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Editor’s note: Mark Bowman is managing director of brewing company SABMiller Africa.

(CNN) — Nothing better sums up Africa’s extraordinary mixture of challenges and opportunities than agriculture. On the one hand, Africa is home to one in four of the world’s hungry and is the only continent which fails to grow enough food to meet its own needs.

Yet it has also half of the world’s unused land suitable for farming. Better still, increasing yields on existing farmland by 50% — still far below the global average — would not only meet Africa’s own food requirements but provide a sizable surplus for export. With global food supply needing to increase by an estimated 70% by 2050, the continent is at the heart of the challenge of food security.

All this explains why agriculture in Africa is finally getting the attention it deserves from both the continent’s governments and donors.

The recent Nutrition for Growth summit generated pledges of $4.1 billion to fight malnutrition and hunger. This builds on the commitments made at Camp David 12 months ago when we, along with other local and multinational companies, committed to collectively invest over $3 billion across the agricultural value chain in Grow Africa countries.

There is now increased pressure on G8 leaders, meeting this week in the UK, to tackle the issues at the heart of food insecurity, including “land grabs.”

Read this: African land grabs, mirage in the desert

In the worst cases, local communities and farmers have been evicted from land they long regarded as their own. Farmland which was once productive can be left idle. Plans to grow crops for export in the future can also be difficult to stomach when local people don’t have food to eat today.

Land purchases which ignore the interests of local communities and the local landscapes are both morally wrong and commercially short-sighted. We need action both nationally and globally to stop them.

But there is a danger that these clear-cut cases fuel opposition to all outside investment or create a false choice between large-scale commercial farming and smallholders. The truth is Africa desperately needs to maximize the potential of both to meet the needs of its citizens.

With smallholder farmers still producing 80% of the food and supporting 65% of the population of sub-Saharan Africa, they are central to any successful sustainable solution. We need to lift the barriers which have seen them locked out of the developments in agriculture from which farmers around the world have long benefited. Where this has happened, the results can be remarkable.

Read this: Africa can feed itself in a generation

As a company, we have been working with African farmers for many years. We buy our raw materials from all sorts of farming systems, from large-scale commercial barleyfarmers right through to near-subsistence cassava farmers who we are keen to help become viable commercial operators — and at least half of the grains we use come from local farmers.

African farmers key to growing economies

Farm Radio Malawi boosts agriculture

A green revolution for Africa?

The challenge for all who want to see African agriculture drive prosperity for its people is to maximize the benefits which both smallholder and large-scale commercial farming can bring. There is no single answer to preventing land grabs but at the heart of any solution is the need to improve land rights. It is no coincidence that many of the most questionable acquisitions have taken place in countries with the weakest system of land rights in place.

As much as 90% of the land in sub-Sahara Africa is untitled. The result is that communities which may have lived and farmed the land for many generations have no enforceable legal claim to it. In the worst cases, this can allow land to be sold off by governments from under their feet without any hope of compensation.

Read this: Land grabs really water grabs?

Improved land rights which go at least some way to recognize history and usage would help prevent this from happening. Nor is it impossible to put in place. Countries such as Botswana and Ghana have already improved their laws so customarily held lands have the force of private property.

Giving people the protection of legally enforceable land rights does not only give them security. It also gives them greater incentive to invest in their farms and an easier route to get this investment. The lack of legal paperwork to their land remains a major reason for the refusal of banks to lend to farmers.

Improving land rights would also help commercial organizations who want to invest and farm in a responsible way. The present position gives us the worst of all worlds. While bad investors can get away with riding roughshod over the rights of smallholders and communities, the present free-for-all makes it difficult for good investors who want to farm in a way which is beneficial to local people and the environment from accessing land.

It is not just weak land rights which are holding back African agriculture, and the solutions are complex and multi-faceted. But work to put in place a fair and enforceable system would be a major step to helping the continent fulfill its rich potential.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of Mark Bowman.

Article source: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/06/18/opinion/land-grabs-africa-mark-bowman/index.html?eref=edition

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NewsRipplesWeb/~3/-RMlB16cjLg/land-rights-help-africa-feed-itself

(Credit:
Nic Healey/CNET Australia (right), Reuben Lee/CNET Asia (left))

Both Samsung and LG, two of the biggest players in the burgeoning world of Organic Light Emitting Diode televisions, have announced (or depending on where you live, are selling) curved OLED screens to go along with traditional “flat” OLED screens.

Curved screens have been used in theaters for decades, and more recently in some high-end home theaters too. In a TV though, it’s nothing more than a gimmick.

Here’s why.

(Credit:
LG)

Let me say up front that I am a huge fan of OLED. So much so that it pains me to write this article. OLED promises better picture quality than plasma, better energy efficiency than LED LCD, while being both thinner and lighter. You can sort of buy an LG model right now, and Samsung’s version seems perpetually on the horizon. We saw prototypes of 4K OLED TVs from Sony and Panasonic (they’ve teamed up), but nothing else so far. The issue is, and long has been, making them cheap enough to manufacture.

Curved screens have been found in many theaters, the most famous probably being the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood. It’s not a new idea, but the benefits still hold true today…in certain circumstances. With really large screens, one of the biggest advantages is being able to “focus” more light towards the audience. Another is reducing optical distortions when using certain projection lenses. There’s also a potential “naturalness” to an image that has every part equidistant to your eyeballs. But perhaps the most notable benefit is the ability to fill a massive percentage of a viewer’s field of view. Sitting in the right seat, one could have the image practically wrapped around them.

This is how Samsung describes the benefits of a curved screen: “the curved panel allows the distance between the user and TV screen to be the same from almost any angle.” And LG’s take: “With a gentle inward flex, the entire screen surface is equidistant from the viewer’s eyes, removing the problem of screen-edge visual distortion and detail loss.” So by their own definitions, one of the main reasons to have a curved screen is so every part is the same distance from the viewer’s eye.

Radius, radii, radiuses
The problem is not with the idea of curved screens, but a curved screen TV. To get the benefit of a wraparound image, or even the benefit of a more natural image that has every part equidistant from your eye, you need to be sitting in a pretty specific place. With a theater screen, that place is an area big enough in which a lot of people can sit. Sure, people off to the sides aren’t getting the best effect (if any), but the folks in the middle are. With a smaller curved screen, that sweet spot is a lot smaller. 

(Credit:
LG)

Small TVs don’t have a very large sweet spot to being with. (I’m counting 55-inch TVs as small in this context, as they are small compared to theater screens.) Let’s take the curved aspect out for a moment. What’s the ideal seating area for a 55-inch, 1080p TV? That’s actually pretty easy. You should be sitting close enough so that you’re able to see all the resolution. Not so close that you can see individual pixels, but not so far that the TV could be 720p and it wouldn’t look any different. You also want it to fill your field of view enough so that it’s not like looking at a postage stamp from across the room.

I covered this from the other side in How big a TV should I buy? and we can use similar math here. THX recommends the TV fill 40 degrees of your field of view. So for a 55-inch TV, they’re recommending you sit 66 inches away. This is also about where people with 20/20 vision are seeing all the resolution possible with 1080p. SMPTE recommends 30 degrees, so they’re saying you should be 88 inches away.

So ideally, a curved OLED screen should have a curve whose radius is somewhere between 66 and 88 inches. Since most people still sit about 108 inches from their TVs, we could even accept this as an outside number.

(Credit:
Samsung)

Thankfully, Dennis Burger of HomeTechTell did some math and research on the curved part already. He figured that at a distance of 90 inches (well within our range), the TV would need a curve of about 3 inches between the center and the edges. The LG is not nearly this deep. According to LG, the OLED’s curve is 5 degrees, not the 7.5 needed for a 90-inch viewing distance. How different is that? Well, the LG’s “sweet spot,” based on its curve, is 134 inches away. Over 11 feet. Not only is this farther than most people sit from their TV, but it also means it might as well be 720p. In other words, in order to get every part of the screen equidistant from your eye, LG’s stated goal, you have to be sitting so far away that the screen will look tiny.

But this is all getting into the weeds. Even if a new curved OLED screen comes out, it effectively requires the owner to sit at a rather precise distance from the screen. Too close or too far, and the curve loses its major benefits. And let’s not forget, this is for one viewer. With several people on the couch, all the claimed benefits are lost.

(Credit:
Samsung)

Bottom line
Look, the fact that a “flat” screen TV can be curved at all is pretty amazing. But since OLED is barely off the ground (arguably, not off the ground at all), it’s disappointing to see finite resources going into something of little value beyond “hey, neato” which, also arguably, OLED inherently has already.

However, this won’t always be the case (we hope). The beauty of OLED is that, in theory, it’s scalable in size and resolution. So projection-screen-size, or even wall-size OLED screens are theoretically possible. In that case, a curved screen could be pretty awesome.

And while we’re dealing with this far off future, how about a flat, wall-size OLED screen that, at the touch of a button, curves in at the edges for movies? Flexible OLED screens. That’s a thing, too. Hurry up future times.

---

Got a question for Geoff? First, check out all the other articles he’s written on topics like HDMI cables, LED LCD vs. plasma, Active vs Passive 3D, and more. Still have a question? Send him an e-mail! He won’t tell you what TV to buy, but he might use your letter in a future article. You can also send him a message on Twitter: @TechWriterGeoff.

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/cnet/pRza/~3/4jksV3WlRiw/

A trick sure to inspire copycats around the world.

(Credit:
Screenshot by Christopher MacManus/CNET)

After saving (or destroying) the galaxy, what’s a Jedi or Sith supposed to do in their off time? A comedic group called JesterLads came up with a hilarious trick that made many people think a mysterious hooded figure was opening elevator doors with the power of the Force seen in “Star Wars.”

With a hidden camera rolling, unsuspecting people in the elevator think it’s just another normal day, but suddenly change tune as a nearby man wearing a gray hoodie waves his hand to reopen the elevator door that’s about to close.

The reactions from other elevator occupants, which make the video totally worth watching, range from pure awe (“Are you Neo or something?”) to anger (“Stop doing that”). Some people just stare at the hooded man and smile, perhaps wondering if they’ve happened to come across a real-life Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Sadly, this isn’t a real Jedi trick, as the hooded figure happens to wave his hand in synchronization with his accomplice hitting the elevator button. Regardless, I’m sure many of you found humor in this piece by JesterLads comedians George and Austin, who set up the “Star Wars” elevator prank at King’s College London.

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/cnet/pRza/~3/lgf3mTOfrv0/

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The Panama canal is being upgraded at a cost of $5.25 billion to ensure it is capable of handling the ever-increasing size of the world’s biggest cargo ships.

Giant locks — measuring 1,400-feet-long, 160-foot-wide and 80-foot-deep — are being installed at either end of the 51-mile aquatic passageway that connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

The Marmaray Project is a 76-kilometer (47.2-mile) subterranean development that will connect railway lines on either side of Istanbul’s Bosphorus Strait.

A 0.9-mile section of the tunnel will delve deep beneath the waters of the Bosphorus, which separate continental Asia and Europe, carrying an estimated 150,000 passengers every hour.

Beijing’s new international airport will be among the the busiest and the biggest airports in the world when it comes online in 2017, with the capacity to cater for some 130 million passengers every year.

Beijing Capital International (pictured) is currently the busiest airport in China — servicing 80 million passengers every year — but will be nearing its operating capacity by the time the new facility is open for business.

The 1,200 kilometer Etihad Rail network will extend across the desert hinterland of the United Arab Emirates, costing a cool $11 billion and enhancing freight and passenger transport infrastructure across the country.

Developers hope the tracks will eventually join up with an international Gulf rail network covering Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Qatar.

An artist’s impression of the new $2.1 billion Hyderabad Metro system which aims to provide a new mode of daily transport for up to 1.7 million of the southern Indian city’s residents by 2017.

Developers say the 72-kilometer long track will improve journey times and reduce traffic on the city’s congested roads.

Presidents (left to right) Salva Kiir of South Sudan, (former president) Mwai Kibaki of Kenya and Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia celebrate following the ground breaking ceremony of the Lamu Port–South Sudan–Ethiopia Transport Corridor (LAPSSET) in March 2012.

Costs for the project are expected to come in at around $20 billion although concerns remain over the development’s impact on the likes of the Lamu Port area (pictured), which is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Crossrail construction workers stand near to one of the projects mammoth 1,000-ton tunnel boring machines. The $23 billion development will connect London from east to west, improving access to Heathrow Airport as well as the city’s suburban and satellite towns.

More than 8,000 people are involved in the Crossrail development working across 40 separate construction sites.

An artists rendering of the New International Trade Crossing between Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit, Michigan. The $950 million project aims to increase opportunities for businesses and entrepreneurs in both Canada and the U.S.

The nearby Ambassador Bridge — whose owners have logged legal challenges to construction of the NITC — is responsible for 25% of all trade between Canada and the U.S., according to the bridge operator’s website.

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The Gateway goes behind the scenes of the world’s major transport hubs, revealing the logistics that keep goods and people moving. This month, the show is in Singapore.

(CNN) — Austerity, spending cuts and deficit reduction.

With all the talk of fiscal restraint, it’s easy to assume there’s little in the coffers for the sort of vast infrastructure projects we’ve seen over the last century.

True, the EU has reduced its transport infrastructure budget through 2020, while groups like the American Society of Engineers have stated that too little is being put aside to fund the big projects of tomorrow — but it’s not all doom and gloom.

In many emerging nations transport spending is speeding ahead at breakneck pace, while in the developed world large projects have continued despite the rumbling aftershocks of the 2008 financial crash.

Here, we take a look at some of the biggest, most important and spectacular transport infrastructure developments currently in the works around the world.

Panama Canal

Already an engineering wonder, the 99-year-old Panama Canal is being upgraded to cater for the ever increasing heft of the world’s merchant shipping fleet. Construction was approved in 2006 and is due for completion in 2014.

See also: 7 of the world’s most entertaining airports

The $5.25 billion project will add three 1,400-foot-long, 180 foot wide and 60-foot-deep locks to each end of the 51-mile aquatic passageway that links the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. This enhanced capability will enable the canal to cater for more of the giant container vessels that are increasingly favored by the world’s largest shipping companies.

A few hundred miles to the north meanwhile, early plans are afoot to build a new canal in Nicaragua with even greater capacity at a cost of $40 billion.

Marmaray Project

A city straddling two continents, Istanbul has long been a strategic gateway between Europe and Asia.

Now, construction of one of the world’s deepest submerged transport tunnels is pulling east and west even closer together. The Marmaray Project is a 76-kilometer (47.2-mile) subterranean railway development that will ferry travelers under a 1.4-km (0.9-mile) section of the Bosphorus Strait and connect busy railway lines on either side of the historic waterway.

The project began in 2004 and is due to be completed towards the end of 2013, later than originally planned due to delays caused by the archaeological sensitivity of the surrounding area.

Beijing’s new international airport

Playing host to eight runways and with the capabilities to cater for 130 million passengers every year, Beijing’s new international airport will be among the world’s largest and busiest when it is slated to come online in 2017 (although Istanbul’s recently announced third airport will trump it with a 150 million capacity when it opens in 2018).

See also: Could drones replace roads?

Air travel has expanded rapidly in China in recent years in line with the country’s booming economy. In 2011, the Chinese government announced plans to increase the total number of airports in the country from 175 to 230 by 2015 to cope with demand.

Beijing alone is set to handle between 450 and 500 million passengers every year by then, meaning the city’s existing airports need assistance to cope with the expected rise in demand. Construction of the new airport, which will be situated in the city’s Daxing district, was confirmed in January 2013 and is due to begin in early 2014, according to local media.

Etihad Rail Network

In a land brimming with ostentatious development projects, the nitty-gritty of rail infrastructure pales when compared to the world’s tallest building or man-made luxury islands — but it shouldn’t.

The 1,200 kilometer Etihad Rail network will extend across the desert hinterland of the United Arab Emirates, from the border of Saudi Arabia in the west to the frontiers of Oman in the east.

Costing $11 billion and taking in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and all of the Northern Emirates, developers hope the freight and passenger project will eventually join up with an international rail network covering Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Qatar.

Hyderabad Metro

Towering high above chaotic din of inner-city traffic, the Hyderabad Metro system is expected to provide daily transport for up to 1.7 million of the southern Indian city’s residents by 2017, according to the regional government.

The $2.1 billion project will provide 72 kilometers of elevated track with stations every one kilometer. Developers say the system will improve journey times, reduce traffic on roads and provide an eco-friendly mass transport alternative to polluting car or bus journeys.

The LAPSSET Project

In 2012 the presidents of Kenya, Ethiopia and South Sudan came together to launch the ambitious LAPSSET (Lamu Port–South Sudan–Ethiopia Transport Corridor) project.

The plans include an oil refinery, pipelines from South Sudan, transportation hubs for rail, road and air vehicles, plus a giant port for oil tankers. A number of tourist resort cities are also expected along the development’s path.

See also: The tiny nation with a big economic punch

Costs are set to come in at around $25 billion although concerns remain over the impact on the local environment. Lamu Port is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site and the surrounding area is home to protected marine reserves and forests.

The Kenyan government has set aside $23 million for the Lamu section of the project while Reuters reported that a Chinese company had won the first tender to build three berths at the port in April this year.

London Crossrail

What the Hyderabad Metro does 20 meters above ground, London’s Crossrail project will seek to do beneath the British capital’s bustling streets and out into its sprawling suburbs.

A $23 billion development, the 73-mile rail project will connect London from East to West, improving access to Heathrow Airport, central London as well as city’s surrounding towns and suburbs.

Work began in 2009 and the first trains could be in operation as early as 2018. More than 8,000 people are involved in the project working across 40 separate construction sites.

NITC Bridge

Although not the most expensive infrastructure project in the pipeline, the $950 million New International Trade Crossing bridge — which will connect Windsor, Ontario in Canada and Detroit, Michigan in the U.S. — could well be one of the most impactful as far as international trade is concerned.

The NITC’s stated aims are to increase commerce capacity, reduce traffic bottlenecks and improve opportunities for businesses in both countries by providing a state-of-the-art, publicly operated border crossing.

See also: Is Danube Romania’s ‘blue motorway?’

Roughly 25% of all merchandise trade between Canada and the United States — one of the world’s largest bi-lateral trade partnerships — currently cross over the Detroit River via the nearby (privately run) Ambassador Bridge, according to the bridge operator’s website.

Barack Obama ordered a presidential decree to construct the NITC in March this year, however the owners of the Ambassador Bridge have logged legal challenges against the project.

They have also announced plans to expand the existing capacity of their own facility which originally opened in 1929.

What exciting projects did we miss on our list? Let us know in the comments section below.

Article source: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/06/18/business/world-spectacular-infrastructure-projects/index.html?eref=edition

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NewsRipplesWeb/~3/h1ju111UpQc/8-spectacular-transport-projects

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The Panama canal is being upgraded at a cost of $5.25 billion to ensure it is capable of handling the ever-increasing size of the world’s biggest cargo ships.

Giant locks — measuring 1,400-feet-long, 160-foot-wide and 80-foot-deep — are being installed at either end of the 51-mile aquatic passageway that connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

The Marmaray Project is a 76-kilometer (47.2-mile) subterranean development that will connect railway lines on either side of Istanbul’s Bosphorus Strait.

A 0.9-mile section of the tunnel will delve deep beneath the waters of the Bosphorus, which separate continental Asia and Europe, carrying an estimated 150,000 passengers every hour.

Beijing’s new international airport will be among the the busiest and the biggest airports in the world when it comes online in 2017, with the capacity to cater for some 130 million passengers every year.

Beijing Capital International (pictured) is currently the busiest airport in China — servicing 80 million passengers every year — but will be nearing its operating capacity by the time the new facility is open for business.

The 1,200 kilometer Etihad Rail network will extend across the desert hinterland of the United Arab Emirates, costing a cool $11 billion and enhancing freight and passenger transport infrastructure across the country.

Developers hope the tracks will eventually join up with an international Gulf rail network covering Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Qatar.

An artist’s impression of the new $2.1 billion Hyderabad Metro system which aims to provide a new mode of daily transport for up to 1.7 million of the southern Indian city’s residents by 2017.

Developers say the 72-kilometer long track will improve journey times and reduce traffic on the city’s congested roads.

Presidents (left to right) Salva Kiir of South Sudan, (former president) Mwai Kibaki of Kenya and Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia celebrate following the ground breaking ceremony of the Lamu Port–South Sudan–Ethiopia Transport Corridor (LAPSSET) in March 2012.

Costs for the project are expected to come in at around $20 billion although concerns remain over the development’s impact on the likes of the Lamu Port area (pictured), which is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Crossrail construction workers stand near to one of the projects mammoth 1,000-ton tunnel boring machines. The $23 billion development will connect London from east to west, improving access to Heathrow Airport as well as the city’s suburban and satellite towns.

More than 8,000 people are involved in the Crossrail development working across 40 separate construction sites.

An artists rendering of the New International Trade Crossing between Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit, Michigan. The $950 million project aims to increase opportunities for businesses and entrepreneurs in both Canada and the U.S.

The nearby Ambassador Bridge — whose owners have logged legal challenges to construction of the NITC — is responsible for 25% of all trade between Canada and the U.S., according to the bridge operator’s website.

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The Gateway goes behind the scenes of the world’s major transport hubs, revealing the logistics that keep goods and people moving. This month, the show is in Singapore.

(CNN) — Austerity, spending cuts and deficit reduction.

With all the talk of fiscal restraint, it’s easy to assume there’s little in the coffers for the sort of vast infrastructure projects we’ve seen over the last century.

True, the EU has reduced its transport infrastructure budget through 2020, while groups like the American Society of Engineers have stated that too little is being put aside to fund the big projects of tomorrow — but it’s not all doom and gloom.

In many emerging nations transport spending is speeding ahead at breakneck pace, while in the developed world large projects have continued despite the rumbling aftershocks of the 2008 financial crash.

Here, we take a look at some of the biggest, most important and spectacular transport infrastructure developments currently in the works around the world.

Panama Canal

Already an engineering wonder, the 99-year-old Panama Canal is being upgraded to cater for the ever increasing heft of the world’s merchant shipping fleet. Construction was approved in 2006 and is due for completion in 2014.

See also: 7 of the world’s most entertaining airports

The $5.25 billion project will add three 1,400-foot-long, 180 foot wide and 60-foot-deep locks to each end of the 51-mile aquatic passageway that links the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. This enhanced capability will enable the canal to cater for more of the giant container vessels that are increasingly favored by the world’s largest shipping companies.

A few hundred miles to the north meanwhile, early plans are afoot to build a new canal in Nicaragua with even greater capacity at a cost of $40 billion.

Marmaray Project

A city straddling two continents, Istanbul has long been a strategic gateway between Europe and Asia.

Now, construction of one of the world’s deepest submerged transport tunnels is pulling east and west even closer together. The Marmaray Project is a 76-kilometer (47.2-mile) subterranean railway development that will ferry travelers under a 1.4-km (0.9-mile) section of the Bosphorus Strait and connect busy railway lines on either side of the historic waterway.

The project began in 2004 and is due to be completed towards the end of 2013, later than originally planned due to delays caused by the archaeological sensitivity of the surrounding area.

Beijing’s new international airport

Playing host to eight runways and with the capabilities to cater for 130 million passengers every year, Beijing’s new international airport will be among the world’s largest and busiest when it is slated to come online in 2017 (although Istanbul’s recently announced third airport will trump it with a 150 million capacity when it opens in 2018).

See also: Could drones replace roads?

Air travel has expanded rapidly in China in recent years in line with the country’s booming economy. In 2011, the Chinese government announced plans to increase the total number of airports in the country from 175 to 230 by 2015 to cope with demand.

Beijing alone is set to handle between 450 and 500 million passengers every year by then, meaning the city’s existing airports need assistance to cope with the expected rise in demand. Construction of the new airport, which will be situated in the city’s Daxing district, was confirmed in January 2013 and is due to begin in early 2014, according to local media.

Etihad Rail Network

In a land brimming with ostentatious development projects, the nitty-gritty of rail infrastructure pales when compared to the world’s tallest building or man-made luxury islands — but it shouldn’t.

The 1,200 kilometer Etihad Rail network will extend across the desert hinterland of the United Arab Emirates, from the border of Saudi Arabia in the west to the frontiers of Oman in the east.

Costing $11 billion and taking in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and all of the Northern Emirates, developers hope the freight and passenger project will eventually join up with an international rail network covering Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Qatar.

Hyderabad Metro

Towering high above chaotic din of inner-city traffic, the Hyderabad Metro system is expected to provide daily transport for up to 1.7 million of the southern Indian city’s residents by 2017, according to the regional government.

The $2.1 billion project will provide 72 kilometers of elevated track with stations every one kilometer. Developers say the system will improve journey times, reduce traffic on roads and provide an eco-friendly mass transport alternative to polluting car or bus journeys.

The LAPSSET Project

In 2012 the presidents of Kenya, Ethiopia and South Sudan came together to launch the ambitious LAPSSET (Lamu Port–South Sudan–Ethiopia Transport Corridor) project.

The plans include an oil refinery, pipelines from South Sudan, transportation hubs for rail, road and air vehicles, plus a giant port for oil tankers. A number of tourist resort cities are also expected along the development’s path.

See also: The tiny nation with a big economic punch

Costs are set to come in at around $25 billion although concerns remain over the impact on the local environment. Lamu Port is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site and the surrounding area is home to protected marine reserves and forests.

The Kenyan government has set aside $23 million for the Lamu section of the project while Reuters reported that a Chinese company had won the first tender to build three berths at the port in April this year.

London Crossrail

What the Hyderabad Metro does 20 meters above ground, London’s Crossrail project will seek to do beneath the British capital’s bustling streets and out into its sprawling suburbs.

A $23 billion development, the 73-mile rail project will connect London from East to West, improving access to Heathrow Airport, central London as well as city’s surrounding towns and suburbs.

Work began in 2009 and the first trains could be in operation as early as 2018. More than 8,000 people are involved in the project working across 40 separate construction sites.

NITC Bridge

Although not the most expensive infrastructure project in the pipeline, the $950 million New International Trade Crossing bridge — which will connect Windsor, Ontario in Canada and Detroit, Michigan in the U.S. — could well be one of the most impactful as far as international trade is concerned.

The NITC’s stated aims are to increase commerce capacity, reduce traffic bottlenecks and improve opportunities for businesses in both countries by providing a state-of-the-art, publicly operated border crossing.

See also: Is Danube Romania’s ‘blue motorway?’

Roughly 25% of all merchandise trade between Canada and the United States — one of the world’s largest bi-lateral trade partnerships — currently cross over the Detroit River via the nearby (privately run) Ambassador Bridge, according to the bridge operator’s website.

Barack Obama ordered a presidential decree to construct the NITC in March this year, however the owners of the Ambassador Bridge have logged legal challenges against the project.

They have also announced plans to expand the existing capacity of their own facility which originally opened in 1929.

What exciting projects did we miss on our list? Let us know in the comments section below.

Article source: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/06/18/business/world-spectacular-infrastructure-projects/index.html?eref=edition

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NewsRipplesWeb/~3/h1ju111UpQc/8-spectacular-transport-projects

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Palestinian children play football in front of the Israeli security fence in the West Bank village of Abu Dis, on the outskirts of Jerusalem. Organizations such as Mifalot help bring Palestinian and Israeli kids together through the power of football.

Mifalot is a non-government organization in Israel which brings together children from all sections of society and provides education and training through football.

Mifalot operates over 300 programs across the world working with Israelis and Palestinians as well as leading projects in Cameroon, Rwanda, Angola, Benin, Germany, India and Haiti.

Mifalot works with local schools and youth clubs to provide facilities and finance for local children to get degrees in sports coaching and helps them find work after finishing their education.

Children with mental and physical difficulties are given the care and support they need to succeed in sport. Several have gone on to become qualified coaches and lead sessions for the next set of kids coming through.

The charity prides itself on integrating children, youth and young adults with special needs into wider society.

Last January, Mifalot held its first joint Palestinian-Israeli tournament under the banner of “Neighbors United” — a venture backed by the European Union Partnership for Peace Program. Five teams took part, with two of those made up of Israeli and Palestinian girls only.

Last year, a team of nine Palestinians and nine Israelis traveled to Los Angeles where they met players of Spanish club Real Madrid and L.A. Galaxy. The children played in front of 27,000 fans during the halftime interval as part of the Children United Initiative.

Kids work their way through the years until they’re 18, when most Jewish youths go into the Israeli Army. The scheme offers a voluntary civil service for Israeli-Arabs, ultra-orthodox Jews and those who are unsuitable for the army, which is a two-year course helping them attain employment.

Abbas Suan, one of the finest Israeli Arab players to have played for the country, believes his dramatic late goal in the 2006 World Cup qualifier against Ireland helped change perceptions within Israeli society.

Israel’s Jewish player Eran Zahavi (L) and Muslim player Beram Kayal (R) pray before the start of a Euro 2012 qualifier in 2011. The Under-21 squad which competed in this year’s European Championship Finals included five Israel-Arabs, two Ethiopians and a Bedouin.

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(CNN) — Yael Lee-Weiss shakes her head the moment the words “boycott” and “Beitar Jerusalem” are uttered in her direction.

With the football world’s attention on Israel as it hosts the European Under-21 Championship Finals, the country’s image and politics are both very much to the fore.

For a woman who spends each and every moment combating racism and discrimination, last February’s incident when Beitar fans burnt down the club’s administrative offices in protest at the signing of two Chechen Muslims still rankles.

Beitar, a club with fiercely right-wing fans, is infamous for its racist attitude towards Arab players, but the severity of the attack still caused surprise.

“It’s about education and showing these people that their views will not be tolerated,” she told CNN in Tel Aviv.

World Sport Presents: Racism in Football

Platini outlines UEFA’s racism reforms

Platini outlines UEFA’s racism reforms

“It’s why I do what I do. It’s why Mifalot is here.”

Action

Mifalot, an initiative backed by one of the biggest club sides in Israel, Hapoel Tel Aviv, brings together children from all backgrounds — not just across Israel and the Palestinian territories, but from countries across the world.

The non-governmental organization, which has a center at Hapoel’s training ground, runs over 300 projects across the globe including Angola, Benin, India, Rwanda, Cameroon and Haiti.

Backed by Avraham Burg, former speaker of the Israeli parliament, and funded by a host of charities from around the world, Mifalot uses the power of football to educate the next generation.

It offers a civil service program for those who are not able — or allowed — to enter the Israeli Army at the age of 18, instead giving them the opportunity to earn a qualification as a sports coach and secure employment.

Arabs, Jews, Bedouins, Druze all take part, while there is a program dedicated to those members with special needs.

The scheme has won great acclaim and has given hope to those who grew up when the idea of such a scheme would have seemed like a far-fetched dream.

Time for change

“I think the younger generation wants to make a change,” Lee-Weiss said.

Tackling racism in the stands

How Abedi Pele became a football pioneer

Balotelli: Racism makes me feel alone

“From a very young age, they have an open mind and they don’t have any inhibitions. Sometimes, they are coming from a background where they need this scheme.

“We just capture the power of football and the love that children and adults have for the sport, and we are trying to educate them and give them values. They are very curious about knowing each other. We are neighbors, Arabs and Jews. The kids are curious because they hear a lot of things but they haven’t always met an Arab or a Jew and seen things with their own eyes.

“They might not have spoken to people outside of their circle but when they get to know each other, they just speak in a non-formal way without any thoughts which we see elsewhere in society.”

Another example of integration is Israel’s national Under-21 team. While it failed to progress from the group stage of the international tournament — the final of which was to be contested by Spain and Italy on Tuesday — its impact off the field should not be underestimated.

A squad including five Israeli-Arab players, two Ethiopians and a Bedouin brought attention to how, in even the most volatile regions, sport can break through barriers.

Several Arab players have represented Israel in the past, with the likes of Rifaat Turk, Walid Badir, Zahi Armeli and — perhaps most famously due to his goal in a 2006 World Cup qualifier — Abbas Suan having all worn the blue shirt.

While Arab players do not sing the Israeli national anthem, essentially an ode to the Jewish homeland, they also refrain from speaking in their native tongue during training to avoid dividing the group.

Great honor

Israel’s hosting of the U21 tournament has been mired in controversy, with protests against the country’s treatment of Palestinians.

But while the politics are debated off the pitch and around the world, the players appear happy with the progress being made.

FIFA Congress tackles racism and reform

FIFA pass racism reforms

Grooming Ghana’s next football stars

“It’s a great honor for me to represent Israel,” Munas Dabbur, an Israeli Arab striker who plays for Maccabi Tel Aviv, told CNN.

“I always felt that I was proud to be invited to the team and I want it to continue.

“I think this tournament can be really important for football in Israel. It’s the first time we’ve had games like this in the country and there’s been a huge push. I hope that this will continue in the future.”

It is a sentiment echoed by his Jewish teammates.

Omri Altman, 19, plays his football in England with Premier League club Fulham and says the pictures he sees on television bear little resemblance to the country he calls “home.”

“My friends at Fulham think, ‘ Israel, oh, it’s very scary.’ They don’t want to come here to visit because they hear in the news about the things which happen here,” Altman said.

“But it’s different. You come here, it’s very quiet in most of the areas. So when teams come to play here, I hope the whole world will see that.

“I think it’s very important that the tournament has come to Israel.

“In our team, we’re all friends and everybody is the same. We are all people, it doesn’t matter where we come from and who we are. We come to play football and that’s the most important thing.”

Next generation

These words would have been noted by the next generation of talent, young hopefuls who have been watching an international football tournament in their own backyard for the very first time.

While Altman and Dabur were busy on the pitch, hundreds of young children were given free tickets to watch the games.

Some of those were from Mifalot. They hope that the example set by their nation’s young footballers can spread a message beyond the country’s borders.

While the U21 players were busy playing in modern stadiums, hundreds of others were running around fields, concrete courts and dirt tracks pretending to be an international footballer.

“I think that this project is great,” said Nasser, a Palestinian coordinator in Sussiya, in the West Bank.

“The activities and interaction greatly helped the kids get to know others who are different and to play together as one group.

“I hear the kids talking and they really enjoyed themselves.”

Another group bringing communities together is the New Israel Fund (NIF), which works alongside the Israeli Football Association (IFA).

Founded in 2003, the NIF’s Kick Racism and Violence out of Soccer scheme has flourished, with the charity supporting civil society organizations working towards social justice, women’s rights and environmentalism.

Back in 2007, a survey it carried out concluded that 60% of Israelis believed more needed to be done to tackle racism in football, while 37% said they would attend more games if the situation improved.

Moacyr Barbosa Nascimento’s life was forever changed after the 1950 World Cup. With Brazil needing just a draw against Uruguay in its final game to lift the trophy for the first time, the team lost 2-1 and he was blamed for the second goal. The goalkeeper’s perceived mistake haunted him. Twenty years later he overheard a woman in a supermarket say to her son, “There is the man who made Brazil cry.”

The Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro was the venue for the 1950 final, with 200,000 spectators packed into the purpose-built arena. The stadium has been redeveloped and a crowd of 78,000 people will watch the final of 2014 World Cup at the iconic ground.

All eyes will be on Neymar during both June’s Confederations Cup and next year’s World Cup. The attacker, who recently signed for Barcelona in a deal reportedly worth in excess of $80 million, is Brazil’s star player and must perform to his best if “La Selecao” are to satisfy an expectant public.

The Brazil team of 1970, which beat Italy 4-1 in the World Cup final in Mexico, is widely regarded as the greatest of all time. Pele, a three-time World Cup winner seen here leaping on his teammates, says Brazil must recover from the failure of 63 years ago.

Carlos Alberto, captain of the 1970 team, lifts the Jules Rimet trophy which Brazil was allowed to keep after becoming the first nation to win the World Cup three times. The former fullback thinks next year’s World Cup will come too soon for Brazil’s inexperienced team.

Luiz Felipe Scolari was the coach of the last Brazil team to lift the World Cup, in Japan and South Korea in 2002. The veteran has been reappointed in a bid to inject life into an ailing Brazil team. His results have so far left much to be desired: two wins, one defeat and four draws since November 2012.

England was Brazil’s first opponent at a refurbished Maracana earlier this month. A half-volley from midfielder Paulinho, pictured, rescued a 2-2 draw for the 2014 World Cup host.

Brazil’s most recent match, the last before the Confederations Cup starts, ended in a comfortable 3-0 defeat of France. A penalty from Lucas Moura, right, completed the scoring.

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Brazil’s most painful moment

Racism has long been a stain on football but a resurgence of incidents in recent years has prompted soccer’s authorities to launch a renewed bid to rid the game of discrimination for good. Here a Fenerbahce fan holds a banana towards Galatasaray’s Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba during a Turkish league match in May 2013.

The spark for a raft of racism reforms from the game’s power brokers came when AC Milan midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng walked off in a match with Italian lower league side Pro Patria in January after their fans abused him with monkey noises. The game was abandoned and his protest made headline news the world over.

CNN’s Pedro Pinto stands on the spot where Boateng decided he’d had enough. He told the World Sport Presents Racism in Football documentary: “I decided to walk off the pitch because I said to myself, in this kind of environment, in this situation, I don’t want to play football anymore.”

Boateng’s AC Milan teammate Mario Balotelli has been the subject of racial abuse over a number of years. He and Boateng were abused by AS Roma fans during a match at the San Siro in May that was briefly suspended by the officials as a result. A public address announcement implored visiting supporters to stop their chants.

Balotelli has had to deal with racism throughout his career. As far back as 2009, when he played for Inter, he was racially abused by opposing Juventus fans. Here, Inter’s fans hold up banners in support of the striker.

Balotelli told Pedro Pinto he was prepared to walk off if he receives more racial abuse: “After what happened to me in (the Roma) game, I felt a little bit alone when I was home. I always said that if that happened in the stadium, like if nobody said anything, I don’t care. But this time I think I changed my mind a little bit, and if it is going to happen one more time, I’m going to leave the pitch because it’s so stupid.”

Boateng’s walk-off prompted the game’s governing body to act and FIFA president Sepp Blatter invited the midfielder to sit on a task force dedicated to tackling racism in football. A raft of reforms have now been passed that could see teams relegated or expelled from competitions.

The head of FIFA’s racism task force, Jeffrey Webb, told CNN the new measures could be “a defining moment in the fight against racism and discrimination.” He labeled the recent abuse of Balotelli and Galatasaray striker Didier Drogba as “ignorant” and “unbelievable.”

Blatter’s new-found vigor to tackle racism was at odds with his sentiments in a 2011 interview with CNN when he expressed his belief that there was no on-field racism in football and that players who think they have been abused should simply say “this is a game.” He later said his comments had been misinterpreted.

One of the most high-profile incidents in England saw Liverpool striker Luis Suarez banned for eight-matches for racially abusing Manchester United’s Patrice Evra in October 2011. Prior to the teams’ return fixture the following February, Suarez refused to shake Evra’s hand. Suarez subsequently apologized.

Former England captain John Terry was found not guilty in a criminal court of racially abusing rival footballer Anton Ferdinand but was banned for four-matches by the Football Association. He accepted the charge, a £220,000 fine and apologized, saying: “I accept that the language I used, regardless of the context, is not acceptable on the football field or indeed in any walk of life.”

The Serbian Football Association was hit with an $84,000 fine after a brawl between their under-21 team and England’s in the city of Krusevac in October 2012. England player Danny Rose (far right) said he had been subjected to monkey chants throughout the game. The Serbian FA insisted their fine was for the altercation.

Serbian fans are renowned for creating an intimidating atmosphere, as CNN discovered at the Belgrade derby in May. Despite previous incidents, there was no hint of racism in the match, though the Serbian Football Association’s technical director Savo Milosevic did reveal they have no program in place to tackle racism.

European football’s governing body, UEFA also passed new laws on racism. They introduced a minimum 10-match ban for racist abuse by players or officials and escalating measures for clubs including fines and stadium closures for repeat offenders.

Various initiatives across Europe’s leagues help to try and combat racism and offer opportunities to those communities that are under represented at the top of the game. The Asian Stars event, recently held at Chelsea’s training ground, aims to encourage participation among aspiring Asian players at all levels of football.

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Racism in football

Germany captain Lewis Holtby wears a specially made training shirt with the Israeli flag and the words “Feeling at home” embroidered on the front to thank the host fans for making the team welcome at the European Under-21 Championship.

Holtby and teammate Toni Jantschke lay a wreath during the visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial museum before March’s friendly game against Israel.

Germany striker Pierre-Michel Lasogga told CNN that his visit to the museum in Jerusalem was “extremely moving.”

The players take a moment to pause and reflect while surrounded by photos of those who were murdered in the Holocaust.

Head coach Rainer Adrion was particularly moved by his visit, taking his time to walk around the exhibits.

DFB president Wolfgang Niersbach (center), vice-president Rolf Hocke (right) and the German ambassador in Israel, Andreas Michaelis, lay a wreath during last week’s visit of the German delegation at Yad Vashem.

Lasogga signs autographs for local children at the Hadassah Neurim Youth Village in Netanya.

Striker Peniel Mlapa hands out small German mascots to some of the children at the Youth Village.

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Remembering the Holocaust: Germany in Israel

Through the work of the NIF, the IFA began to punish clubs with fines for racist abuse.

Breakthrough

Suan was a founding member of the Kick Racism and Violence out of Football organization, and he says sport can be the vehicle which unites people in one of the world’s most troubled regions.

As one of the few Arab players to wear the Israeli soccer shirt at the time, Suan says he suffered abuse every time he touched the ball until a groundbreaking moment.

In the final minute of a qualifying game for the 2006 World Cup, Suan unleashed an astonishing effort which clinched a 1-1 draw against the Republic of Ireland, and etched his name into Israeli folklore.

That goal on March 27, 2005, represented a fundamental change for Suan. He says it was a day Israeli society finally began to realize the significance of Arab players.

“I am a Palestinian because I have a lot of brothers and cousins in the Arab countries,” he said. “And I am Israeli because I live here and don’t go out of my lands.

“I never felt discriminated against in anything that had to do with football. I didn’t let anyone do it to me. Everywhere I went, I felt not merely at home, but like the boss.

“I have a lot of Jewish friends and they are like brothers to me. But I do feel discriminated against when it comes to infrastructure and development in the Arab sector.

“But when my children have a sports lesson in a courtyard without a pitch, that’s discrimination. It makes my blood boil. It’s unacceptable that in a city like Sakhnin, there is not one tennis or basketball court worthy of the name.”

Suan’s case has been featured in two documentaries — “After the Cup: Sons of Sakhnin United” and “Divided Nation” — both of which focus on Arab citizens in Israel.

Now head of youth at Bnei Sakhnin, one of Israel’s top Arab football clubs, he lectures against racism and violence in the game, drawing on the experiences of his difficult road to the top.

“If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn’t change a thing,” he added.

“I pursued my career to represent the community and to bring the two peoples closer together. I paid a great personal price, but I’m satisfied.”

The scheme has also embraced the Bedouin community, where the likes of Israel international Mohammad Ghadir and under-21 player Ahad Azzam learned their trade.

But in a society where female participation is frowned upon, there is one woman who refuses to be denied.

Female Maradona

Meet Miriam Abu-Ghanem — the one they call the “female Maradona” in her town of Tel Sheva in southern Israel.

“I came out of my mother’s stomach with a ball at my feet,” she said.

“Our girls don’t play sport because they think it’s shameful. We suffer from this. I come from a supportive home, without violence or repression, but many other women suffer at home.

“There are still families where the women don’t go out to learn at all, or who suffer in marriage.”

After establishing the first women’s football league in her town and becoming the first Bedouin player in the Be’er Sheva women’s league, injury prevented her from going further.

Instead, two bachelors degrees in physical education and special education, as well as a masters in educational management, have allowed her to become the first PE teacher in the Bedouin community.

“A woman doesn’t need to request equality from anyone and doesn’t need to receive the rights of a man, but the universal rights of human beings as human beings,” she added.

“I always believed in my own capabilities … I worked very hard. I refused to stand to the side and be the forlorn girl. Now here I am.”

It is stories such as these from Suan and Abu-Ghanem which gives hope that sport can unite people — even in the most troubled of times.

Back in Tel Aviv, sitting in her office surrounded by application forms from prospective members, Yael Lee-Weiss, the international development officer, sees a chink of light at the end of the tunnel.

“It gives me hope,” she said. “They are the future and I know we won’t make the biggest changes to our world and bring about peace in one day, but we do give those children a way out and something good to look for.

“The changes will take a few years but those children are growing up.”

Article source: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/06/18/sport/football/football-israel-palestine-peace/index.html?eref=edition

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NewsRipplesWeb/~3/G3aIGDkjokw/israeli-palestinian-peace-by-soccer

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Palestinian children play football in front of the Israeli security fence in the West Bank village of Abu Dis, on the outskirts of Jerusalem. Organizations such as Mifalot help bring Palestinian and Israeli kids together through the power of football.

Mifalot is a non-government organization in Israel which brings together children from all sections of society and provides education and training through football.

Mifalot operates over 300 programs across the world working with Israelis and Palestinians as well as leading projects in Cameroon, Rwanda, Angola, Benin, Germany, India and Haiti.

Mifalot works with local schools and youth clubs to provide facilities and finance for local children to get degrees in sports coaching and helps them find work after finishing their education.

Children with mental and physical difficulties are given the care and support they need to succeed in sport. Several have gone on to become qualified coaches and lead sessions for the next set of kids coming through.

The charity prides itself on integrating children, youth and young adults with special needs into wider society.

Last January, Mifalot held its first joint Palestinian-Israeli tournament under the banner of “Neighbors United” — a venture backed by the European Union Partnership for Peace Program. Five teams took part, with two of those made up of Israeli and Palestinian girls only.

Last year, a team of nine Palestinians and nine Israelis traveled to Los Angeles where they met players of Spanish club Real Madrid and L.A. Galaxy. The children played in front of 27,000 fans during the halftime interval as part of the Children United Initiative.

Kids work their way through the years until they’re 18, when most Jewish youths go into the Israeli Army. The scheme offers a voluntary civil service for Israeli-Arabs, ultra-orthodox Jews and those who are unsuitable for the army, which is a two-year course helping them attain employment.

Abbas Suan, one of the finest Israeli Arab players to have played for the country, believes his dramatic late goal in the 2006 World Cup qualifier against Ireland helped change perceptions within Israeli society.

Israel’s Jewish player Eran Zahavi (L) and Muslim player Beram Kayal (R) pray before the start of a Euro 2012 qualifier in 2011. The Under-21 squad which competed in this year’s European Championship Finals included five Israel-Arabs, two Ethiopians and a Bedouin.

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(CNN) — Yael Lee-Weiss shakes her head the moment the words “boycott” and “Beitar Jerusalem” are uttered in her direction.

With the football world’s attention on Israel as it hosts the European Under-21 Championship Finals, the country’s image and politics are both very much to the fore.

For a woman who spends each and every moment combating racism and discrimination, last February’s incident when Beitar fans burnt down the club’s administrative offices in protest at the signing of two Chechen Muslims still rankles.

Beitar, a club with fiercely right-wing fans, is infamous for its racist attitude towards Arab players, but the severity of the attack still caused surprise.

“It’s about education and showing these people that their views will not be tolerated,” she told CNN in Tel Aviv.

World Sport Presents: Racism in Football

Platini outlines UEFA’s racism reforms

Platini outlines UEFA’s racism reforms

“It’s why I do what I do. It’s why Mifalot is here.”

Action

Mifalot, an initiative backed by one of the biggest club sides in Israel, Hapoel Tel Aviv, brings together children from all backgrounds — not just across Israel and the Palestinian territories, but from countries across the world.

The non-governmental organization, which has a center at Hapoel’s training ground, runs over 300 projects across the globe including Angola, Benin, India, Rwanda, Cameroon and Haiti.

Backed by Avraham Burg, former speaker of the Israeli parliament, and funded by a host of charities from around the world, Mifalot uses the power of football to educate the next generation.

It offers a civil service program for those who are not able — or allowed — to enter the Israeli Army at the age of 18, instead giving them the opportunity to earn a qualification as a sports coach and secure employment.

Arabs, Jews, Bedouins, Druze all take part, while there is a program dedicated to those members with special needs.

The scheme has won great acclaim and has given hope to those who grew up when the idea of such a scheme would have seemed like a far-fetched dream.

Time for change

“I think the younger generation wants to make a change,” Lee-Weiss said.

Tackling racism in the stands

How Abedi Pele became a football pioneer

Balotelli: Racism makes me feel alone

“From a very young age, they have an open mind and they don’t have any inhibitions. Sometimes, they are coming from a background where they need this scheme.

“We just capture the power of football and the love that children and adults have for the sport, and we are trying to educate them and give them values. They are very curious about knowing each other. We are neighbors, Arabs and Jews. The kids are curious because they hear a lot of things but they haven’t always met an Arab or a Jew and seen things with their own eyes.

“They might not have spoken to people outside of their circle but when they get to know each other, they just speak in a non-formal way without any thoughts which we see elsewhere in society.”

Another example of integration is Israel’s national Under-21 team. While it failed to progress from the group stage of the international tournament — the final of which was to be contested by Spain and Italy on Tuesday — its impact off the field should not be underestimated.

A squad including five Israeli-Arab players, two Ethiopians and a Bedouin brought attention to how, in even the most volatile regions, sport can break through barriers.

Several Arab players have represented Israel in the past, with the likes of Rifaat Turk, Walid Badir, Zahi Armeli and — perhaps most famously due to his goal in a 2006 World Cup qualifier — Abbas Suan having all worn the blue shirt.

While Arab players do not sing the Israeli national anthem, essentially an ode to the Jewish homeland, they also refrain from speaking in their native tongue during training to avoid dividing the group.

Great honor

Israel’s hosting of the U21 tournament has been mired in controversy, with protests against the country’s treatment of Palestinians.

But while the politics are debated off the pitch and around the world, the players appear happy with the progress being made.

FIFA Congress tackles racism and reform

FIFA pass racism reforms

Grooming Ghana’s next football stars

“It’s a great honor for me to represent Israel,” Munas Dabbur, an Israeli Arab striker who plays for Maccabi Tel Aviv, told CNN.

“I always felt that I was proud to be invited to the team and I want it to continue.

“I think this tournament can be really important for football in Israel. It’s the first time we’ve had games like this in the country and there’s been a huge push. I hope that this will continue in the future.”

It is a sentiment echoed by his Jewish teammates.

Omri Altman, 19, plays his football in England with Premier League club Fulham and says the pictures he sees on television bear little resemblance to the country he calls “home.”

“My friends at Fulham think, ‘ Israel, oh, it’s very scary.’ They don’t want to come here to visit because they hear in the news about the things which happen here,” Altman said.

“But it’s different. You come here, it’s very quiet in most of the areas. So when teams come to play here, I hope the whole world will see that.

“I think it’s very important that the tournament has come to Israel.

“In our team, we’re all friends and everybody is the same. We are all people, it doesn’t matter where we come from and who we are. We come to play football and that’s the most important thing.”

Next generation

These words would have been noted by the next generation of talent, young hopefuls who have been watching an international football tournament in their own backyard for the very first time.

While Altman and Dabur were busy on the pitch, hundreds of young children were given free tickets to watch the games.

Some of those were from Mifalot. They hope that the example set by their nation’s young footballers can spread a message beyond the country’s borders.

While the U21 players were busy playing in modern stadiums, hundreds of others were running around fields, concrete courts and dirt tracks pretending to be an international footballer.

“I think that this project is great,” said Nasser, a Palestinian coordinator in Sussiya, in the West Bank.

“The activities and interaction greatly helped the kids get to know others who are different and to play together as one group.

“I hear the kids talking and they really enjoyed themselves.”

Another group bringing communities together is the New Israel Fund (NIF), which works alongside the Israeli Football Association (IFA).

Founded in 2003, the NIF’s Kick Racism and Violence out of Soccer scheme has flourished, with the charity supporting civil society organizations working towards social justice, women’s rights and environmentalism.

Back in 2007, a survey it carried out concluded that 60% of Israelis believed more needed to be done to tackle racism in football, while 37% said they would attend more games if the situation improved.

Moacyr Barbosa Nascimento’s life was forever changed after the 1950 World Cup. With Brazil needing just a draw against Uruguay in its final game to lift the trophy for the first time, the team lost 2-1 and he was blamed for the second goal. The goalkeeper’s perceived mistake haunted him. Twenty years later he overheard a woman in a supermarket say to her son, “There is the man who made Brazil cry.”

The Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro was the venue for the 1950 final, with 200,000 spectators packed into the purpose-built arena. The stadium has been redeveloped and a crowd of 78,000 people will watch the final of 2014 World Cup at the iconic ground.

All eyes will be on Neymar during both June’s Confederations Cup and next year’s World Cup. The attacker, who recently signed for Barcelona in a deal reportedly worth in excess of $80 million, is Brazil’s star player and must perform to his best if “La Selecao” are to satisfy an expectant public.

The Brazil team of 1970, which beat Italy 4-1 in the World Cup final in Mexico, is widely regarded as the greatest of all time. Pele, a three-time World Cup winner seen here leaping on his teammates, says Brazil must recover from the failure of 63 years ago.

Carlos Alberto, captain of the 1970 team, lifts the Jules Rimet trophy which Brazil was allowed to keep after becoming the first nation to win the World Cup three times. The former fullback thinks next year’s World Cup will come too soon for Brazil’s inexperienced team.

Luiz Felipe Scolari was the coach of the last Brazil team to lift the World Cup, in Japan and South Korea in 2002. The veteran has been reappointed in a bid to inject life into an ailing Brazil team. His results have so far left much to be desired: two wins, one defeat and four draws since November 2012.

England was Brazil’s first opponent at a refurbished Maracana earlier this month. A half-volley from midfielder Paulinho, pictured, rescued a 2-2 draw for the 2014 World Cup host.

Brazil’s most recent match, the last before the Confederations Cup starts, ended in a comfortable 3-0 defeat of France. A penalty from Lucas Moura, right, completed the scoring.

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Brazil’s most painful moment

Racism has long been a stain on football but a resurgence of incidents in recent years has prompted soccer’s authorities to launch a renewed bid to rid the game of discrimination for good. Here a Fenerbahce fan holds a banana towards Galatasaray’s Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba during a Turkish league match in May 2013.

The spark for a raft of racism reforms from the game’s power brokers came when AC Milan midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng walked off in a match with Italian lower league side Pro Patria in January after their fans abused him with monkey noises. The game was abandoned and his protest made headline news the world over.

CNN’s Pedro Pinto stands on the spot where Boateng decided he’d had enough. He told the World Sport Presents Racism in Football documentary: “I decided to walk off the pitch because I said to myself, in this kind of environment, in this situation, I don’t want to play football anymore.”

Boateng’s AC Milan teammate Mario Balotelli has been the subject of racial abuse over a number of years. He and Boateng were abused by AS Roma fans during a match at the San Siro in May that was briefly suspended by the officials as a result. A public address announcement implored visiting supporters to stop their chants.

Balotelli has had to deal with racism throughout his career. As far back as 2009, when he played for Inter, he was racially abused by opposing Juventus fans. Here, Inter’s fans hold up banners in support of the striker.

Balotelli told Pedro Pinto he was prepared to walk off if he receives more racial abuse: “After what happened to me in (the Roma) game, I felt a little bit alone when I was home. I always said that if that happened in the stadium, like if nobody said anything, I don’t care. But this time I think I changed my mind a little bit, and if it is going to happen one more time, I’m going to leave the pitch because it’s so stupid.”

Boateng’s walk-off prompted the game’s governing body to act and FIFA president Sepp Blatter invited the midfielder to sit on a task force dedicated to tackling racism in football. A raft of reforms have now been passed that could see teams relegated or expelled from competitions.

The head of FIFA’s racism task force, Jeffrey Webb, told CNN the new measures could be “a defining moment in the fight against racism and discrimination.” He labeled the recent abuse of Balotelli and Galatasaray striker Didier Drogba as “ignorant” and “unbelievable.”

Blatter’s new-found vigor to tackle racism was at odds with his sentiments in a 2011 interview with CNN when he expressed his belief that there was no on-field racism in football and that players who think they have been abused should simply say “this is a game.” He later said his comments had been misinterpreted.

One of the most high-profile incidents in England saw Liverpool striker Luis Suarez banned for eight-matches for racially abusing Manchester United’s Patrice Evra in October 2011. Prior to the teams’ return fixture the following February, Suarez refused to shake Evra’s hand. Suarez subsequently apologized.

Former England captain John Terry was found not guilty in a criminal court of racially abusing rival footballer Anton Ferdinand but was banned for four-matches by the Football Association. He accepted the charge, a £220,000 fine and apologized, saying: “I accept that the language I used, regardless of the context, is not acceptable on the football field or indeed in any walk of life.”

The Serbian Football Association was hit with an $84,000 fine after a brawl between their under-21 team and England’s in the city of Krusevac in October 2012. England player Danny Rose (far right) said he had been subjected to monkey chants throughout the game. The Serbian FA insisted their fine was for the altercation.

Serbian fans are renowned for creating an intimidating atmosphere, as CNN discovered at the Belgrade derby in May. Despite previous incidents, there was no hint of racism in the match, though the Serbian Football Association’s technical director Savo Milosevic did reveal they have no program in place to tackle racism.

European football’s governing body, UEFA also passed new laws on racism. They introduced a minimum 10-match ban for racist abuse by players or officials and escalating measures for clubs including fines and stadium closures for repeat offenders.

Various initiatives across Europe’s leagues help to try and combat racism and offer opportunities to those communities that are under represented at the top of the game. The Asian Stars event, recently held at Chelsea’s training ground, aims to encourage participation among aspiring Asian players at all levels of football.

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Racism in football

Germany captain Lewis Holtby wears a specially made training shirt with the Israeli flag and the words “Feeling at home” embroidered on the front to thank the host fans for making the team welcome at the European Under-21 Championship.

Holtby and teammate Toni Jantschke lay a wreath during the visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial museum before March’s friendly game against Israel.

Germany striker Pierre-Michel Lasogga told CNN that his visit to the museum in Jerusalem was “extremely moving.”

The players take a moment to pause and reflect while surrounded by photos of those who were murdered in the Holocaust.

Head coach Rainer Adrion was particularly moved by his visit, taking his time to walk around the exhibits.

DFB president Wolfgang Niersbach (center), vice-president Rolf Hocke (right) and the German ambassador in Israel, Andreas Michaelis, lay a wreath during last week’s visit of the German delegation at Yad Vashem.

Lasogga signs autographs for local children at the Hadassah Neurim Youth Village in Netanya.

Striker Peniel Mlapa hands out small German mascots to some of the children at the Youth Village.

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Remembering the Holocaust: Germany in Israel

Through the work of the NIF, the IFA began to punish clubs with fines for racist abuse.

Breakthrough

Suan was a founding member of the Kick Racism and Violence out of Football organization, and he says sport can be the vehicle which unites people in one of the world’s most troubled regions.

As one of the few Arab players to wear the Israeli soccer shirt at the time, Suan says he suffered abuse every time he touched the ball until a groundbreaking moment.

In the final minute of a qualifying game for the 2006 World Cup, Suan unleashed an astonishing effort which clinched a 1-1 draw against the Republic of Ireland, and etched his name into Israeli folklore.

That goal on March 27, 2005, represented a fundamental change for Suan. He says it was a day Israeli society finally began to realize the significance of Arab players.

“I am a Palestinian because I have a lot of brothers and cousins in the Arab countries,” he said. “And I am Israeli because I live here and don’t go out of my lands.

“I never felt discriminated against in anything that had to do with football. I didn’t let anyone do it to me. Everywhere I went, I felt not merely at home, but like the boss.

“I have a lot of Jewish friends and they are like brothers to me. But I do feel discriminated against when it comes to infrastructure and development in the Arab sector.

“But when my children have a sports lesson in a courtyard without a pitch, that’s discrimination. It makes my blood boil. It’s unacceptable that in a city like Sakhnin, there is not one tennis or basketball court worthy of the name.”

Suan’s case has been featured in two documentaries — “After the Cup: Sons of Sakhnin United” and “Divided Nation” — both of which focus on Arab citizens in Israel.

Now head of youth at Bnei Sakhnin, one of Israel’s top Arab football clubs, he lectures against racism and violence in the game, drawing on the experiences of his difficult road to the top.

“If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn’t change a thing,” he added.

“I pursued my career to represent the community and to bring the two peoples closer together. I paid a great personal price, but I’m satisfied.”

The scheme has also embraced the Bedouin community, where the likes of Israel international Mohammad Ghadir and under-21 player Ahad Azzam learned their trade.

But in a society where female participation is frowned upon, there is one woman who refuses to be denied.

Female Maradona

Meet Miriam Abu-Ghanem — the one they call the “female Maradona” in her town of Tel Sheva in southern Israel.

“I came out of my mother’s stomach with a ball at my feet,” she said.

“Our girls don’t play sport because they think it’s shameful. We suffer from this. I come from a supportive home, without violence or repression, but many other women suffer at home.

“There are still families where the women don’t go out to learn at all, or who suffer in marriage.”

After establishing the first women’s football league in her town and becoming the first Bedouin player in the Be’er Sheva women’s league, injury prevented her from going further.

Instead, two bachelors degrees in physical education and special education, as well as a masters in educational management, have allowed her to become the first PE teacher in the Bedouin community.

“A woman doesn’t need to request equality from anyone and doesn’t need to receive the rights of a man, but the universal rights of human beings as human beings,” she added.

“I always believed in my own capabilities … I worked very hard. I refused to stand to the side and be the forlorn girl. Now here I am.”

It is stories such as these from Suan and Abu-Ghanem which gives hope that sport can unite people — even in the most troubled of times.

Back in Tel Aviv, sitting in her office surrounded by application forms from prospective members, Yael Lee-Weiss, the international development officer, sees a chink of light at the end of the tunnel.

“It gives me hope,” she said. “They are the future and I know we won’t make the biggest changes to our world and bring about peace in one day, but we do give those children a way out and something good to look for.

“The changes will take a few years but those children are growing up.”

Article source: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/06/18/sport/football/football-israel-palestine-peace/index.html?eref=edition

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NewsRipplesWeb/~3/G3aIGDkjokw/israeli-palestinian-peace-by-soccer

Editor’s note: Mark Bowman is managing director of brewing company SABMiller Africa.

(CNN) — Nothing better sums up Africa’s extraordinary mixture of challenges and opportunities than agriculture. On the one hand, Africa is home to one in four of the world’s hungry and is the only continent which fails to grow enough food to meet its own needs.

Yet it has also half of the world’s unused land suitable for farming. Better still, increasing yields on existing farmland by 50% — still far below the global average — would not only meet Africa’s own food requirements but provide a sizable surplus for export. With global food supply needing to increase by an estimated 70% by 2050, the continent is at the heart of the challenge of food security.

All this explains why agriculture in Africa is finally getting the attention it deserves from both the continent’s governments and donors.

The recent Nutrition for Growth summit generated pledges of $4.1 billion to fight malnutrition and hunger. This builds on the commitments made at Camp David 12 months ago when we, along with other local and multinational companies, committed to collectively invest over $3 billion across the agricultural value chain in Grow Africa countries.

There is now increased pressure on G8 leaders, meeting this week in the UK, to tackle the issues at the heart of food insecurity, including “land grabs.”

Read this: African land grabs, mirage in the desert

In the worst cases, local communities and farmers have been evicted from land they long regarded as their own. Farmland which was once productive can be left idle. Plans to grow crops for export in the future can also be difficult to stomach when local people don’t have food to eat today.

Land purchases which ignore the interests of local communities and the local landscapes are both morally wrong and commercially short-sighted. We need action both nationally and globally to stop them.

But there is a danger that these clear-cut cases fuel opposition to all outside investment or create a false choice between large-scale commercial farming and smallholders. The truth is Africa desperately needs to maximize the potential of both to meet the needs of its citizens.

With smallholder farmers still producing 80% of the food and supporting 65% of the population of sub-Saharan Africa, they are central to any successful sustainable solution. We need to lift the barriers which have seen them locked out of the developments in agriculture from which farmers around the world have long benefited. Where this has happened, the results can be remarkable.

Read this: Africa can feed itself in a generation

As a company, we have been working with African farmers for many years. We buy our raw materials from all sorts of farming systems, from large-scale commercial barley farmers right through to near-subsistence cassava farmers who we are keen to help become viable commercial operators — and at least half of the grains we use come from local farmers.

African farmers key to growing economies

Farm Radio Malawi boosts agriculture

A green revolution for Africa?

The challenge for all who want to see African agriculture drive prosperity for its people is to maximize the benefits which both smallholder and large-scale commercial farming can bring. There is no single answer to preventing land grabs but at the heart of any solution is the need to improve land rights. It is no coincidence that many of the most questionable acquisitions have taken place in countries with the weakest system of land rights in place.

As much as 90% of the land in sub-Sahara Africa is untitled. The result is that communities which may have lived and farmed the land for many generations have no enforceable legal claim to it. In the worst cases, this can allow land to be sold off by governments from under their feet without any hope of compensation.

Read this: Land grabs really water grabs?

Improved land rights which go at least some way to recognize history and usage would help prevent this from happening. Nor is it impossible to put in place. Countries such as Botswana and Ghana have already improved their laws so customarily held lands have the force of private property.

Giving people the protection of legally enforceable land rights does not only give them security. It also gives them greater incentive to invest in their farms and an easier route to get this investment. The lack of legal paperwork to their land remains a major reason for the refusal of banks to lend to farmers.

Improving land rights would also help commercial organizations who want to invest and farm in a responsible way. The present position gives us the worst of all worlds. While bad investors can get away with riding roughshod over the rights of smallholders and communities, the present free-for-all makes it difficult for good investors who want to farm in a way which is beneficial to local people and the environment from accessing land.

It is not just weak land rights which are holding back African agriculture, and the solutions are complex and multi-faceted. But work to put in place a fair and enforceable system would be a major step to helping the continent fulfill its rich potential.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of Mark Bowman.

Article source: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/06/18/opinion/land-grabs-africa-mark-bowman/index.html?eref=edition

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NewsRipplesWeb/~3/4ewQyFQAFqg/why-land-rights-help-africa-feed-itself

Editor’s note: Mark Bowman is managing director of brewing company SABMiller Africa.

(CNN) — Nothing better sums up Africa’s extraordinary mixture of challenges and opportunities than agriculture. On the one hand, Africa is home to one in four of the world’s hungry and is the only continent which fails to grow enough food to meet its own needs.

Yet it has also half of the world’s unused land suitable for farming. Better still, increasing yields on existing farmland by 50% — still far below the global average — would not only meet Africa’s own food requirements but provide a sizable surplus for export. With global food supply needing to increase by an estimated 70% by 2050, the continent is at the heart of the challenge of food security.

All this explains why agriculture in Africa is finally getting the attention it deserves from both the continent’s governments and donors.

The recent Nutrition for Growth summit generated pledges of $4.1 billion to fight malnutrition and hunger. This builds on the commitments made at Camp David 12 months ago when we, along with other local and multinational companies, committed to collectively invest over $3 billion across the agricultural value chain in Grow Africa countries.

There is now increased pressure on G8 leaders, meeting this week in the UK, to tackle the issues at the heart of food insecurity, including “land grabs.”

Read this: African land grabs, mirage in the desert

In the worst cases, local communities and farmers have been evicted from land they long regarded as their own. Farmland which was once productive can be left idle. Plans to grow crops for export in the future can also be difficult to stomach when local people don’t have food to eat today.

Land purchases which ignore the interests of local communities and the local landscapes are both morally wrong and commercially short-sighted. We need action both nationally and globally to stop them.

But there is a danger that these clear-cut cases fuel opposition to all outside investment or create a false choice between large-scale commercial farming and smallholders. The truth is Africa desperately needs to maximize the potential of both to meet the needs of its citizens.

With smallholder farmers still producing 80% of the food and supporting 65% of the population of sub-Saharan Africa, they are central to any successful sustainable solution. We need to lift the barriers which have seen them locked out of the developments in agriculture from which farmers around the world have long benefited. Where this has happened, the results can be remarkable.

Read this: Africa can feed itself in a generation

As a company, we have been working with African farmers for many years. We buy our raw materials from all sorts of farming systems, from large-scale commercial barley farmers right through to near-subsistence cassava farmers who we are keen to help become viable commercial operators — and at least half of the grains we use come from local farmers.

African farmers key to growing economies

Farm Radio Malawi boosts agriculture

A green revolution for Africa?

The challenge for all who want to see African agriculture drive prosperity for its people is to maximize the benefits which both smallholder and large-scale commercial farming can bring. There is no single answer to preventing land grabs but at the heart of any solution is the need to improve land rights. It is no coincidence that many of the most questionable acquisitions have taken place in countries with the weakest system of land rights in place.

As much as 90% of the land in sub-Sahara Africa is untitled. The result is that communities which may have lived and farmed the land for many generations have no enforceable legal claim to it. In the worst cases, this can allow land to be sold off by governments from under their feet without any hope of compensation.

Read this: Land grabs really water grabs?

Improved land rights which go at least some way to recognize history and usage would help prevent this from happening. Nor is it impossible to put in place. Countries such as Botswana and Ghana have already improved their laws so customarily held lands have the force of private property.

Giving people the protection of legally enforceable land rights does not only give them security. It also gives them greater incentive to invest in their farms and an easier route to get this investment. The lack of legal paperwork to their land remains a major reason for the refusal of banks to lend to farmers.

Improving land rights would also help commercial organizations who want to invest and farm in a responsible way. The present position gives us the worst of all worlds. While bad investors can get away with riding roughshod over the rights of smallholders and communities, the present free-for-all makes it difficult for good investors who want to farm in a way which is beneficial to local people and the environment from accessing land.

It is not just weak land rights which are holding back African agriculture, and the solutions are complex and multi-faceted. But work to put in place a fair and enforceable system would be a major step to helping the continent fulfill its rich potential.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of Mark Bowman.

Article source: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/06/18/opinion/land-grabs-africa-mark-bowman/index.html?eref=edition

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NewsRipplesWeb/~3/4ewQyFQAFqg/why-land-rights-help-africa-feed-itself

(CNN) — Could the end of the war in Afghanistan be in sight? A flash of hope flickered at the end of the tunnel Tuesday.

Afghan forces formally took over security responsibilities for their violence-plagued country from NATO-led troops on Tuesday, marking a key transition in the long and costly war.

President Hamid Karzai also announced that a government group dedicated to Afghan peace and reconciliation will go to the Gulf state of Qatar and participate in talks with the Taliban militant group — long the adversary of the Afghan and coalition soldiers trying to keep order in the nation.

“You are the sons and guardians of this country, and it is your responsibility to protect it,” Karzai told his troops at a handover ceremony in Kabul. “I wish a long-term peace in Afghanistan.”

The head of NATO said Afghans are now in charge.

Security handed over to Afghan forces

Inside a firefight with the Taliban

Born solely to serve others

Packing up, shipping out of Afghanistan

“The main effort of our forces is shifting from combat to support. We will continue to help Afghan troops in operations, if needed, but we will no longer plan, execute or lead these operations,” NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said at the ceremony.

“By the end of 2014, our combat mission will be completed,” Rasmussen said.

With the handover, U.S. and coalition forces move into a backup role and let Afghan National Security Forces — long questioned for their preparedness and commitment — handle the combat in the restive nation.

British Defense Minister Philip Hammond called the handover a “hard-fought milestone.”

“Afghanistan will continue to face challenges as it builds toward becoming a secure and stable state,” he said. “The Afghanistan our combat forces leave at the end of 2014 will not be perfect, but will be able to stand independently and will never again provide a haven for terrorists to attack the West.”

During his State of the Union address in January, President Barack Obama said, of the approximately 66,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, more than half — 34,000 — will come home in the next year and the country’s war in Afghanistan would be over by the end of 2014.

The Taliban regime in Afghanistan was sheltering al Qaeda when the terror network launched attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001. The next month, the United States cranked up military operations that led to the toppling of the Taliban government.

Ever since, international forces have been fighting radical Islamic militants in Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan.

What does this news mean for Afghanistan and the United States? Here are some key questions that will be asked in the coming months:

1. Are the Afghan troops up to the task?

There are certainly doubts.

A Pentagon review in December found that only one of 23 Afghan army brigades was capable of functioning on its own.

Meanwhile, literacy rates are low, desertion rates are high, and many deserters have joined the insurgency. There also have been a troubling number of “green-on-blue” attacks: Afghan troops attacking their American comrades.

But then-Defense Secretary Leon Panetta spoke positively about the progress Afghans had made in growing their army, reducing violence and becoming more self-sufficient. At the time, Afghan forces were leading nearly 90% of operations across the country.

“We’re on the right path to give (Afghanistan) the opportunity to govern itself,” Panetta said.

Karzai has said he welcomes the U.S. troop withdrawal and insists his army can defend the country against the Taliban.

“It is exactly our job to deal with it, and we are capable of dealing with it,” Karzai said during an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour.

2. What are the biggest challenges?

The main fear among Afghans is that the country could revert to another civil war once the United States withdraws its combat troops.

“Some people we’ve spoken to sort of take it for granted that there’s going to be a civil war when the United States leaves,” said CNN’s Erin Burnett on a trip last year to Afghanistan. “It happened before when the Soviet Union left (in 1989).”

Above all, Karzai said the Afghan army needs the tools to battle the insurgents, namely more equipment and firepower. He came to the Pentagon in January with a wish list asking for more helicopters, drones and other hardware, according to a senior defense official.

“We need an air force. We need air mobility,” Karzai told Amanpour. “We need proper mechanized forces. We need, you know, armored vehicles and tanks and all that.”

Retired Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, once America’s top commander in Afghanistan, said the Afghan people are “terrified.”

“They’re terrified because they think they have something to lose,” McChrystal said. “There has been progress made. There is a better life. There are girls in school. There are things that are better than they were and opportunities potentially ahead.

“But they’re afraid that if we completely abandon them in 2014, as they perceive we did in 1989, (things) would all go back.”

And in Washington, there are worries that the wrong move could put the United States right back where it started, with nothing to show for a bloody conflict that started in 2001.

3. How big a threat does the Taliban still pose?

The Taliban are still “resilient and determined,” according to a recent Pentagon report, and pose a major security threat.

The Taliban continues to carry out high-profile attacks in the capital, Kabul, even targeting the Afghan Supreme Court during a suicide attack in June. Another strike targeted a building near Kabul airport.

On Tuesday, a suicide bomber attacked the convoy of Haji Mohammad Mohaqiq, a member of parliament, killing three people and wounding 21 others. Three bodyguards were among the injured. Mohaqiq — a Shiite and an ethnic Hazara — is a member of Afghanistan’s political opposition.

Despite the ongoing insurgency, Karzai seems eager to resume stalled peace talks with the Taliban and include them in the political process.

The High Peace Council of Afghanistan will go to Qatar and participate in talks with the Taliban, Karzai said Tuesday.

The move coincides with the Taliban opening an office in the Gulf nation of Qatar. The council is a body that Karzai appointed to work toward ending the fighting and seeking peace with militants.

“With the opening of the Taliban office in Qatar, we hope peace talks will start soon,” Karzai told reporters in Kabul.

The Taliban pulled out of talks last year, but Karzai said in January that they “are very much conveying to us that they want to have peace talks. They’re also people. They’re also families. They also suffer, like the rest of Afghans are suffering.”

Javid Ahmad, a Kabul native now with the Asia Program of the German Marshall Fund of the United States, said he believes revitalized peace talks are essential to Afghanistan’s future and to the legacy of America’s war.

4. What support will the United States and allies provide?

American forces, now at about 66,000, are expected to dip to 32,000 by the end of the year and further throughout 2014.

The plan is to withdraw all combat troops but keep a residual force in the country to help train Afghans and carry out counterterrorism operations when needed.

The size of that force is still being discussed.

Gen. John Allen, the former commander of U.S. troops in Afghanistan, recommended between 6,000 and 15,000 troops. But that figure was lowered to a range between 2,500 and 9,000, according to a defense official.

The United States and NATO have pledged to continue to support and train Afghan forces in what Rasmussen deems a “new relationship,” starting in 2015.

Acknowledging that there is still much to do in the interim 18 months, Rasmussen said, “Today, our shared goal is in sight.”

CNN’s Joe Sterling contributed to this report.

Article source: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/06/18/world/asia/afghanistan-handover/index.html?eref=edition

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NewsRipplesWeb/~3/AXtTYGJCgHU/afghan-forces-take-over-now-what