Tour de France: Mark Cavendish powers to 21st Tour stage win

     

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           Manxman Mark Cavendish produced a powerful solo performance to edge out Andre Greipel by half a wheel to win the second stage of the Tour de France. 

       It was his 21st Tour stage win, moving him clear into sixth place on the all-time list, one behind Lance Armstrong.
Cavendish, who rode the final kilometre unsupported by other Team Sky riders, shot past Greipel in the final 50m.
Fellow Briton Bradley Wiggins remains seven seconds behind Swiss Fabian Cancellara in the overall standings.

      Cavendish, who has won 20 Tour stages over the last four years, entered the three-week Tour with modest hopes as Team Sky had decided to focus their efforts around Wiggins, who is targeting the yellow jersey in the general classification. 

      As a result, 27-year-old Cavendish was without a train of riders - something he benefited from at HTC - and was forced to go it alone while his sprint rivals enjoyed the support of their team-mates.

     But the Isle of Man sprinter timed his race perfectly, latching on to the back of former colleague Greipel's wheel and biding his time to snatch victory, with the German in second and Australia's Matt Goss third.
"It was so hectic," said Cavendish. "If it had just been sprinters it would have been OK but every type of climber and GC [general classification] rider was at the finish.

     "I knew it would be difficult, dangerous and hectic here but I came in without any pressure. It was just about being plucky about it.

       "I knew the finish and knew there was a headwind, so I knew you could come from behind.
       "I'm not really chasing [the point leader's green jersey] this year. I'll keep it in the back of my mind and go for every opportunity but I'm not going to put myself in the ground for it.

        "It's not possible to chase the green jersey alone [without team-mates' support] so I'm just trying to get the stages and then see.

      Team Sky manager Dave Brailsford said: "Psychologically that was a big stage for all the sprint teams.
"He [Cavendish] has proved there why he is the number one in the world and why he has been the number one for a long time."
      It was an exciting finish to an otherwise predictable day.
Frenchman Anthony Roux broke from the pack with 22km gone of the 207km stage, with [King of the Mountains] polka dot jersey holder Michael Morkov and Christophe Kern giving chase.

      The trio spent much of the race by themselves, taking the top three placings at the intermediate sprint which was 54.4km from the finish, before Roux launched another solo attack.

     This time, Kern and Morkov let the Frenchman go and eased back into the peloton which then gave chase and reeled Roux in with 15km to go.

    The bunch upped the tempo with two kilometres to go with the Lotto and BMC teams moving to the front and Cavendish's sprint rival Marcel Kittel at the back due to illness.

     Cavendish then unleashed a brutal burst of pace to snatch victory in the Belgian city - his first Tour stage win outside France.
Cancellera comfortably finished in the bunch, as did Wiggins and 2011 winner Cadel Evans, to leave the general classification standings unchanged.

 

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Will Nigeria's Boko Haram add fuel to Jos fires?

 

The Nigerian city of Jos has become synonymous for the bloody violence which occasionally breaks out between its Christian and Muslim communities. The BBC's Will Ross asks whether bombings by the Islamist group Boko Haram will further inflame tensions.

         Looking at the rubble of what was once "God's Chosen Church" it is staggering that only two people died; one member of the congregation and the suicide bomber who drove the car up to the building in this largely Christian part of Jos city.

       Lying on a hospital bed, 11-year-old Sharon Shade writhes in pain from the deep cut on her leg.
      
      She was with her mother and brother in the church on the morning of 10 June.
      "The pastor wanted to preach about unity and when he started explaining I heard 'boom'.
"Then I saw blood pouring from my leg and the next thing I knew I found myself in hospital," said Sharon before tearfully asking: "Why did this have to happen to me?"
The Islamist group popularly known as Boko Haram later said it was behind the attack.
What happened immediately after the blast is deeply worrying for Nigeria.
An angry mob of young men took over the street and set upon people they believed to be Muslim.
An emergency worker said that because of the violence it had been impossible to get his vehicle close to the church and when he walked the last few hundred metres he saw several dead bodies on the road.

       The arrival of the military and police prevented the retaliatory violence from escalating to the level recently witnessed in Kaduna City where up to 100 lives were lost.

       "You only need to study the reprisals in Jos and Kaduna and you'll see that the young people are getting out of control," says the Archbishop of Jos, Benjamin Kwashi.
      "The young people are learning that if Boko Haram is getting away with evil, with crime and criminality, then why shouldn't they?
       "After all what have they got to lose? They are jobless, they are unemployable, they are hungry, they are angry and it may spiral into anything.
       "The way the politicians are approaching these life and death issues gives me no reason to be optimistic."

       'Terrifying'

      In Jos and the surrounding Plateau State, the bombings threaten to reignite a long-running conflict that has left thousands dead in recent decades.
     Different ethnic groups are in dispute over who are the rightful inhabitants of this part of the country, and that ethnic fault line happens to pit Christians on one side against Muslims on the other.


     
       Some areas of the city are completely off limits if you are perceived to be from the "wrong" religion.
It seems likely that the spate of Boko Haram bomb attacks is intended to fuel inter-religious violence, possibly in an effort to make the country ungovernable.

        President Goodluck Jonathan recently warned that Boko Haram could also start targeting mosques in order to instigate attacks by Muslim youths on Christians.
        On Fridays ahead of Muslim prayers and for the Sunday church services, roads are blocked off, checkpoints are increased and the tension in Jos is palpable.
       Boko Haram has been so active across northern Nigeria people are not asking if there will be an attack, they are wondering where the bombers will strike next.
       "The situation is terrifying. In a society where people's security is not guaranteed it is terrible," said Mohammed Tanku, standing in a long line outside the central mosque, waiting to be frisked.
        "From the government we need social justice.
"We need practical steps to bring an end to this," he said as a military helicopter circled above the city.

       'Reprisal attacks'

 

     
         In a large hall in the mosque several hundred Muslim women came together for hours of special peace prayers.
     "Both the Christians and the Muslims, we are praying to Almighty God that whoever is planting the bombs - may God make them to be known and may God disgrace them," said one of the organisers of the event, Zainab Mustapha, who condemned all the violence.
"If they stop and they repent, God should forgive them.
      "If they do not, may God make them regret their lives because there is no Bible and no Koran that says one should kill somebody," she said.
      Following Friday prayers, the commander of the Special Task Force for Jos arrived for a peace-building meeting, accompanied by masked soldiers.
      "We are meeting with all sides of the divide here to ensure the youths are kept in check... to ensure they don't jump on the bandwagon of any kind of reprisal attacks," said Major General Henry Ayoola.
"We should pretty soon be seeing the end of the whole matter."
But that faith in the system is not shared by everyone in the region.
     "Unless the politicians change, the violence will continue," said Salihu Onnana Mohammed, who mends watches.
    
     "They are the ones fuelling the conflict in order to enrich themselves.
     "If there is no crisis they can't steal as much," he said pointing out that vast security budgets are allocated but no-one knows how the money is spent.

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Sporting chance for Palestinian Olympians

            After struggling to pursue sport for years because of the impact of the conflict with Israel, Palestinians now have a rare chance to celebrate success.

       Maher Abu Rmelleh, a judoist, is the first ever Palestinian sportsman to qualify on points to participate in the Olympic Games.

       Mr Abu Rmelleh, who found out only weeks ago that he will be travelling to London this summer, will join four other Palestinian "solidarity" athletes who have been invited by the International Olympic Committee to compete despite not having the necessary qualifying points.
    
      In the absence of sports funding or any official sporting infrastructure, Mr Abu Rmelleh works full-time selling  scarves in his shop in Jerusalem's Old City.
He trains early in the morning and after work.
"It's a dream come true" he says, modestly.
    
       "I'm so happy to be representing Palestine. And it's great that I'm from Jerusalem, the capital," referring to the contested city, whose eastern half is sought by the Palestinians as the capital of a future state.

      'Transcending politics'
 
      Sport is a matter of national pride the world over, but for Palestinians it carries extra symbolism.
   
     Maher Abu Rmelleh earned his qualifying points in Japan last year by defeating the judo champion of Hong Kong.

 

       His achievements have defied the odds, but his is not a totally isolated success story.
Palestinian football has been doing well for some time, and the game attracts players of both sexes.
First there was a women's five-a-side national indoor football tournament. Then in 2009 a full national women's football team was established that now competes internationally.
For the past two years one man has been behind the promotion of sports in the Palestinian territories - Jibril Rajoub, former head of security for the Palestinian Authority, now President of the Palestinian Football Federation and of the Palestinian Olympic Committee.
     
       His latest initiative is an annual football tournament to commemorate the Nakba, or 'catastrophe', the Palestinian name for the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled their homes or were displaced.
      This year in May, Asian and African national teams competed and Mr Rajoub hopes that European and other countries will participate next year.
     "Sport transcends politics," Mr Rajoub says, but he is also aware of its political message, seeing it as "a peaceful means of exposing Palestinian suffering".
      His goal, he says, is to use "the ethics and values of sport to convince the international community that the occupation should come to an end."
       Ibrahim Habash, former captain of the Palestinian basketball team (1998-2011), now coaches women's under-18 basketball at Seriyyeh First Ramallah Club.
       Mr Habash appreciates Jibril Rajoub's success in attracting international teams to compete in the Palestinian territories and is delighted with the encouragement given to women's sports.

      He is concerned, however, that the organisation of sport for Palestinians needs an overarching, long-term administrative structure.

      We need "experts," he says, "not just coaches and trainers but also managers."

 

       Obstacles       
       For Ibrahim Habash and Maher Abu Rmelleh, as for members of the women's football team at Serriyeh, obstacles to Palestinian sporting success are far greater than either the opportunities or the support structure.
The biggest obstacle of all is the Israeli occupation. With travel for Palestinians extremely difficult owing to measures Israel says are necessary for security, athletes have little or no chance to train together before competitions.
      Mr Abu Rmelleh rarely gets the opportunity to meet up with judoists from Gaza or areas of the West Bank, such as Bethlehem and Hebron.
     This is particularly hard on team sports such as football and basketball. Such an example is the case of    Mahmoud Sarsak, a footballer from Gaza, detained by Israel as he set off to compete in a match in the West Bank in 2009.
      Sarsak has been held without charge or trial since then, under Israel's Unlawful Combatants Law, which he protested against with a three-month hunger strike.
     Israel says Sarsak belongs to the Islamic Jihad militant group and is a threat to national security, an allegation Sarsak denies.
   In the Israel-Palestinian conflict, even the beautiful game can turn ugly.

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Japan Tankan survey shows business sentiment improving

     

 

               Japanese manufacturers are less pessimistic about business conditions, the Bank of Japan's (BOJ) latest Tankan survey showed.

         Large manufacturers' sentiment index improved to minus one between April to June, from minus four in the previous quarter.
Big manufacturers also plan to boost their capital spending in the current financial year, the survey showed.

    Analysts said the numbers may see the BOJ keep its monetary policy on hold.

      "The Tankan outcome indicates the economy is on track for a recovery in line with the forecast by the Bank of Japan and this may reduce market expectations for further easing by the central bank this month," said Naoki Iizuka, a senior economist as Mizuho Securities in Tokyo.

        More stability?

        One of the biggest issues that has been a cause for concern among Japanese manufacturers in recent times has been the strength of the Japanese currency.

        A strong currency makes Japanese goods more expensive to foreign buyers and also hurts profits of exporters when they repatriate their foreign earnings back home.

       However, there has been some respite for them, because the yen has weakened more than 4% against the US dollar since the start of this year.

      Analysts said the stability in the yen's price in recent months had also boosted morale among Japanese businesses.

      The Japanese currency has remained little changed, trading close to 79.82 yen against the US dollar, since May this year.

      "Compared to a few months ago, the yen hasn't strengthened significantly and is showing some stability, so it seems not to be having as great an impact on the economy as before," said Masamichi Adachi of JP Morgan Securities.

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Apple 'settles China iPad trademark dispute for $60m'

 

          
  Apple has agreed to pay $60m (£38m) to Chinese firm Proview to settle a dispute involving rights to the "iPad" name, a court in China has said.
        
         Proview had claimed that it owned the rights to the iPad name in the Chinese market after registering it in 2000.
However, Apple had insisted that it had acquired the worldwide rights for the name in 2009.
A court in Guangdong had asked the two firms to try to reach a settlement.
"The iPad dispute resolution is ended," the Guangdong High People's Court said in a statement.
"Apple Inc. has transferred $60m to the account of the Guangdong High Court as requested in the mediation letter.          
                 
        Rights to China
 

           Apple had bought the global rights to the "iPad" from Proview's Taiwanese affiliate for $55,000 (£35,000).

However, the Chinese firm had argued that its affiliate did not have the rights to sell the rights for the China, one of the fastest-growing markets for Apple's products.
The dispute between the two firms resulted in Apple's iPads being being pulled off the shelves in some parts of China.
Proview had even sought a ban on the sales of the product in Shanghai as part of the dispute, a move that was rejected by the courts.
After the court announced the settlement on Monday, Proview confirmed to the BBC that the firm had agreed to the settlement.
"The case is settled, both sides are satisfied with the agreement," Ma Dongxiao, a lawyer from Shenzhen Grandall Law Firm, which is handling Proview's case told the BBC.

       Sensible move

            China is one of the biggest markets for Apple's products and demand for its gadgets has been increasing steadily in the country.
However, it is starting to face increasing competition from rivals such as Samsung as they look to tap into the lucrative Chinese market.
Analysts said that one of the key reasons behind Apple agreeing to settle the naming dispute is that firm may not have wanted its sales in the country to be disrupted and as a result lose some of its market share to competitors.
"When Apple is on the receiving end of a litigation, especially in China, it is a sensible move for them to settle it and move on," Andrew Milroy of Frost & Sullivan told the BBC.
"That would help minimise the disruption to the Apple juggernaut."
End of the road? The dispute between the two firms over the rights to "iPad" name was not limited to China.

 

           Proview had also lodged a case against Apple in the US.
It had accused Apple of deceiving it into selling the rights to the name by setting up a company, IP Application Development Ltd (IPADL) in the UK.
It claimed that Apple said the trademark was "an abbreviation for the company name".
However, that case was dismissed by the court earlier this year.
Analysts said that with the two firms agreeing to a settlement in China, it was unlikely that Proview would take any further action against Apple.

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Barclays bank chairman Marcus Agius confirms resignation

                      Marcus Agius has confirmed he will resign as chairman of Barclays following the inter-bank lending rate-fixing scandal.

In his statement, Mr Agius said: he was "truly sorry" and that "the buck stops with me".
Last week Barclays was fined £290m ($450m) for attempting to manipulate the Libor inter-bank lending rate.
Barclays' chief executive Bob Diamond will appear before the House of Commons Treasury Select Committee on Wednesday.
Mr Agius is due to answer their questions on Thursday.
Barclays said Mr Agius would remain in his post until "an orderly succession is assured".
Sir Michael Rake, BT chairman and senior independent director at Barclays, has been appointed deputy chairman at the bank.
Sir John Sunderland, a non-executive director of Barclays, will begin the search for a new chairman from Monday.

         Unacceptablerds standadrs
 
                      Barclays was fined after the Financial Services Authority (FSA) found its traders had lied about the interest rate other banks were charging it for loans. Investigations are also under way at RBS, HSBC, Citigroup and UBS.
Giving a lower reading than the true rate would give the impression that Barclays was considered a better lending risk than it actually was.
Reporting a higher reading than the real rate could have inflated trading profits artificially, misleading investors and regulators.
Libor (London Inter Bank Offered Rate) is the rate at which banks in London lend money to each other.
Mr Agius said last week's events were evidence of "unacceptable standards of behaviour within the bank".
He said the findings had "dealt a devastating blow" to Barclays' reputation.
As a result Barclays' board has launched an audit of its business practices, which will be conducted by an independent body and report to the new deputy chairman, Sir Michael Rake.
The bank promised:

• a "root and branch review" of its "flawed" past practices
• a public report of the audit's findings
• a new mandatory code of conduct for all staff.

Barclays will establish a "zero tolerance policy" to anything that damages its reputation, the bank said in the statement.

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Mexico's Enrique Pena Nieto 'wins' presidential poll

 

            Mexico's old ruling party, the PRI, is set to return to power as early official results indicate its candidate Enrique Pena Nieto has won the presidential election. 
   
Mr Pena Nieto, 45, is on some 38%, several points ahead of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who has not conceded.
Thousands of police were on duty for the vote, amid fears of intimidation from drug gangs.
Mexicans were also electing a new congress and some state governors.
 
New face'

      Celebrations at the headquarters of the PRI (Institutional Revolutionary Party) started after the polls closed.

Mr Pena Nieto declared: "We all won in this election. Mexico won."
"This is just the start of the work we have before us."
He thanked Mexican voters for giving the PRI a second chance, saying his administration would have a "new way of governing".
The election campaign was dominated by the economy and the war on drugs.
              
"There will be no pact nor truce with organised crime," Mr Pena Nieto said.
He had been presented as the new face of the PRI, a break with the party's long and at times murky past that included links with drug gangs.
The party held on to power for 71 years until it was defeated in 2000.
Mr Pena Nieto built his reputation on the "pledges" he set out for his governorship in Mexico state, focusing on public works and improvement of infrastructure.
            
Outoing President Felipe Calderon has congratulated Mr Pena Nieto and promised to work with him during the transition to his inauguration in December.
Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, running for the leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) is in second place with about 31% of the vote.
Mr Lopez Obrador, who was the runner-up in the 2006 election, has not conceded victory.
"The last word hasn't been spoken yet," he said.
In 2006, he refused to recognise Mr Calderon's victory and led street protests for months afterwards.
Josefina Vazquez Mota, the candidate of the governing National Action Party (PAN) had already accepted defeat.
The official quick count by the electoral authorities, IFE, put her on some 26%.
Security display Almost 80 million people were eligible to cast their ballots on Sunday.

People in Mexico City talk about what they want for their country's future

Police and army were deployed to protect voters from intimidation by drug cartels at polling booths.
Officials said the voting was largely peaceful, but reported some initial problems as a number of stations opened later than planned.
"Everything has been very good," one voter in Mexico City told the BBC. "But people aren't very motivated to vote, perhaps because the candidates make so many promises but we're always worse off."
With nearly half the Mexican population living in poverty, the economy was one of the main issues in the campaign.
Unemployment remains low at roughly 4.5%, but a huge divide remains between the rich and the poor.
Another issue dominating the campaign was the war on drugs, launched nearly six years ago by President Calderon, who is constitutionally barred from seeking re-election.
The main opposition candidates have been critical of Mr Calderon's policies.
They point out that more than 55,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence since 2006.
Mexicans were also electing 500 deputies, 128 senators, six state governors, the head of government in the Federal District (which includes Mexico City) and local governments.

Are you in Mexico? Did you vote? What did you think of the election? Send us your comments and experiences.

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