Kosovo's best medal hope, judo champion Majlinda Kelmendi, has said she will compete at the Games for Albania after the International Olympic Committee ruled that she could not enter as an independent under the Olympic flag.
The decision came as the IOC also ruled out the idea of female Saudi athletes competing under the Olympic flag as a way of circumventing opposition within the kingdom to their presence in a Saudi team.
Kosovo's independence is recognised by 80 countries including the UK but not by the UN or the IOC. The sports minister of the former Yugoslav province, Memli Krasniqi, said Kelmendi and Kosovo had been treated unfairly, and compared their case with the invitation to Yugoslav athletes to compete under the Olympic banner at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992, when the Serbian leadership in Belgrade was under international sanctions for its participation in war crimes.
"It is an extremely disappointing development and contrary to the values enshrined in the Olympic charter," Krasniqi said.
"There are no good reasons to turn down a genuine request by an athlete who is among the best in the world. Kosovo sport has been suffering from this isolation for 20 years and we have athletes who have been forced to leave in disillusion to compete for other countries."
The minister said it was ironic that a Yugoslav team had been allowed to compete in Barcelona despite international sanctions imposed because of the role of the then leader, Slobodan Milosevic, in orchestrating crimes against humanity. Kosovo was one of the targets of Milosevic's ethnic cleansing campaigns and 10,000 Kosovans were killed before Nato intervention forced Milosevic to withdraw his troops in 1999.
"In Barcelona, when Yugoslavia under Milosevic was under heavy sanctions, the IOC was so humane it invited athletes from Yugoslavia to compete. We would love to have similar treatment for our athletes," Krasniqi said.
Kelmendi is the fifth ranked judoka in the world in the under-52kg class, and won three Grand Prix and World Cup events last year. She has both Kosovo and Albanian citizenships and had hoped to represent Kosovo for the first time in London.
The decision on her participation came at an IOC meeting in Quebec City, Canada, which also saw the organisation's president, Jacques Rogge, rule out Saudi women competing under a neutral flag. "There is absolutely no need to consider the possibility of the participation of Saudi women under the IOC flag," he said.
Saudi Arabia is one of three countries to never include women in their Olympic teams. The others, Qatar and Brunei, plan to bring female athletes to London but the Saudis appear unwilling, an attitude which has brought criticism from human rights groups and others. "It's not an easy situation," Rogge said of talks with Saudi officials on the issue. "There is a commitment. We're working steadily with them to find a good solution."
David Mepham, UK director of Human Rights Watch (HRW), which has called for tough IOC action over the Saudi team, said the group was worried at the seeming impasse. He said: "It's looking unlikely now that the Saudis will include women in their team for the London Games, which is a great concern for us."
HRW is calling for the IOC to bar Saudi Arabia from London unless it takes steps beyond just including women in the Olympic squad, Mepham said: "We also want them to take steps back in Saudi Arabia to ensure that women and girls can participate meaingfully in sport. We've documented the systematic discrimination which really prevents this – there are a few private gyms, but essentially women and girls are not allowed to participate in sport."
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
London Gets Gold for ID Fraud - Yahoo Finance
NOTTINGHAM, UNITED KINGDOM--(Marketwire -05/23/12)- London could be set for a rise in identity fraud this summer as new figures from Experian CreditExpert reveal that 7.7 million Britons from outside the capital are set to descend on some of the UK's worst areas for ID theft - while 1.9 million Londoners plan to escape.(1)
London, the boroughs around many of the Games venues in particular, is already home to the UK's worst ID fraud hotspots, with rates of attempted fraud up to 11 times higher than the national average. These include East Ham (11 times higher), Woolwich (6.5 times higher) and Stratford itself (six times higher).(2)
There will be a mass influx of people into these areas, carrying personal information in the forms of UK bank account details, and credit card details. This leaves individuals at a high risk of Identity Fraud with individuals, in unfamiliar surroundings, exercising less caution than they would normally adhere to in their normal surroundings. This presents a massive opportunity to fraudsters, with visitors likely to have passports and other pieces of personal identification about their person, be freely using smart phones and unsecured WiFi hotspots, and also potentially sharing hostels or rented accommodation with strangers all of which increase the risk of identity theft.
Visitors are therefore advised to keep a close eye on their personal information, and on their credit report following their visit for any signs of unusual activity. CreditExpert also provides alerts if your personal details appear anywhere unexpectedly online so it is easy to protect yourself pro-actively.
TOP FIVE RISKS TOP FIVE TIPS TO STAY SAFE ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Passports Think about how much sensitive information you really need to have about your person - if your hotel booking has your card number and address, do you need to carry it around with you, for instance? Likewise, don't take your passport out with you unless you absolutely have to. If you are staying in a hotel for the Games, ask for sensitive documents to be securely stored in the hotel safe when you are not using them. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- PIN codes Make sure that no-one else can see you enter your PIN code at ATMs and chip and pin machines, particularly in large crowds. Do not write down or carry your PIN code with you. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Smartphones If you have a smartphone, you'll certainly want to photograph and tweet your time at the Olympics, but be particularly careful what you share when connected to an unsecured wireless network. Also ensure you switch off Bluetooth and roaming settings when not required and ensure you use a password. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post If you're going to be one of the lucky ones visiting London for a few weeks to enjoy the Games, think about what you'll do with your post. Intercepted post is one of the key ways in which fraudsters can take people's detail, so it could be worth setting up a redirect for the duration of the Games. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Face-to-face Check the credentials of anyone asking for your personal information, whether by phone, face-to-face or over the internet. If in doubt, don't do it!
The Experian CreditExpert research reveals that no fewer than one in six Britons (16 per cent) is planning on visiting London during the Olympics, half as tourists and half to attend the Games themselves. Seventeen per cent of people coming to the capital have not been for more than a decade, with a further three per cent making their first ever trip to the city.
Nearly six out of 10 (59 per cent) will be staying for several days. Although one in four (25 per cent) will be staying in hotels and one in five (21 per cent) with friends, a significant minority (four per cent) will risk staying in a hostel and two per cent will be renting a property or someone's spare room - some 154,000 people.(3)
And although they are concerned about large crowds (23 per cent) and the expense of London (20 per cent), just three per cent are worried about identity fraud.
The risk of ID fraud among visitors is arguably heightened by the decision of many Londoners to quit the capital during the course of the Games. One in 14 (seven per cent) are looking to leave London for the duration of the Olympics, with a further one in six (17 per cent per cent) planning to get out of the city for at least some of the period.
But it's not just newcomers who need to be careful. The one in 20 Londoners taking on a lodger or renting out a room or their whole property need to be aware they are putting themselves at risk of ID fraud by inviting a stranger into their home and are advised to ensure personal details are locked away and post collected promptly.
Peter Turner, Managing Director at Experian Interactive, commented: "This is set to be a once in a lifetime summer. But that doesn't mean people should let their guard down - just because you are holidaying in the UK, you should still take the same precautions you would if you were on a city break to Europe.
"Identity fraud is one of the fastest-growing crimes of the 21st century, and anyone could be at risk from fraudsters getting hold of their personal information, particularly if they are in an unfamiliar area, renting a flat short-term or a room in a B&B. Likewise if you are a homeowner letting a spare room just for the Olympics, do ensure all your personal details are kept safe from visitors."
"This is why it is so important to have proper safeguards in place to protect your identity. With Experian CreditExpert if the worst should happen you will be alerted to any significant changes to your credit report so that you can react quickly and keep the risks to a minimum."
Identity fraud hotspots
Top 10 10k households Top 10 in 10k households nationwide Cases London Cases ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Slough 25 East Ham 78 London (all) 22 Woolwich 46 Gravesend 20 Stratford 43 Birmingham 17 Ilford 33 Luton 16 Walthamstow 27 Manchester 15 Harrow 27 Leicester 14 Cheapside 26 High Wycombe 13 Lewisham 26 Peterborough 13 Hatfield 26 Windsor 12 Enfield 26
To avoid becoming a victim of identity fraud this summer, Experian CreditExpert suggests some further tips:
1. Keep an eye on your credit report It's a history of all your credit accounts and will highlight any irregularities such as suspect applications for credit and rises in card balances. You can view your credit report free with a 30 day trial with Experian CreditExpert.(ii)((i)New customers only. Monthly fee after trial ends) 2. If in doubt, don't click If an email purporting to be from a hotel or linked to the Games seems suspicious, contact the relevant organisation and don't give out personal details. Your bank, credit card provider and any reputable business will never ask for confirmation of details by email. 3. If you do become a victim of fraud Don't forget you can sign up to Experian's CreditExpert whose dedicated victims of fraud team will work on your behalf to resolve the issue.
Notes to editors:
1. The UK adult population is 48,091,600 (ONS). Sixteen per cent of adults are set to come to London during the Olympics. Therefore: 0.16 x 48,091,600 = 7,694,656 or 7.7 million.
The population of Greater London is 7,753,000 (ONS) 24 per cent of Londoners are looking to leave the capital during some or all of the Games. Therefore: 0.24 x 7,753,000 = 1,860,720 or 1.9 million
2. Based on analysis of information from the National Hunter anti-fraud data sharing system and the Insurance Hunter database.
3. 0.02 x 7694656 = 153,893 or 154,000
Key benefits of Experian CreditExpert membership:
- Experian is the UK's most trusted credit reference agency
- Experian is the credit expert with more than 30 years of experience
- Free 30-day trial of CreditExpert(i)((i)New customers only. Monthly fee after trial ends)
- Unlimited access to your Experian Credit Score
- Weekly alerts of changes to your credit report
- Access to an award-winning, UK-based customer services team
- Identity Protection Insurance of up to GBP 75,000(ii) ((ii)terms and conditions apply)
- Expert advice and tools to help improve your credit rating
- Intelligent price matching to credit products suited to your credit history
- Consumers can apply directly from the website: www.creditexpert.co.uk
About Experian
Experian is the leading global information services company, providing data and analytical tools to clients around the world. The Group helps businesses to manage credit risk, prevent fraud, target marketing offers and automate decision making. Experian also helps individuals to check their credit report and credit score, and protect against identity theft.
Experian plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange (EXPN) and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 index. Total revenue for the year ended 31 March 2012 was US$4.5 billion. Experian employs approximately 17,000 people in 44 countries and has its corporate headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, with operational headquarters in Nottingham, UK; California, US; and Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Source: finance.yahoo.com
Asda launches fitness drive - Marketing Week
Asda is launching a health initiative designed to get local communities more active and involved in sport as part of its partnership with the Government’s anti-obesity initiative Change4Life.
The supermarket has partnered with the Fitness Industry Association (FIA) in a bid to take advantage of the increased interest in sport around this summer’s Olympic Games.
Asda will host 20 large-scale community-sporting events in playing fields or green spaces close to Asda stores around the UK, where its shoppers can try out new sports.
It hopes to help families find cheap activities they can do in their local communities that fit into their busy lives.
The supermarket will work with local charities, County Sports Partnerships and FIA members to showcase sports events including Kwik Cricket, football, martial arts, volleyball and Zumba classes.
Asda Active: Getting Britain Moving will be funded by Sport England’s Sportsmatch which awarded funds to the FIA. It will also be supported by Change4life’s sub-brand Games4Life and will leverage the Department of Health’s Chage4Life programme.
The initiative will be promoted by an online marketing campaign led by Asda, plus a digital and social media drive. It will also be promoted through local marketing channels and local stores.
Asda and the FIA will also use the events, which they hope will attract 50,000 people, as a data capture opportunity to build up a consumer panel. The organisations hope to use the data gleaned from the panel to gain insight onto the barriers and motivations to getting more people, more active, more often.
The events will run this summer, starting during the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee bank holiday weekend.
Asda previously worked with the FIA as part of Change4Life’s ‘Great Swapathon” initiative which saw the supermarket distribute vouchers for discounted swimming and gym sessions.
Source: www.marketingweek.co.uk
London 2012: Phillips Idowu faces monumental task - coach - BBC News
Olympic silver medallist Phillips Idowu is facing a "monumental battle" to win gold in the triple jump at the London Games, says his coach Aston Moore.
Idowu's main rivals, Frenchman Teddy Tamgho and American Christian Taylor, have better personal bests.
American Will Claye, 20, will also pose a threat to the 33-year-old Londoner.
"I believe it will be a monumental battle of will and talent. You hope that Phillips comes out on top," Jamaican-born Moore told BBC Sport.
"The fourth place could be a jump that would normally have won the competition, but you could finish fourth this year.
"[But] it's an Olympic medal, it's never going to be easy or everyone would be doing it."
At the Beijing Games, Idowu's best jump was 17.62m, but he was beaten into second by 17.67m from Portugal's Nelson Evora, who has been ruled out of the London Games by a stress fracture.
Since then new faces have emerged in the form of 21-year-old world champion Taylor, who beat Idowu in Daegu in August, world championship bronze medallist Claye and 22-year-old Tamgho, whose personal best of 17.98m is third on the all-time list.
"The two American guys are very dangerous," Moore continued. "Sometimes you can have good athletes but you know you've pretty much got their measure. [Yet] these guys are good winners.
"I'm almost forgetting the young French guy Teddy Tamgho, who we haven't heard from yet this year but he's been jumping 17.90s for the last two seasons."
Idowu, who came out on top against his rivals in his opening competition of the season at the Diamond League meeting in Shanghai last weekend, was devastated after coming second in Beijing and Moore says the 2009 world champion's target has not changed.
"The gold - that's what he's preparing for, that's what he's ready for and he will be disappointed with anything other than gold.
"He wanted to win the last one but he came second by 5cm. He wants to put that right on home soil.
"He's a Londoner, a Hackney boy. I think he's going to love it."
UK Athletics' national triple jump coach Moore, himself a former triple jumper for Great Britain, started working with Idowu a few months before the Beijing Olympics and admits he has seen a change in the athlete ahead of London.
"I wouldn't say that pressure is getting to him but certainly with a lot of the athletes, as it's a home Olympics, people are much more focused, and I've noticed that from him," said Moore.
"He's much more focused on what needs to be done and how it needs to be done. My job is to make sure it doesn't become over the top and he starts looking at every last detail. I think together we can manage that quite well.
"Those five years are his most successful so that makes our relationship reasonably tight because I am the person that has helped him through his best period as an athlete."
Moore guided Commonwealth gold medallist Ashia Hansen to a world record and has worked with UK Athletics since 2000, but he admits he will feel the nerves when Idowu lines up for his first jump at the Olympic Stadium in London.
"I'm usually most nervous in the first round, because this is the one. This is the one that sets the scene for everything.
"I want the jump to send a particular message out to every other competitor. So I'm most nervous about that one because I want him to nail it, and then get better from there. Normally my blood pressure and heart rate and everything jump on that one.
"Then, it's work as usual."
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
London Games Conference returns on November 21st - MCV
The changing rules of digital games and marketing will be laid bare at November’s London Games Conference.
Returning for its fourth year, the popular conference and networking event will again examine emerging trends in digital games.
LGC 2012 is run by Intent Media, publisher of MCV and Develop.
The first 100 tickets are available at an early bird cost of £199. To attend, contact Hannah.Short@intentmedia.co.uk or call 01992 535 646.
The four-hour conference format returns, this time with extra presentation options during the after-event networking dinner for attendees.
For details on partner packages and sponsorship opportunities, contact Lesley.Blumson@intentmedia.co.uk or call 01992 535 646.
A call for speakers has also opened today – contact Michael.French@intentmedia.co.uk for more details.
Previous speakers have included influential execs from the global games business including Mike Mauler (GameStop), Heiko Hubertz (BigPoint), David DeMartini (EA), John Clark (Sega), plus representatives of trend-setting digital games firms like PopCap, Jagex, Ngmoco and Miniclip.
Last year’s audience-voting mechanic will also be part of proceedings.
“LGC has established itself as the most incisive event looking at the changing digital games business,” said Michael French, editor-in-chief of MCV and Develop.
“This year the event will focus on distribution platforms shaping the industry such as Steam and iTunes, plus how brands use social media, with best practice advice for Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.”
Advertisement
Source: www.mcvuk.com
Garbutt shuns England in favour of Wembley appearance with Cheltenham - Daily Mail
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Luke Garbutt has put England duty on the back burner in a bid to help steer Cheltenham to glory in Sunday's npower League Two play-off final against Crewe at Wembley.
The left-back, on loan from Everton, was called up for Under-19 action as the Young Lions face a crucial triple-header against Slovenia, Montenegro and Switzerland.
Bigger fish to fry: Luke Garbutt has turned down an England under-19 call-up to play at Wembley
But a fixture clash means Garbutt has put Town's promotion tilt first and his fledgling international career to one side for the time being.
The promising defender, who has represented England at Under-16, 17, 18 and 19 level said: 'I've spoken to both the gaffer at Cheltenham (Mark Yates) and the England manager (Noel Blake), and throughout all conversations they didn't want to not allow me to have that chance of playing at Wembley in the play-offs.
'Obviously as a player you don't get many opportunities, either to play at Wembley or in a play-off final. So for those two to come in my first full season being in a first team, it's one I want to cherish and be part of.
'He (Blake) didn't want to not let me have that opportunity.'
Garbutt added: 'I gave my views upon it and the gaffer (Yates) really wanted me to stay and play in the play-offs, so England said we're not going to let your opportunity go to waste.'
London calling: Marlon Pack celebrates scoring his side's second goal against Torquay, sealing their trip to Wembley
The 19-year-old, who has made 36 appearances for the Robins this season, missed both legs of the semi-final triumph over Torquay due to a muscle strain.
But he returned to training on Monday and is now hoping to force his way into Town's starting line-up.
'That's the aim,' Garbutt said. 'Obviously it's everyone's dream to play at Wembley and I'll be doing all I can to get in the team.
'I've never played there before but I have been there when we won the European Championship Finals with England's Under-17s (in 2010), we paraded the trophy around the pitch at half-time.
'So it's going to be an exciting day, for sure.'
The game should be a close-fought affair, with the two sides separated by a single place in the league, although Crewe managed to record a league double over Cheltenham this season.
Source: www.dailymail.co.uk
London 2012: Saudi Arabia Set To Send No Women To Olympic Games - huffingtonpost.co.uk
The International Olympic Committe are set to come under fire after it emerged Saudi Arabia look likely to be the only nation competing at the London 2012 Olympic Games without a single female among their team.
Having discussed the issue in Quebec on Thursday, the IOC's talks resulted in them not imposing any sanctions on the Middle Easterners.
Thursday's meeting ostensibly represented the final deadline for the country to agree to women being part of their London delegation, otherwise they would have been deemed to be in breach of the IOC’s charter.
And although the governing body remain keen to persuade the Saudi Arabians to make a U-turn, they are likely to draw criticism from international human rights groups.
Human Rights Watch's Middle East director Sarah Leah Whitson said: “Saudi Arabia is the last hold-out denying women and girls the ability to take part in sports.
“The Saudi government’s position should trigger serious scrutiny by the Olympic family. The dismal and unequal conditions for women and girls who seek to practice sports in Saudi Arabia need to change now.”
The London Games were set to be the first where every nation included a woman in their delegation, but the Saudis seem set to successfully resist such calls.
Earlier this year, Saudi Olympic Committee president Prince Nawaf bin Faisal refused to endorse female participation in the English capital.
At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Qatar, Brunei and Saudi Arabia fielded all-male teams, but this year the former two have confirmed they female athletes will represent their countries.
Source: www.huffingtonpost.co.uk
Millionaire's daughter Laura Johnson jailed for driving London rioters - Metro.co.uk
When she was arrested in Greenwich, her car was found to be loaded with electrical goods stolen from local retail parks.
Johnson claimed she was too frightened of her passengers to have refused to drive them, but the jury rejected the story and found her guilty.
At a sentencing hearing for Johnson and 17-year-old Christopher Edwards at Inner London Crown Court today, Judge Patricia Lees told them their upbringings as part of supportive families meant they had no excuse for their behaviour.
'It seems to me that like so many others, you both revealed a weaker side to your characters in taking advantage of an escalating situation because you thought you could get away with it and would not be caught,' the judge said.
'You most probably also got caught up with what you, through immaturity and ill-judgement, thought was an exciting experience.'
Edwards, who was convicted of the same offences, was sentenced to 12 months at a young offenders institution.
Source: www.metro.co.uk
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