...for Fabio Capello for his impressive handling of the John Terry affair -- not only the correct and widely-approved decision to remove the England captaincy from Terry but also the way in which the decision was taken and communicated with a total absence of the concessions to media hunger which so often accompany anything of this kind.
The Football Association has also acted well by making it clear from the start that the decision was Capello’s and his alone. Capello’s statement after meeting Terry on Friday was a model of brevity and common sense coupled with thanks to the FA’s Lord Triesman “for allowing me to make this decision in my own time and in the best interest of the team.”
It is impossible to judge what effect this unwelcome incident will have on England’s performance at the World Cup in South Africa in June. John Terry is an extremely effective defender and gives confidence to those around him; if he can overcome this shock (and perhaps others still to come) he can still play a positive role in England’s performance. What is clear is that Capello’s leadership has been strengthened enormously.
Dear Sir,
RE: HIRE CARS
I am very angry about the hire car situation on the Island. I live in Bon Aire, Alcudia in the North of the Island, I visit my house about 6 times a year.
Each time I need a hire car for about 10 days In Alcudia, the prices are ridiculous, this topic is a very important issue for tourists coming to this Island.
I have heard of tourists paying £1'000 for a week for a car, surely someone ought to be looking at this, Majorca wants the tourists but I don’t hear of anyone looking into the hire car problem. I myself have tried unsuccessfully to find a cheap hire car company, and so I have had to reduce my visits to my house in Bonaire.
Would someone please tell me and others why they are charging such high prices for their cars.
I have been in the office to collect a car, the irate customers, it seems this is a very big issue for the Island and until it is sorted many people who have had trouble before just will not come.
Yours sincerely,
Sandra from Bonaire.
Dear Sir,
RE: POLITICAL FIASCO
WITH never a day passing when some politician is arrested/investigated for fraud and misuse of public funds - it becomes more and more obvious that the present politician incumbents in Palma (ie Pact) should not be allowed to continue in post.
With 80% of the island dependent on tourist revenue (figure from Tourist Industry), 60% dependent is the figure quoted by Sr Antich (they cant even agree on that), it would help if they actually acknowledged that the islands have MAJOR PROBLEMS.
Instead they stumble from one disaster to another, with little or no “governing” taking place. A case of “fiddling whilst Balearics burn”.
The present situation should not/must not be allowed to continue. Sr Antich must be made to call an election, one where anyone under investigation or anyone with investigations/cases “archivo” (ie: not proven innocent) is not allowed to stand for public office.
If it wasn’t so serious it would be laughable ie: the news published on Thursday that Sra Najera has been put in charge of a multimillion euro budge for the reform of the Playa de Palma - this is a person with several cases “archivo” and two cases outstanding!
It’s time to think and behave like a democracy, instead this “banana republic”, medieval scenario.
Your sincerely,
M. Irving
Portals Nous
A bad week for US-China relations began with Washington’s announcement of the sale of US$6 billions-worth of weapons to Taiwan, which Beijing said would lead to sanctions against the companies concerned, and continued with a warning to President Obama that his planned meeting with the Tibetan exiled leader, Dalai Lama, would not be helpful to future relations between the two countries.
The final piece of the 1998 Good Friday Accord on the governance of Northern Ireland was put in place when the power-sharing Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Fein reached agreement on a date for the transfer of policing and judicial powers from London to Belfast. The agreement was reached only after nearly three weeks of intensive day-and-night negotiations which at one stage involved the British and Irish prime ministers.
The victory of the incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa in Sri Lank’s presidential election was followed by the arrest of supporters of the defeated candidate, General Sarath Fonseka, and evidence of measures against journalists and the freedom of the press.
By Ray Fleming
“ANOTHER very good Friday” was Gerry Adams’ apt comment on the late night agreement which put in place the final piece of the Northern Ireland Good Friday Accord reached in April 1998. Under the agreement reached between Adams’ Sinn Fein and Peter Robinson’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) responsibility for policing and justice will be devolved from London to Belfast on 12 April -- the prize for Sinn Fein -- and a new working group will be formed to review arrangements for the thousands of parades which the Protestant Orange Order holds in the summer -- the concession demanded by DUP.
Peter Robinson deserves credit for turning round in four days the opposition to the agreement of almost half of the elected members of the DUP group in the Northern Ireland Assembly. In the end he got their unanimous support, probably by persuading them that elections might follow a failure to reach an agreement. -- elections in which they might lose the status of largest party in the Assembly to Sinn Fein. Credit also to Gerry Adams and Martin McGuiness of Sinn Fein who did not overplay their strong hand but left it to the DUP to recognise the inevitability of the transfer of policing and justice matters to the power-sharing Assembly.
The detailed progress to 12 April is in a 21-page document. There may yet be difficulties but the course laid out by Gordon Brown and his Irish counterpart Brian Cowen two weeks ago has provided the key to success.
