal Danguy)
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Swiss sailors were in a strong position at the end of Sunday in the 608 nautical miles Fastnet race, often called a “mythical” sailing event, in part because 15 people died during the storms that battered the race in 1979.
The 2011 race began Sunday 14 August on the Isle of Wight under what the event organizers called perfect conditions, with a record number of entries, 314. A line of clouds on the horizon suggested dramatic sailing might lie ahead.
The race runs along the south coast of the UK, across the Celtic Sea to the Fastnet Rock off southwest Ireland, before returning around the Scilly Isles to the finish in Plymouth.
Several of the boats, including Steve Ravussin’s (Swiss) Race For Water, were over the line early and had to turn around for a re-start, adding to the day’s drama.
LONDON – The capital was largely quiet on the eve of 9 August with some 16,000 police sent onto the streets in a show of force in districts where gangs had looted shops, burned cars and buildings had been virtually unchecked since Saturday 6 August when the riots behgan.
Last night in Manchester, groups of youths fought running battles with police smashing windows, looting and setting fire to shops.
A murder investigation into the deaths of three Birmingham men, following a night of violence that spread to West Bromwich, Wolverhampton and Salford where thugs torched a BBC radio truck and set fire to a housing office, was launched.
Prime Minister David Cameron cut short a family holiday to deal with the crisis.
Links to: The Telegraph, The Sun News
International sports, football
WEMBLEY, LONDON, ENGLAND – Switzerland let slip the chance of a famous victory as they went from a two-goal lead to a 2-2 draw against England at Wembley, 6 June. Tranquillo Barnetta scored both Swiss goals from free kicks that beat English goalkeeper Joe Hart, once at the far post and once at the near post. England fought back with a penalty by Frank Lampard and a powerful blast by Ashley Young. The new-look Swiss team played some of the best football the fans have seen recently, but the single point is not going to see the team qualify for the finals of the Euro 2012 tournament.
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND – The FA, England’s national football association, has decided against voting for the next president of Fifa, the Zurich-based International Football, saying in a brief statement issued Thursday afternoon 19 May that it cannot support either candidate. AP sports writers put it more baldly, saying that the FA is “unable to choose between two candidates tainted by allegations of corruption scandal”.
The statement issued by FA Chairman David Bernstein, in its entirety:
“There are a well-reported range of issues both recent and current which, in the view of The FA board, make it difficult to support either candidate.
The FA values its relationships with its international football partners extremely highly. We are determined to play an active and influential role through our representation within both UEFA and FIFA. We will continue to work hard to bring about any changes we think would benefit all of international football.”
The two candidates are Sepp Blatter, who is seeking a fourth term from 2012 to 2016 and Mohamed bin Hammam of Qatar, who successfully obtained the 2022 World Cup Games for his country.
Blatter has headed Fifa while a scandal involving members of the executive board unfolded, while there have been charges that Qatar paid Fifa board members to vote for it.
We will all know who Kate and William are by the end of April, even if we don’t now, thanks to the expected heavy media coverage of the million and one ways the British will celebrate the 29 April 2011 wedding of their likely next king. William is not first in line to the throne, but with his father nearing retirement age by non-royal standards, the son remains a good candidate for the job once Queen Elizabeth steps down or dies. The hoopla surrounding the wedding of Diana and Charles in 1981 is not what the couple reportedly want, but the mugs and more are already planned, and the national party was given a send-off Thursday 24 March with the first wedding cake.
The 4ft medieval wedding cake replicating the steeple and spire of St Bride’s Church in London was made for Visit London, the city’s tourism office, by royal cake maker, Dawn Blunden of Sophisticake. The city so far has a dozen tourist attractions planned around the wedding. You can visit Kate’s favourite haunts or take part in what is described as “a cheesy 80s-themed royal wedding party”.
The city says that “the famous landmark known as ‘The Cathedral of Fleet Street’ provided the inspiration for the traditional tiered wedding cake whose origin hails back to 18th Century London.” The St Bride’s Wedding Cake “took over 200 hours to create, 200 eggs, 120lb dried fruit and 18lb butter, was positioned on a rooftop overlooking the church and will be donated to St Bride’s Church to share with its parish and support their charitable causes.”
There was a lull for a few years after the British media bonanza years covering the country’s royal family, when Princess Di and her then sister-in-law “Fergie” made frequent headlines. Recent public debates over the role of Prince Andrew, second son of Queen Elizabeth, as the nation’s trade representative, added to the hubbub over the summer wedding of Prince William, is putting the family back in the news on a regular basis.
This week’s crop of stories includes the £78,000 sale of a see-through dress worn by Kate Middleton for a fundraiser when she was a student at St. Andrew’s University, reportedly before she and William were a romantic couple. William is also in the news for taking part in memorial ceremonies in New Zealand for that country’s earthquake victims. The BBC’s royal correspondent writes “It was one of the most significant speeches he’s been called on to make. And to an extent that perhaps hasn’t been evident before, he both looked and sounded what he is, a future King.”
International sports, Six Nations rugby
Twickenham, London (GenevaLunch)- England put on a solid but uninspired performance to get past Scotland 22-16, 13 March. The English team have dominated their games this season but were held 9-9 at half-time and never really got going in the second till a try by Tom Croft. The win leaves the team top of the Six Nations race and if they beat Ireland in Dublin 19 March it will mean a Grand Slam.
Italy scored their first ever Six Nations win over France, winning by 22-21 with Bergamasco kicking 17 points. The French trainer responded by dropping six players for the final game against Wales, and stated that some had played their last game for France. Wales were lucky to beat Ireland 19-13 when the Welsh scored from a quick but illegal throw in from a line-out.
Links to other sites: Six Nations, L’Equipe
International sports, Six Nations rugby
Twickenham, London (GenevaLunch) – The England rugby team took a giant leap towards a possible Grand Slam in the 2011 Six Nations with a solid 17-9 win over France Saturday 26 February. The first half was even, with each side scoring three penalties but England went ahead with a try from Ben Foden early in the second half. Jonny Wilkinson came on for Toby Flood and immediately scored with a 45-metre penalty that sent him past Dan Carter’s record as the top scorer in international rugby. The match was tense, with handling errors from both sides.
In the other matches Italy lost at home against Wales 16-24 and Scotland were edged out by Ireland 18-21.
Links to other sites: Guardian, RBS6nations
International sports, Six Nations rugby
Twickenham, London (GenevaLunch) - Chris Ashton scored four tries as an impressive England team crushed Italy 53-13 at Twickenham, 12 February. The winger ran powerfully in supporting positions and never gave the Italian team a chance to settle. Ashton is the first player to score four tries in one England game since 1914, when Ronald Poulton did so against France. England will hope that Ashton can do as well in the showdown against France at Twickenham, 26 February. France were a little lucky to edge past Ireland 22-25 in an exciting but rather scrappy game where the Irish made most of the running but made too many errors. Wales beat Scotland 6-24, winning their first game in the last nine contests.
Links to other sites: Six Nations, Telegraph, Guardian
International sports, Six Nations rugby
Millenium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales (GenevaLunch) - England started their quest for the Six Nations trophy with a win in Cardiff Friday evening 4 February. Two tries by Chris Ashton and a masterful performance by stand-off Toby Flood set up a 19-26 victory that could have been greater had England maintained the pressure. In the Saturday games Ireland needed a late drop-goal by Ronan O’Gara to edge past Italy 11-13. France showed some style as they fought off a late challenge by Scotland to win 34-21. The next matches will be played on 11th and 12th February, and feature England-Italy, Scotland-Wales and Ireland-France.
Links to other sites: Six Nations, Telegraph, Guardian
International sports, Australian Open tennis, cricket
Melbourne, Australia (GenevaLunch) – Scotland’s star failed in his attempt to win the first British Grand Slam title for 75 years, since the glory days of Fred Perry. To make matters worse for British sports fans, England lost the fifth cricket one day match to lose the series to the Australians 4-1, Sunday 30 January.
Tennis: Novak Djokovic destroyed Andy Murray in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 to take his second Aussie Open, as well as his second Grand Slam, with a fine display of aggressive tennis combined with dogged defence when it was needed. Murray never got his game going against his close friend and rival. In 2010 he lost in similar fashion to Roger Federer.
Links to other sites: Guardian, Australian Open, The Age
International sports, cricket
Tiny Ashes urn
Melbourne Cricket Ground, Australia (Geneva Lunch) - England turned on the pressure throughout the Fourth Test to take a 2-1 lead in the five Test series and so retain what for many English and Australians is the most important trophy in world sport, The Ashes. The tiny urn was presented by a group of Melbourne women to represent the death of English cricket after the first loss to Australia on English soil in 1882. The teams compete for the trophy every second year. England last retained the trophy in Australia in 1986-87.
The man of the match was Jonathan Trott, who scored 168 not out in England’s innings to set up the win. The final score was a victory for England by an innings and 157 runs, 29 December 2010.
Links to other sites: Yahoo cricket, BBC, Guardian,
Gov’t opens for consultation proposed changes to law for “too big to fail banks”
Geneva lawyer, professor to head board of Swiss financial regulator
Anne Heritier Lachat will chair Finma board in 2011
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The Swiss Federal Council said early Wednesday afternoon 22 December that it will carry out its mandate for tax talks with Germany and the United Kingdom, following consultations with parliamentary commissions and the cantons. Switzerland in October 2010 signed agreements with the other two countries to open talks, which are now scheduled to begin in early 2011. “The goal with Germany and the UK will be to achieve regularization of previously undeclared assets as well as a final withholding tax for future income. In return, Switzerland should gain better market access for financial services, in particular,” the council said in an e-mailed statement.
The key points for the negotiations are considered confidential and will not be published, according to Bern.
The talks will be led for the Swiss by State Secretary Michael Ambühl, head of the State Secretariat for International Financial Matters (SIF).
New “too big to fail” laws could come into force by 2012
Students heading to university in England will see a sharp increase in fees, currently capped at £3,290 a year, if Parliament approves the government’s proposal, announced 3 November. The new fees would go into effect in 2012 and would be capped at £6,000, although universities showing they were doing enough to help poorer students could charge as much as £9,000. The new fees system would require students to pay back part of the cost of their education once their income rises above £21,000, but it includes a rule that students would be penalized for early repayment, to avoid wealthier students opting out of the system.
International sports, football
Basel, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – England walked away from Basel with the first European Cup qualifying match securely in its pocket after defeating a Swiss team that really only rallied late in the second half. England was in control for most of the game, although Switzerland’s game was strong enough to make England work, particularly after injuries began to take a toll.
The score remained 0-1 in England’s favour until well into the second half, when the Swiss scored their only point. England’s Darren Bent scored his first international goal and sealed Switzerland’s fate in the 88th minute of the game.
England and Montenegro each now have 6 points in the 2012 UEFA Euro Cup qualifying matches, after Montenegro defeated Bulgaria 7 September.
Switzerland faces Montenegro in early October and if it loses that match, it is out of the cup.
Links to other sites: Daily Mail, Guardian, Le Matin (Fre)
Basel, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – If the football stadium in Basel seems a little more quiet than you would expect for the match between Switzerland and England Tuesday night 7 September, blame Nicolas Sarkozy. According to the UK’s Daily Mail, thousands of England’s fans are being stranded or else staying home, first because of strikes in London that are creating chaos with the Underground tube lines, and then thanks to a 24-hour general strike in France that is affecting transport.
The timing of the French strike has nothing to do with football, unless it’s the political variety: today is the day when President Nicolas Sarkozy presents his controversial pension reform plan to parliament.
The game will be carried live by Swiss television TSR2 (Fre) at 20.10 Tuesday evening.
International sports, cricket
Cardiff, Wales (GenevaLunch) - England beat Pakistan by five wickets in the first of the Twenty20 matches. Pakistan were held to 126 runs as Graeme Swann gave a master class of off-spin bowling. England started quickly but then lost wickets to reach 62 for 5 before Eoin Morgan and Michael Yardy put together a 67 run partnership to win the match by five wickets with 17 balls left.
The News of the World had earlier released more details of the betting scam they revealed the previous week. They report that captain Salman Butt was found to have at least £10,000 in cash when his rooms were searched by police investigating a betting fraud. The alleged fixer, Mazhar Majeed, was also suspected of trying to open Swiss bank accounts for some of the players.
Swiss / international sports, football
La Nati - The Swiss national football team
Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Switzerland is ready to face England in its first qualifying game for the Euro 2012. Ottmar Hitzfeld has announced the players who will carry La Nati through a friendly against Australia 3 September, and against England 7 September.
Among Hitzfeld’s new picks is Scott Sutter, an English-Swiss defender.
The 24-year-old says he is proud to be nominated: “I have lived in Switzerland for eight-and-a-half years, it is my homeland now. This nomination is even more special since I will play the country where I spent the first years of my life,” said Sutter referring to the game against England. (Tickets are on sale now.)
Swiss captain Alexander Frei, largely absent during the World Cup, is back after recovering from injury. Veteran player Philippe Senderos, however, is out after rupturing an Achilles tendon.
The qualifying stage for the 2012 UEFA Euro Cup begins 3 September throughout Europe.
For the Swiss and English teams, which compete in group G, it begins 7 September when they face each other off in Basel at St-Jacques Park at 20:45.
Bulgaria, Montenegro and Wells round up the five teams in the group.
List of players Read more…
International sports, cricket
Lord’s, London (Genevalunch) - England won the fourth Test against Pakistan by a convincing innings and 225 runs, also winning the series 3-1. The result was tarnished by a report in the News of the World revealing a betting fraud which appeared to implicate two of the Pakistani fast bowlers, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif. The English Sunday tabloid provided video and audio footage of a match-fixer taking £150,000 in bribes in exchange for information that the two bowlers would bowl “no balls” by overstepping the bowling crease on specific balls in the match. The Pakistani captain and manager emphasised that these were only unproven allegations but the Prime Minister Yousef Raza Gilani said the country would “bow its head in shame.”
It is particularly sad that the scandal took away from an excellent Test with a number of record-breaking performances. The first was by the 18 year old Mohammad Amir who took six wickets as the England batting collapsed to 102 f0r 7. Jonathan Trott and Stuart Broad responded with a partnership of 332 runs, a record for the ninth wicket in any Test. It was then time for a Pakistan batting collapse, 74 all out. Following on they again crumbled to 147 all out with Graham Swann picking up five wickets for 62. The teenage star of the series, considered by many commentators to be the best young cricketer in the world faces a possible life ban if found guilty of cheating.
Links to other sites: News of the World, BBC, Guardian
International football star David Beckham,35, has been cast-off by Italian coach Fabio Capello as “too old to play” for the English squad.
Capello who said so to the international press seemed to have forgotten to let Beckham in on his plans.
“I’m sure someone will have phoned him now. We tried to speak to him but we couldn’t. I will speak to him soon.”
Capello said Beckham could play once more for England at Wembley so fans could pay tribute to the ex-skipper.
Additional details: The Telegraph, Fifa
International sports, World Cup football
Lukas Podolski of Germany challenged by Glen Johnson of England - Photo 2010 FWCLOC
Bloemfontein, South Africa (GenevaLunch) – England were thumped 4-1 by Germany and even complaints that an appalling piece of refereeing cost England an equalizer cannot disguise the fact that England were thoroughly outplayed.
The first German goal came from a boot upfield by the goalkeeper which went straight to the German striker Miroslav Klose as the England central defenders looked on.
The second goal also came from an English defensive error.
England then pulled one back with a beautiful header by Matthew Upson and a minute later Frank Lampard struck a ball from the edge of the penalty area onto the crossbar, where it bounced about one metre into the goal.
Unfortunately, the referee and his assistant did not see it and no goal was awarded.
Germany scored two more goals in the second half.
Argentina vs Mexico
Argentina celebrates yet another victory - Photo 2010 FWCLOC
Argentina celebrates yet another victory - Photo 2010 FWCLOC
The second game provided another reason to introduce goal mouth technology, as Carlos Tevez scored Argentina’s first goal against Mexico from a blatantly offside position. Argentina added two more before the Mexicans pulled one back to end the game 3-1 for Argentina.
Follow GenevaLunch’s daily recap of the 2010 World Cup.
International sports, 2010 Football World Cup
The party is on for Africa - Photo 2010 Fifa World Cup LOC
[Video]Tshwane/Pretoria, South Africa (GenevaLunch) – The Ghana Black Stars recorded the first victory for the host continent with a 1-0 win over Serbia, to the delight of the vuvuzela tooting crowd. In fact the Serbian team helped in their own destruction by first having a player sent off and then conceding a stupid penalty.
England goalkeeper Robert Green was equally generous in donating a goal to allow the USA to draw 1-1. (See reaction of Glen Johnson below)
South Africa looked like they might win the opening game but conceded an equalizer to Mexico to end 1-1.
Germany and Argentina look the form teams from the first few days: the Germans thumped Australia 4-0 while Argentina beat Nigeria 1-0.
South Korea beat a disappointing Greek side 2-0.
France were held to a 0-0 draw by Uruguay in one of the dullest games.
Switzerland have a tough opening match against Spain on Wednesday afternoon.
Follow GenevaLunch’s daily recap of the 2010 World Cup.
Video: Glen Johnson reacts to USA draw
International sports, Twenty20 cricket
Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados (GenevaLunch) - England scored a rare victory in the short version of the game when they won the Twenty20 World Cup in Barbados, 16 May. They won by seven wickets with three overs to spare thanks to a tight performance in the field and a thrilling batting display by Kevin Pietersen and Craig Kieswetter, England’s pair of South African born cricketers.
Australia batted first and were soon in trouble being 8 for 3 after a couple of overs. They fought back to 147 for 6 thanks to 59 runs from David Hussey. England survived the early loss of Lumb and Kieswetter with 63 and Pietersen, 47 made the game safe for England.
Zimbabwean Coach Andy Flower has welded the England team into a formidable Twenty20 machine, with dynamic batting from the start, tight bowling and energetic fielding. Flower has managed to get the best out of players like Eoin Morgan, a recruit from Ireland, and has managed the bowlers with skill.
The big losers of the Twenty20 World Cup were the Indian superstars, who seemed tired out by their efforts in the IPL.
Links to other sites: cricket.yahoo.com, cricket20
