Racial abuse ‘intimidates’ and puts people off watching English soccer, says campaigner
Racial abuse ‘intimidates’ and puts people off watching English soccer, says campaigner/node/1893541/world
Racial abuse ‘intimidates’ and puts people off watching English soccer, says campaigner
Mother-of-two Huda Jawad (L) said during an interview on British TV the type of racism suffered by Bukayo Saka (right, top), Marcus Rashford (right, center) and Jadon Sancho (right, bottom) puts people off watching English soccer. (Screenshot/AP/AFP/UEFA)
Racial abuse ‘intimidates’ and puts people off watching English soccer, says campaigner
Huda Jawad said her son does not feel safe going to football practice after the racist comments directed at Black England players after Sunday’s Euro 2020 final
A petition launched by Jawad and two friends, calling for racism to be punished by lifetime bans from soccer grounds, attracted almost a million signatures in just 48 hours
Updated 13 July 2021
Arab News
LONDON: Racial abuse in English soccer is “intimidating” people to the extent that they avoid watching matches in stadiums, the co-founder of a UK anti-racism petition said on Tuesday.
Mother-of-two Huda Jawad, who lives close to Euro 2020 final venue Wembley Stadium, said during an interview on British TV that the toxic atmosphere created by some fans meant that until recently she was too afraid to watch a soccer match in public.
She also said her young son does not feel safe going to football practice since learning about the racist abuse directed at Black players Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho after they missed penalties during England’s shootout defeat by Italy in Sunday’s final.
“As I was picking up my son from school … he said, ‘Mummy, we didn’t have a nice day today because we were talking about what the players have been experiencing, the racism they had leveled at them and it makes me feel sad and it’s not safe to go to football,’” she said.
“That really broke my heart. Football is a reflection of our society. We live a stone’s throw away from (Wembley) stadium, they’ve never been in, they don’t know what it looks like, they feel intimidated.”
Jawad helped to start a petition, titled “Ban racists for life from all football matches in England,” with anti-racism campaigner Shaista Aziz and friend Amna Abdullatif, under the collective name “The Three Hijabis.”
They went viral this month when they shared their experiences of watching England play Ukraine in the Euros quarter-finals together. Jawad said she realized then that football should be something that everyone can enjoy.
“(Football was) something that is not for me because I’m not welcome, and that’s really sad because the beautiful game is something that belongs to all of us,” she said.
“The England squad has really shown us what it’s like to be an inclusive team that belongs to everybody, that we’re all equal, that we all matter and we can all make a difference — this is for all of us to do something about.”
Jawad said that as soon as the three players missed their penalty kicks and England lost the final, she, Aziz and Abdullatif had predicted what would happen to them.
“The tragedy is after the final, the Three Hijabis were watching the match together a stone’s throw away from Wembley, and we said: ‘We know what is going to happen now: these young, Black players, these heroes, are going to be racially abused,’” she said.
Aziz said that racism in English football reflects a wider problem of societal racism in the country.
“Since we have put this petition up, lots of people have contacted us. Many people of color have shared similar stories,” she said.
“This is not just about football; racism is, sadly, part of society. Racism is part of the DNA of this country and society, and football is a reflection of society and we need to dig deep and do something about this.”
The petition, which calls on the UK government and English soccer authorities to introduce automatic lifetime bans for people who racially abuse players, has attracted more than 900,000 signatures in just 48 hours since going live after Sunday’s final.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke with social media companies on Tuesday to urge them to do more to tackle online abuse. He also condemned the racist comments directed at the England players, which he said were coming from “the dark spaces of the internet.”
Johnson’s government has come under fire from some players and experts who say the Conservative prime minister and some of his closest colleagues have “fanned the flames” of prejudice and fueled the abuse of the players.
Pets with a toolkit: Protection dogs train to handle burglars as sports stars boost home security
Expensive protection dogs have been in demand among professional athletes to guard against burglars who target wealthy homes as part of sophisticated rings
The lengthy list of athletes whose residences have been hit includes England cricket captain Ben Stokes’ home was burglarized while he was playing in Pakistan
Updated 10 sec ago
AP
EMBOROUGH, England: Scream all you want, but Lobo isn’t letting go.
The young German shepherd has chomped into the arm of a would-be attacker wearing a padded suit at K9 Protector in southwest England.
A command later, Lobo is back at the feet of Alaster Bly and awaiting his next instruction.
“I describe them as pets with a toolkit built into them. A toolkit that you hope you’re never going to use,” said Bly, K9 Protector co-owner.
Expensive protection dogs like Lobo have been in demand among professional athletes to guard against burglars who target wealthy homes often as part of sophisticated crime rings. Athletes are particularly vulnerable while they’re away at games.
“He will end up in somebody’s home with high-net worth that is potentially at risk from more than your opportunist burglar,” Bly said of Lobo, who costs 45,000 pounds ($60,000) and boasts a Bavarian bloodline that is “second to none.”
German Shepherd family protection dog Lobo listens to owner Alaster Bly at the Strapestone Kennels in Radstock, England, on March 5, 2025. (AP)
The lengthy list of athletes whose residences have been hit includes Premier League stars Jack Grealish and Alexander Isak. England cricket captain Ben Stokes’ home was burglarized while he was playing in Pakistan.
It’s becoming a major problem in the United States, too, with former NFL cornerback Richard Sherman a recent example.
The homes of Kansas City Chiefs teammates Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce were burglarized in October as part of a wave of break-ins that also targeted Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow. Seven Chilean men were charged in connection with those burglaries, as well as the break-in at Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis’ home, where nearly $1.5 million in cash and valuables were stolen.
After consulting the FBI, the NBA drew up guidance for players.
One of the recommendations: “Utilize dogs for home protection.”
WHICH BREED IS BEST?
While almost any dog can provide some deterrence, protection-dog providers offer breeds like German shepherd, Belgian Malinois, Rottweiler, Doberman and Cane Corso.
Bly and his wife, K9 Protector co-owner Sian Bly, work predominantly with German shepherds.
“They are the most proven dogs at being family dogs,” Alaster Bly said.
They begin to differentiate early on which pups show potential.
“If we’ve got a puppy that’s really confident, is chasing a rag, biting hold of the rag, and their food drive is high, that’s a good starting point,” Sian Bly said. “We look at how competitive they are with their siblings, as well. You’re looking for quite a strong dog.”
Dogs that don’t make the cut might get routed to prison service or police duty.
“You can’t place a dog with young kids that’s nervous or that the temperament isn’t 100 percent,” she said.
PROTECTION DOGS ARE EXPENSIVE
The handful of K9 Protector dogs that reach “high-threat environment” status cost up to 75,000 pounds ($100,000).
It can take a couple of years to train for all sorts of scenarios.
“It’s vast — the ability to deal with four intruders at once, vehicle carjacking tactics, being acceptant of multi-handlers,” Alaster Bly said. “Husband, wife, nanny, housekeeper, estate manager all being able to handle that dog in an equal way in a threat scenario, and the dog still responding in the same way — is very different to a pet-level-trained dog with protection training.”
Clients must be a good match, though.
Sian Bly said if they think a buyer “might use the dog in the wrong way, then we don’t sell them the dog. It doesn’t matter about the finances.”
Between 10-15 percent of their clients are professional athletes and they typically require nondisclosure agreements, as do the actors and singers who come calling.
They sell about two or three dogs per month. When the economy is bad and crime increases — demand is higher. Winter months see more sales and the pandemic period of 2020-21 was “the busiest we’ve ever been,” Sian Bly said.
UFC FIGHTER ASPINALL PICKS A GERMAN SHEPHERD
UFC heavyweight Tom Aspinall added a protection dog to his family after moving to a new house. The Manchester native posted a video about it.
“I’m not here all the time. I just wanted someone else kind of looking after the family, as well as me, even when I’m here,” Aspinall said of his German shepherd.
US soccer midfielder Tyler Adams opted for a Rottweiler from Total K9, the North Yorkshire company that provided Aspinall’s dog.
Tottenham midfielder James Maddison got a 145-pound Cane Corso from Leicestershire-based Chaperone K9, which also counts Grealish as a client.
Grealish’s mansion was burglarized just after Christmas in 2023 while the Manchester City midfielder was playing a game at Everton. Family members called police when they heard noises and after Grealish’s Belgian Malinois and Cockapoo reportedly started barking.
Grealish later called it “a traumatic experience for all of us, I am just so grateful that nobody was hurt.”
TIPS FOR HOME SECURITY
The NBA memo urged removing online real estate listings that show interiors.
Some stars post their protection dogs on social media along with the pets’ names — but they probably shouldn’t.
“There is nothing more off-putting to a dog than being called by its own name when you’re breaking into the home,” Alaster Bly said.
The Blys use German commands, which buyers must learn.
On K9 Protector’s website, former long-distance runner Mo Farah, a four-time Olympic champion, described turning to a protection dog after his home was burglarized despite an alarm system, video coverage and 24-hour security patrols.
Intruders at Burrow’s house eluded manned security at his property while he was playing a Monday Night Football game at Dallas in December. The criminal complaint on the Chilean crew said they liked to approach from “a wooded or dark area.”
KNOWING THE RULES
Under the UK’s “Guard Dogs Act,” someone capable of controlling a guard dog must be at the premises, and a notice must be posted at the entrance about the dog.
Technically, there are scenarios that could result in criminal prosecution of dog owners in Britain — even in burglaries.
The National Association of Security Dog Users “does not promote the use of dogs as personal/family protection dogs and issues no certification or training courses in relation to this type of dog,” said Roger Flett, a NASDU director.
Samantha Gaines of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals warned against the “glamorization” of painful ear-cropping on breeds like Doberman and Cane Corso. The procedure is prohibited in England and Wales, but it’s legal to import them that way.
UK BURGLARIES ARE DECREASING
It’s unknown if break-ins at wealthy homes are increasing, but statistics for England and Wales show residential burglaries overall are decreasing.
From the year ending March 2018 to the year ending September 2024, there was a 42 percent drop, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics.
Just a small percentage of burglaries get solved, however. Only in late 2022 did police chiefs commit to responding to all break-ins.
Alaster Bly, a former police officer, said it’s not just about burglaries. A CEO of a company might be facing a threat, or a person might be dealing with a stalker.
“There are life-changing incidents that take place regularly,” he said. “The array of problems and crime that’s going on in the UK at the moment keeps us busy.”
Almost all nations miss UN deadline for new climate targets
Just 10 of nearly 200 countries required under the Paris Agreement to deliver fresh climate plans by February 10 did so on time
Under the climate accord, each country is supposed to provide a steeper headline figure for cutting heat-trapping emissions by 2035
Updated 3 min 53 sec ago
AFP
PARIS: Nearly all nations missed a UN deadline Monday to submit new targets for slashing carbon emissions, including major economies under pressure to show leadership following the US retreat on climate change. Just 10 of nearly 200 countries required under the Paris Agreement to deliver fresh climate plans by February 10 did so on time, according to a UN database tracking the submissions. Under the climate accord, each country is supposed to provide a steeper headline figure for cutting heat-trapping emissions by 2035, and a detailed blueprint for how to achieve this. Global emissions have been rising but need to almost halve by the end of the decade to limit global warming to levels agreed under the Paris deal. UN climate chief Simon Stiell has called this latest round of national pledges “the most important policy documents of this century.” Yet just a handful of major polluters handed in upgraded targets on time, with China, India and the European Union the biggest names on a lengthy absentee list. Most G20 economies were missing in action with the United States, Britain and Brazil — which is hosting this year’s UN climate summit — the only exceptions. The US pledge is largely symbolic, made before President Donald Trump ordered Washington out of the Paris deal. There is no penalty for submitting late targets, formally titled nationally determined contributions (NDCs). They are not legally binding but act as an accountability measure to ensure governments are taking the threat of climate change seriously. Last week, Stiell said submissions would be needed by September so they could be properly assessed before the UN COP30 climate conference in November. A spokeswoman for the EU said the 27-nation bloc intended to submit its revised targets “well ahead” of the summit in Belem. Analysts say China, the world’s biggest polluter and also its largest investor in renewable energy, is also expected to unveil its much-anticipated climate plan in the second half of the year. The UAE, Ecuador, Saint Lucia, New Zealand, Andorra, Switzerland and Uruguay rounded out the list of countries that made Monday’s cut-off. The sluggish response will not ease fears of a possible backslide on climate action as leaders juggle Trump’s return and other competing priorities from budget and security crises to electoral pressure. Ebony Holland from the London-based International Institute for Environment and Development said the US retreat was “clearly a setback” but there were many reasons for the tepid turnout. “It’s clear there are some broad geopolitical shifts underway that are proving to be a challenge when it comes to international cooperation, especially on big issues like climate change,” she said.
Trial of former President Sarkozy sheds light on France’s back-channel talks with Libya’s Qaddafi
Updated 18 min ago
French families of victims of a 1989 plane bombing told the court about their shock and sense of betrayal During the trial, Sarkozy has said he has “never ever betrayed” families of victims
PARIS: The monthslong trial of former French President Nicolas Sarkozy over the alleged illegal financing of his 2007 presidential campaign is shedding light on France’s back-channel talks with the government of then-Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi. Family members of terrorist attacks sponsored by Qaddafi’s regime have told the court they suspect that Sarkozy was willing to sacrifice the memories of their loved ones in order to normalize ties with Libya almost two decades ago. French prosecutors on Thursday requested a seven-year prison sentence for the 70-year-old former leader. Sarkozy, who was president from 2007 to 2012, has denied all wrongdoing. The trial, which started in January, is to continue until April 8, with Sarkozy’s lawyers to plead on the last day. The verdict is expected at a later date. Some key moments in the trial have focused on talks between France and Libya in the 2000s, when Qaddafi was seeking to restore diplomatic ties with the West. Before that, Libya was considered a pariah state for having sponsored attacks. French families of victims of a 1989 plane bombing told the court about their shock and sense of betrayal as the trial questioned whether promises possibly made to Qaddafi’s government were part of the alleged corruption deal. The Lockerbie and UTA flight bombings In 1988, a bomb planted aboard a Pam Am flight exploded while the plane was over the Scottish town of Lockerbie, killing 270 people from 21 countries, including 190 Americans. The following year, on Sept. 19, 1989, the bombing of UTA flight 772 over Niger killed 170 people, including 54 French nationals on board, after an in-flight explosion caused by a suitcase bomb. Both French and US investigations have tied both bombings to Libya, whose government had engaged in long-running hostilities with the US and other Western governments. Now, families of victims are wondering whether French government officials close to Sarkozy promised to forget about the bombings in exchange for business opportunities with the oil-rich nation and possibly, an alleged corruption deal. “What did they do with our dead?” Nicoletta Diasio, the daughter of a man who died in the bombing, has told the court, saying she wondered if the memories of the victims “could have been used for bartering” in talks between France and Libya. During the trial, Sarkozy has said he has “never ever betrayed” families of victims. “I have never traded their fate for any compromise, nor pact of realpolitik,” he said. Libya’s push to restore ties with the West Libya was long a pariah state for its involvement in the 1980s bombings. In 2003, it took responsibility for both the 1988 and 1989 plane bombings and agreed to pay billions in compensation to the victims’ families. Qaddafi also announced he was dismantling his nuclear weapons program, which led to the lifting of international sanctions against the country. Britain, France and other Western countries sought to restore a relationship with Libya for security, diplomatic and business purposes. In 2007, Sarkozy welcomed Qaddafi to Paris with honors for a five-day official visit, allowing him to set up a bedouin tent near the Elysee presidential palace. Many French people still remember that gesture, feeling Sarkozy went too far to please a dictator. Sarkozy said during the trial he would have preferred to “do without” Qaddafi’s visit at the time but it came as a diplomatic gesture after Libya’s release of Bulgarian nurses who were imprisoned and facing death sentences for a crime they said they did not commit. Bulgarian nurses On July 24, 2007, under an accord partially brokered by first lady Cecilia Sarkozy and EU officials, Libya released the five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor. The medics, who had spent over eight years in prison, faced death sentence on charges they deliberately infected hundreds of children with the AIDS virus in the late 1990s — an allegation they denied. The release of the medics removed the last major obstacle to Libya’s rejoining the international community. Sarkozy traveled to the capital, Tripoli, for talks with Qaddafi the day after the medics were returned to Bulgaria on a French presidential plane. In court has spoken of his “pride to have saved those six persons.” “If you did not discuss with Qaddafi, you’d not get the release of the nurses,” he said. Libya’s spy chief at heart of questions Accused of masterminding the attack on UTA Flight 772, Qaddafi’s brother-in-law and intelligence chief Abdullah Al-Senoussi was convicted in absentia to a life sentence by a Paris court in 1999 for the attack. An international arrest warrant was issued for him and five other suspects. Financial prosecutors have accused Sarkozy of having promised to lift the arrest warrant targeting Al-Senoussi in exchange for alleged campaign financing. In 2005, people close to Sarkozy, who was at the time the interior minister, including his chief of staff Claude Guéant and junior minister Brice Hortefeux, traveled to Tripoli, where they met with Al-Senoussi. Both Guéant and Hortefeux have told the court that it was a “surprise” meeting they were not aware of beforehand. Al-Senoussi told investigative judges that millions of dollars were provided to support Sarkozy’s campaign. Accused of war crimes, he is now imprisoned in Libya. Sarkozy has strongly denied that. Qaddafi’s son accusations Qaddafi’s son, Seif Al-Islam, told the French news network RFI in January that he was personally involved in giving Sarkozy 5 million dollars in cash. Seif Al-Islam sent RFI radio a two-page statement on his version of events. It was the first time he talked to the media about the case since 2011. He said Sarkozy initially “received $2.5 million from Libya to finance his electoral campaign” during the 2007 presidential election, in return for which Sarkozy would “conclude agreements and carry out projects in favor of Libya.” He said a second payment of $2.5 million in cash was handed over without specifying when it was given. According to him, Libyan authorities expected that in return, Sarkozy would end a legal case about the 1989 UTA Flight 771 attack — including removing his name from an international warrant notice. Sarkozy strongly denied those allegations. “You’ll never find one Libyan euro, one Libyan cent in my campaign,” he said at the opening of the trial in January. “There’s no corruption money because there was no corruption.” Sarkozy turning his back to Qaddafi The Libyan civil war started in February 2011, with army units and militiamen loyal to Qaddafi opposing rebels. Sarkozy was the first Western leader to take a public stance to support the rebellion. On Feb. 25, 2011, he said the violence by pro-Qaddafi forces was unacceptable and should not go unpunished. “Qaddafi must go,” he said at the time. On March 10 that year, France was the first country in the world to recognize the National Transitional Council as the legitimate government of Libya. “That was the Arab Spring,” Sarkozy told the court. “Qaddafi was the only dictator who had sent (military) aircrafts against his people. He had promised rivers of blood, that’s his expression.” Muammar Qaddafi was killed by opposition fighters in Oct. 2011, ending his four-decade rule of the North African country.
Iran says nuclear talks will fail if US pushes for zero enrichment
Iran says nuclear talks “will lead nowhere” if US pushes for zero enrichment - Nournews
Updated 19 May 2025
Reuters
DUBAI: Nuclear talks between Iran and the United States “will lead nowhere” if Washington insists that Tehran drop its uranium enrichment activity to zero, Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takhtravanchi was quoted by state media on Monday as saying.
US special envoy Steve Witkoff reiterated Washington’s stance on Sunday that any new deal between the US and Iran must include an agreement not to enrich uranium, a possible pathway to developing nuclear bombs. Tehran says its nuclear energy program has entirely peaceful purposes.
“Our position on enrichment is clear and we have repeatedly stated that it is a national achievement from which we will not back down,” Takhtravanchi said.
During his visit to the Gulf region last week, US President Donald Trump said a deal was very close but that Iran needed to move quickly.
During his first, 2017-21 term as president, Trump withdrew the United States from a 2015 deal between Iran and world powers that placed strict limits on Tehran’s enrichment activities in exchange for relief from international sanctions.
Trump, who branded the 2015 accord one-sided in Iran’s favor, also reimposed sweeping US sanctions on Iran. The Islamic Republic responded by escalating enrichment.
Trump calls to probe Kamala Harris celebrity endorsements
Updated 19 May 2025
AFP
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said Monday he would launch a “major investigation” into his 2024 election rival Kamala Harris over celebrities who backed her failed run for the White House.
“Candidates aren’t allowed to pay for ENDORSEMENTS, which is what Kamala did, under the guise of paying for entertainment,” he posted on his Truth Social platform.
“I am going to call for a major investigation into this matter.”
Harris sought to harness star power from celebrities such as Beyonce and Oprah Winfrey in the election race.
Winfrey defended a $1 million payment to her production company from the Harris campaign to covers costs associated with the talk show legend hosting the presidential candidate.
Harris’s team, meanwhile, denied rumors that she paid pop megastar Beyonce $10 million to appear at a rally.
The Harris campaign listed one endorsement-related expenditure for $75 in its financial reports to an environmental advocacy group.
Trump, who won the election comfortably, received scant support from the entertainment industry at large but tapped into a targeted subset of well-known, hypermasculine influencers including podcast host Joe Rogan.
The president on Monday took aim at Beyonce, Winfrey and Bruce Springsteen, accusing Harris of paying the legendary rock star to perform at a rally in Georgia weeks before the election.
“How much did Kamala Harris pay Bruce Springsteen for his poor performance during her campaign for president?” he wrote.
“Why did he accept that money if he is such a fan of hers?“
Trump last week took to Truth Social to feud with Springsteen after the star told a British concert audience that his homeland is now ruled by a “corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration.”
In return, the 78-year-old Republican said the star, nicknamed “the Boss,” is “Highly Overrated.”
Springsteen is an outspoken liberal critic of Trump and turned out for Harris after she replaced Democratic president Joe Biden in his abandoned reelection bid.
